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James Joyce’s “The Sisters” follows a young, unnamed boy from Dublin as he comes to terms with the death of a priest named Father Flynn. Father Flynn’s passing has an intense impact on the narrator because Father Flynn used to be his mentor. However, over the course of the text, readers can determine that there was an unsettling side to their relationship that the narrator is unable to fully make sense of. “The Sisters” is also the first short story in Dubliners and, as a result, it establishes many of the collection's key themes and subjects such as religion, paralysis, memory, and the dead’s hold on the living.
“The Sisters” opens with an image of a Dubliner gazing through a window and reflecting on a dilemma. Such a symbol appears throughout the collection, and here it is particularly important because it draws attention to the narrative point of view. “The Sisters” is the first of three stories in the collection told in first-person point of view. As in the other two stories, “An Encounter” and “Araby,” the narrator never divulges his name and rarely participates in the conversations. The opening image of the window in the first paragraph reinforces this sense of quiet, detached observation, which the narrators of the later stories adopt. Through this narrative technique Joyce suggests that even first-hand experience is in some ways voyeuristic, and that it’s possible for a person to observe their own life from the outside.
The narrator peers through Father Flynn’s window because he is looking for the two candles that will signify Father Flynn’s passing. Father Flynn has just been paralyzed by his third stroke and the narrator is simultaneously disturbed at the thought of Father Flynn’s impending death and intrigued by Father Flynn’s paralyzed state. He is, however, confused as to why he feels this way. This initial moment of ambiguity sets the stage for the rest of the text in which Joyce will routinely present the reader with just enough information so that they will form their own suspicions about the relationship between Father Flynn and the narrator, but never enough so that the reader knows the full story.
In the text’s inciting incident, a family friend named Old Cotter arrives for supper and delivers the news that Father Flynn has finally passed. Before he delivers the news, the narrator hears him say, “No, I wouldn’t say he was exactly ... but there was something queer ... there was something uncanny about him. I’ll tell you my opinion....” Although no name is given, readers can assume that Old Cotter is talking about Father Flynn and his shady habits. Many interpret this line as an implication that Old Cotter was a pedophile. The narrator is keenly aware that all of the adults in the room will want to see his reaction after Old Cotter announces Father Flynn’s passing, so he makes an effort to appear neutral and simply eats in silence.
The rising action comprises the narrator’s complex reaction to Father Flynn’s death. Given their close relationship, one would typically assume, under normal circumstances, that a student would be saddened by his instructor’s death. However, the memory of Father Flynn haunts his nightmares instead of bringing him peace; he feels a new sense of freedom after Father Flynn dies instead of mourning the man who took such a special interest in him, and his positive memories of Father Flynn are infused with moments of disgust and domination. The most important example occurs when Father Flynn’s apparitional form tries to “confess” something to the narrator in his nightmare that the narrator cannot remember when he wakes up. All of these examples draw on the ambiguous nature of memory which contributes to the text’s ominous and sinister tone. The reader can sense that Father Flynn is a malevolent figure but the details are always just out of reach.
The narrator and his aunt go to pay their respects and, in the climax of the short story, the narrator finally sees Father Flynn’s corpse. The narrator’s attention to detail as he describes the body is connected to Father Flynn’s physical presence which lingers throughout the story, coloring the narrator’s experience of dealing with death and illustrating how death interrupts normal human activities. Father Flynn plays a fleshly role in the story. When Father Flynn dies, the narrator continues to think of his physical presence, particularly the lurid way in which his tongue rested on his lip, and dreams of his face. Such bizarre physical images evoke the corporeality of death.
As the narrator gazes at Father Flynn’s body, he finds himself unable to pray. He blames his silence on too much background noise but his inability to pray signals a disconnect with both religion and Father Flynn himself. As the falling action commences, Father Flynn’s sisters provide some anecdotes about their brother’s final days. These examples, such as dropping a chalice and laughing alone in a confession booth, reveal Father Flynn’s mental and religious deterioration. The narrator is notably silent throughout the falling action portion of the text, reinforcing the text’s ambiguous tone and forcing the reader to draw their own final conclusions.
