Near the beginning of the story, when detailing Mrs. Kearney’s strategy for helping her daughter Kathleen become a famous musician, Joyce includes an allusion to the Irish Revival:
When the Irish Revival began to be appreciable Mrs Kearney determined to take advantage of her daughter’s name and brought an Irish teacher to the house. Kathleen and her sister sent Irish picture postcards to their friends and these friends sent back other Irish picture postcards.
The Irish Revival was a cultural movement that occurred between the late 19th century and early 20th century, characterized by a renewed interest in traditional Irish and Gaelic literature, art, language, folklore, and more. The Irish Revival emerged in tandem with the Nationalist Movement, as Irish people began to long for the time in their nation’s history before English colonization, ultimately reconnecting with their cultural roots.
It is notable that Mrs. Kearney only embraces the Revival when it is “appreciable,” meaning profitable to her and her family. This is Joyce’s way of showing how Mrs. Kearney does not actually care about Irish culture or independence—as a wealthy person, she does not have the same personal stake as the lower- and middle-class people of Ireland.
The description of how Mrs. Kearney “takes advantage” of her daughter’s name is also an allusion to the traditional Irish figure Kathleen ni Houlihan, who became an emblem of Irish Nationalism. This passage makes it clear that Mrs. Kearney will use any possible connections to Irish culture to market her wealthy daughter as part of the movement (despite having no connections to its political goals).
