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Definition of Setting
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:
“The Sisters” takes place in Dublin, Ireland in 1895. The story specifically focuses on the relationship between a lower-middle class family and a Catholic priest. Like in many of Joyce’s stories, the characters represent different elements of Irish (specifically Dublin) society. Father Flynn, for example, as a corrupt priest, represents the corruption of the Catholic Church as a whole. The men in the narrator’s life (his uncle and Old Cotter) represent secular Irish people who take issue with the Church, but not in any organized or politically powerful way. The women in the story (the narrator’s aunt and both of Father Flynn’s sisters) represent Irish people who venerate the Church even in the face of its obvious corruption.
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