Ivy Day in the Committee Room

James Joyce’s short story “Ivy Day in the Committee Room” critiques the Irish political situation of 1902 as a means to explore the role of the Irish political class in the growing political and social crisis at that time. It is a cynical study in political apathy, moral torpidity, and disillusionment, and a warning against cultural and political nostalgia as a barrier to real change.

As a vignette, the story is notable for its lack of action or plot. Instead, it is a static scene that details the dialogue within the Committee Room as members enter. As such, its subject is the nature and purpose of this dialogue, and the role of political discourse at the time in Ireland. The story itself is structured almost entirely around dialogue, emphasizing the third-person limited point of view. The narrative gives only occasional phrases of exposition, such as describing Mr. Henchy as a “bustling little man” (94). As such, the narrator shows rather than tells, as if the reader is themselves an observer in the room, obliged to deduce the thoughts and feelings of the characters from their words alone. This adds to the characteristic Naturalism of Joyce’s style and also creates an intriguing vacuum of narrative judgment, a detachment that approaches a pointed lack of concern for the men and their opinions.

The characters have been, with varying levels of commitment, campaigning for a local municipal election in Dublin: The arc of the story builds as each new character enters the Committee Room. None of the men appear to seek each other out personally, and none seem to have other occupation as the afternoon draws in: The story portrays them as peculiarly passive to match the narrative’s own fixity of view and lack of action. The emptiness of plot is symbolic of the stagnation of the Nationalist cause, and the emptiness of the men’s conversation.

Through the gradual accumulation of men in the room, the story explores the disunity and apathy of the characters. The Naturalistic to-and-fro as they exchange purposeless arguments and opinions becomes increasingly absurd. As each new individual enters the scene, a new political opinion is added to the mix. No matter which subject is discussed, from worker’s representation to the king of England’s upcoming visit to Ireland, or the role of Parnell on his anniversary, the men are unable to reach agreement. Indeed, their conversation is increasingly revealed as a pastime rather than for any political consensus-building purpose.

Joyce explores the theme of Modernist Individualism through the conflicting politics of each of the characters and their unique form of respect for the Irish patriot, Parnell. The best example of individual expression comes from the character of Mr. O’Connor, the disillusioned Parnellite. Unenthusiastic about the candidates running for office, Mr. O’Connor holds on to the flame of Parnell’s influence amid these days of confusion, with his most outward political expression throughout the story being his sporting of the ivy leaf pin. While the others debate various issues and opinions, Mr. O’Connor stands by, smoking, holding on to his singular, individual hope that Irish politics can someday be unified, and Ireland be a nation free of imperial influence. The story suggests that that the characters must lose their doctrinal restraints or else continue the cycle of devouring their own patriots and living as subjects of foreign powers.

The story shifts considerably when Mr. Hynes recites his poem, a wholesale alteration of mood and tone. The heroic language of the poem contrasts markedly with the rather comic, uneventful dialogue, highlighting the humdrum nature of the men’s characters and opinions. Although the story does not make a value judgment as to the correctness of Mr. Hynes’s political belief or his support of Parnell, it does appear to create the poem as a deliberate critique on the other characters’ political discourse. This is essential to Joyce’s exploration of the themes of Political Principle and Commitment and Words Versus Actions. The positioning of the poem at the end, and the men’s reception of it with pensive silence and applause, reframes the mundane and mediocre conversation of the story up until that point. With an example of a patriotic and culturally resonant recitation, the story offers the reader a contrast to the banality of pseudo-political debate. The heroic style and archaic language of the poem also speak to the story’s portrayal of modern political decline.