In "The Boarding house," we discover disappointment connected to two characters, Polly and Mr. Doran. In this story, disappointment is wrapped up with victimization and manipulation. Mrs. Mooney is the one holding the cards in this game and she is determined to see that her daughter does not suffer for the sake of a man. Mr. Doran becomes her victim Mrs. Mooney deals with her own misery. While Polly is accustomed to having her way with the men of the boarding house, her mother is intent on her having some semblance of a good life. Mr. Doran is a victim of circumstance. He happens to be at the proverbial wrong place at the wrong time and ends up paying for it - perhaps for the rest of his life. We read, "There must be reparation made in such case. It is all very well for the man... But the girl has to bear the brunt" (Joyce Boarding House). Here we see that practically everything is sacrificed for honor - including happiness. We know that he felt guilt over what happened between Polly and himself but we do not know if he would have gone as far as he did without a little persuasion. Clearly, Polly and her mother have seized the opportunity but they have missed a crucial point, which is the happily ever after that we all seek when we think of living our lives with someone else. Here, we see disappointment crouched in manipulation and we can assume that Mr. Doran will be unhappy and we can be almost as certain that Polly will be, too. Polly has hopes of a bright future and that is indeed how Joyce chooses to end the story, but those hopes are shrouded in Mr. Doran's bad luck.

We often hear that art reflects life and when we read these...

James Joyce captures the unpleasant reality of disappointment to emphasize that relationships and people are not what we want them to be and certainly not what they appear to be. Life is full of disappointments and one of the greatest is the failure of the elusive "happily ever after" ending in life. "Araby," "Eveline," and "The Boarding House" prove this point. In various stages of life, we must face the reality that things might not go as we had hoped. The narrator in "Araby learns this lesson early in life. In "Eveline," we find that Eveline throws her opportunity away because she is afraid. Her "happily ever after" sails away without her. In "The Boarding House," we see that manipulation is part of the equation for Mr. Doran's shot at happiness. Joyce uses three very different settings to emphasize that regardless of where we are or where we come from, relationships often lead to failure and disappointment. All of these stories end with an image of a character lost and swimming in disappointment. We should not see this as a reason to stop trying; we should only realize that reality finds its way to us sooner or later.
Works Cited

Joyce, James. "Araby." Online Literature Database. Information Retrieved Accessed October 12, 2008. http://www.online-literature.com/james_joyce/954/

The Boarding House." Online Literature Database. Information Retrieved Accessed October 12, 2008. http://www.online-literature.com/james_joyce/955/

Eveline." Online Literature Database. Information Retrieved Accessed October 12, 2008. http://www.online-literature.com/james_joyce/959/