Who Is The Protagonist In The Dead

Growing up and preparing for adulthood, having a stable family dynamic and at least one loving parental figure is essential for a child’s development. Of course, not having any type of parental figure is not always detrimental to a child, however, stability allows the child emotional stability in their adult life. In James Joyce’s, “The Dead,” the protagonist, Gabriel, was raised by his two aunts, who, after being described by the narrator, accentuate the worst qualities of Gabriel. “The Dead,” written by James Joyce depicts a conflict between the protagonist, Gabriel, and the parental figure, his two aunts, in terms of the aunts extracting the worse aspect of Gabriel's character and shaping his personality and insecurities during his interaction
While attempting to make small conversation with Lily, Gabriel proposes inquiry, “I suppose we’ll be going to your wedding one of these fine days,” to which Lily aggressively responds, “the men that is now is only all palaver and what they can get out of you.” Despite the sincerity and truthfulness that Lily’s response brings to the 21st century, her choice of words and aggressiveness shock Gabriel and this allowed him to analyze the mistake in his words. The narrator jumps into a description of Gabriel's appearance, however, the audience can infer that he was flustered due to information the reader later learns about Gabriel's ignorance with womanly interactions. His little interaction with women of Lily’s type caused him to speak before he thought, not considering the consequences, conveying his instability during common social situations, a skill he should have learned from his parental figures. In an attempt to compensate for his mistake, Gabriel tries to hand Lily a tip, disguising it as a Christmas
While at the hotel he and his wife were staying, Gabriel is gazing up at his wife, admiring her while she listens to a faint tune playing in the background. In this moment, Gabriel intently analyzes his wife, “he asked himself what is a woman standing on the stairs in the shadow, listening to distant music, a symbol of.” Gabriel poses a question of which he already knew the answer. He sees his wife in this moment, symbolizing innocence and the essence of a woman, and poses a question as if it were his first time laying his eyes on his wife. This conveys, along with the fact that Gabriel's wife, Gretta, does not love him, the lack of understanding he holds of his wife and women in general. This lack of understanding connects with the consequence of Gabriel's unstable parental figures in terms of depriving him of basic emotional