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The Boarding House: Summary & Questions and Answers | The Heritage of Words Class 12
The Boarding House by James Joyce
DETAILED SUMMARY
The Boarding House by James Joyce
This short story, 'The Boarding House', has been written by James Joyce, an Irish writer and the most important writer of the modernist movement. This short story was first published in a book called 'Dubliners' in the year 1914. This is 'a story of adolescence' and is based on the writer's experience growing up in Dublin, Ireland. This story has presented the hard struggles a mother faces for the sake of her children's future. This story is mainly about the life of a lady whose name is Mrs. Mooney. Here in this story, she has played a very vital role in the settlement of her young daughter's relationship with a rich man, Mr. Doran.
MRS. MOONEY AND HER STORY
Mrs. Mooney was quite a bold and determined woman. She had two kids, Jack and Polly. She had faced a lot of hardships in her life to bring up her two kids. Jack was a young boy of 22, whereas Polly was a young girl of 19. Mrs. Mooney had a fine-running boarding house on Hardwick Street. Both Jack and Polly used to assist their mother in the boarding house. Jack even had a part-time job. He used to help his mother in his spare time. He was quite talkative. He even got involved in fights with customers after being drunk. There was fine business in the boarding house. Many tourists, office clerks, musicians, and artists would come to stay there. Mrs. Mooney was addressed by the word 'Madam'. Polly was the centre of attention in the boarding house. Polly was a quite beautiful girl with her white complexion, grey eyes, and light, soft hair. She used to serve and entertain the guests in the boarding house. She had left her study. Once, she was sent to learn typing in Corn Factor's office, but due to her drunkard father, she left that office. Although she is quite beautiful, she is uneducated. She didn't know the manner of talking or even the English language. Mrs. Mooney's family in the boarding house was running smoothly.
MRS. MOONEYS FAMILY BACKGROUND
If we talk about Mrs. Mooney's family background, we'll find various hardships in her life. Mrs. Mooney was the daughter of a butcher. She married her father's foreman. They started their butcher's shop near Spring Gardens. After the death of her father, her husband turned out to be a devil. He started drinking a lot of alcohol. He emptied the house of money. Due to his bad habits, he fell into huge debt.
He used to take money from the shop forcefully. He even fought with Mrs. Mooney for money in front of customers. Jack and Polly were quite small then. One night, her drunkard husband tried to kill her with a knife. She escaped along with her kids and saved her life that night. She spent her night at the neighbour's house. After that incident, she started living separately with her two kids. With the very little amount, she started boarding houses on Hardwick Street.
SETTLEMENT OF HER DAUGHTER'S POLLY'S AFFAIR WITH MR. DORAN
When she heard about Polly and Mr. Doran's affair, she remained silent during that time. Mrs. Mooney was a quite thoughtful woman. She even knew about their secret affair (a sexual affair). There was a rumour about their affair in the boarding house. She waited for the right time to talk about the matter with Mr. Doran. Later on, she found the rude behaviour of Mr. Doran towards Polly. For Mrs. Mooney, Mr. Doran was a quite suitable person for her daughter Polly. Mr. Doran was a 35-year-old man from a high family background.
He was a well-educated and soft-mouthed person. He had been working in the Great Catholic Wine Merchant's shop for thirteen years. But he started ignoring Polly, who wasn't liked by Mrs. Mooney. Mr. Doran became quite fearful of social criticism. He thought about the low family status of Polly, her drunkard father, her education, manner of talking, etc. Mrs. Mooney planned to talk to Mr. Doran at last. Mr. Doran wanted to stay away from that relationship due to the fear of his family and friends' criticism. But Mrs. Mooney wanted to make him her son-in-law. According to her, Mr. Doran must pay compensation. For that, money wasn't sufficient because she wasn't selling her daughter's virtues. Mrs. Mooney even knew that Mr. Doran would lose his job if he refused to marry Polly. She first talked with Polly in a very aggressive tone. At first, Polly tried to hide the matter, but later on, she revealed each fact. Mrs. Mooney sent her maid, Marry, to call Mr. Doran. Mr. Doran was quite upset thinking about his church's confession and Polly's matter. In the meantime, Polly came inside Mr. Doran's room and started crying. Mary came there to call Mr. Doran. Mr. Doran moved down immediately to meet Mrs. Mooney. When Mrs. Mooney started talking about his relationship with Polly, Mr. Doran became speechless. She used a quite nice trick to trap Mr. Doran.
She talked with Mr. Doran using a lovely, convincing tone, a harsh tone, and even a threatening tone. She blackmailed Mr. Doran, saying various righteous ways of life. She reminded him of those remarkable moments that he had spent with Polly in his love relationship.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Boarding House by James Joyce
How did Miss Polly help her mother in the Boarding House? Did her mother solve her problem positively? Explain.
