A Painful Case
1. Setting:
- A city far from the suburbs of Dublin
- A somber house
- Dan Burke's restaurant
- An eating-house in George's Street
- Mrs. Sinico's house
- The Park
- Sydney Parade Station
2. Characters
Mr. James Duffy
Mrs. Emily Sinico
Mrs. Sinico's daughter
Mrs. Sinico's husband
3. Plot summary
There is a man named Mr. James Duffy that lives
alone in a somber house in the suburb of Dublin. He is a lonely and
intellectual man which works as a bank cashier. After the routine by working a day,
Mr. Duffy spend his evenings out in concerts or operas, He has not friends or
fellow to make company to him in his moments of fun. In one eventual
evening out, He engages in a conversation with Mrs. Sinico and her daughter,
and get admired not just for her intellectual thoughts but for her beauty too. After
their occasionally third meeting, Mr. Duffy starts to go to her home; although
she is married with a captain merchant ship, he keeps approaching to her
through conversation about many things that both like and they become more close in each meeting. The captain encouraged his visits because he
believed that Mr. Duffy was interests in his daughter. They were always alone
in the house the confidence was mutual, then, in one of their night meeting , she
surprised him taking his hand and putting in her cheek, he was scared about
Mrs. Sinico’s attitude and what could to occur between them, then he stopped to
go in Sinico’s house cutting off totally
the relationship with her. After one week, he decides to meet her at a cake shop for the
last meeting: she is upset with his decision of break up the meetings but accepts it. Four years later,
Mr. Duffy is in the same daily routine life: eating at the same restaurants,
walking out for the same places and streets, living alone since Mrs. Sinico completely
depart out of his life. One casual dinner night in George’s street, he is surprised with a notice in a newspaper entitled “A painful case” he does not believes what he is reading, then, he reads many times the notice about Mrs.
Sinico’s death who was killed by a train when she crossed the line and in his mind, apparently was a suicide and he feels as he has guilty about it, his thoughts
goes to her, how she felt so lonely while all this time that they were
apart and now there is no anyone who will feel his miss. Now, he realises how alone he is in the world. Then, he turn back the way he had come and does not remember who she was, does not remember the meetings with her, does not remember her. He is by himself as always.
4. Symbols
Routine: The repetition of Mr. Duffy's actions in the daily life shows how a person can feel as a prisoner, stuck in the life, without a sign of exit from this.
The will of freedom: When Mr. Duffy meets Mrs. Sinico is expected for him an opportunity to get out of that scheduled life, to get out of the known things and explore the unknown ones. It is the opposite of the previous one.
Life: There are two views of life, the first one is the 'monotony life' lived for Mr. Duffy (as a bore and sad way of living) and the 'apparent good life ' lived for Mrs. Sinico (as a life lived because a choice that can not go back).
Death: The death is felt since the first verses. The dark aspect of the house and its background leads to a sadness lived for the two major characters.; especially when they are alone, the presence of the death is felt so close to them that they can think about their lives.
Food: It is understood as a source of energy, to keep on the daily routine.
5. Epiphany
The epiphany is in the protagonist realization of his loneliness. After ''he turned back the way he had come'', he begin to doubt about what he had lived in the last five years, understanding those moments as mere memories that could not have existed before. He can not feel that woman who one day have a casual meetings anymore. He was, is and always will be alone.
6. Interpretation
This short story shows us how a person can be so true to what he/she believe that can not allow to break his/her behaviour and in order to keep on doing what he/she please is needed to have a decision. In this moment that the moral values, which are the most important ones for ourselves, overcome the will and make us to have a decision, it can be good for us and bad to whom will receive the new. In this case, the loneliness that a person feel inside him/herself is too deeply rooted that does not allow this person to see that what is better to him/her is to change his/her life or even to try to understand some situations of the life. The person is so closed to him/herself that is not able to have any kind of relationship with someone because of his/her lonely life and the only possible exit of it is the death.
