The Illumination Of The Frustration In Dubliners

Frustration is an emotional state of loss and futility of achievements. JamesJoyce has revealed a strong sense of pervasive frustration in Dubliners. Thefrustration in Dubliners is expressed in mainly three perspectives: Frustration underthe Colonial Rule in Dubliners, Frustration in Irish Religion, and the Frustration inDublin’s spiritual life. During the period of the British colonial rule, Dubliners wereliving under sovereignty subjugation, but most of the characters in Dubliners acceptedthis kind of living and none of them rebelled, which is the embodiment of Joyce’stheme of spiritual paralysis in the national independence. The sense of frustration isalso shown in the depiction of the Roman Catholic Church. All kinds of clergies in thenovel were in alienation, loss and even death, which profoundly reveal the corruptionand people’s frustration towards Irish Catholic Church. Furthermore none of theprotagonists in the fifteen stories of Dubliners had attained any goals, and made greatachievements or realized their dreams. These frustrated characters were living in a seaof hopelessness, alienation and futility.With frustration pervading in the city of Dublin and among the characters inDubliners, James Joyce reveals profoundly the theme of spiritual paralysis.With the help of the modernist literature theory, this paper illustrates thefrustrations in the Dubliners through the study of spaces and scenes in Dubliners todisclose the theme of spiritual paralysis.