"On Lifting the Lid of the Desk": The Empty Spaces and Certain Circumstances of "A Painful Case"

This essay explores James Joyce's short story "A Painful Case" by taking the lead character, James Duffy, examining his responses to events within the story, and comparing them to the reader's own expectations and imaginative reactions to the narrative. In doing so, I argue that "A Painful Case" is far from the simple tale of moral retribution previous critics have suggested, for Joyce provides Mr. Duffy with a dual consciousness that is unified at the end of the story, when he realizes his ability to shape his future, while also coming to terms with his past. I argue that Joyce sets up this change by using Mr. Duffy's home environment to reflect his mental condition, most notably his double-desk, which symbolizes his past, present, and future.