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“A horde of grimy children populated the street. They stood or ran in the roadway or crawled up the steps before the gaping doors or squatted like mice upon the thresholds. Little Chandler gave them no thought. He picked his way deftly through all that minute vermin-like life and under the shadow of the gaunt spectral mansions in which the old nobility of Dublin had roystered.”
Little Chandler has to walk down a bustling Dublin street in order to meet Gallaher at the bar. As he walks, he observes the activity and sights around him. He regards Dublin’s poor with obvious disdain and characterizes them as creatures as opposed to human beings. He also notes the looming presence of Dublin’s wealthy elite. As a result, this passage effectively provides a summation of the Dublin streets and the class divisions that contribute to the story’s setting.
“The light and noise of the bar held him at the doorways for a few moments. He looked about him, but his sight was confused by the shining of many red and green wine-glasses. The bar seemed to him to be full of people and he felt that the people were observing him curiously. He glanced quickly to right and left (frowning slightly to make his errand appear serious), but when his sight cleared a little he saw that nobody had turned to look at him.”
The bar in question is the lofty establishment that Gallaher requests that he and Little Chandler meet for a drink. Earlier in the short story, Little Chandler expresses excitement at the prospect of going to a bar that is frequented by upper class Dubliners. However, once he arrives, he feels self-conscious. Joyce’s references to swirling colors and crowds of people gives the setting a claustrophobic tone that highlights Little Chandler’s extreme discomfort and makes him look like an outsider.
“Little Chandler sat in the room off the hall, holding a child in his arms. To save money they kept no servant but Annie’s young sister Monica came for an hour or so in the morning and an hour or so in the evening to help… A little lamp with a white china shade stood upon the table and its light fell over a photograph which was enclosed in a frame of crumpled horn. It was Annie’s photograph.”
This passage occurs at the very end of the story after Little Chandler has returned home from the bar. The passive, uninterested manner with which Joyce describes Little Chandler’s home highlights the apathy and resentment that Little Chandler has for his domestic life. Joyce’s use of the word “little” is especially significant because it makes the space feel claustrophobic and restricting. It also anticipates Little Chandler’s panicked thought that he will never be able to escape his “little house” in a few lines.
