When Little Chandler and Gallaher are having dinner, Gallaher tells stories of his life as a journalist living abroad, such as traveling to places like Paris and Berlin. When sharing with Little Chandler about his time in Paris, Gallaher includes an allusion to the Moulin Rouge:
– I’ve been to the Moulin Rouge, Gallaher Gallaher continued when the barman had removed their glasses, and I’ve been to all the Bohemian cafés. Hot stuff! Not for a pious chap like you, Tommy.
The Moulin Rouge is a famous cabaret (or theatrical performance involving a combination of music, dance, and drama) in Paris that opened in 1889. At the time that Joyce published “A Little Cloud” (in 1914), the Moulin Rouge was associated with sex work, as many “courtesans” operated from the location. Gallaher’s reference to the Moulin Rouge—as well as his comment that it is “not for a pious chap like you, Tommy”—is his way of insinuating that he has been paying women for sex. His reference to going to “Bohemian cafés” is also Gallaher’s way of telling Little Chandler that he has been participating in using alcohol and drugs in a particular artistic subculture in Paris.
It is notable that, while Gallaher is attempting to flaunt his connections to an exciting art scene, these references to the Moulin Rouge and Bohemian cafes lead Little Chandler to view him as vulgar and crass. They indicate to Little Chandler that Gallaher's seemingly successful and glamorous life may not be exactly as it seems.
When Little Chandler is walking to meet Gallaher for dinner, he reflects on his desire to become a well-known Irish poet, alluding to the Irish Literary Revival in the process:
The English critics, perhaps, would recognise him as one of the Celtic school by reason of the melancholy tone of his poems; besides that, he would put in allusions. He began to invent sentences and phrases from the notice which his book would get. Mr Chandler has the gift of easy and graceful verse....A wistful sadness pervades these poems...The Celtic note.
When Joyce describes how Little Chandler envisions being recognized “as one of the Celtic school,” he is alluding to the Irish Literary Revival (also called “the Celtic twilight”), a movement during which Irish writers crafted stories and poems that included references to traditional Celtic culture. As Little Chandler notes in a somewhat flippant tone, many of these works featured a “melancholy” or wistful tone ("the Celtic note"), usually related to a longing for the rich culture of Ireland before English colonization.
While Little Chandler has a moment of optimism about his future—hearing in his mind the positive feedback he would receive for his poems (such as “Mr Chandler has the gift of easy and graceful verse”)—he ultimately ends the story resigned to a life without fame or fortune, trapped, as he is, by his mundane life.
