A Mother

by

James Joyce

Mr Duggan Character Analysis

Mr Duggan is another one of the artistes—namely, the bass—in the Saturday night concert. He comes from a humble background as a hall porter’s son and worked his way up to subbing for the opera singer who played the king in the opera Maritana when he got sick. Although he is an excellent singer, he reveals his lower-class roots by wiping his nose onstage and saying “yous.” He takes the Committee’s side in the conflict between Mr Holohan, Mr Fitzpatrick, and Mrs Kearney. Mr Duggan’s humble roots contrast with Mrs Kearney’s wealthy background, helping to exaggerate the discrepancy between Mrs Kearney’s expectations and the concert’s reality.

Mr Duggan Quotes in A Mother

The A Mother quotes below are all either spoken by Mr Duggan or refer to Mr Duggan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Class, Ambition, and Corruption Theme Icon
).
A Mother Quotes

He sang his music with great feeling and volume and was warmly welcomed by the gallery; but, unfortunately, he marred the good impression by wiping his nose in his gloved hand once or twice out of thoughtlessness. He was unassuming and spoke little. He said yous so softly that it passed unnoticed and he never drank anything stronger than milk for his voice’ sake.

Related Characters: Mr Duggan
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mr Duggan Quotes in A Mother

The A Mother quotes below are all either spoken by Mr Duggan or refer to Mr Duggan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Class, Ambition, and Corruption Theme Icon
).
A Mother Quotes

He sang his music with great feeling and volume and was warmly welcomed by the gallery; but, unfortunately, he marred the good impression by wiping his nose in his gloved hand once or twice out of thoughtlessness. He was unassuming and spoke little. He said yous so softly that it passed unnoticed and he never drank anything stronger than milk for his voice’ sake.

Related Characters: Mr Duggan
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis: