The Boarding House

The Next Tale in James Joyce’s Dubliners

Photo by Hannah Wright on Unsplash

Joyce’s short tale, The Boarding House, from Dubliners, tells the story of Mrs Mooney and her daughter, Polly, who open up a boarding house in Dublin following the separation from her drunkard husband. Polly is flirtatious with the male guests and seems to give the boarding house a reputation as a brothel. Indeed, Mrs Mooney, as landlady, is referred to as ‘The…