The Dead (short story) facts for kids

15 Usher's Island, the house once partly rented by Joyce's great aunts which was the model for "the dark gaunt house on Usher's Island", the principal setting for the story

The statue of William III of England on Dame Street, Dublin, appears in a story told by Gabriel about his grandfather Patrick Morkan.

"The Dead" is the final short story in the 1914 collection Dubliners by James Joyce. It is by far the longest story in the collection and, at 15,952 words, is almost long enough to be described as a novella. The story deals with themes of love and loss, as well as raising questions about the nature of the Irish identity.

The story was well-received by critics and academics and reputedly described by T. S. Eliot as "one of the greatest short stories ever written". It was later adapted into a one-act play by Hugh Leonard and into the 1987 film The Dead written by Tony Huston and directed by John Huston.

Characters

• Gabriel Conroy – the main character of the story.
• Kate Morkan and Julia Morkan – Gabriel and Mary Jane's aunts. They are elderly sisters who throw a party every year during Christmas time.
• Mary Jane Morkan – niece of Kate and Julia Morkan.
• Lily – the caretaker's daughter.
• Gretta Conroy – Gabriel's wife.
• Molly Ivors – a long-time acquaintance of the family
• Mr Browne – only Protestant guest at the party.
• Freddy Malins – a friend of the family.
• Mrs Malins – Freddy Malins' mother.
• Bartell D'Arcy – a tenor.

Gabriel Conroy, Gretta Conroy, Kate and Julia Morkan, and Bartell d'Arcy are all alluded to in James Joyce's later work, Ulysses, though no character from "The Dead" makes a direct appearance in the novel.

Adaptations

"The Dead" was adapted as a one-act play of the same name by Hugh Leonard in 1967.

Joyce Carol Oates's 1973 story, "The Dead", makes many allusions to Joyce's story.

In 1987, it was adapted into the film The Dead directed by John Huston, starring Anjelica Huston as Gretta Conroy and Donal McCann as Gabriel Conroy.

In 1990, the story was used as the core narrative for season 4, episode 10 of Thirtysomething titled "Happy New Year".

It is referenced in the Father Ted episode "Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest", when Ted quotes from the end of the story on the night before Father Jack's funeral, as it begins to snow.

In 1999, it was adapted into a Broadway musical by Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey. The original production starred Christopher Walken as Gabriel Conroy and won a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.

In 2012, playwright Frank McGuinness's two-act dramatic adaptation premiered at Dublin's Abbey Theatre, the National Theatre of Ireland, in a production starring Stanley Townsend as Gabriel and Derbhle Crotty as Gretta.

In 2019, the story was adapted into a Bengali film named Basu Poribar starring Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen.

See also

In Spanish: The Dead para niños