The short story "The Boarding House" by James Joyce takes place in Mrs. Mooney's boarding house in Dublin in the early 20th century. It follows Polly Mooney's affair with Mr. Doran and her mother Mrs. Mooney's manipulation of the situation. When Mrs. Mooney learns of the affair, she does not confront them immediately but instead makes a plan. She later demands that Mr. Doran marry Polly, not for money but to restore her daughter's honor. Feeling trapped by social expectations, Mr. Doran agrees to the marriage despite having doubts.

1. THE BOARDING HOUSE
-----James Joyce-----

2. OUTLINE

3. "The Boarding House" is a short
story originally published in 1914
as a part of the literary classic,
"Dubliners." It is considered one
of James Joyce's favorite short
stories.
The title page of the first edition in
1914 of Dubliners

4. - Mrs. Mooney’s boarding house in the seedy
part of the city of Dublin.
- In the early 20th century
SETTING

5. PLOT
Mr. Doran decides to stay
and gets married with Polly.
Mrs. Mooney separates from Mr.
Mooney. She establishes a
boarding house and lives with
her kids, Polly and Jack Mooney.
Polly becomes involved in an affair with Mr.
Doran. Mrs. Mooney does not act immediately
because she makes a plan.
Mr. Doran doesn't know whether he
should run away or actually get married to
Polly.
Mrs. Mooney confronts Polly about the situation. She
later confronts Mr. Doran and tells him he has to
marry Polly.

6. • The story is told by an omniscient narrator.
=> Allows the reader to know what is occurring within the character, which
means the reader comes to know each of three characters well.
• The narration is mobile, moving from outside the characters to inside the
consciousness of Mrs. Mooney, then from inside Mrs. Mooney to inside
two other characters.
• This mobile and omniscient approach keep the interest of the reader.
Shifting the focus from character to character gives the reader the
opportunity to enter the consciousnesses of the other two far more
emotional and chaotic characters' consciousnesses.
POINT OF VIEW

7. CHARACTERSMrs. Mooney
- She is the daughter of a butcher and mother of Polly and Jack.
- She is separated from her husband and is the owner of the Boarding House.
- When she finds out about her daughter’s affair, she wants reparations, not in
the form of money but in marriage, for the loss of her daughter’s honor.
- She is a manipulative woman. She has a greater role than what is shown on
the surface.
- She demands equal treatment for men and women as she feels that men
should pay for their actions by marriage.

8. =>She is a round character because we know a
lot about her and are given insight into her
thoughts.
=>She also plays a central role in the story, by
influencing the outcome.
CHARACTERS

9. Jack Mooney
- Polly's tough brother, fond of drink and fighting.
- Jack is strong and belligerent, a drinker who likes getting into fights.
- He is very touchy on the subject of his sister's honor.
- Mr. Doran is afraid of him.
- Jack gives Mr. Doran a dirty look as Mr. Doran passes.
CHARACTERS

10. CHARACTERS
Polly Mooney
- She is a slim girl of nineteen and the daughter of Mrs. Mooney.
- She stays at home to do housework and helps her mother out.
- She gets sexually involved with Mr. Doran, an older man, and she has
little say in what will happen in the future as she lets her mother take
care of the rest.
- During the story she has an epiphany that she cannot do anything about
the situation she is in.
- She learns that her actions have consequences and she is obliged to
marry Mr. Doran.

11. CHARACTERS
=>She is a round and dynamic character
as she is central to the conflict and she
self evolves.

12. CHARACTERS
Bob Doran
- A man in his thirties and the lover of Polly Mooney.
- He is a successful clerk, and fears that his reputation will be
tarnish due to the affair he has with Polly.
- He worries about what people will think about him and her and
whether he really loves Polly.
- He then comes to an epiphany that he has to get married
regardless of his feelings
=>This makes him a dynamic character.

13. CHARACTERS
Small characters
Mary
Mr. Sheridan
Mr. Meade
Bantam Lyons
Mr. Leonard

14. SYMBOLISM
All the resident young men
spoke of her as The Madam.
This symbol shows the strength
of character Mrs. Mooney.

