Mrs. Kernan Character Analysis

Mrs. Kernan has been married to Tom Kernan for 25 years, and they have five children together. She is a lifelong Catholic and remains faithful, though she also believes in some pagan elements of Irish folklore, such as the banshee. It’s implied that she remains a Catholic largely because she was raised in the religion, rather than because of any deep faith she holds. Three weeks after she married her husband, Mrs. Kernan grew deeply unhappy with their marriage. Though she hoped that having children would help in that regard, she remains dissatisfied with her marriage and life. Part of that unhappiness comes from her husband’s refusal to address his binge-drinking problem and how it has negatively impacted their life. Mrs. Kernan has tried repeatedly to break her husband’s drinking habit by being strict and even sometimes unforgiving with him, but she has had little success. When her husband’s friends Jack Power, Martin Cunningham, and Mr. M’Coy conspire to bring Kernan to a Catholic retreat in the hopes that he will reform his behavior, she is supportive of the endeavor since she believes the men to be strong in their religious devotion and committed to Kernan’s well-being. Mrs. Kernan’s character serves to challenge her husband’s less-savory impulses, though her role in the story (much like her role as Kernan’s wife) is mostly passive: she only appears when she’s helping a drunken Kernan to bed or greeting guests and serving them drinks.