The women would have their tea at six o’clock and she would be able to get away before seven. From Ballsbridge to the Pillar, twenty minutes; from the Pillar to Drumcondra, twenty minutes; and twenty minutes to buy the things.
Based on having read the entire story, she seems like a character who must be very particular and have a lot of structure/order in their life, to the point that any deviation is extremely upsetting.
Everybody had a solution for the mystery and Mrs. Donnelly said it was plain that Maria had left it behind her in the tram.
Could it be that the gentleman stole the cake talking with Maria? If so, I wonder what that is supposed to symbolize...
Protestants
Following Joyce's running theme across the short stories, here is another reference to religion
“Come down, dear. Mr. Doran wants to speak to you.” Then she remembered what she had been waiting for.
This reminds me of the ends to several of the works by Mansfield, where a sentence or scene were stopped by the conclusion of the story, left incomplete as to give the reader the opportunity to interpret as they see fit.
For her only one reparation could make up for the loss of her daughter’s honour: marriage.
After having read the entire short story, it seems like this was Mrs. Mooney's plan all along for Polly, to marry up into a higher social class that is wealthier
She would put an end to herself, she said.
Another reference to the running theme of death across Joyce's stories, though this one does not actually involve the mentioned character dying.
Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.
Compared to work produced by Collins and Mansfield, the stories made by Joyce seem to have much more subtle messages rather than blatantly clear ones
I allowed the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket.
This part seems to reference or mirror the poem mentioned above, "The Arab's Farewell to his Steed", which is about someone selling a horse but changing their mind and returning the gold they got for the horse.
The former tenant of our house, a priest, had died in the back drawing-room
Seems like Joyce often uses themes related to death and religion (priests) across his short stories.
He said that there was nothing in this world he would like so well as that.
I think the author is subtly describing this creepy older man and how he is having inappropriate conversations with young boys. As someone correctly pointed out above, this would be very hard to linguistically analyze because the nuance and implication is something that is not easily picked up by any computer, but it can be identified by a human.
Poor James!
I wonder why she is repeating "Poor James" so many times. I understand saying it a couple of times, but it is repeatedly referenced. I wonder if this is supposed to hint at insincerity and a phrase to put up a facade.
And somewhere at the back of everything he was watching a little withered ancient man climbing up endless flights of stairs.
I think this might be Mr. Neave himself and the endless stairs might the countless hours he's put into building his business so he can provide for his family. The continuous daily struggle to run the business is akin to the endless flight of stairs.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” said old Mr. Neave.
I think this story exemplifies the case of a man who has worked so hard to provide for his family and be able to enjoy life. But in the process of trying to enjoy life, he's discovered that life has just passed him by.
As for his mother, his sisters, and the servants, it was not too much to say they made a young god of him
Seems like they boosted his ego to the point that it ended up being detrimental to himself and his work ethic. He believed he could do no wrong since he was perfect.
She didn’t even recognise him again.
This is interesting. Either she wanted to completely ignore him after their conversation or she was never really paying attention in the first place.
you can’t hope to last anything like as long as that
I think this fat man character might just be the personification for "don't judge a book by its cover" because everyone will become old and out of shape in the future. He is trying to say that not everything will stay superficially perfect in real life.
Floor’s not bad
Maybe I don't see the deeper meaning, but I wonder why everyone is talking about how nice the floor is...
And, laughing, in the new way, she ran down the stairs.
This was a sad ending because in a way, she not only betrayed William but also betrayed herself. She is cognizant of her cross-road decision to choose her friends or her husband, and by abandoning the letter, she chooses to become the worse version of herself.
He’s only staying until to-morrow evening.
I found this comment amusing. While William views these people as intruders, It's as if William is viewed as intruding and annoying despite the fact that he is the husband of Isabel.
if Isabel hadn’t gone with Moira to Paris—if—if...
Seems like this was the turning point in their relationship where William feels that Isabel changed for the worse into the new Isabel
While we waited she took out a little, gold powder-box with a mirror in the lid, shook the poor little puff as though she loathed it, and dabbed her lovely nose.
I wonder what the significance of the powder box is? I don't know at the moment, but it seems to be tied to her quiet, mentally aloof nature
“Don’t you think perhaps—” she began. But Josephine interrupted her. “I was wondering if now—” she murmured. They stopped; they waited for each other.
It's an interesting parallel that both this story and The Garden Party end on a thought that is incomplete and cut-off, meant to be interpreted by the reader.
The rest had been looking after father, and at the same time keeping out of father’s way.
It seems like the sisters endured much mental abuse from their father, and now, after his death, they are finally free from needing to cater to him.
You two girls had me buried!
Given that they are members of St. John's Church, I find it interesting that the father would be so opposed to a traditional burial. I wonder why...
It glared at them a moment and then... went out.
I wonder if the glare was meant for the sisters or for Nurse Andrews, given that she wouldn't leave and give them privacy.
Just to prove how happy she was, just to show the tall fellow how at home she felt, and how she despised stupid conventions, Laura took a big bite of her bread-and-butter as she stared at the little drawing. She felt just like a work-girl.
This feels like the author is trying to show how this family (and their friends) are very pampered and not aware of the real world. The way Laura acts and thinks in this situation shows that she wants to be more "normal" but has really has not experienced anything other then a well-off lifestyle
What did garden-parties and baskets and lace frocks matter to him?
