"The Dead" Characters

Molly Ivors

The nationalist woman who teases Gabriel during a dance in "The Dead."

Mr Browne

A Protestant guest at the Morkan's party, he's a little bit of a creepy old man, but for the most part he's pretty tame. During the course of the party, he helps take care of Freddy Malins, flirts with dancing girls while drinking, and questions the strange habits of the monks of Mount Melleray. He takes a cab home with Freddy Malins and his mother, and is part of the final scene of laughter in the story before things turn significantly more somber.

Freddy Malins

Drunk; cringe-worthy moments: praising julia's performance, black tenor, loud laughter A funny drunk whose exaggerated gestures and loud words provide comic relief in "The Dead." Even though the Morkan sisters worry that he will show up "screwed" (that is, drunk), when he does he's pretty tame. Sure, he repeats his stories and rubs his hand in his eyes, and his compliments on Julia's singing are a little bit over the top. And to top it off he silences the dinner conversation by accusing Mr Browne of not respecting a black opera singer. But all in all he doesn't cause any major gaffes. Especially if we compare him with Farrington from "Counterparts." Near the end of "The Dead," Freddy's hijinks about giving directions to the cab driver provide an intense contrast with Gretta Conroy's simultaneous listening to Bartell D'Arcy's singing of "The Lass of Aughrim."

Gretta Conroy

Gabriel's wife in "The Dead." Gretta plays a relatively minor role for most of the story, until the conclusion where she is the focus of Gabriel's thoughts and actions. She appears mournful and distant when a special song is sung at the party, and she later plunges into despair when she tells Gabriel the story of her childhood love, Michael Furey. Her pure intentions and loyalty to this boy unnerve Gabriel and generate his despairing thoughts about life and death.

Julia Morkan

One of the aging sisters who throw an annual dance party in "The Dead." Julia has a grey and sullen appearance that combines with her remote, wandering behavior to make her a figure sapped of life.///Aunt Kate claims to be more with it, but she's just pretending a lot of the time. When Gretta talks about "galoshes," Aunt Kate makes fun of her sister for not knowing what they are, but then she has to admit that she doesn't really have any idea either. Still, Aunt Kate's manner is totally likable. She wants to make sure that Gabriel and Gretta will be safe getting to their hotel after the party, and she can't say enough times how much better she feels with Gabriel around. When he gives his speech and recognizes her, she tears up because it means so much to her.///Singer, who Gabriel is a fond fan of her music

Kate Morkan

One of the aging sisters who throw an annual dance party in "The Dead." Kate is vivacious but constantly worries about her sister, Julia, and the happiness of the guests. ///"Chief Hostess"; gossipy and critical of Pope, Browne, and Freddy

Lily

The housemaid to the Morkan sisters who rebukes Gabriel in "The Dead."

Gabriel Conroy

The protagonist from "The Dead." A university-educated teacher and writer, Gabriel struggles with simple social situations and conversations, and straightforward questions catch him off guard. He feels out of place due to his highbrow literary endeavors. His aunts, Julia and Kate Morkan, turn to him to perform the traditionally male activities of carving the goose and delivering a speech at their annual celebration. Gabriel represents a force of control in the story, but his wife Gretta's fond and sad recollections of a former devoted lover make him realize he has little grasp on his life and that his marriage lacks true love.

Mary Jane

The youngest of the hostesses of the party, Mary Jane is a cousin of Gabriel and a niece of Aunts Kate and Julia. She came to live with them when her father (and their older brother) Pat, died. She earns money by playing the organ for a Dublin church and by teaching music lessons to children. In the story, Mary Jane has a small but significant role. She's present in a small way in some of the most important scenes of the story, and interacts with or comments on the drunkenness of Freddy Malins, the nationalism of Miss Ivors, and the singing of Bartell D'Arcy, in turn. Plays Piano and people, especially Gabriel, get bored of it really fast. Talks about monks on Mount Melleray

Michael Furey

This man symbolizes young love, passion and tragic loss in a story in Dubliners ///Gretta Conroy's childhood love in "The Dead" who died for her long ago.

Bartell D'Arcy

This poor singer unfortunately has a cold on the night of the party. He speaks briefly about famous tenors during the dinner conversation, but his main contribution to the story is his singing a few bars of "The Lass of Aughrim," the song that Gretta Conroy's old flame, Michael Furey, used to sing. Even though he only sings for a minute, it's enough to change the course of the whole story, since after this Gretta's story of Michael Furey and Gabriel's pondering of these events makes up the last pages of "The Dead."a