15. Highlighting the level of involvement
that the Catholic Church had in the lives
of ordinary people in Ireland at the time
that Joyce wrote Dubliners. Priest
would have been a first port of call for a
lot of people.
- “George’s Church”
- “ Priest”
SYMBOLISM

16. This symbol of Bob Doran’s fogging his
eyeglasses gives the reader the impression
that Bob Doran is in fear.
- “Every two or three minute a mist gather
on his eyeglasses so that he had to take
them off and polish with is pocket-
handkerchief”
SYMBOLISM

17. Color
- Yellow
- Brown
Symbolise decay and paralysis
SYMBOLISM

18. FIGURE OF SPEECH
SIMILE
“ She dealt with moral problems as a clever
deals with meat”
SARCASM
He was a shabby stooped little drunkard with a
white face and a white moustache white
eyebrows, pencilled above his little eyes, which
were veined and raw.

19. PERSONIFICATION
- The belfry of George’s Church sent out
constant peals and worshippers”
- His instinct urged him to remain free, not to
marry.
- Her memories gradually giving place to
hope and visions of the future.
FIGURE OF SPEECH

20. METAPHOR
- “The girl has to bear the brunt.”
- “She had made a clean breast of it to her
mother”
HYPERBOLE
- Her house had a floating population
made up of tourists.
FIGURE OF SPEECH

21. • Gloomy
The reader is exposed to the harsh realities of life
demonstrated to them by the characters actions and the
outcome of the story.
• Worried
- Mr. Doran is worried about tarnishing his reputation in
his work place and with his friends.
- Polly is crying as she doesn’t know what to do and
wants to put an end to herself
MOOD AND TONE

22. • Despair (… helpless and hopeless)
• Mellow and melancholic tone
=> These moods and tone evokes a
sympathetic reaction from the readers and
aids the readers in understanding the
characters.
MOOD AND TONE

23. • The story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed
narrator.
The reader is given the point of view of two of the main
characters in the story, Mrs. Mooney and Bob Doran.
• A style of “scrupulous meanness”
 Set a scene, create an atmosphere, or establish details of
character in a few words.
With this style, readers are left to interpret and feel the bare
facts for themselves.
STYLE

24. • The theme in “The Boarding House” is a desire to escape
- Mr. Doran and Polly Mooney both want to escape the
consequences of their affair but are unable to undertake the
process.
• The imprisonment of the powerless, the experience of paralysis
- Mr. Doran is seen as the powerless as he is manipulated
into marrying Polly.
- Polly is also powerless as she leaves the fate of her future
to her mother, to handle.
THEME

25. • Social opinion or the perception of what others think.
- Mrs Mooney believes that she has ‘all the weight of social
opinion on her side, she was an outraged mother.’
- For Mr. Doran , social opinion is important, there is a fear as
regards what his friends and employers will think about Polly,
she is not as refined as he would like her to be.
- The importance of social opinion to Bob and Mrs Mooney can
also be seen at the end of the story.
THEME

26. QUIZ

27. Who tells the story?
A.An omniscient narrator
B.Mrs. Mooney
C.Polly Mooney
D.Bob Doran
QUIZ

28. What nickname have the lodgers given
Mrs. Mooney?
A.Mrs.
B.Mistress
C.The Madam
D.All are wrong
QUIZ

29. When Mrs. Mooney knows the relationship between Mr.
Doran and Polly, does she interfere or act immediately?
What does she do?
=>Mrs. Mooney does not act immediately because she
makes a plan. Mrs. Mooney waits until the most profitable
moment—until she is sure Mr. Doran, a successful clerk,
must propose to Polly out of social propriety
QUIZ

30. In “The Boarding House,” Mr. Doran is
tricked into doing what?
A. Deceiving Mrs. Mooney’s husband
B. Marrying Mrs. Mooney’s daughter
C. Paying double rent
D. Taking the blame for a recent robbery
QUIZ

31. Why does Mrs. Mooney trick him into marry
her daughter?
=> Mrs. Mooney is trying to trap him in a
marriage just to get Polly to a better position in
life
QUIZ

32. When Mrs. Mooney interferes*, what is Mr. Doran
worried about? Does he worry about Polly’s
feeling? What is his final decision?
=> He worries little about Polly’s feelings, and instead
considers his years of hard work and good reputation
now verging on destruction.
 He agrees to marry Polly.
* Prevent (a process or activity) from continuing or
being carried out properly
QUIZ

33. How is the mood of the story?
A.Happy and funny
B.Boring and depressing
C.Gloomy and worried
D.All are wrong
QUIZ

34. What are the themes of the story? Choose the
correct answers
A.desire to escape
B.imprisonment of the powerless
C.value of money
D.perception of what others think
E.negative aspect of marriage
F. life of lodgers
QUIZ