False Picture of Marriage in The Dead by James Joyce and...

Illusion versus Reality: Marriage in Modern Literature Modern literature is known for questioning society and its various conventions. One question that these works often ask is, â€Å"What is real?† Some modern authors explore this question by placing their characters within self-constructed illusions that are later shattered by the introduction of reality. Marriages are frequently at the center of this theme, with one spouse crafting an illusory impression of the other. Modern literature demonstrates that a marriage built upon illusion will falter when exposed to reality. In order to understand the effects of illusion on marriages in modern literature, we will explore two pieces: The Dead by James Joyce and Odour of Chrysanthemums by D.H.†¦show more content†¦In fact, his fondness for her grows throughout the story, to the point that he is nearly unable to contain his happiness and his longing to be alone with her (2194). Unfortunately, the connection that Gabriel feels to his wife is the product of illusion. In reality, he doesn’t know her at all—a fact Joyce alludes to when Gabriel fails to recognize his own wife and sees only, â€Å"[a] woman standing near the top of the stairs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2192). When Gretta begins to reminisce about a boy from her past, Gabriel’s blanket of illusion is snatched away: â€Å"While he had been full of†¦joy and desire, she had been comparing him in her mind with another† (2197). Facing the reality of his wife’s love for another man, Gabriel now begins to question their entire relationship. As Gabriel reflects on Gretta’s sorrow for this lost young man, he comes to accept that he has never experienced that depth of feeling and love for another person—not even for the wife that he had so desired just a short time before. He no longer looks at her through â€Å"admiring and happy eyes;† he now sees only her age and bitterly acknowledges that â€Å"her face is no longer the face for which [the boy] braved death† (2199). The reality of Gretta’s past has revealed the shallowness of his feelings and the hollowness in his life, and Gabriel’s picture of Gretta is forever changed. While Elizabeth and Gabriel each created a different type of illusion, the end result was the same—their