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Dysfunction ally Together It is very common in today s society for families to have many dysfunctions. Many modern day people just assume that the theory of dysfunctional families is a characteristic of the new industrial age. However, as we read in James Joyce s, The Boarding House, families of the early 1900 s had many of the same problems that families have today. In various studies, the conclusion is discovered that most of the common marriages end in divorce.
Along with separation, many of these families have children that are left in between their mother and father. Today a divorce is not only common, but not too extremely hard to come by. Yet in Mrs. Mooney s case, she had to go to the priest and get a separation with the care of her children. Since religion played a major role in society, and a divorce was simply a last resort in Catholicism, a separation was the best she could do. We can see a similarity here because in most separations or divorces, the mother generally cares for the children, however the difference in their days is that she had to go to see a priest for a separation rather than filing for a divorce and seeing a judge.
Like many women of the twenty-first century society, Mrs. Mooney was independent and instead of feeling sorry for herself that she had to separate her family and raise her kids alone, she started a business and moved on with her life. Nevertheless, Mrs. Mooney did care for her children and housed them, but like the characteristics we would assume a father would have, she wants to form her children s lives and make sure that they are stable and secure.
Jack Mooney seemed to have security in his mother s eye. He had a well-suited job and took care of himself. His sister, Polly, on the other hand, was not yet secured. Although she was only nineteen, her mother was still ready for her to find a husband and begin to make her life. Polly s mother went to extra measures to help her daughter find a mate, but as the story reads, Mrs. Mooney was more concerned with her daughter s stability and reputation rather than her daughter s feelings.
Many bachelor s resided at Mrs. Mooney s boarding house. They would pay her fifteen shillings per week, and she would provide them a bed at night and supper. Boarding houses were very common in the early twentieth century, but are rare now. Housing these men helped Mrs. Mooney to keep her life stable with enough left to care for her children.
Polly, the beautiful nineteen-year-old daughter of the house, was very flattered by having all of these men around to flirt with. Although she would always tease the young bachelors, her mother never took an interest until Mr. Doran. Mr. Doran was perceived as a middle-class, well-suited male bachelor. He had all the things needed for the happiness and stability for Polly, in her mother s eye.
So with Mrs. Mooney s confidence in his greatness, she let Polly and Mr. Doran emerge their relationship in her household from a mere puppy love. In a way, deception is seen through Mrs. Mooney, because she kind of played her cards with the young men that had caught Polly s eye, both when Mr. Dorn showed interest, she stepped back as if she was just the audience.
It is stunning for us, the young modern adults to see how deception was also a characteristic of the earlier times. If you asked a typical person today what they thought life was like back in the early 1900 s, you would probably hear the same thing that has been said for years. Most of us think that during those days, you were raised by a mother and father in strict homes, then your father found someone for you to marry, whether you were male or female. However, after reading James Joyce s, The Boarding House, it is clear that families back then had some of the same characteristics as well as dysfunctions that we see today.
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Research essay sample on Mother And Father James Joyce
