Characterisation of Polly and Mr Doran
Other important characters of the short story “The Boarding House” by James Joyce are Polly Mooney and Bob Doran.
Polly Mooney
Towards the end of the narrative, the narrator renders Polly Mooney's perspective on the events.
Outer characterisation
Her outer characterisation presents her to be “a slim girl of nineteen”, the daughter of Mrs Mooney who also does housework at her boarding house after quitting a job as a typist at a factory.
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Inner characterisation
The girl’s inner characterisation is conveyed through her actions but also by using Bob Doran’s perspective on her or through her thoughts and attitude at the end.
Initially, she comes across as a flirty person who tries her luck with any men that pays attention to her at the boarding house: “Polly, of course, flirted with the young men but Mrs. Mooney, who was a shrewd judge, knew that the young men were only passing the time away: none of them meant business.”
After she begins the affair with Bob Doran, she realises that her mother knows about it and when finally asked by Mrs Mooney, she confesses everything. This may indicate that she fears her mother.
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Bob Doran
Bob Doran is the third character whose perspective the narrator employs.
Outer characterisation
From his outer characterisation, we find out that he is a tenant at the boarding house and works for a wine merchant and...
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Inner characterisation
Bob Doran’s inner characterisation stems from his attitude and thoughts, but is also conveyed directly from Mrs Mooney’s perspective who depicts him as “a serious young man, not rakish or loud-voiced like the others”, or the narrator’s who presents him as “very anxious”.
The man describes himself as a Catholic, although when he was younger, he used to pose as an atheist: “As a young man he had sown his wild oats, of course; he had boasted of his free-thinking and denied the existence of God to his companions in public- houses. But that was all passed and done with... nearly.”
In the present, he experiences guilt and anxiety. The guilt was induced by a previous confession to a priest who urged him to repair the situation with Polly, meaning to get married to her. However, he still contemplates the idea of running away: “The harm was done. What could he do now but marry her or run away? He could not brazen it out.”
Bob is not entirely convinced that he wants to be tied down to Polly or that he loves her, and he also cares about others opinion of him and of Polly. He fears that if he runs away from the marriage, he will ruin his reputation: “The affair would be sure to be talked of and his employer would be certain to hear of it. Dublin is such a small city: everyone knows everyone else's business.”
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