29 pages • 58 minutes read
James JoyceIvy Day in the Committee Room
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1914A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Political Principle and Commitment
“Ivy Day in the Committee Room” is principally concerned with the portrayal of political principle and commitment, as represented by the various characters in the story and, by extension, in Dublin society at large. The story takes place on October 6, Ivy Day, the anniversary of Parnell’s death, a figurehead of political commitment within the Irish Nationalist cause and representative of a past political unity and fervor that, the story suggests, is largely lost. Charles Stewart Parnell’s presence permeates throughout the narrative of “Ivy Day in the Committee Room.” While not an active character within the story, each character has their own relationship with Parnell’s memory.
The various characters in the story react to Parnell and Ivy Day in ways that reflect their various political principles but also their level of commitment to those principles. Mr. Lyons, a socially conservative Nationalist member, and Mr. Crofton, a Conservative member, are similar in that they are not Parnellites. However, the Conservative expresses more support for Parnell as a “gentleman” than the Nationalist, who considers Parnell was not a “fit man to lead” (103). Here, the story reverses expectations to refute the false simplicity of party-political allegiance and to reveal the complex matrix of political affiliation and personal principle.
Mr. Parnell’s supporters, Mr. Hynes and Mr. O’Connor, wear ivy pin lapels, outwardly portraying their commitment to the memory of Parnell and the principles he represents. The two men, however, are shown to be very different in their internal levels of political commitment: Mr. Hynes is a staunch “Fenian,” a radical and “clever” activist in the Nationalist cause, whereas Mr. O’Connor hides in the Committee Room to avoid working in the bad weather. Thus, Joyce sets up a juxtaposition between the outward and inward show of commitment and the men’s disparate levels of political principle. Mr. Hynes’s poem sits in the story as an example of deeply held political commitment, as a foil to the complacency, prevarication, and disunity of the prose dialogue that precedes it. The heightened heroic language of the poem speaks to a shared cultural heritage belonging to all the characters, suggestive of a deeply patriotic commitment on the part of Mr. Hynes.
Modernist Individualism
The varying political viewpoints portrayed in “Ivy Day in the Committee Room” not only highlight Joyce’s interest in personal expression of individual ideals but also denote the impact of oppressive social systems on meaningful discourse and activism.
The story deals directly with ideas of class and self-determinism. Old Joe is portrayed as the uneducated workingman who clings to the familiarity of an oppressive system. His service to the other men and his conversation are expressive of the patronage that he relies on to survive. Although a workingman, Old Joe copies the opinions of his social “betters” in despising Colgan the “tinker,” a working-class Nationalist candidate who is also standing for the Corporation. The story exposes the snobbery of the characters, except Mr. Hynes, who speaks with the principles of Modernist individualism when he says that “the working-man” has “a better right” to represent his fellows than those who go into politics seeking preferment.
The central figure of Parnell is ambiguous in relation to Modernist individualism. Parnell’s political emphasis on the decolonization of Ireland and the formation of a democratic, rather than religiously influenced, system of governance in a new republic did significantly challenge the status quo in the late 1800s. However, Parnell was a member of the Anglo-Irish Protestant establishment, and his opinions and experiences were not representative of the majority in Ireland. For many, Parnell did not go far enough, and, for many Catholics, he sought to reduce the power of the Catholic Church. The story emphasizes the irony that those who opposed Parnell for being an establishment insider used his transgressive personal life to discredit him. When Mr. Hynes’s poem makes reference to “the rabble-rout / Of fawning priests,” he is referring to the Catholic authorities’ reaction to Parnell’s adultery, which they used as a reason to undermine his popular support across the country. The story therefore makes critical reference to the two reactionary powers of Ireland in 1902: the Church and the Empire, often in competition.
In contrast to Mr. Hynes, the political opinions of the Conservative characters reveal a lack of individuality and free thinking. For example, Mr. Lyons is preoccupied with the marital morality of the candidates rather than their political standpoints. Similarly, Mr. Crofton values British influence and being “gentlemanly” over addressing the issues present in Irish society. These figures are caught within the old systems of thought, and the story suggests that these fixed ways of thinking need to be deviated from in order to achieve liberation.
Words Versus Actions
“Ivy Day in the Committee Room” sets up a tension between the role of words and actions in order to explore the nature of politics and the morality of the story’s characters. This theme is also part of Joyce’s Modernist exploration of the purpose and meaning of literature, symbolized by Mr. Hynes’s poem.
The virtually plotless nature of the vignette highlights the lack of action that characterizes the group of men, supposedly the political activists of the Nationalist Party in Dublin. The story sets up the tension between words and actions immediately through the character of Mr. O’Connor, who is perhaps the most overt example of lazy hypocrisy: Mr. O’Connor sits and talks politics all day in order to avoid the uncomfortable real work of political canvassing. The narrator observes neutrally as the various men enter the room. Only Mr. Hynes leaves the room after entering, suggesting that only he is active elsewhere. The others gather to rest, talk, and drink, and their conversation consistently indicates that they have little commitment to their work and only like the idea of themselves as men of action. The dialogue shows them bickering and prevaricating. For them, the story suggests, politics is an excuse to grandstand rather than a means to effect change. Even Old Joe, the story’s one working-class man, stays by the fire, drinking and talking. King Edward is praised for his idle and dissolute lifestyle: In this group, the king’s indolence makes him an “ordinary” and relatable man who likes women, drink, and sport. Even Parnell is mutually respected only because he was a “gentleman,” a member of the leisured class.
Although the story shows the men’s dialogue to be hollow, the poem’s words are meaningful, both as an example of Mr. Hynes’s active commitment and as an artistic expression. The men are united in their applause of the poem, but, tellingly, there is “a silence” both before the applause and afterwards, suggesting that the auditors are sensible of the inadequacy of their own words and lukewarm actions. Joyce’s inclusion of the poem explores the role of literature as a means for cultural bonding, persuasion, and political activism. By comparing the characters’ hypocritical prose with the radical poem, Joyce shows that words can be usefully employed, provided that they are chosen well and with conviction.
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