Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Grace, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Morality, Redemption, and the Catholic Church
Catholicism vs. Protestantism
Community, Isolation, and Gender
Summary
Analysis
In a pub bathroom in Dublin, Ireland, two men try to lift up another man who’s fallen down the stairs. They manage to turn the fallen man over onto his back; he’s covered in filth from the pub floor, and his mouth is oozing blood. Then, with the help of a bartender, the two men are able to carry the injured man up the stairs and lay him back down on the floor.
From the reference to a pub, readers can infer that this unidentified man’s accident has occurred due to excessive drinking. Through the detailed descriptions of filth, ooze, and blood, the man is in serious trouble physically. Moreover, the story portrays him as being at a moral or spiritual crisis. He lies at the bottom of a flight of stairs: it seems he has hit rock bottom, literally and figuratively.
Themes
The pub manager asks if anyone knows who the injured man is, but no one does. The bartender served the injured man rum earlier, and he was with two other men at that time—but no one knows where his companions are now. Noticing blood pooled under the disheveled, semi-conscious man’s head, the worried manager calls the police. Eventually, a constable arrives and takes down the manager’s account of what happened. He, too, asks who the injured man is—but again, no one answers.
It's striking that the man is alone: in this scene at the pub, everyone else seems to be accompanied by friends. The reader can infer that the man has been abandoned by whoever he came with. It’s also noteworthy that the bar manager calls the police after seeing how injured the man is: rather than calling medical services, he defaults to law enforcement, likely to avoid any liability on the part of the bar. Rather than helping the man, the bartender protects himself and his establishment. Calling the constable immediately also demonstrates how much the police dominate this Dublin society.
Themes
Suddenly, a young man in a cycling-suit makes his way through the crowd of bystanders and calls for water and brandy, which the bartender promptly delivers. The young man washes the blood out of the injured man’s mouth and then forces brandy down his throat, which shocks the injured man awake. The bystanders help the man to his feet and begin chattering about taking him to a hospital. The constable then asks the injured man where he lives, but the man ignores him and requests that someone call him a cab.
The young man in a cycling-suit (a bicycling uniform) comes essentially out of nowhere to the man’s aid: in carrying out this act of altruism, he functions as a kind of Good Samaritan—a figure from the Bible who represents selfless charity—in the story. It’s clear that individuals rely on the help of others in this society. However, despite the efforts of the man in a cycling-suit, the man who had fallen rejects most offers of help: it is suggested that he is either too proud to accept the help or is still intoxicated and unaware of the severity of his injuries. Either way, his drunkenness renders him isolated and unable to accept help.
Themes
Just then, a tall man named Mr. Power joins the crowd and recognizes the injured man, calling out to him and referring to him as Tom. He tells the constable (who seems to know Mr. Power) that he’ll see Tom home, and the young man in the cycling-suit explains what happened as he helps Mr. Power lead Tom out of the pub. Meanwhile, the manager shows the constable the scene of the accident as the bartender cleans Tom’s blood off the floor.
Only at the entrance of Mr. Power does the reader learn the name of the man who had fallen down the stairs: Tom Kernan. Delaying the name for so long emphasizes his anonymity at the bar, and even implies that this isolation is in part to blame for his accident since no one was checking in on him.
Themes
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Outside the pub, Mr. Power hails a cab. Tom thanks the young man for his help, introduces himself as Kernan, and suggests that they have a drink together sometime. On the cab ride to Tom Kernan’s house, Mr. Power asks how the accident happened—but Kernan claims that he isn’t able to answer, showing Mr. Power that he bit off a piece of his tongue when he fell down the stairs.
It is deeply ironic that Kernan thanks the man in the cycling-suit by inviting him out for a drink, given that he has just suffered serious injuries due to his heavy drinking. Moreover, Kernan’s bitten tongue symbolizes this self-destructive behavior: it is literally inflicted by himself on his own body. It also prevents him from explaining (and thus acknowledging) his mistakes to Power. Thwarting his ability to communicate is another way that Kernan’s drinking makes him isolated.
Themes
Kernan is a traveling salesman with old-fashioned sensibilities—he cares about being dignified, so he always wears a silk hat and gaiters. He has a small office at his firm, in which he keeps different kinds of tea that he likes to sample.
