Death-In Women in Dubliners

Abstract

This article analyses three stories “Eveline”, “Clay” and “The Dead” in James Joyce’s Dubliners by focusing on female characters and them being dead souls because of the pressures they have. In the stories, religion and marriage are two important reasons of the oppression that the Irish society creates on women who are victimized and devalued regardless of the fact that they are married or not. The study also claims that the protagonists of these stories, Eveline, Maria and Gretta also meet on the same ground in mirroring each other and showing the same end for all women in Dubliners. In that sense, the reason why these three women are chosen is the possible connection of these women, i.e., Eveline is the younger version of all these women and if she remains unmarried, her older version would be Maria and if she gets married, she would be like Gretta, underscoring the same end for all women. Thus, this article aims to scrutinise the female characters as dead souls in the stories “Eveline”, “Clay” and “The Dead” and how they are silenced to hide their disappointment, frustration and unfulfilled desires by the society which depreciates them. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.