In the beginning of the story, Gabriel is depicted as being superior to the rest of the characters. He carries himself as being more important than everyone else due to his position in society and his male gender. Gabriel uses his social class and his male “influence” as a way to justify his actions towards those who he perceives as being lesser than him. As the story progresses, Gabriel seems to lose his self-perceived authority in terms of his relationship with Gretta. Gretta’s past shifts Gabriel’s characterization as being in control to revealing Gabriel’s insecurities.
2 thoughts on “How does Joyce depict the differences between Gabriel and the other characters in the story? How are they similar and different?”
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I agree with what you say about Gabriel being depicted as superior. However, I would say that he carries himself as superior unintentionally. Considering that this is based on his upbringing. Though he isn’t able to present himself this way when he’s challenged by other characters, specifically females like Miss Ivors or Gretta.
I agree that Gabriel unintentionally believes he is superior to everyone, but it seems like he also does not know how to act around people in social classes below his own. At a certain point in the text he was really worried the audience would not understand what he was speaking about in his speech, so I think he has trouble connecting with lower social classes because of differences in their educations, not just their genders. Do you both believe he is similar to any other characters at all in the text?