Duffys intellectual life thereafter progresses through German idealism to eventual nihilism. Assuming the position of the ideal contemporary Irish reader that Joyce might have anticipated, Owens argues that the main character, James Duffy, is a spoiled priest, emotionally arrested by his guilt at having rejected the call to the priesthood. There is something new for every Joyce student and scholar to learn from Owenss thorough research.-English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920 In order to demonstrate that one story from the Dubliners is not only a turning point in that book but also a microcosm of a wide range of important Joycean influences and preoccupations, Ciln Owens examines the dense intertextuality of A Painful Case. This book is an excellent companion for reading A Painful Case and would be essential reading for anyone engaging in an in-depth study of Dubliners.-James Joyce Literary Supplement Inspires awe, admiration, and wonder.

Owenss book is among the finest studies of Dubliners ever written as well as among the best-most provocative, revealing, and useful-critical works on Joyce to be published in some time.-Philological Quarterly While Owens has captured the breadth of subjects that a casebook would offer, he balances his readings with a great deal of focused and specific close reading. Book Synopsis An eminently insightful and informative study of a single story, as well as a profound exploration of Joyces position within his own historical moment and its most urgent philosophical and religious questions.-James Joyce Quarterly One of the more intellectually capacious, wide-ranging studies on Joyce and his work to emerge in some time.

A painful case james joyce