Based on Kernan’s clothing of choice, which are quite old-fashioned and highbrow, the reader can infer that he wants to be part of high society and likely had a good sum of money at some point with which he could purchase these clothes. However, having seen where Kernan is now and the extent of his drinking, the reader realizes now that not only is Kernan in dire straits, but that he has fallen quite a ways to reach this low point.
Themes
Mr. Power, who’s much younger than Kernan, works at the Royal Irish Constabulary Office in Dublin Castle. Mr. Power has risen socially and professionally in tandem with Kernan’s decline—though Mr. Power and Kernan’s other close friends still hold Kernan in high esteem, because they knew him at his most successful. Mr. Power is rumored to have mysterious debts, but he’s a charming young man nonetheless.
Mr. Power is the antithesis of Mr. Kernan. He is young and on the rise, his business gains posed directly in opposition to Kernan’s recent failures. Yet because he still respects Kernan, the reader can infer that Power cares about his friends as much as his material successes. Those successes are hinted to be slightly questionable however: Power’s implied debts call into question his integrity as a businessman, and perhaps can be taken as a subtle indictment of the legitimacy of any social success..
Themes
When the cab arrives at Kernan’s house, Mr. Power helps him in, and Mrs. Kernan immediately puts him to bed. Mr. Power waits downstairs and converses with the Kernan children, who start to play around with him in the absence of their parents. Mr. Power is shocked by their accents and lack of manners. When Mrs. Kernan returns from putting her husband to bed, she confides in Mr. Power about her exasperation with Kernan’s heavy drinking. Mr. Power rushes to explain that he wasn’t responsible for Kernan’s latest drinking binge, but he assures Mrs. Kernan that he’ll help him make a fresh start anyway. He promises to bring someone named Martin over to speak with Kernan soon, and then he says goodbye to Mrs. Kernan and sets off in the cab.
Upon entering the Kernan household, Power realizes the full extent of his friend’s downfall: Kernan’s wife clarifies the dire state of his drinking, and his children speak in what Power interprets as a lower-class Dublin accent (a concrete representation of Kernan’s social decline). Though Power is quick not to take responsibility for Kernan’s drinking that evening, he demonstrates his care for his friend by committing to helping him turn over a new leaf. Furthermore, by incorporating another person, Martin, into this redemption project, Power begins to rally a community to support this individual in decline. Power’s effort testifies to the importance of community amid what the story implies are the isolating effects of modern urban living.
Themes
Mrs. Kernan watches Mr. Power’s cab pull away from her house and then silently reflects on the past 25 years of her marriage to Mr. Kernan, throughout which she has been very unhappy. Kernan was a handsome, charming man when they were first married—but within weeks, Mrs. Kernan grew tired of her role as a housewife. Two of the couple’s children have grown up and left the house—and moved away from Dublin—while their three youngest still live with them. The next morning, Mr. Kernan wakes up and stays home sick from work. Mrs. Kernan scolds him for his latest transgression, but she’s nonetheless thankful that he’s not abusive like other “worse husbands.”
Mrs. Kernan’s silent reflections on her years on unhappiness in marriage demonstrate the negative repercussions of isolation. Unlike the community support building for Mr. Kernan, Mrs. Kernan appears to be entirely alone in her suffering, abandoned by her husband and lacking any female friends. Even her children, when they grow up and stop needing her support, move away. The profound extent of her unhappiness testifies to the importance of the kind of friendship and community that Kernan has coming to his aid. Though Mrs. Kernan is grateful that Kernan is not abusive, and thus not as bad as other husbands, the reader gets the sense that Kernan’s home life is in equal disrepair as his professional life, in no small part due to his drinking. Further, the story sets up Mrs. Kernan as a kind of counterpoint to Mr. Kernan, whose experience suggests that even in comparison to a man who has fallen so low, the women connected to such men always have it worse.
Themes
Two nights later, three of Kernan’s friends—Mr. Power, Mr. Cunningham, and Mr. M’Coy—arrive at the Kernans’ house. Kernan is unaware that he's the victim of a plot that Power has thought up and entrusted Mr. Cunningham with carrying out. Mr. Kernan was raised Protestant and only converted to Catholicism when he married Mrs. Kernan; he often takes jabs at the Catholic Church. Mr. Cunningham, an older colleague of Mr. Power, seems like exactly the right person to help Kernan. Everyone pities Cunningham for his own unhappy marriage to a drunkard, but everyone still respects him for his intelligence and sensibility.
