Polly Mooney's initial character introduction in "The Boarding House" paints the picture of an unintentional seductress—a young woman who glances upwards when she speaks in what men might interpret as a coquettish manner, regardless of whether or not her actions bear the weight of intention. In order to shed further light on how Polly's mannerisms are read by (presumably) the men she interacts with, Joyce includes an oxymoronic simile in this character description:
Her eyes, which were grey with a shade of green through them, had a habit of glancing upwards when she spoke with anyone, which made her look like a little perverse madonna.
"Madonna" is another name used to refer to the Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus Christ. In the Bible, Mary becomes pregnant with God's Son without ever having sexual intercourse. The oxymoron of a "perverse madonna," to which Polly is likened, draws on a core contradiction present in Irish Catholic society: the need for women to simultaneously be virginal, sexless beings, but become pregnant and have sexual allure when men demand it of them. This paradoxical theme emerges across Joyce's literary portfolio, within which he explores the ongoing clash between religious moral values and modern youthful scrutiny of sexual mores.
Towards the beginning of "The Boarding House," Mrs. Mooney is faced with a moral quandary: her daughter is having an extramarital affair with Mr. Doran. As the mother in this situation, she must decide when and how to intervene. At this point in the story, Joyce uses metaphor to relate Mrs. Mooney's problem-solving skills to her background in the butchery business:
Polly began to grow a little strange in her manner and the young man was evidently perturbed. At last, when she judged it to be the right moment, Mrs Mooney intervened. She dealt with moral problems as a cleaver deals with meat: and in this case she had made up her mind.
When presented with a moral problem such as this one, Mrs. Mooney is not one to act impulsively or rashly—quite the opposite. She waits, assesses the situation from afar, and then makes quick and decisive movements, finding the opportune moment to strike and sever the source of the moral problem from the "infected" body. Her proximity to the profession of butchery has undoubtedly influenced this approach: she takes no half measures, and she leaves no sinew or muscle attached when she cleaves immoral meat from the metaphorical bone.
