Dubliners Summary

Dubliners Plot Summary

Covers the whole plot, including the ending.

1. The Sisters

   The story begins with a young boy thinking about the coming death of Father Flynn, a former priest who had a stroke and was mentally ill. The boy had been close to Father Flynn, who taught him subjects and told him disturbing stories. After the priest's death, the boy visits the house where he encounters Father Flynn's two sisters, Eliza and Nannie. They talk about their brother's life and his odd habits, especially breaking a chalice and his later mental decline. The conversation and the lingering idea of the priest's 'simony' disturb the boy, though he does not fully understand its meaning. He feels a mix of interest, fear, and freedom from the priest's influence.

2. An Encounter

   A young boy, tired of school, plans an adventure with his friend Mahony to skip classes and explore the city. They pack food and leave, eventually reaching the Pigeon House, a power station on Dublin Bay. During their trip, they meet a strange, older man who talks to them. The man's talk becomes more disturbing, moving from literature to hitting boys and then to his own fantasies of whipping them. The boys grow increasingly uneasy and scared by his strange talk. Finally, Mahony is distracted by a cat, letting the narrator slip away from the man, leaving the unsettling meeting behind.

3. Araby

   A young, unnamed boy on North Richmond Street becomes obsessed with Mangan's sister, who lives across the street. He idealizes her, and his days are filled with thoughts of her. When she finally speaks to him, asking if he plans to go to Araby, a bazaar, he promises to bring her something. His mind focuses entirely on this task, seeing it as an important mission. On the evening of the bazaar, his uncle is late returning home, delaying his departure. When he finally arrives at Araby, it is late, many stalls are closed, and the place feels dull and ordinary. He overhears a common conversation between a young woman and two men. Realizing how unimportant his quest was and how empty his romantic ideas were, he stands in the dark hall, overcome by a feeling of foolishness and pain.

4. Eveline

   Eveline Hill sits by her window, thinking about her life in Dublin and her upcoming decision. She has a chance to escape her dull life and abusive father by running away with Frank, a kind sailor who promises her a new life in Buenos Ayres. She thinks about her childhood, her dead mother's hard life, and her promise to her mother to keep the family together. While Frank offers freedom and love, her home, despite its difficulties, gives her a familiar, if stifling, safety. At the quay, as Frank urges her to board the ship, Eveline feels a sudden, strong wave of fear and duty. She cannot move, her will frozen, and she stays on the dock, watching Frank leave without her. Her face shows neither love nor goodbye.

5. Two Gallants

   Lenehan and Corley, two young men, walk through Dublin's streets, discussing their plans and women. Corley talks about his latest target, a servant girl who works for a rich family, detailing his plans to get money from her. Lenehan, though seemingly more cynical, listens closely, hoping to gain from Corley's success. They walk through the city, watching other people's lives, especially women, whom they see as possible sources of money or entertainment. Corley eventually meets the servant girl, and Lenehan waits nearby, eager for the outcome. When Corley returns, he proudly shows a small gold coin, a half-sovereign, which he successfully got from the girl, showing their parasitic lives and the exploitation of others.

6. The Boarding House

   Mrs. Mooney, a sharp and determined former butcher's daughter, runs a successful boarding house in Dublin. Her daughter, Polly, a flirtatious and somewhat innocent young woman, has been having an affair with Mr. Doran, a respectable, older lodger who works for a wine merchant. Mrs. Mooney knows about the affair and purposely lets it continue, seeing a chance to secure a good marriage for Polly and protect her family's name. After several weeks, she arranges a meeting, cornering Mr. Doran and pressuring him to propose marriage. Mr. Doran, filled with guilt and fear of social ruin, reluctantly agrees, feeling trapped and resigned to his fate, while Polly waits for her mother's decision with a mix of worry and hope.

7. A Little Cloud

   Little Chandler, a shy and unsatisfied clerk, dreams of being a poet but is held back by his home life and lack of ambition. He eagerly awaits his old friend, Ignatius Gallaher, who has found success as a journalist in London. When they meet, Gallaher shows confidence, worldliness, and a cynical charm, telling stories of his adventures and successes abroad. Chandler feels increasingly inferior and resentful, comparing his own stagnant life to Gallaher's lively one. Gallaher, though friendly, offers little true encouragement for Chandler's poetry dreams. After Gallaher leaves, Chandler returns home to his wife and crying baby, feeling stifled by his small, ordinary life and the realization that his dreams will likely never come true. He ends up yelling at his baby, only to be filled with regret.

8. Counterparts

   Farrington, a copy-clerk in a Dublin law office, endures a day of work frustration and shame. He struggles to finish a difficult copying task, faces his demanding boss's anger, and is constantly interrupted by colleagues. His workday is a series of small annoyances and perceived unfairness. After work, he seeks comfort in alcohol, meeting friends at various pubs. He lends money he does not have to a woman, only to have it stolen, further fueling his anger. Drunk and bitter, he returns home late to his young son, Tom. Unable to express his frustrations, he takes out his stored-up rage on the boy, brutally beating him for a small mistake, showing a cycle of violence and helplessness.

