Gabriel Conroy Vs Mr. Duffy
Gabriel is the last protagonist in the Dubliners; he has the same level of intelligence as the rest of the protagonists in the other Dubliners. He is well educated and he earns his living from his intelligence and education as a law professor and book reviewer. Mr. Duffy is a bank cashier he is predictable and lacks adventure. He follows the same routine daily. He is lonely since he does not have much of a social life. These are two very different people but they are similar in some ways and different in others.
Some of these similarities are; they both have some form of antisocial behavior. Gabriel has a short temper, acute class-consciousness and social awkwardness. This shows that he had trouble getting along properly with people. Mr. Duffy on the other hand is a loner who does not like to socialize. He is independent and self-sufficient hence he does most things by himself and for himself.
Both Gabriel and James Duffy have complex relationships with the women in their lives. Gabriel is unable to interact comfortably with his wife, the house help and his attempts often become awkward or offensive. James Duffy is afraid of an emotional connection with Mrs. Sinico, a woman that he met at a Dublin concert. Their friendship blossoms into something beautiful but once Mrs. Sinico makes a pass at him, he deems it as inappropriate behavior since she is married and decides to cut off all communication and contact between him and his woman friend.
Gabriel and Duffy are both intellectuals. This comes out where he earns a living from his job as a professor and a book reviewer. This also revealed when he recalls the immense collection of poetry books on his shelves. James Duffy is also an intellectual. His discussions with his woman friend Mrs. Sinico at her house or wherever else they met usually revolved around their intellectual interests like books, politics, music and poetry.
James and Gabriel have cold and deeply impersonal characters. In both cases, their love interests are able to soften the up a little. In Mr. Duffy’s case, as he grows closer to Mrs. Sinico, the sharing of their mutual interests gradually softens James’ character. In Gabriel’s case, his wife Greta inspires fondness and tenderness in him but all he feels towards her is mastery.
Another similarity between Duffy and Gabriel is that they have the chances and opportunities to be happy, they take them for granted, and thus they lose their opportunity. This is the case in Duffy’s life because he had the chance to fall in love with Mrs. Sinico but when things started to get serious with her he broke it off due to his closed off nature. After Mrs. Sinico’s death he it finally dawns on him that he made a colossal mistake by breaking things off with her. His realization that he lost the companionship of a wonderful woman makes him feel utterly alone in the world.
At the end of each man’s story, they both take a long hard look at their lives. Mrs. Sinico’s death causes a lot of grief to James Duffy. She is only able to reveal to him his cycle of loneliness. He realizes that he broke her heart, which caused her death, and guilt consumes him. The sad part is even after this shocking and startling revelation, he might not change his lifestyle because he is cant get out of it. Conroy on the other hand reflects on his life and sees a greater purpose for himself and his role as a human being.
Apart from their similarities, James Duffy and Gabriel Conroy have differences too. Although both of them are anti social, Conroy makes an effort to interact with other people. The fact that he is married is evidence enough that he at least tries to be social. He also gets along with his aunts who see him as a family man. Although his attempts to socialize with the help and his wife may be completely awkward and embarrassing they are never the less attempts. Duffy on the other hand, does not attempt to be social. He is a loner and he does not seem to mind it. It is by sheer luck or coincidence that he manages to socialize with Mrs. Sinico with her young daughter because they meet in subsequent concerts. Conroy is married while Duffy is not married.
Duffy has never had a spontaneous moment in his life. He is very organized and he does everything by the book. His daily routine is the same for example, he eats in the same restaurants day in day out and makes the same daily commute. Conroy had a spontaneous moment in the dead. For the first time he speaks, his mind and does not think about the words before he says them. This happens while he dances with Miss Ivors. She wonders why he does not want to travel through Ireland but to other countries. He blurts out that he is sick of his own country. This makes him the only character to express his dissatisfaction with living in Ireland.
These stories portray these characters as protagonists. It is not fair that they have no positive traits about them. Duffy ought to have a chance to redeem himself after learning a harsh lesson but he is not. It ends tragically for him as he loses the love of his life due to a mistake.
