Monday, 10 November 2008

In James Joyce's story "Araby," how does Mangan's sister represent Ireland?

Before
talking specifically about Mangan's sister in 's "," it's worth mentioning that Irish
literature has a long history of using female characters as symbols and personifications of
Ireland. One of the most famous examples of this trope can be found in W.B. Yeats and Lady
Gregory's play, Cathleen ni Houlihan . In this play, the main character
(the eponymous Cathleen) begins as an old woman wandering the countryside and lamenting the loss
of her four green fields. This character is often read as a symbol of occupied Ireland, as
Cathleen's four green fields roughly correspond to Ireland's traditional four provinces.
Furthermore, Cathleen's transformation at the end of a play into a young woman can be seen as a
symbol of Ireland's projected rebirth, one that...

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