Joyce Guinness, rashers, and slatterns, rather than wine women and song

Women are the best of a bad, all too human collection of Irish characters in Dubliners

James Joyce, an Irish modernist of the early 20th century, took a deflationary but compassionate view of the sexual urges both men and women over the course of his collection of short stories Dubliners. However, although he took a dim view of both men and women of the Irish nationality, men came in for his harsher judgment. At first glance, in stories such as "Two Gallants" and "The Boarding House," it may seem as if Joyce balanced his view of predatory males intent upon snaring females with predatory females desiring to 'catch' a man. Yet, ultimately female compassion and insight into the physical realm of existence gave them some moral elevation over their male counterparts, even in "The Boarding House."

The predatory nature of Mrs. Mooney in the boarding house is motivated to protect her daughter, while the actions of the two young men in "Two Gallants" is merely spiteful and cruel, designed to sustain the pleasure of the moment, than to create a long-term means of sustenance in the form of marriage.

Of course it is true in the Dublin of Joyce's creation that at times, intense female sensuality (both in the sense of the female connection to the sensual life of food and drink as well as sex) can make it seem as though the intellectual Joyce views women negatively, as merely physical creatures. But in actuality, although Joyce does view this aspect of female life with occasional irony and humor, he ultimately sees what he considers as a particularly female attribute as an example of women's greater...

"As Polly was very lively the intention was to give her the run of the young men. Besides, young men like to feel that there is a young woman not very far away."
Thus it is clear that unlike women, men have the luxury of frittering away their sensuality and enjoying their physical life in a casual fashion, because their livelihood and future monetary security does not depend upon this -- as reflected in Joyce's choice of word 'business' regarding marriage, and the fact that all of the women of this story make their living by performing acts regarding the basic other human necessities of providing food and shelter, of cooking and cleaning.

The necessity of women to be more careful about their desires does not mean that female desire for sexual intercourse is less, but rather women must be more cagey about bestowing their favors, because of social constrictions upon female roles. When they appear to be predatory, it is for a reason, such as to give their daughters good marriages, rather than out of animal instincts. This thesis is confirmed in "Two Gallants," where Corley uses his wiles to extricate a shiny coin from a young woman, clearly symbolic not only of her virginity, but also the financial security she has frittered away with the disreputable character. She has sacrificing her reputation by association with him, and…