Near the beginning of the story, as Joyce is setting the scene, he mentions by name some of the books on the shelves of Duffy’s house, alluding to the writers William Wordsworth, James Butler, and Gerhart Hauptmann in the process:
The books on the white wooden shelves were arranged from below upwards according to bulk. A complete Wordsworth stood at one end of the lowest shelf and a copy of the Maynooth Catechism, sewn into the cloth cover of a notebook, stood at one end of the top shelf. Writing materials were always on the desk. In the desk lay a manuscript translation of Hauptmann’s Michael Kramer, the stage directions of which were written in purple ink, and a little sheaf of papers held together by a brass pin.
Taken together, these three different allusions paint a portrait of Duffy as a well-read intellectual interested in many different types of literature—Wordsworth wrote emotional Romantic poetry, while Butler (author of the Maynooth Catechism) published dense religious texts, and Hauptmann was known for his realist, socially critical plays.
The inclusion of Wordsworth’s work is particularly notable here, as Duffy does not lead a particularly emotional or romantic life—in fact, he lives almost like a recluse with little interaction with the outside world. In this way, Joyce’s mention of Wordsworth hints at Duffy’s desire for emotional connection, which will emerge more fully when he meets Mrs. Sinico.
As Duffy is starting to open up to Mrs. Sinico, he shares his experience as a former member of the Irish Socialist Party and alludes to the factionalism within the Irish Nationalist movement more broadly, as seen in the following passage:
He told her that for some time he had assisted at the meetings of an Irish Socialist Party where he had felt himself a unique figure amidst a score of sober workmen in a garret lit by an inefficient oil-lamp. When the party had divided into three sections, each under its own leader and in its own garret, he had discontinued his attendances.
In the early 20th century—when Joyce wrote Dubliners—the famous Irish nationalist and labor union leader James Connelly founded the Socialist Party of Ireland. As Duffy describes in the story, the Party did indeed split off into multiple factions due to internal disputes, thereby limiting its political power.
Duffy’s involvement in the Socialist Party is significant because it communicates that, at some point in the not-so-distant past, he had hope for Ireland’s political future and also sought connection with others (who shared his views). In other words, he was not the alienated and isolated man that readers are introduced to at the start of the story. It is notable that, while Duffy again opens up to connection (with Mrs. Sinico) in the story, he ends up isolated and alone once more.
