When Kernan’s friends arrive at his house in order to convince him to attend a Catholic retreat (so that he might stay sober), Mrs. Kernan takes them up to his room. Joyce describes the scene using imagery, as seen in the following passage:
She brought them up to his bedroom, the air of which was impregnated with a personal odour, and gave them chairs at the fire. Mr Kernan’s tongue, the occasional stinging pain of which had made him somewhat irritable during the day, became more polite. He sat propped up in the bed by pillows and the little colour in his puffy cheeks made them resemble warm cinders.
The imagery here brings readers fully into the scene, encouraging them to smell the air “impregnated with a personal odour,” feel “the occasional stinging pain” of Kernan’s tongue, and see his “puffy cheeks” that resembled “warm cinders.”
This moment is significant, as it captures Kernan’s change in mood when his friends come to offer him company. Before their arrival, the room had a bad odor and Kernan was in pain, but, once they come inside, Kernan becomes “more polite” and his cheeks resemble “warm cinders,” a description that communicates that Kernan is pleasantly surprised at his friends’ arrival. This sensory shift away from the negative and toward the positive helps readers understand just how important Kernan’s community is to him. Despite his drunken behavior the previous night, his friends are here to support him.