Answer:
Boarding House reflects the story of Mrs. Mooney's struggles and her acts of settlement in the relationship between her daughter Polly and a rich man, Mr. Doran. Mrs. Mooney runs a boarding house on Hardwick Street. She has two kids named Jack and Polly. She lives in her boarding house without any interference from her husband. Her life is related to the service of guests in her boarding house. Her daughter Polly is a nineteen-year-old young girl. She is quite a beautiful girl with a white complexion and black blonde hair. She has left her studies. She stays in this boarding house, serving guests and tourists. She helps her mother a lot in the boarding house. She has been a centre of attraction for all the guests in the boarding house. Her charm attracts the guests greatly. Guests pay keen attention to her. She used to entertain the guests in the boarding house. She serves the guests in a very frank manner. She has a secret love affair with a man called Mr. Doran. Mrs. Mooney, including most of the guests, knows about their relationship. Mrs. Mooney doesn't want to make a fuss. She remains silent in the initial phase. Later on, she chooses the way of the villain in a very negative way. She blackmails Mr. Doran to marry her daughter Polly. She uses this method quite cleverly. She makes Mr. Doran feel emotionally blackmailed. She plays the role of a negative character for her beloved daughter and her better future.
Do you think Mr. Doran married Polly? Explain.
Answer:
I think Mr. Doran finally married Polly. They do have a deep love relationship, but due to social criticism, Mr. Doran steps backwards in this love. Later on, when he realises the value of his love for Polly, he accepts her as his wife. While Polly cries in her room at the end of the story, Mr. Doran remembers all his remarkable moments with Polly and promises her to marry him.
How did Mrs. Mooney prove herself bold, determined and imposing in the story ‘The Boarding House’?
Answer:
Mrs. Mooney is the central character of this story. She is a lady of strong determination. Here in this story, she has played a vital role in the settlement of the relationship between her daughter Polly and a man called Mr. Doran.
Mooney married a foreman of her father. Her father was a butcher in his profession.
Later on, her husband tortured her much. She left her home and husband. She started her own business with little money. She took care of Jack and Polly with her efforts.
Mrs. Mooney was such a thoughtful woman. When she heard the news about her daughter Polly’s and Mr. Doran’s secret affair, she remained silent during that time. She waited for the right time to talk to Mr. Doran about that matter. Later on, when she found out about Mr. Doran’s rude behaviour towards Polly, she blackmailed and convinced Mr. Doran about the value of love and Polly in his life. Eventually, Mr. Doran agreed and moved towards Polly’s room. In this way, Mrs. Mooney proved herself bold, determined, and imposing in the story ‘The Boarding House’.
Sketch the character of Mrs. Mooney.
Sketch the character of Mrs. Mooney in relation to her activities in framing the career of her children in the story “The Boarding House”.
Answer:
Mrs. Mooney is a determined woman. She is the central character in this story. She is a strong-minded, disciplined, and modern woman. She plays a very significant role in settling the love affair between her young daughter Polly and the rich man, Mr. Doran.
Mrs. Mooney is the daughter of a butcher. She marries a man who works for her father. After the death of her father, her husband started drinking and taking money from the shop. He fights with her in front of customers. After a short time, he finishes almost all the property and falls into heavy debt. One night, he tries to kill her with a knife. She escapes and saves her life by spending the night in the neighbouring house. Then she lives separately with her children. With the remaining amount, she starts boarding houses on Hardwick Street. Mrs. Mooney has two children named Jack and Polly. She does hard labour for her two kids. She handles them with a lot of care. Her son Jack engages in some kind of job, whereas her daughter also gets a rich and fine husband. It’s only Mooney who plays a very vital role in the relationship between her daughter Polly and Mr. Doran.
How do you think Mrs. Mooney settled Mr. Doran about Polly? Did Mr. Doran marry Polly or payout compensation?
Answer:
Mrs. Mooney was in search of a good husband for her daughter Polly. When she knew that Mr. Doran and Polly had developed a relationship, she thought of a plan to blackmail Mr. Doran. In my view, she forced Mr. Doran to marry her daughter because Mr. Doran was a rich man. Though he was 35 years old, he was soft-mouthed and above her social status.
I think that Mr. Doran married Polly because he was trapped by Mrs. Mooney. Mrs. Mooney was rich, but her social status was not so good. So, Mrs. Mooney forced him to marry her daughter.
Write an interpretation of the story, “The Boarding House”
Briefly narrate the story, ‘The Boarding House’
Summarise the story ‘The Boarding House’ in your own words, avoiding repetition and other necessary words.
Summarise the story ‘The Boarding House’ in about 200 words. (The Boarding House)
Answer:
(See the summary above)
Why did Mr. Doran not accept to marry Polly in the beginning and why did he accept her as his wife at last?
Answer:
Mr. Doran was a rich man who used to live in the boarding house. He had a special relationship (sex) with Polly. Mr. Doran did not accept marrying Polly in the beginning because Polly’s family status was not good. She was uneducated as well as the daughter of a drunkard. But he accepted Polly as his wife at last because he remembered all those joyful moments that he had spent with Polly. He realised the value of his love and went to finally meet Polly.
What was the major problem in the relationship between Mr. Doran and Polly?
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