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The Word “Little”
The short story’s title is “A Little Cloud.” The protagonist’s nickname is “Little Chandler.” It is no surprise, then, that the word “little” is used 56 times throughout “A Little Cloud.” 39 of these instances specifically refer to the nickname “Little Chandler.” The remaining 17 examples are used to describe other things in Little Chandler’s life such as his build, the room where he works, his house, a lamp in his sitting room, the amount of liquor that he drinks, and many more. Clearly, Joyce wanted to place an emphasis on smallness in this particular Dubliners tale. Little Chandler, as we learn at the start of the text, is not an unusually small man. However, he earned his nickname because his timid nature and slightly below-average height give him the appearance of a man that is much smaller than he actually is. “Littleness” is part of Little Chandler’s identity. He may not be physically small, but he does feel small because he does not think that he has lived up to his potential. The repeated use of the word “little” subtly highlights this deep-rooted insecurity. The most revealing example occurs at the very end of the text when Annie returns home and tries to soothe her crying son while murmuring “My little man! My little mannie! Was ’ou frightened, love?... There now, love! There now!... Lambabaun! Mamma’s little lamb of the world!... There now!” Here, Annie uses the same adjective to describe their helpless infant that everyone uses to describe Little Chandler, something that is particularly emasculating.
References to Alcohol and Drunkenness
Many of the short stories in Dubliners include references to alcohol and drunkenness, and “A Little Cloud” is no exception. At the start of the short story, Little Chandler is very excited to meet his old friend at a bar. Joyce references alcohol and inebriation many times once the pair sits at the bar, beginning with Gallaher’s lengthy order for him and Little Chandler. Little Chandler immediately tells his friend that he only wants a half-one because he “drink[s] very little as a rule.” However, by the end of their stay, both men consume three glasses of whiskey each. After consuming the three glasses, Little Chandler feels “warm,” “excited,” and that the drinks have “gone to his head.”
In some of the short stories in Dubliners, such as “Counterparts,” alcohol represents the source of the characters’ problems. In others, such as “Eveline” and “A Boarding House,” it represents the negative impact that someone’s vices can have on another person. The significance of alcohol and drunkenness in “A Little Cloud” does not fit neatly into either category. Instead, Little Chandler’s increasingly inebriated state represents the lack of agency that Little Chandler experiences in his daily life. Little Chandler wanted to be a writer but he became a clerk. He wants to read poetry at home but he is self conscious to do so in front of his wife. Like a person who has succumbed to drunkenness, Little Chandler exists in a suspended state and does not have any control over his actions.