9. Clay

   Maria, a small, kind, and careful single woman who works as a laundress, will spend Halloween with Joe, one of her former charges from the Dublin by Lamplight laundry, and his family. She travels to their home, bringing cakes and feeling a quiet sense of excitement. At the party, Joe and his wife greet her warmly. During a traditional Halloween game, where blindfolded people choose an object symbolizing their future, Maria accidentally picks a lump of clay (symbolizing death) twice, but a playful participant quickly replaces it with a prayer book (symbolizing a religious life). Later, asked to sing, Maria performs 'I Dreamt That I Dwelt,' but she leaves out a verse, showing her unconscious avoidance of romantic love. Despite the brief warmth, the story highlights her isolation and the quiet sadness of her life.

10. A Painful Case

    Mr. James Duffy, a deeply solitary and precise man, lives a life of strict routine and emotional distance in Chapelizod. He avoids closeness and human connection, preferring books and his own thoughts. He forms an unusual friendship with Mrs. Sinico, a married woman who shares his intellectual interests. Their relationship grows into a deep, but proper, emotional bond, but when Mrs. Sinico tries to move towards physical affection, Mr. Duffy pulls back, ending their meetings. Four years later, he reads in the newspaper that Mrs. Sinico has died by suicide, said to be from heart failure and alcohol abuse. The news deeply disturbs him, as he realizes he rejected the one person who truly understood him. He walks alone, overcome by regret and the crushing realization of his own deep isolation.

11. Ivy Day in the Committee Room

    On Ivy Day (October 6th), the anniversary of Charles Stewart Parnell's death, a group of political canvassers gathers in a dimly lit committee room. They are supposedly working for a local election but mostly chat idly, drink stout, and complain about their money problems. The talk turns to Parnell, the respected but disgraced Irish nationalist leader. Some express admiration and longing for his leadership, while others criticize him or regret the current state of Irish politics, which they see as corrupt and ineffective. The atmosphere is one of stagnation and disappointment. Mr. Hynes, a poet, reads a poem he wrote praising Parnell, briefly sparking a shared feeling, but the moment quickly passes, leaving the men to their small arguments and the widespread sense of political paralysis in Dublin.

12. A Mother

    Mrs. Kearney, a determined and socially ambitious woman, tries to start her daughter Kathleen's career as a singer in the growing Irish cultural movement. She gets Kathleen a job to perform at a series of concerts organized by the Gaelic League. Mrs. Kearney carefully manages Kathleen's appearances and payment, driven by a wish for her daughter to gain recognition and to raise their family's social standing. When arguments arise over Kathleen's fees and the concert arrangements, Mrs. Kearney becomes increasingly aggressive and demanding, insisting on full payment and proper respect. Her relentless, almost ruthless, pursuit of her goals alienates the concert organizers and ultimately ruins Kathleen's opportunity, showing the commercialism and personal agendas hidden beneath the cultural nationalism.

13. Grace

    Tom Kernan, a traveling salesman, falls down the stairs of a pub while drunk and bites his tongue. His friends, Mr. Power, Mr. Cunningham, and Mr. M'Coy, find him and decide this is a chance to reform him. They plan to take him to a Catholic retreat led by a Jesuit priest. They visit Kernan at his home, where his wife, a long-suffering woman, expresses her despair. The friends have a long and somewhat superficial discussion about the history and importance of the Catholic Church, especially the Jesuits, hoping to convince Kernan of the need for spiritual guidance. Kernan, though at first resistant, is eventually persuaded to attend the retreat, but his conversion seems more a passive acceptance of social pressure than a true spiritual awakening.

14. The Dead

    Gabriel Conroy and his wife Gretta attend the annual Christmas party hosted by his aunts, Kate and Julia Morkan, and their niece Mary Jane. Gabriel, an intellectual and somewhat distant figure, handles the social interactions, giving a polite but self-conscious speech. Throughout the evening, he thinks about his own perceived superiority and Dublin's provincial nature. As the party ends, Gretta is moved by a song, 'The Lass of Aughrim,' and later tells Gabriel that it reminded her of a young man named Michael Furey, who died for love of her when she was a girl. This revelation breaks Gabriel's complacent self-image. He realizes the depth of Gretta's past love and his own shortcomings. Standing at the window, watching the snow fall across Ireland, he considers how the living and the dead are connected, feeling a deep sense of humility and the universal nature of human experience and death.

Dubliners Characters

Dubliners Themes

Plot Devices & Literary Techniques

Dubliners Quotes

Quiz

Dubliners FAQ