“The Dead” is a long short story by James Joyce that appears as the last item in Dubliners. The central character is Gabriel Conroy, a professor and part time reviewer of books. The setting is a Christmas party thrown by his two aunts, Kate and Julia Morkin, doyennes of the Dublin music world. As the party is breaking up, Gabriel sees how intensely his wife, Gretta, is listening to a song sung by Bartell D’Arcy, a noted Irish tenor, only to learn later that her emotions had been prompted by her memory of a young lover, Michael Furey, who had preceded Gabriel and who had died for her love. When she declines his lovemaking overtures and goes to bed, he is left alone to dwell on and in his loneliness.  He has the unfortunate epiphany that she has never felt as passionate in their marriage. The silver lining is that he at last experiences a spiritual connection to others The story is the crowning glory of Dubliners and considered one of the best ever written by anyone. Joyce biographer Richard Ellmann wrote "In its lyrical, melancholy acceptance of all that life and death offer, 'The Dead' is a linchpin in Joyce's work.”

Play sample: 

Download a PDF datasheet