The title of this James Joyce story could refer to both the protagonist and the poor woman he drove to alcoholism and possible suicide. James Duffy is a loner who lives an orderly, spartan life. He meets and becomes close friends with the neglected wife of a sea captain. When she hints at feelings stronger than friendship, he immediately terminates the relationship. This and the cryptic sentence he wrote afterwards about such a friendship being impossible because there must be sexual intercourse highlight the major theme (repressed sexuality). Other themes include loneliness, isolation, order, morality, emotional paralysis, guilt.
A Painful Case Text / PDF / Audio (3,600 words)