The fact that his friends keep their “plot” secret from Mr. Kernan implies that they anticipate potential resistance from him—a demonstration of the extent of Kernan’s pride and denial when it comes to his drinking. When the narrative quickly switches to describing Kernan’s religious background; the reader gets the sense that religion will have something to do with this plot, and, perhaps, with Kernan’s resistance. Kernan’s Protestant background and eventual conversion to Catholicism to marry his wife is noteworthy: Irish society is itself divided along Protestant and Catholic lines, so Mr. Kernan occupies an intriguing gray area between the two. Even though he has converted, the reader gets the hint that he is not all that convinced by Catholicism’s teaching because he frequently makes fun of the Church. Also in this passage the reader learns a bit about Cunningham, one of Kernan’s friends, who is himself married to a drunkard. The prevalence of drinking in the story suggests that this is a not-infrequent problem in this society—an indication that Kernan’s fall might be mirrored more generally by Dublin and Ireland.
Themes
Literary Devices
When the men told Mrs. Kernan about their plan, she expressed her trust in Cunningham. However, Mrs. Kernan is more of a habitual Catholic than a devout one, and she isn’t confident that a middle-aged man like Kernan will be open to new ideas. Nevertheless, though, the plot might help him—it can’t hurt, anyway. For her part, Mrs. Kernan believes in the Sacred Heart and the sacraments—but she also believes in the banshee and the Holy Ghost.
In this passage, the reader gains further insight into religion in the Kernan household (and in Ireland more broadly). Mrs. Kernan is a self-defined Catholic and maintains some faith, but she also believes in elements of pagan mythology like the banshee. She isn’t altogether confident that her religion can ‘save’ her husband. In other words, Mrs. Kernan’s Catholicism isn’t thorough or knowledgeable, and her pagan beliefs are, according to Catholic doctrine, sinful. That she trusts Kernan’s friends is another example of the importance of community, and also a significant indicator in the difference between men and women in this society: Mrs. Kernan seems not to have any friends.
Themes
Literary Devices
The men begin to discuss Mr. Kernan’s incident in the pub. M’Coy asks Kernan if his tongue still hurts, which it doesn’t—but he’s still feeling sick. M’Coy has lived a colorful life with a variety of jobs—presently, he’s the secretary to the City Coroner, which makes him professionally interested in helping Kernan. Cunningham asserts that Kernan’s drinking is what’s making him sick, but Kernan denies it. Next, Cunningham asks who Mr. Kernan was with at the pub; Kernan identifies one of the people he was with as Harford, but he doesn’t remember the other one. Mr. Cunningham judges Kernan’s choice to associate with Harford—Harford is business partners with Mr. Goldberg, an Irish Jew, and Cunningham is suspicious of Jewish people.
Kernan’s denial of the extent of his heavy drinking and its negative impacts on his life continues over this passage: he acknowledges that he feels sick, but he doesn’t accept any connection between the “sickness” and his drinking problem. It’s clear that Kernan is in need of help to everyone but Kernan himself at this point. This passage also sheds some more insight on Kernan’s friends. It’s mentioned, for instance, that M’Coy has “professional” interest in Kernan’s case because he works at the City Coroner. This is a macabre joke: the coroner’s office processes deaths, so part of M’Coy takes interest in Kernan because he has some familiarity with death and sees Kernan headed in that direction. The reader also learns who was at the bar with Kernan when he had his accident: Harford, a man that Cunningham doesn’t trust because he associated with Mr. Goldberg, an Irish Jew. Cunningham’s suspicion springs from antisemitism, and adds nuance to the theme of Irish religion by introducing Judaism in the Protestant/Catholic mix. Protestant and Catholics may be at odds in Irish society, as will become clearer through the rest of the story, but Jews clearly occupy an even more outsider role in Dublin society. Religion in the story does so much to divide people.
Themes
Literary Devices
Mr. Kernan quickly changes the subject to the young man in the cycling-suit who saved him from being arrested by the constable in the pub. All four men express their annoyance with the fact that their taxes go toward the police, whom they find ignorant and foolish. They are then interrupted by Mrs. Kernan bringing in a tray of drinks for all of the men except Mr. Kernan. She and Kernan get into a brief spat over this, exchanging sarcastic barbs with each other.
