There seems to be a lot of sharp turns in the mood of the main characters in the story; not long ago Gabriel had been "trembling with delight at her sudden kiss", I wonder if we could see such a pattern of highs followed by significant lows by doing a sentiment analysis on the stories in Dubliners. On the other hand, Gabriel strongly reminds me of Mr. Hammond in Mansfield's The Stranger, as his solicitude, anxiety regarding women, and overprotected-ness of his wife is emphasized several times throughout this story, and in the end a dead man also drives the wedge between the couple.