James Joyce's "The Dead"

Consider all the references to death, the dead, and dying throughout the text, what is their significance?  How does they influence/inform Joyce's title selection?

            Death is a very prominent symbol in James Joyce's "The Dead" from the beginning to the end. These references begin with a conversation about the monks being very humble, quiet and "trying to make up for the sins committed by all the sinners in the outside world (1961)," by sleeping in their coffins. This depicts the monks' lifestyle but more importantly, the mention of them living in coffins is so subtle, thus leaving death as very open topic, even at a nice dinner party.  The next reference is the awkward context of being "the recipients-or perhaps- I had better say the victims- of the hospitality of certain ladies (1962)." Victims are usually seen in a negative context with the connotation of force, whereas in this setting Gabriel could have been more respectful, even though Aunt Kate, Aunt Julia and Mary Jane did not mind.  The speech continues and Gabriel mentions the different generations of people present at the party and how he has pride for the older generations and hope for the future.  Even in everyday simple statements death is referenced such as when Aunt Kate said, "Close the door, somebody. Mrs. Malins will get her death of cold (1964)." This reference is significant as it depicts that death is a comfortable topic, not something to be feared necessarily. In addition, Joyce mentions the old man and Johnny, his horse; (1964-65) who worked all his life and no matter where he went, he always went in circles. This situation helps parallel the idea of life being a cycle where one live and dies. Continuing in the story, Gretta, Gabriel's wife, recalls her past love of Michael Furey who used to sing The Lass of Aughrim to her and she recalls his early death at the age of seventeen. She explains to Gabriel how "I think he died for me (1972)" and how he sang outside her window in the freezing cold before he died about a week after.  This topic of death also affected Gabriel as he reflected on if he has ever truly loved someone, "so she had that romance in her life: a man had died for her sake. It hardly pained him now to think how poor a part he, her husband, had played in her life (1973)." (Michael's death 1971-74) In addition the comparison that people are all ghost-like shades and that they "better pass boldly into that other world , in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age (1973)," shows people as mere objects in society that  just go through the motions and come and go. Lastly, Gabriel, especially after the mentioning of Michael, believed, " his own identity was fading out into a grey impalpable world: the solid world itself which these dead had one time reared and lived in was dissolving and dwindling (1974)."This shows the cycle of life and the idea that life does not last forever.  Overall, death plays a great role in the story and is the title because Joyce seemed to want the audience to see that death is everywhere and should not be a distant object because it is a natural part of life.

Consider the names of the characters, specifically Gabriel and Michael--what is their origin/meaning generally and then consider their use in the text.

            The names Gabriel and Michael represent the Bible reference of Michael the archangel, who is right below God, and Gabriel who is also an archangel though he is not as powerful. Gabriel is famous for spreading the news of Jesus and epiphanies. This parallels James Joyce's "The Dead" because Michael is not a physical character but remains of great importance especially to Gabriel's wife; whereas Gabriel is more present in the story and spread news through his speech and interactions with people. Another symbol (a person, object, action, place, or event that in addition to its literal meaning suggests a more complex meaning) is through the three women (Aunt Kate, Aunt Julia and Mary Jane) as the three Graces or three blind sisters who choose one's fate of when they will die. Lastly and perhaps most importantly, Gabriel sees everyone as dead, while Michael is the only one remaining alive through his past of the coal mines and his everlasting love for Gretta, even though he is literally the only one deceased.