Worth noting here is that the character’s distrust of law enforcement in Dublin is tied up in the nationalist and religious politics that roiled Ireland at the time of the story. Law enforcement is an extension of the Protestant British government, and many Irish people—particularly Irish Catholics—at the time were beginning to resist British rule over their country. It’s implied, then, that the men’s frustration with their police has something to do with their distrust of Britain as well. This passage also includes a brief exchange between the Kernan couple, in which Mr. Kernan gets angry at his wife for not bringing him a drink; the exchange fortifies the reader’s understanding of the unhappiness of their marriage, of their mutual isolation.
Themes
Literary Devices
After the bottle of stout (dark beer), has been passed around, Mr. Cunningham subtly brings up a spiritual retreat that he, Power, and M’Coy are all planning to attend on Thursday. Kernan inquires more about it, prompting Cunningham to suggest that Kernan should join them, as if the idea had just occurred to him. Kernan silently considers the idea—he isn’t particularly interested in the retreat, but he knows that he should listen respectfully while his friends are discussing religious matters.
Several pages of dialogue pass before Cunningham offhandedly mentions the retreat to Kernan, a fact which underscores the subterfuge in Kernan’s friends’ plan. Even in bringing it up, Cunningham does not directly implicate Kernan or his drinking. Rather, by claiming that he, Power, and M’Coy were all planning to go anyway, he makes it seem less like a judgment on Kernan’s behavior, hopefully enticing him to come. Kernan’s silence in response to the idea conveys his trepidation towards the idea and his general skepticism concerning religion. His respectful silence at this point seems to indicate a concern for acting in a socially acceptable way rather than any actual openness to religion.
Themes
Literary Devices
While Kernan is thinking over the proposal, the conversation turns to the Jesuits, an order of the Catholic Church. Mr. Cunningham and Mr. M’Coy each showily share their admiration for the Jesuits, proclaiming that the General of the Jesuits is right next to the Pope in status. Mr. Cunningham says that Jesuits are so esteemed that they’ve never been reformed in the history of the Church.
As the conversation turns to the Jesuits, Cunningham and M’Coy compete to show off their knowledge of Church history. This thing is, both of them make many errors: the Jesuit leadership is not “right next to the Pope” in importance, nor have the Jesuits never been reformed. Earlier the story showed Mrs. Kernan’s “habitual” Catholic belief, which involved very little actual knowledge or deep piety. Here the many mistakes that Cunningham and M’Coy make as they attempt to show off their religious knowledge offer another indictment of Irish Catholicism: these “experts” also don’t really know anything. Their religious belief seems to give them social prominence rather than spiritual knowledge. So even as the story shows Kernan’s friends banding together to try to help him by bringing him more fully into Irish Catholicism, it implies that Irish Catholicism may in fact be somewhat hollow.
Themes
Mr. Kernan chimes in to say that he likes that the Jesuits cater to the upper classes, but he criticizes “secular priests,” whom he finds foolish and arrogant. Mr. Cunningham disagrees, arguing that the entire Irish priesthood is honorable and world-renowned. Kernan thinks about this and decides that he believes Cunningham, since he respects him as a good judge of character. He then asks his friends for more details about the spiritual retreat. Mr. Cunningham tells Kernan that the retreat is a casual affair and will be led by Father Purdon, a Catholic priest known for his laid-back style.
Kernan’s eventual agreement with Cunningham comes not from Cunningham’s convincing argument or knowledge, but rather from Kernan’s personal trust of Cunningham as a good judge of character. And yet, this is a deeply ironic assessment, as what the story is really doing in these passages is to call into question Cunningham’s intellectual superiority, and to reveal Cunningham as self-confident without much basis for it. The reader is meant to wonder whether Cunningham is any more qualified to speak on Church history or theology than Kernan. This doubt is further supported when Cunningham mentions the name of the priest for the retreat: Father Purdon. “Purdon Street” was the location of the prostitution district in Dublin at the time. Up until this point the story has portrayed the Catholic churchgoers as rather unimpressive religiously-speaking, but by giving the priest the name Purdon and thereby associating the actual Church leadership with the seedy and unwholesome underbelly of Dublin society, the story ups the odds and implies that the Irish Catholic Church itself is the problem.
