Two Gallants, one of the fifteen short stories collected in the book Dubliners written by James Joyce, is about two men, Corley and Lenehan, talking about a woman that recently fell for Corley while they are wandering in the City of Dublin. Corley is a young man, the son of an inspector of police and he has inherited his father’s frame and gait. Lenehan is considered a leech, flattering others in order to get a drink. The story starts from the conversation of Corley talking about how he used his looks to cheat some money out of a woman, a maid, who works for a wealthy family. He says that he is about to meet this woman. Corley goes on to brag about how the woman fell for him and paid for his tram tickets, cigarettes, and one time even a few expensive cigars. Still walking through the city, Lenehan asks Corley if he can successfully trick the maid into doing what he wants. Corley assures Lenehan that he will, again. They then need to part ways because Corley is meeting the maid for a date and also saying that they will meet up again. Lenehan stops in a Refreshment Bar where he orders food using a rough voice. Eating a meal of peas and ginger beer, he imagines Corley’s exploits with his lover. He also thinks over his dissatisfaction about his own life, wondering why, at almost 31, he is still financially and personally insecure. He goes back to the meeting point, and he meets Corley with a gold coin in his hand. Two Gallants is a short story, but it provides an opportunity for readers to think about some critical issues regarding corrosion of Irish society, spiritual problems, and female issues.
The decline and corrosion of Irish society, the background of the story, affect Irish individuals to have an unfavorable financial situation, which in turn worsens their behavior. While one may be at fault, another can make it worse, explaining the society situation that is affecting all of Ireland in Two Gallants. Deceptive by their looks, Lenehan and Corley seem like two men with a bit of class, but they are actually petty conmen. Corley deceives women into giving him money and gifts, but he does not really love her. People like Lenehan wander on the streets of Dublin, with nothing to do, but living with their dull and boring life in the area. The author also describes how many people, like Lenehan and Corley, lack a stable job and money. Ireland was never as glamorous as Great Britain, and had large amounts of crime, stealing, poverty, and unemployment. “Two Gallants” puts the paralysis and decline of Ireland on full display. The story satirizes the decay and degradation within the social system of Dublin, represented by two characters, Lenehan and Corley. Ireland's decline can be attributed to two sources. First, Great Britain was in control of Ireland. The story implies that Corley and Lenehan were both born into upper-middle-class families, but both are now in trouble due to the interplay of national and personal failings. This decline is evident in the transformation from Corley's father, a police inspector, to Corley himself, who shuns honest work and ekes out an income as a police informant. Second, there was a kind of paralysis affecting all of Ireland, seeing this from various symbols. The harp, a national symbol of Ireland, is personified as a weary woman who was mistreated by its owners, while the harpist’s playing seems like a desperate attempt for money. This kind of playing and actions signify that the harp and harpist are both tired. This suggests that Ireland seems like that weary woman, who was robbed of her dignity, like the harp, while the harpist, or England, controls Ireland, like the strings of the harp. This is a symbol of Ireland’s decline and corrosion. The financial situation and behaviors of the citizens of Ireland make the situation of Irish Society even worse. Even the streets of Dublin are named after English lords and nobles, an example of how England exerts control over Ireland. Ireland failed its citizens. Such failing makes the Irish citizens living only in poverty and see everything as a failure, bringing Ireland almost no chance to stand up against England.
