Sure, she's married, but there's a huge spark between these two that's unmistakable. And even after that (yes, we know, this is torture) they don't even touch. (The times of friending someone on Facebook the same night you meet them haven't yet arrived).Īnd even after they meet for long walks on dark nights, he doesn't really start talking about his personal life for a long time. After the first meeting, it's weeks before they see each other again, and it's not until the third accidental meeting that he asks to see her less accidentally. But it does allow him to meet Mrs Sinico and to start talking with her.

Compared to the vices that Gallaher talks about in Europe, this is pretty tame. He had only one vice, Mr Duffy: going to the symphony.

And it's all thanks to Mrs Emily Sinico that we get some access to this. And in addition to all the thinking he has done, he's got an interesting personal life. He's interested in politics, and once even worked alongside blue-collar labor union members. Well, it's because somebody opens Mr Duffy up a little bit, and we start to get a glimpse of a man behind the mask. With a character like this, how is this story so gripping? He hates his city and wants to live as far away from it as he can he 'had neither companions nor friends,' and he only visits his family when he has to (A Painful Case.4) the most important facts we can cite about him, besides the titles of his favorite books, are the places he goes to every boring day of his life. The German poet Goethe once said, 'the world is empty the heart is full,' and it's probably something Mr Duffy would agree with. Characters in 'A Painful Case' Mr Duffy Can't Touch Thisįor a life as empty as Mr Duffy's, we sure know a lot about him.

A painful case james joyce