Themes
The conversation about Purdon segues to Father Tom Burke, a famous preacher in Dublin from several decades back. Mr. Kernan recalls seeing him with a friend Crofton, and he talks about how much they loved Burke’s sermons. Cunningham soon interjects, pointing out that Crofton was a Protestant Orangeman and therefore wasn’t supposed to be at the Catholic Burke’s sermons. Mr. Power points out that Burke appealed to both Catholics and Protestants, and M’Coy suggests that there is not much difference between the two sects of Christianity. Cunningham quietly puts an end to the discussion by affirming that Catholicism is “the old, original faith.”
Kernan chimes into the conversation once the topic of Father Tom Burke comes up because he recalls fondly experiencing Burke’s sermons with a Protestant friend named Crofton. Kernan’s affection towards his Protestant friend highlights again his position between the Catholic and Protestant factions of Ireland. Power and M'Coy make comments in support of across-the-aisle messaging, such as that implied by Kernan’s friendships and Burke’s appeal. However, once Cunningham steps in to declare Catholicism the true version of Christianity, this momentary step towards progress in uniting their community falls apart. This passage demonstrates the longevity of religious divides in the men’s community, despite clear evidence of desire to overcome it. That it is the religious “expert” Cunningham who insists on these barriers further implies that it is the religious authorities who enforce such difference.
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Literary Devices
The discussion is interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Fogarty, a grocer who has brought a bottle of whiskey for Mr. Kernan. The men have another round of drinks, and Fogarty joins in the conversation, which turns to the papacy. The men get to discussing the various papal mottos of popes from across the ages, each recalling slightly different versions of them. Mr. Power remarks that he and Mr. Kernan never learned any of the mottos, since they went to a “penny-a-week” school and received a lesser education than the other men.
The appearance of Mr. Fogarty and the bottle of whiskey he has brought for Kernan presents another obstacle to Kernan’s potential recovery. It becomes clear that the very bonds of friendship in this society are connected to the drinking of alcohol, which of course would pose problems for an alcoholic.Meanwhile, once the conversation turns to the papacy and papal mottos, the limits of the men’s religious knowledge becomes even more clear. They make many mistakes, combining languages and switching up mottos, if not entirely fabricating them. Once again, these men are seeking to help Kernan by bringing him into the religious fold, but their own religious and moral superiority is called into question. Power’s comment is noteworthy in this regard: he and Kernan went to a poorer school growing up, and have thus not had an equivalent education to Cunningham, M’Coy, and Fogarty. However, the comment can be taken both ways, as even the “better” educations of the other men has left them with an at-best shallow understanding of history and religion.
Themes
Literary Devices
Meanwhile, Kernan tries and fails to remember points of Protestant theology that he can contribute to the conversation. He ends up asking Cunningham if he’s correct in thinking that some of the older popes were less than ideal, and Cunningham admits that this is true. However, he insists that no pope has ever preached false doctrine. The men then continue to discuss the papacy and argue over whether or not popes speak ex cathedra, or with automatic infallibility. Cunningham tells a story about two cardinals at the sacred college—John MacHale and a German cardinal—who refused to acknowledge papal infallibility. MacHale, however, submitted to the Pope as soon as he spoke, demonstrating his faith. The enthusiastic way Cunningham tells this story inspires the other men.
Kernan, although he cannot remember specifics of his Protestant theology, questions the dominance of the papacy, a specifically-Catholic institution. Even though he has converted, it is clear that he maintains a Protestant’s skepticism towards the Catholic institution: again he occupies a unique position between the two faiths. Cunningham’s response allows Kernan some ground, but doubles down on a power called “ex cathedra,” which means that everything the Pope says is automatically true. This confidence, along with the story about the two cardinals, inspires trust in Cunningham from the other men, even if Kernan’s question is a good one. Cunningham’s insistence on the Pope’s infallibility is deeply ironic, given how many falsehoods (even if unintentional) he has told during the discussion.
