The Grace of Joyce

Grace is the story of a man's fall and redemption. It is an exploration of faith. Taking place in Ireland, the dialogue between Mr. Kernan and his friends allows for much more sincere religious debate than is usually sanctioned among pious Catholics. Faith is represented with complexity and irony. Mrs. Kernan's "faith was bounded by her kitchen, but, if she was put to it, she could believe also in the banshee and in the Holy Ghost" (Joyce, 261). In this paratactic sentence, the banshee of Irish folklore and the Holy Ghost are equated in the dubious corner of Mrs. Kernan's religious beliefs, emphasizing the pragmatism of her faith. Mr. Kernan, who comes from a Protestant family, exemplifies the surface conformity to the Catholic religion that the other characters show to varying degrees. "Though he had been converted to the Catholic faith at the time of his marriage, he had not been in the pale of the Church for twenty years. He was fond, moreover, of giving side-thrusts at Catholicism" (Joyce, 260). As Mr. Kernan and his friends discuss Catholicism, their favorite Popes, the great ministers they have known, a drinking ritual with religious overtones occurs simultaneously. "Mr. Power officiated. Glasses were rinsed and five small measure of whiskey were poured out" (Joyce, 268). Later Mr. Cummingham responds to Mr. Kernan's Protestant doubt with, "'Not one of them, not the biggest drunkard, not the most...out-and-out ruffian, not one of them ever preached ex cathedra a word of false doctrine'" (Joyce, 269). Sins are forgiveable; what is important is to live an honest life and know the truth. In this context, "The light music of whiskey falling into glasses" assumes the significance of a mass (Joyce, 270). During the climactic moment of religious catharsis, when the men go on retreat to "wash the pot," we realize that this ritual is "religion of habit" as much as a serious spiritual exercise. Mr. Cunningham, the moral arbiter of the group of friends covertly points out the various attendees, from Mr. Harford, the moneylender widely accused of being a Jew, to the town officials, to businessmen, prosperous or fallen on hard times, speculating on their sins and offenses.
The story is also an exploration of human relationships and loyalty. Mr. Kernan is a relatable character; for all of his faults, he is not so very bad compared to you or I, or anyone. As Joyce demonstrates, there are worse people in the town than Mr. Kernan, which is why he has loyal friends who are willing to help him back to a more dignified existence. A large portion of the story is devoted to the conversation of Mr. Kernan and his friends around his bedside. Joyce presents their relationship almost exclusively through dialogue, with little narrative intervention, leaving judgment up to the reader. Joyce presents the loyalty of Mrs. Kernan to her husband, also with little judgment, although through her vivid memories, the reader can glimpse her acceptance of her lot.

Sentence patterns:
She was an active, practical woman of middle age. Not long before she had celebrated her silver wedding and renewed her intimacy with her husband by waltzing with him to Mr Power's accompaniment. In her days of courtship, Mr Kernan had seemed to her a not ungallant figure: and she still hurried to the chapel door whenever a wedding was reported and, seeing the bridal pair, recalled with vivid pleasure how she had passed out of the Star of the Sea Church in Sandymount, leaning on the arm of a jovial well-fed man, who was dressed smartly in a frock-coat and lavender trousers and carried a silk hat gracefully balanced upon his other arm. After three weeks she had found a wife's life irksome and, later on, when she was beginning to find it unbearable, she had become a mother.
(Joyce, 259)

The first sentence is an example of pattern 4, a series without a conjunction. Joyce uses this sentence type frequently, modifying the subject with multiple adjectives but omitting a conjunction. The second sentence is written in pattern 8, dependent clauses in a pair. It opens with an independent clause, "Not long before she had celebrated her silver wedding anniversary" but then follows it with two dependent clauses, "and renewed her intimacy with her husband" "by waltzing with him to Mr Power's accompaniment." It is a cumulative sentence. The third sentence is quite complex, cumulative and polysyndetic, and combines several patterns. Beginning with the prepositional phrase, "In her days of courtship," the core of the sentence follows pattern 3, compound sentence with explanatory statement, "Mr Kernan had seemed to her a not ungallant figure: and she still hurried to the chapel door whenever a wedding was reported." The sentence then continues polysyndetically in pattern 12, with a series of participial phrases, "seeing the bridal pair, recalled with vivid pleasure how she had passed out of the Star of the Sea Church in Sandymount, leaning on the arm of a jovial well-fed man, who was dressed smartly in a frock-coat and lavender trousers and carried a silk hat gracefully balanced upon his other arm." This long and layered sentence conveys a feeling of girlish breathlessness. The reader is able to experience Mrs Kernan's delight. The last sentence is a variation on pattern 14, prepositional phrase before subject and verb. It presents a series of two prepositional phrases, "after three weeks," and " when she was beginning to find it unbearable."