Counterparts

Read an earlier chapter from Dubliners titled “Araby” and describe the unnamed narrator’s epiphany at the end of the story. How does the boy’s epiphany compare to Farrington’s?

Why do you think Joyce’s editors objected to the content of “Counterparts”? What were some of the primary institutions or ideologies that would’ve objected to his work and why?

What are the benefits of Joyce choosing to write about censored content in a country under strict religious and colonial rule? What are the risks?

Joyce uses slang and local vernacular in his dialogue. What are the benefits of understanding these words as a contemporary reader?

Joyce’s stories often give only a glimpse into the lives of their characters. What are the parts of Farrington’s life that are not included in this story? How does choosing to represent a single day of his life contribute to the story’s themes?

What is the purpose of mixing Tom’s offers of prayer with Farrington’s violence in the final scene of the story?

Several characters are described as English or Northern Irish (a remaining Irish colony of England), but Farrington never explicitly condemns them for this; he supposedly dislikes them due to other issues. What is a potential reason Joyce would choose to approach the presence of non-Irish Catholics in this subtextual way? What are the impacts on the story?

Write a scene from Farrington’s wife’s point of view. If Dublin society restricts the agency of its men, how might the women also be confined by society’s expectations?