After the Race by James Joyce
In After the Race by James Joyce we have the theme of money, status, class, politics and paralysis. Taken from his Dubliners collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unknown narrator and very early on in the story Joyce appears to be exploring the theme of paralysis. As the cars are at ‘the crest of the hill at Inchicore,’ Joyce describes Inchicore (suburb in Dublin) as being a ‘channel of poverty and inaction.’ This may be significant as Joyce could be comparing the status of Inchicore or Ireland as a country in general with the fast paced speed of the foreign cars that are racing through the suburb. If anything he may be suggesting that unlike Europe, which at the time the story was written would having been developing at a very fast pace, Ireland on the other hand remained static or paralysed. Later in the story the reader will also realise that Joyce is using the nationalities of the characters in the story to also suggest a paralysis among the Irish, particularly among the main character Jimmy Doyle.
It is also noticeable early in the story that Jimmy is in some ways disconnected from the other characters in the story, particularly the Frenchman, Ségouin. This is noticeable while Jimmy is sitting at the back of the car, listening to Ségouin and Riviére talking. He is unable to fully understand what they are saying. There is also a sense that Ségouin’s friendship with Jimmy may be based merely on the fact that Jimmy’s father is prepared to invest in Ségouin’s new business venture (car dealership). Jimmy’s father is also a significant character in the story. The reader learns that when he was younger Mr Doyle was a Nationalist. However he modified his views as his business grew and he began to have dealings with the police, gaining contracts. These dealings with the police are significant because at the time Dubliners was written, Ireland would have been under British rule and it would have been believed that a nationalist should not collaborate with the British. Mr Doyle also sent Jimmy to Cambridge to study, this is also significant as it suggests that Mr Doyle has abandoned his nationalist beliefs of promoting all things Irish.
There is also some symbolism in the story which is significant. There is the title of the story. Joyce may be using the title as a metaphor to describe the race that was carried out in the nineteenth century to exert control over the world. Two of the main players in this race would have been the British and French and the fact that the car race is won by a French driver may suggest that Joyce is alluding to the political race for global control and the subsequent success of the French. Also Ségouin and Riviére are French and though they do not win the race, they are in control of the car while Jimmy sits in the back, no more than a passenger. Other symbolism in the story would be when Ségouin introduces Jimmy to some of the other competitors in the race, Jimmy notices the ‘line of white shining teeth,’ of one of the French competitors. Again this is significant as Joyce has used teeth, particularly yellow teeth, in other stories from Dubliners to suggest decay and paralysis. The freshness and cleanliness of the French competitor’s teeth may suggest a vibrancy that does not exist for the Irish, who Joyce symbolises as paralysed throughout Dubliners. It is also possible that Joyce may be alluding to the fact that France is a success because it is a Republic, which Ireland at the time Joyce wrote Dubliners wasn’t. Joyce may also be using symbolism through the character Routh. Routh is an Englishman and the fact that he wins in the card game at the end of the story and Jimmy is one of the main losers, may suggest or mirror Britain’s beating of, or control over Ireland at the time.
There is also further symbolism in the story which is noteworthy. Farley’s yacht is anchored at Kingstown. In essence it is going nowhere, which in turn mirrors Jimmy’s plight. He has lost all his money, is unsure of how much he owes the others and is left at the end of the story with his elbows on the table and his hands holding his sore head. Jimmy’s physical appearance at the end of the story is significant as it suggests defeat. Again Joyce may be suggesting that Ireland too has been defeated.
It is also interesting that while Jimmy is on Farley’s yacht, he makes a speech but can’t remember what he has said. This is significant as it suggests the lack of conviction or depth that lies within Jimmy. He believes, like Mr Doyle, that money and class are more important than character. It is also possible that now Jimmy has lost all his money, he will be abandoned by the others, no longer acceptable to them. Also at no stage has Jimmy lead the way in the story, if anything he appears to be tagging along on the coat tails of those he thinks are successful and again this success is based on monetary wealth. Jimmy, just like his father has abandoned all nationalist beliefs and Joyce may be holding a mirror to the Irish themselves, suggesting that they too, had abandoned the idea of an independent republic.
The race was won by a German car driven by a Belgian driver, the French came in 2nd and 3rd… But the public was sympathetic to the blue French cars. Although the cars were French, Riviére was Canadian, Villona was Hungarian and Séguoin was the only real Frenchman.
Ireland had been defeated by many countries and although the French were their friends, the French had been helped by or they needed the help of others to gain wealth and prosperity whilst Ireland was at a stand-still and all by itself….
Thanks for that insight John.
It seems that inspiration for this story came when Joyce interviewed Henri Fournier, a parisian racing champion and car dealer who was preparing for the 1903 Gordon Bennett cup, which was later held in Ireland. Indeed, the winning car was German (with a Belgian driver) and the French placed 2 and 3. Source: “The critical writings of James Joyce”, Chapter 7, The Motor Derby.
Thanks for that insight Matt.
Interesting, too, is the countries of origin of the four men in the car in the context of their respective levels of independence and the freedom that Ireland aspired to.
France, a completely independent republic, and the source of inspiration for Irish Republicanism, the movement fighting for total independence from Britain.
Then Hungary, less free, being part of the Austrian-Empire and under the same Austrian monarch, but with its own peerage and nobility and an independent parliament. Hungary was at the time being presented by the then Sinn Fein as a possible template for Ireland.
Less free again – Canada, which since 1867 had been a dominion of Britain, but with its own parliament.
Then last and very much least, Jimmy’s Ireland, which no legislative or administrative independence whatsoever.
Ireland had been toying with the domination Canada and the double-monarchy Hungarian models, and of course the Republic was the goal of the Fenians and the IRB at the time Joyce wrote his story. But always division and hesitation frustrated these efforts, and in Joyce’s day, Ireland looked set to remain a very poor and backward province of Britain.
Thanks for that great insight Noel.