How does Joyce change your expectations as a reader throughout the story? e.g. your idea of what the story is about and what kind of story you are reading might have changed at a few points throughout the story.
I was initially expecting a relaxed mood in the dinner party but the play ended with a sad mood. When the party was described in the beginning it was described as “a great affair, the …Never once had it fallen” showing a fun environment where we wouldn’t expect anything sad. Later on into the story, a few noticeable changes that shift the mood include the snow pouring down on them and a few characters opening up about how they live a very routine life without purpose. The characters live very mundane lives and cant escape them. Another important mood shifter was Greta opening up about mourning over an old childhood love. All these subtle and obvious changes shifted my experience of the story from light-hearted to gloomy.
I partially agree with your comments on the mood change being unpredictable. Although they called the gathering a great affair, interactions between Gabriel and his family members foreshadowed the changing of the mood. Greta opening up about an old childhood love and other members opening up about how their life is very routine with no purpose does help show the mood change. I just believe that throughout the whole story, the mood change was predictable.
I agree that at first the mood seemed like a fun dinner party, but throughout Gabriel’s interactions with the characters in the party, you could tell this wasn’t the case. Everyone was hung up on their past while Gabriel tried to encourage others to live in the present. However, I didn’t expect Gretta to be hung up on a past lover since Gabriel and her seemed to have a great relationship in the beginning.