Gender and Power Theme Analysis

In “A Mother,” Mrs Kearney is an ambitious, upper-class, educated woman who mistreats the people of the Eire Abu Society whom she deems beneath her. While she ends up ruining her family’s reputation and her daughter’s music career with her efforts to climb the social ladder, Joyce also includes details about Mrs Kearney that invite the reader to pity her: as a woman, her piano-playing was only seen as useful for its ability to charm a husband, while her daughter’s musical talent could secure her a career of her own. Furthermore, since Mrs Kearney could not marry for love, she had to marry for improved social status and financial gain. And rather than exercise her power directly or command the kind of respect her husband does, she can only turn circumstances to her advantage by convincing more powerful men to do what she says. The details Joyce includes about Mrs Kearney’s upbringing, her views of her husband, and her final argument with Mr Holohan reveal how her abilities to gain respect and power in society are colored by her gender, making her a more sympathetic character.

While Joyce’s descriptions of Mrs Kearney’s wealth emphasize the privileges she has in life, they also point out how limited her power is in shaping her own life. Although Mrs Kearney attended an upper-class school, her talents were only cultivated in order to attract a husband—and her choosiness in doing so only made her the subject of negative gossip. Unlike Kathleen, Mrs Kearney did not appear to have the option of channeling her musical talents into a career. Instead, she had to rely on marriage to shape her financial and social future, meaning she ultimately married for wealth instead of love. Ultimately, although her life is comfortable and she and Mr Kearney respect one another, Mrs Kearney appears to be dissatisfied with her position and to live vicariously through her daughter’s successes.

Mrs Kearney’s views of the men around her bring to light the gendered power imbalances at the turn of the 20th century in Dublin. Mr and Mrs Kearney’s marriage is a social and financial transaction more than a decision made for love: Mrs Kearney seems invested in appearing like a happy, prosperous family when she describes her vacations to her friends, but her relationship with her husband seems distant. When she thinks of her husband, she views him as “secure and fixed” like the post office. And, although she does not find him particularly personally impressive, she recognizes his “abstract value as a male,” suggesting that her view of her husband is largely pragmatic: he is a means to an end.

When she encounters Mr Holohan, Mrs Kearney appears to view him as a means to an end, too. To convince him to agree to her desired contract terms, Mrs Kearney must play the hostess, keeping him supplied with plenty of food and wine to gain his favor. In this way, she leverages a traditionally feminine role to influence the hapless man who actually holds power. Finally, when Mrs Kearney’s argument with the Committee members approaches its peak, she immediately thinks that they would have taken her more seriously if she were a man. In particular, the moment she decides to make sure that Kathleen gets her “rights” suggests that the conflict is about more than just the eight guineas Mr Holohan promised her: it is about how she is treated—and how Kathleen will be treated—as a woman mostly doing business with men.

Mr Holohan’s remark to Mrs Kearney after she mocks him confirms her suspicion that he is using her gender to his advantage: he accuses Mrs Kearney of not being a “lady,” which implies that she is both a lower-class (thus, lower-quality) person and a particularly lower-quality woman. When Mr Holohan makes this comment, he takes advantage of the fact that the only power Mrs Kearney has is social: the power of her reputation and of her ability to influence other people. By humiliating her in front of everyone, therefore, he undermines what power she has. And since Mrs Kearney does indeed fall short of societal expectations of a “lady,” all the onlookers agree with Mr Holohan. They are primed to be biased: patriarchal expectations mean that they see Mr Holohan’s anger as justified and Mrs Kearney’s as excessive. But because her outburst is fairly tame, the reader can see just how thin a line Mrs Kearney must walk to maintain her reputation, the source of her power. In this respect, Joyce subtly criticizes the patriarchal expectations of his day and prompts readers’ sympathy for the position of women like Mrs Kearney.