The Living and the Dead in Joyce’s “The Dead”

In Gabriel’s perspective, the dead lived and the living is dead. When Gabriel compares his life to Gretta’s ex Michael, he comes to the realization that his life is fading and ‘dwindling’ as he ages, whereas Michael’s life remains strong though Gretta’s memory. Gabriel also realizes that he has not experienced what Gretta had in her past. In Gabriel’s speech, one of his messages is to sort of live in the moment and not in the past. In a way, by Gretta living in the past she is holding herself back. Could that be considered her being ‘dead’? In what glorious ways have people have passed to be considered to have lived?