"The Sisters" - Jacob Ezell

James Joyce is the author of the short story "The Sisters." This story, recounting in first person the experience of a young boy as he faces the death of his older friend, is presented in Joyce's collection of short stories, known as The Dubliners.  The story begins as the narrator or young boy is expecting the death of his older friend due to the old man's paralysis that arises from multiple strokes. The old man dies, and the boy is puzzled by the way that he and the world do not feel extreme sadness. The boy is also puzzled by the remarks of his aunt and uncle's family friend. The friend says that the old man, who was a priest, was not good company for the boy. Furthering this negative depiction of the priest, the sisters of the priest allude to mental illness of the old man when the boy and his aunt show their respect to the dead.

            From a biographical standpoint, "The Sisters" is a reflection of the author's views toward the Catholic Church and the clergy. The narrator has respect for the old priest. When an old family friend comes to tell of the death of Father Flynn, the boy's aunt and uncle are watching for a reaction from the boy. The boy is frustrated and angered by the statements of the family friend because the friend feels that the old priest was not good company for the boy. Joyce states, "I crammed my mouth with stirabout for fear I might give utterance to my anger" (2). This emotion from the boy shows that he enjoyed the old man's company. The boy respects the priest and wants to be around him regardless of the family friend saying to "let a young lad run about and play with young lads..."(Joyce 2). The boy, reflecting after the old man's death, says that the priest taught him "a great deal" (Joyce 3). The respect of the boy toward the priest shows that Joyce does not have a quarrel with priests themselves even though he finds religion to be stifling. The boy was nervous at first in befriending the priest. The way that the priest held his tongue and face made the boy "feel uneasy in the beginning of our acquaintance before I knew him well" (Joyce 4). However, after the boy learned to understand the priest, the possibility of them not being friends angered the boy. However, the admiration the boy held for the priest did not transfer to any respect for the church itself. The priest, who taught the boy how to "pronounce Latin properly" (Joyce 3) and to understand the meaning behind church rituals, was himself stifled by the church. Joyce states, "The duties of priesthood were too much for him" (6). The priest was hindered by his duties of the church. He taught the boy that even the smallest and simplest actions of a clergyman have great meaning and symbolism that cannot easily be explained. The pressure upon the priest, a pressure that made him a "disappointed man" (Joyce 6), shows that Joyce views the Church as a negative influence upon the priest. Joyce, seen through the perception of the boy, views the Church as part of the reason for the sad end the priest, a dear friend. The priest, a loved character of the boy, is crushed by the pressure of the Church. The priest's bad mental state, alluded to by the sisters at the end of the story, was brought about because of "the chalice he broke" (Joyce 7). This pressure of the Church leads the reader to see the Church as setting an impossible and unattainable standard. The priest character places a positive light on clergy by being a man whom is kind to children. 

            Through the perspective of the youth, the church can be seen as an overshadowing pressure on the liked priest.  However, beyond the comprehension of the child, the reader receives a perception of the church and the priest that forces him or her to consider the viewpoint of the author towards all of the Catholic religion. The boy has a dream in which the priest's face confesses some sin "in a murmuring voice" (Joyce 2). The boy also remembers "some land where the customs are strange" (Joyce 4) toward the end of his dream; this place perhaps being Persia. The boy does not reveal what the priest confessed and does not recall the meaning of the strange land at the end of the dream. This dream or hidden revelation leaves a tension in the mind of the reader. This tension is increases by the story that the sister tells at the end of “The Sisters.” The sister, Eliza, tells of how the priest was found in the confession box in the dark "wide-awake and laughing-like softly to himself" (Joyce 7) after the incident of the dropped chalice. The dream of the boy and the possibly unstable mental state of the priest reveals Joyce's deeper uncertainly with religion and religious figures in general despite the fact that the perspective of the child leads the reader to like the priest regardless of the mysteries of the church.

Joyce, James. "The Sister." The Dubliners. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1991. Print.