Lacking the sense of belonging in a relationship or within a community makes people feel insecure, unworthy, and isolated, which brings about the thoughts of betrayal. Both the lack of the sense of belonging or the thoughts of betrayal are caused by many issues, including friendship, financial problems, society situation, or political stand. Corley exploits his romantic relationship with the maid to ask her to steal things from her employer. However, Corley does not love her; instead, he uses her for cigarettes, gifts and even a small gold coin. Corley betrayed the maid for his personal gain. On the other hand, Corley is afraid that Lenehan will try to steal his girl, and thus he will not get the riches he wanted. Both Lenehan and Corley did not trust each other. But actually, Lenehan is also afraid that Corley betrayed him and ran off with his riches. Both Corley and Lenehan lack the sense of belonging. For Corley, whenever any job is vacant, a friend would be always ready to give Corley work, but his so-called friend makes Corley “holding himself nimbly at the borders of the company until he was included in a round”. Although Corley has friends, he never owns true friends. Similarly, many people in Dublin consider Lenehan a leech for drinks. Although people do not ban him, obviously Lenehan has no true friends. At the age of almost 31, Lenehan longs for family with a simple-minded woman. Ireland also lacks the sense of belonging from Great Britain because Great Britain never gives help or protection when Ireland needs it. Additionally, the story is full of people being betrayed and the fear of being betrayed, as this is a prominent threat in everyday life. Betraying means that people are no longer loyal to another person. This can happen anytime, and anywhere. Thus, Lenehan and Corley both fear being betrayed, since they don’t trust each other. Though friends, the possibility of betrayal looms over them, and neither believes the other is above such deception. Corley, instead of being faithful to the maid, gossips about her to Lenehan. More importantly, his primary goal is to use her interest in him to manipulate her into stealing money for him. In every case, rather, he is using these women for what he can get them to give him, whether free tram rides or cigars. Also, when Lenehan wants to look at Corley’s maid, Corley immediately thinks that Lenehan means to try to step in and steal her from him. Essentially, betrayal undermines the sense of belonging, making it difficult to rebuild trust and connection. When people are in fear of being betrayed, they get hard to communicate with.
Men, back to Irish society in the early 19th century, hold unrealistic expectations of women, which contradict men themselves in every aspect. The contradictory desires of men are impossible to navigate through for women, as they will never reach the “perfect” woman. Lenehan and Corley are conmen that con women out of their money and use their gifts for their own good. They don’t work, so they need to get their money mainly in the form of exploiting others, women in particular. Even as they mistreat women, ironically, Lenehan seems to long for a stable relationship with a good woman who will just provide him with money. However, the men are far from gallant; they fulfill none of the bravery, elegance, or self-sacrifice that would be characteristic of a traditionally gallant man. When the saying of nobody is perfect is heard by men, people just think they need more practice. But for women, in the eyes of men, they are never perfect. Men in the past had double standards for women. Men could meet a “good” woman to settle down with, without ever realizing that they themselves are driving the culture that makes it nearly impossible for a woman to meet this ideal of being “good.” The way in which Lenehan and Corley speak about and treat women is far from respectful. They are not gallant in any way. People who are chivalrous are very elegant and gentlemanlike, meaning that they are mainly respectful and brave toward women. Corley turns the maid into thieves and makes her do things out of love, even though he treats her as tools to steal money from. Corley sees her as someone to manipulate and use, not as someone worthy of actual care or love. They can be scammed further for money. Great Britain is like a man mistreating a woman, or Ireland, as Great Britain betrayed and used Ireland for its own resources. Lenehan and Corley can be compared to Great Britain, while the women are compared to Ireland. In the time, women were placed with standards so high that it became impossible for them to achieve it.
Overall, the short story Two Gallants seems very simple but still, this story reflects many valuable themes throughout the story. Through the story Two Gallants, we can see the degradation of Irish Society, the mistreatment of women, and having betrayal thoughts and lacking the sense of belonging. Ireland’s decline is mostly represented through the detailed descriptions of Dublin in its real state, not fantasizing or romanticizing things. Betrayal is feared by all characters in the story, yet this still takes place. Lenehan is worried that Corley is going to run off with the maid and betray him, while Corley previously was afraid that Lenehan would try to charm the girl away from him so that he couldn’t scam her. When men want women, they have high standards so that even the best woman couldn’t achieve this. This is because of men’s contradictory desires and how they set their expectations way too high for women. This story can look into the social issues of Dublin, including the fall of Ireland, betrayal, and the women.
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