Clay

by

James Joyce

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Themes and Colors
Loneliness and Estrangement Theme Icon
Sadness and Repression Theme Icon
Paralysis and Stagnation Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Clay, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.

Loneliness and Estrangement

In “Clay,” an unmarried middle-aged woman named Maria struggles to connect with others. Maria is surrounded by people at work, and she speaks with strangers when she is out in the city, but these interactions are mostly superficial. Furthermore, Maria feels distance even with her closest friend, Joe Donnelly, a man whom she took care of when he was young, who still treats her like part of his family. Throughout the story, Maria faces…

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Sadness and Repression

In narrating Maria’s thoughts, Joyce shows a woman striving to see the positive: she likes the community at the laundry where she works, she has a greenhouse full of lovely plants, and she is delighted to visit Joe Donnelly and his family for Hallow Eve. But despite Maria’s attempts to be cheerful, it is clear that her life is difficult, particularly as an unmarried woman in a society that sees marriage as a woman’s…

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Paralysis and Stagnation

Throughout “Clay,” Maria’s life remains remarkably stagnant. Her job at the laundry is monotonous, and Joyce suggests that she will never leave it—after all, she refuses to go live with her close friend Joe Donnelly, since she is “accustomed” to her life as it is. In addition to not making big changes in her life, Maria seems unable to make small ones. Although the people around her constantly make her uncomfortable, for instance…

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