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The Unconscious Struggle for Human Existence According to philosopher Karl Marx, humans are "slaves to historical necessity and their thought and thinking are rigidly determined by the mode of production" (Beer xxii). This view of historical materialism asserts that the culture, political, and government systems of a given people derive from the material conditions of their existence. Thus, "life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life" (Reader 155). In the short story, "The Boarding House", James Joyce uses Mrs. Mooney to illustrate how the "blind forces" of economic materialism determine our existence and causally result in our living by a false consciousness.
The prevailing economic condition in Dublin, Ireland determines Mrs. Mooney's disposition in running her boarding house. Because of the destructive potato famine, a good portion of the city's men have fled in search of work elsewhere, leaving behind a surplus of women desperately searching for companions. Due to the lack of men, Mrs. Mooney is under more pressure to get her young, daughter Polly married and eliminate the possibility of her ending up an old maid. Reflecting the present economic ideology, Mrs.
Mooney understands that her ultimate goal is to get Polly "off of her hands" and to see that she is provided with some financial stability. Marxian language justifies Mrs. Mooney's behavior because, "Ideas are simply the ideological reflexes and echoes of one's material life-process" (Ideology 14). She first sends Polly to be a typist in a corn-factor's office in hopes that the well-off boss will grow fond of her and possibly wed her. When this option fails, she sets Polly, her bait, to do work at the boarding house, "giving her the run of the men" (Joyce 72). Mrs.
Mooney's position as owner of the house is an asset in her quest for Polly's husband, in that it puts Polly in the path of a plethora of well-to-do men. Joyce illustrates the control of human materialism by illustrating Mrs. Mooney's determination to see Polly betrothed to a man with sound assets. Mrs.
Mooney latches on to Mr. Doran when she discovers this quality in him. Mrs. Mooney governs her house "cunningly and firmly", constantly weeding out the candidates who did not "mean business" with Polly, and searching for the one who did.
Mrs. Mooney dangles Polly like bait in front of the men, scoping out the one with promising intentions. Her behavior echoes Marxian ideology, in that "it is not the consciousness of one that determines his existence, but rather it is his social existence that determines his consciousness" (Beer ix) Mrs. Mooney's imposing position and behavior are derived from her present position in the economy. The economic condition also controls Mrs.
Mooney's optimistic views in handling Mr. Doran. Furthering his perfect attributes for being a husband, Mooney "knew he had a good screw for one thing and she suspected he had a bit of stuff put by" (Joyce 76). Mrs. Mooney realizes that publicity of Duran's action for Mr. Doran would mean the risk of him losing his job and the taint of his well established, pious character.
Marx can explain why Doran agrees more with reparation due to his promising, economic position. In this time of economic repression, Mr. Doran knows he can not quit one job and easily find another. This is further evidence of the power of materialism that governs human lives. Doran values his monetary rank so that he sacrifices every subjective influence. "A serious, not rakish young man", Mr.
Doran deeply respects his job as a Catholic wine merchant and fears what wrath his employer Mr. Leonard would leash upon him if his action were to go public. Reflecting Marxian ideology, "a man's consciousness changes with every change in the conditions of his material existence, in his social relations and in his social life" (Beer 30). Mr. Doran claims that in his youth he had been radical in his thinking, and had "sown his wild oats" (Joyce 76).
But now, since his mode of production shifted from student to religious merchant, his ideals and idiosyncrasies had shifted as well. He now was respected and stoutly pious. He is tormented by the idea that one mistake could ruin all of the diligence and hard work put into establishing his character. Both Mrs. Mooney and Mr. Doran know that if Doran runs away from this problem, he is sure to lose "his sit", whereas if he agrees to the reparation "all might be well" (76).
Mr. Doran experiences a battle with his own false consciousness when his reality is struggling with his love for Polly. In reality, his family would look down upon a marriage to a girl with unpolished grammar, a disreputable father, and a mother who's boarding house was acquiring a "certain fame" (77). His false consciousness combats this view with him claiming that grammar would not matter if he really loved her. He could not completely despise her for her actions for he committed just as vile a deed as well. His reality, in the form of the "memory of the celibate", reminds him that Polly lured him into the situation (77).
However, "the instinct of the celibate", warning him not to marry her, is overpowered by his false consciousness sin. As Marx would relate, "humans are so much the creatures of ideology that they are incapable of seeing it even when it is pointed out to them" (Beer xxiii). Doran is such the "creature of ideology" that even though it is evident that he has been suckered into this situation, he feels he has sinned and will pay for it. Clearly, in reality, Joyce implies that his action was not sinful and he should not have to pay for it with the rest of his like.
Through the combined images of the Sunday morning "circus-like" congregation, Mrs. Mooney's servant Mary, and the alter-like table with the allusion of the broken bread to the body of Christ, Joyce emphasizes how through religious aspects, people are controlled by materialism. Another economic condition that controls Mrs. Mooney's inclinations is her position as a "determined woman" (71).
Mrs. Mooney has ideas that she wishes to implement and will eliminate every obstacle that averts her purpose. In order to get Polly "off of her hands", she has to be manipulative in her society (76). Because society strongly disagrees with women being butchers, or having any means to a decent income for the matter, Mrs. Mooney is forced to take her money and upper hand position and invest in her own business. Joyce's juxtaposition of Mr.
Mooney, the "shabby stooped little drunkard", to Mrs. Mooney, "the imposing, Madam", further elucidates Mrs. Mooney's determination to provide Polly with a husband and desire to order her world. Echoing the Marxist creed, the ideology of Mrs.
Mooney's time is simply "the will of class made into a law for all, a will whose essential character and direction are determined by the economic conditions of existence of one's class" (Beer 27). Women are not allowed to have good positions with high incomes. Their ultimate desire to acquire a husband along with their will to please him reflects their inferior economic position. Furthermore, "their conditions of existence are predestined, and hence have their position in life and their personal development assigned to them by their class, become subsumed under it" (Ideology 179). Polly is predestined to seek a husband because she's a woman and fits into the inferior economic role.
Mrs. Mooney's role as a butcher's daughter causally effects the way she handles the quest for Polly's mate. Being such a daugther, she has grown accustomed to preventing emotions from interfering with her duties, and has acquired a strong, business-like attitude to all subjective affairs. This is revealed likening marriage to a "business", negating love as being an influential factor (Joyce 72). Neither subtle nor understanding, "she dealt with moral problems as a clever deals with meat" (74).
When Polly gets pregnant, Mrs. Mooney fails to consider Mr. Doran's pains and jumps to the conclusion that Doran is at fault and the two must be married at once. "Evident by the decisive expression of h...
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