Themes
Just then, Mrs. Kernan returns to the room and begins to listen in on the men’s conversation. Kernan shares that he once saw MacHale speak at a statue unveiling ceremony, recalling how fierce and perceptive his gaze looked. After a pause, Mr. Power declares to Mrs. Kernan that they will make her husband a pious man. Then, Kernan’s friends prepare to leave and remind him that he needs to bring a candle to the church in order to participate in the retreat. Kernan strongly objects to the use of candles, calling them “magic-lantern business.” He eventually agrees to go, on the grounds that he is not forced to use the candle.
Mrs. Kernan’s reappearance in the narrative is sudden: the readers have almost forgotten she is also present in the house, which once again draws attention to how she is isolated from this community of men. As the men begin to prepare to depart, their reminder to Kernan to bring a candle for the retreat prompts a jarring outburst. The candle symbolizes the mystic dimensions of Catholicism for Kernan, something which he deeply distrusts. Even though Kernan has seemed to occupy a position between faiths, here the reader sees the limits of that position. Kernan cannot quite bring himself to accept this side of Catholicism, though he agrees still to attend the retreat. In this way the story shows how men in practice can and do navigate religion in their own ways, even if such choices cut against the rigid rules of those religions.
Themes
Literary Devices
That Thursday, Kernan, Power, Cunningham, M’Coy, and Fogarty arrive at the Gardiner Street Jesuit Church for the retreat. They sit down together in the pews and soon realize that they recognize many acquaintances in the crowd. Soon, Father Purdon emerges and struggles to ascend the pulpit. He’s a large man, taking up two-thirds of the pulpit, with a huge red face. Father Purdon leads the congregation in kneeling and then reads the scriptural passage for the day (Luke 16:8-9), which he describes as one of the most difficult passages of the Bible to interpret. He says that it’s an important passage for practical businessmen and professionals.
The presence of many of Kernan, Power, Cunningham, M’Coy and Fogarty’s friends in the crowd at the retreat underscore the importance of group support for this community: the men take comfort in being in the presence of those they know, and that community offers a comfort that is more powerful than any message actually offered by religion. As Father Purdon enters, his ascending of the pulpit recalls Kernan’s earlier fall down the stairs, with the pulpit connected to religious uplift or redemption in contrast to Kernan’s “fall” that began the story. However, Father Purdon struggles to walk up those stairs, which once again implies that the priest—and the Church more broadly—aren’t as secure in their own redemption as one might expect. Purdon then presents his sermon as being meant for just such people as Kernan and his friends: as being for “everyday” people who must focus on worldly things (like business) as opposed to spiritual things.
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Literary Devices
Father Purdon then launches into his sermon. He says that he has a deep understanding of human nature, and that he knows not everyone is called to devote their lives to religion—most have to live as regular people and concern themselves with worldly matters. Purdon describes himself as a “spiritual accountant” for the businessmen assembled in the church. He tells the congregation that Jesus Christ understands human weakness and failure—Jesus only wants people to keep their accounting honest and ensure that the “books of [their] spiritual life” are balanced. Purdon concludes his sermon by encouraging the congregants to set their accounts right.
Father Purdon’s sermon hinges on comparing religious faith to business and accounting. Just as accountants help clients settle their debts, he argues, he as a priest can help his congregation absolve themselves of sin, or “settle their accounts.” Purdon’s metaphor implies a very straightforward understanding of good and bad, virtue and sin. It contains none of the spiritual complexity and understanding one would expect from a priest, and presents Catholicism as a kind of “service” performed for everyday folks who then don’t have to take too much responsibility for their spiritual lives. In this way, the priest offers people a pardon for the sorts of shallow and un-knowledgeable Catholic belief on display in the rest of the story. But the fact that the priest’s name—Purdon—is a kind of mangled version of “pardon” implies that such easy pardons may not, in fact, be the real thing. The story then ends abruptly, with the end of the sermon, and never shows whether the retreat was successful or if Kernan was able to find redemption and turn his life around. The story initially was set up as a redemption story, in which a man literally “fell” and then his friends banded together to bring him to God and improve his life. That the story ends without even showing the outcome of that attempted redemption—forcing the reader to think about whether redemption is or isn’t likely in this case—suddenly refocuses the story from being about the redemption of one man to one that focuses on whether and how such redemption is possible. More specifically, it forces the reader to consider whether Irish society and the Irish Catholic Church as portrayed in the story can offer such redemption.
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