It's interesting to see Laura come to the realization that these lavish garden parties and materialistic things really don't matter at the end of the day. He lived a simple lifestyle and now has escaped to a blissful rest. It reminds me of the quote from Harry Potter: "Don't pity the dead. Pity the living."
True, they were far too near.
This paragraph seems to highlight the vast divide yet short geographical distance between a community of comfort and that of poverty. The fact that this was described after the Garden Party description really highlights the stark differences between 2 different lifestyles
He put the Moonstone into his pocket.
I guess another clue (in hindsight) for the reader is that we never really heard Godfrey's narrative, which is suspicious given that he is such an important character in the story.
There is here, moral, if not legal, evidence, that the murder was committed by the Indians.
I wonder if there was an "innocent until proven guilty" stance in the courts at this time, and whether it applied to everyone. It seems like it is very likely that the words of Europeans would far outweigh the words of foreigners in the European courts, despite the lack of physical evidence
The misery of many years has not hardened my heart, thank God.
This is such a sad yet also heart-warming interaction. Mr. Jennings thinks so low of himself all the time, yet Rachel views the world in a positive way (at least from his perspective).
Mr. Candy informed me that he was going away for a fortnight, on a visit to a friend in the south of England.
Aside from Godfrey, I feel that Mr. Candy is the most suspicious character for me. He is continuously referenced here and there as being away from the situation, and he was the one who gave Franklin the opium.
You villain, I saw you take the diamond with my own eyes!
Why did Rachel not confront him much earlier about this? I understand that she didn't want to publicly expose him, but why not private question Franklin rather than just ignoring him and kicking him out of her life completely?
you will be sorry to hear that the little doctor has never recovered that illness he caught, going home from the birthday dinner
This fact seems to be repeatedly brought up again and again throughout the story after the event occurred. I wonder if it is significant for some reason...
Miss Verinder begs to decline entering into any correspondence with Mr. Franklin Blake
I am really confused as to why she suddenly became this angry at Franklin for helping out in the investigation
the law allows all Wills to be examined at Doctors’ Commons by anybody who applies, on the payment of a shilling fee
I found it odd that any random person can read a person's will, but I after some searching, I found out that this is still true in the United States as of today. After death, the will is filed in probate and becomes a public record!
which, in my experience of the fair sex, not one in a thousand of them is competent to do
This really goes to show the patriarchal structure of society at that time when Bruff automatically assumes that majority of women are not capable of taking care of their own properties
Oriental
This is interesting. I don't think I've ever seen/heard someone of South Asian descent be referred to as Oriental. Probably has to do with the fact that Europeans at that time probably didn't bother to distinguish the very different parts of Asia
We will not say this was the language of remorse–we will say it was the language of hysterics
I understand getting mad about a false accusation, but Rachel's degree of anger seems surprisingly spontaneous and excessive
When I had dropped another tract through the area railings, I felt relieved, in some small degree, of a heavy responsibility towards others.
Miss Clack seems to be depicted by the author as some sort of conservative, "holier than thou" woman that condescendingly looks down on others and seems to have a moral superiority complex
The person who answered the door, took my message in insolent silence, and left me standing in the hall. She is the daughter of a heathen old man named Betteredge–long, too long, tolerated in my aunt’s family.
It seems that Miss Clack, for some reason, knows and dislikes Betteredge. I wonder what happened between them in the past...
but that’s a secret which I mean to keep to myself.
The relationship between Betteredge and Cuff is truly a dynamic one! It never stays as totally cooperative or totally secretive, and it's always changing in complexity every time they interact
and they have no more to do with the actual loss of the jewel than you have
I find it interesting that Cuff said it this way. Though the conversation was about the Indians, the phrase "than you have" makes the sentence seem like a very mild accusation...
With that answer, she turned away, and shut herself up again in her bed-room.
I find it surprising and interesting that she is so upset and angry at Franklin who is only trying to help. I wonder what that could be about...
In all my experience along the dirtiest ways of this dirty little world, I have never met with such a thing as a trifle yet.
It seems like within this overarching story, there will a small rivalry between the Sergeant and the Superintendent. The author takes opportunities to show the brilliance of the Sergeant, possibly to draw a divide and oppose the two characters.
leading the dear creatures along the thorny ways of business
I suppose Mr. Godfrey likely viewed himself as a "savior" and "protector" for women in a self-righteous way, destined to liberate them. This gives me the same vibe as the sentiment express in Rudyard Kipling's poem, "White Man's Burden".
As for Mr. Franklin and Miss Rachel, they tortured nothing, I am glad to say.
I wonder what the purpose of the previous paragraph was. It seemed like a long way to make this point, and its goal is to just show the contrast. But why is the contrast relevant in the first place?
Here, for one moment, I find it necessary to call a halt.
The author's style of writing is quite multidimensional, from the narration/comments describing the storytelling to the actual storytelling itself, all across several different periods or instances in time.
We were not a happy couple, and not a miserable couple. We were six of one and half-a-dozen of the other.
This seems like a whirlwind of a relationship. Betteredge went from liking Selina to escaping from her to describing their relationship as indifferent. Possibly a reflection of his character?
And I declare, on my word of honour, that what I am now about to write is, strictly and literally, the truth.
I wonder why a statement like this is made in the way it is, especially so early in the text. It seems like there was possibly distrust amongst members of the family