Looking at the denouement of The Dead, discuss the emotional variety of Gabriel Essay Example

will happen. The lack of light heightens the atmosphere, providing an apt setting for the story's end. The light penetrating into the room is referred to as "ghastly," which seems to fit well with the menacing setting from before. Yet again, Gabriel's emotions appear to clash with the situation.

Throughout the story, the importance of the light from the window increases. Gabriel engages in conversation with Gretta, who informs him that she is tired. She walks toward the window and gazes out at the view with a serious expression, which will later prove to be significant. Although Gabriel waits for her, he feels a sense of diffidence and begins to discuss Malins in a false tone. Despite appearing to have his emotions in check during their conversation, Gabriel is trembling with annoyance, likely due to Gretta's apparent indifference towards him. He wonders about her abstraction, but Joyce hints at what is to come while Gabriel remains unaware of his wife's true emotional state.

Even though he acknowledges that "To take her as she was would be brutal," he remains in a state of passion. Gabriel's desire becomes almost bestial, as he longs to "Cry to her from his soul, to crush her body against his, to overmaster her." He feels a fever of rage and desire and must restrain himself from using brutal language. It's typical to portray lust as something that brings out one's animalistic nature. Despite his intensity, Gabriel does not hear her return from the window. When she comes back, she kisses him and compliments him as a "very generous person."

In an instant, a kiss and a compliment are enough to quell his "fever

of rage" and fill him with delight. He strokes her hair while his heart overflows with happiness, a stark contrast to the tempestuous emotions he had been feeling before. Gabriel wonders whether Gretta's thoughts were aligned with his own, a foolish remark in hindsight given what she must have been contemplating. His impetuous desire is not reciprocated by Gretta, whose thoughts have drifted far away from his own. Gabriel asks the fateful question, "What are you thinking about?" to which Gretta breaks loose, making it clear that she was not thinking about a night of passion.

Gabriel is filled with "astonishment" as he follows the woman and catches sight of himself in the mirror. He admires his appearance, noting his attractive shirt-front, expression, and gleaming gilt-rimmed glasses. This self-image contrasts with his later perception of himself after encountering "the dead." When Gabriel realizes that the woman is upset about someone from her past, his smile fades and a "dull anger" flares up again, along with his rekindling desire. Despite Gretta's admission of knowing a man named Michael, Gabriel tries to remain nonchalant and uses her description of him against the man.

Earlier, the question Gabriel asked with a smile is now asked coldly and with indifference. In the story, heat is a symbol for passion, but now this has been subverted. Gretta's eyes make Gabriel feel uncomfortable, and he has an idea of what she is about to say. Before she tells him that Michael is dead, she looks away from him and towards the window shaft of light. This window could be linked with the memory of Michael Furey. Gabriel feels humiliated when Gretta compares him

to Michael in her mind. He realizes that he has been preoccupied with memories of joy and desire while she has been comparing him to another. As a result, his image of himself changes and he sees himself as ludicrous and pitiable. He accuses himself of idealizing his own clownish lusts. Michael Furey has had a profound effect on Gabriel, demonstrating how the dead can affect the living long after they have passed.

It is evident that Gretta has been deeply affected by Michael's death, but it also indirectly affects Gabriel. When she tells Gabriel that she believes Michael died for her, he becomes seized with a "vague terror". Gabriel feels as though an indescribable and hostile force is gathering against him. He wonders if this "impalpable and vindictive being" is Michael Furey. Gabriel's thoughts of Michael are still vague at this stage - he sees him as an adversary rather than the eventual admiration he feels. Gretta then proceeds to relate the full story of Michael's death, including the last night she spent with him. The connection between Michael and the window is established, suggesting that earlier, Gretta could have been gazing outside, reminiscing of Michael.

It could be interpreted that the light entering the room through the window was somehow connected to Michael, which would explain why Gretta is fixated on it and why Gabriel feels ashamed and turns away from it. Once Gretta moves to the bed, Gabriel goes to the window and has an epiphany. He looks at Gretta with no resentment, but still feels jealous that she experienced a romance he didn't. Gabriel is now in pain realizing that he played a

poor role in her life. He wonders if she has told him the whole story as he sees her clothing on the chair.

Gabriel contemplates the "riots of emotions" he experienced earlier and reflects upon the events that caused them. His thoughts inevitably turn to death and the realization that all living beings will eventually become "shades". However, he admires Michael Furey for his bold and passionate departure from life, while simultaneously feeling depressed that he has never felt that way about anyone. This is particularly concerning since he is married and at a stage in life where the thought of dying without having experienced love is terrifying. Gabriel wonders what memories he would leave behind if he died, believing that the afterlife consists only of the memories we leave on Earth. He visualizes Michael Furey, standing under a dripping tree, which was the last image left behind for Gretta.

Furey's connection to Christ is evident as Christ was also under a tree in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion. Furey can be seen as a Messianic figure and his premature death ensures that he will be remembered as the innocent youth Gretta loved, never to "fade" away. Gabriel's soul advances towards the "vast region where dwell the vast hosts of the dead" and he senses, but cannot fully comprehend, their "flickering existence". Gabriel experiences an almost out of body sensation as his identity begins to fade.

The dead are likened to "flickering" flames, reminiscent of candlelight, possibly referring to the previously mentioned shades. This contrasted with Michael's "bold" transition into the afterlife and the light that represents him shining through the window

onto Gabriel. Gabriel is then drawn to the window by tapping sounds and notices that it is snowing again. He realizes that it is snowing all over Ireland, including the graveyard where Michael is buried, which links him to Gabriel. The fact that Gabriel is drawn to the window highlights how Michael's memory triggers this realization in him. As Gabriel listens to the snow fall, his soul "swoons" as he feels the impact that the dead have on the living, as if it were their final goodbye to all those still alive.

In conclusion, it is possible that the living can escape their past and live without hindrance, as snow cannot last forever. Gabriel's emotions at the start were passionate and hostile, but they fluctuated throughout the evening due to Gretta's reactions and Michael Furey's influence. By the end of the story, Gabriel is no longer angry but instead experiences self-awareness after learning of Michael Furey's sacrifice for Gretta. The story takes place in winter, which symbolizes death, making it fitting for Gabriel's epiphany. Joyce demonstrates how the deceased can still impact the living, even after death.

In his speech at the party, Gabriel expresses that if they were to constantly dwell on the deceased, they would lack the courage to move forward. The question remains: Will Gabriel ever be able to move past the passing of Michael Furey?