Clay Themes

In “Clay,” an unmarried middle-aged woman named Maria struggles to connect with others. Maria is surrounded by people at work, and she speaks with strangers when she is out in the city, but these interactions are mostly superficial. Furthermore, Maria feels distance even with her closest friend, Joe Donnelly, a man whom she took care of when he was young, who still treats her like part of his family. Throughout the story, Maria faces…

In narrating Maria’s thoughts, Joyce shows a woman striving to see the positive: she likes the community at the laundry where she works, she has a greenhouse full of lovely plants, and she is delighted to visit Joe Donnelly and his family for Hallow Eve. But despite Maria’s attempts to be cheerful, it is clear that her life is difficult, particularly as an unmarried woman in a society that sees marriage as a woman’s…