The Unconscious Struggle for Human Existence

A detailed Summary of The Unconscious Struggle for Human Existence

According to philosopher Karl Marx, humans are "slaves to historical necessity and their thought and thinking are rigidly determined by the mode of production" (Beer xxii). This view of historical materialism asserts that the culture, political, and government systems of a given people derive from the material conditions of their existence. Thus, "life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life"(Reader 155). In the short story, "The Boarding House", James Joyce uses Mrs. Mooney to illustrate how the "blind forces" of economic materialism determine our existence and causally result in our living by a false consciousness.

The prevailing economic condition in Dublin, Ireland determines Mrs. Mooney's disposition in running her boarding house. Because of the destructive potato famine, a good portion of the city's men have fled in search of work elsewhere, leaving behind a surplus of women desperately searching for companions. Due to the lack of men, Mrs. Mooney is under more pressure to get her young, daughter Polly married and eliminate the possibility of her ending up an old maid. Reflecting the present economic ideology, Mrs. Mooney understands that her ultimate goal is to get Polly "off of her hands" and

no longer any perturbation visible on her face" (79). Joyce describes her waiting on "cheerfully, without alarm", deluded by visions of her future. Only when Mrs. Mooney calls for Polly to come and speak with Mr. Doran, the supposed cause of all of her supposed anguish, does "she remember what she had been waiting for" (79). Someone worried about the outcome of a confrontation between an outraged mother and a wrongful man would not daydream and completely forget about the situation. Mrs. Mooney and Polly do no want to believe they are trapping the poor Mr. Doran as they really are. It is imperative that Mr. Doran be the wretched aggressor and they be the helpless victims and if Mrs. Mooney plays her cards right, she will triumphantly acquire Polly a husband. With her false consciousness vastly overpowering her reality, Mrs. Mooney accurately represents the wronged, vengeful, and determined mother.

will be a free association "in which the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all" (32).

Another result of Mooney's role as wife of depraved drunkard, is the growing dominion of her false consciousness. First, because of Mr. Doran's age, Mrs. Mooney concludes that youth could be no excuse for his deed. Also, because Mooney labels him as "a man who had seen something of the world", ignorance could be no excuse either (75). Mr. Doran is clearly not a worldly man for he would have seen this trap coming long before. He is flawed with his naivety, and both Mrs. Mooney and Polly prey on this weakness. Further evidence of the increasing superiority of her false consciousness, is when Mrs. Mooney rashly concludes that Mr. Doran took advantage of Polly's youth and purity. Clearly, Polly is not as chaste and virtuous as her mother characterizes her to be. Mrs. Mooney knows that behind Polly's angelic face and beauty lies the coyness of a "little perverse madonna" (73). Mrs. Mooney understands her daughter is capable of tempting men into delirium, because she witnes!

Furthermore, the ideals of the economy control Mrs. Mooney's duty as "an outraged mother" (75). Mrs. Mooney recognizes that if she follows the moral pattern set up by her culture, everyone will think she is alright. Reflecting the prototypes of her society, when Polly is discovered pregnant, Mrs. Mooney, "the determined, imposing woman", puts on an appalled face and takes complete control of the situation (72). This is Mrs. Mooney's most obvious state of false consciousness. When Polly became involved with Mr. Doran, Mrs. Mooney happily "kept her own counsil", recognizing Mr. Doran as a man of business. She constantly watched the relationship evolve, gambling and hoping for the perfect time to push it towards marriage. Mrs. Mooney apprehends that she cannot let things naturally take their course and so she must quickly act on them. Upon Polly's new condition, Mrs. Mooney makes up her mind and intervenes, realizing that she has let the situation go far enough that it ca!

ecting Marxian ideology, "a man's consciousness changes with every change in the conditions of his material existence, in his social relations and in his social life" (Beer 30). Mr. Doran claims that in his youth he had been radical in his thinking, and had "sown his wild oats" (Joyce 76). But now, since his mode of production shifted from student to religious merchant, his ideals and idiosyncracies had shifted as well. He now was respected and stoutly pious. He is tormented by the idea that one mistake could ruin all of the diligence and hard work put into establishing his character. Both Mrs. Mooney and Mr. Doran know that if Doran runs away from this problem, he is sure to lose "his sit", whereas if he agrees to the reparation "all might be well" (76).

by her false consciousness by not recognizing Mr. Doran's feelings and assuming that her actions were the only genuine ones to take.

to see that she is provided with some financial stab

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Approximate Word count = 2707
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English