Clay

“Clay” is one of the short stories found in Joyce’s collection The Dubliners. In “Clay” Joyce captures multiple levels of class and religious stratification along with alcoholism and hidden cruelties enmeshed in the culture in a handful of pages with incredible economy.

Our protagonist, Maria, a servant working at Dublin by Lamplight Laundry, The laundry work reminded me of Small Things Like These, but with Protestants running the business.

We learn that prior to her job at the Laundry her earlier years were spent as au pair to the family who would get her that job when the two boys she helped raise, Joe and Alphy, became of age. She was treated very kindly by the sisters at the laundry and would spend some holidays with her former family. The holiday that happens in this story is All Hallow’s Eve aka Halloween. On her way to the dinner party, Maria buys a dozen penny cakes and three larger plum cakes with almond frosting and which cost more. She then boards a crowded tram and waits a few moments before an older man who, to Maria, “looks like a colonel”, offers his seat. They chat for a moment and she is flattered by the attention she seldom receives. The man also appears slightly drunk, but to Maria, her mind is elsewhere chatting with him about the weather.

Later when she arrives at the house she realizes the plum cakes are gone. She had been too distracted by the attention and didn’t gather all her belongings when she got off the tram.

At the party some young children make fun of Maria when playing a typical game where someone is blindfolded and they have to walk to a table and put their hand in one of three bowls. The bowls contain either water, a Bible, or clay. Touch water means you’re sailing overseas within the year; touch the Bible and you’re tying the knot with someone; touch clay and you will die within the year. Maria reaches in and grabs something moist and squishy. People move quickly to reorient things (the clay was not supposed to be involved and we infer from the title that the moist and squishy is the story’s title).

To recover some of Maria’s earlier happy state, Joe asks her to sing a song. It’s a well known song, but instead of singing both verses, she only sings one. The verse she leaves out is about having a suitor and finding love. This is Maria sending a thank you back to Joe and it is her epiphany and acceptance of her family at the Laundry, where she is surrounded by kindness.

The song also manages to dissolve the enmity between Joe and Alphy. Or, at the very least momentarily distract him from it (Joe, whose drinking troubles have already been mentioned, ends up calmly asking his wife for the corkscrew in the last sentence).