At the beginning of the story, Gretta is introduced as Gabriel’s wife without much background or even characterization. Gretta almost seems as if her character won’t have a huge impact on the story. It’s interesting how the author chose to introduce her in such a subtle way, but by the end, we learn about her background and how it has a profound impact on Gabriel. The author did a good job of drawing minuscule attention towards Gretta throughout the text and describing who she is towards Gabriel as you continue to read. This allowed the reader to realize Gretta would eventually be a crucial part of Gabriel’s development. Her tragic background changed her relationship with Gabriel because he realized that she had more depth and experience then he once knew. Gabriel also realizes that he has never known a love like the one Gretta describes. This reveals that their relationship wasn’t built on love, but instead, it was about how Gabriel felt about Gretta on the surface.
2 thoughts on “What do you make of the fact that we learn a great deal about Gretta’s youth at the end of the story? How does this change your view of Gretta and her relationship with Gabriel?”
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I also think that Joyce purposely introduced Gretta in the beginning of the text very subtly. As readers we don’t expect her to have such a huge impact on the story because they were in a patriarchal society. In the end we see that Gretta never loved Gabriel the way that she was able to love Michael. This discovery shocks Gabriel and leaves him mentally “dead”.
I agree with your take on Gretta’s impact on Gabriel. Her past reveals her true beliefs of what love truly is. This makes Gabriel realize that he has never been in love and his relationship with Gretta will never be as great as her relationship in the past. This sends Gabriel into a spiral making him question his power within his relationship and within society as a whole.