Puppet and Paralipsis: The Performance of Maria and the Narrator in Joyce’s “Clay”

Abstract: In “Clay,” James Joyce introduces Maria, a middle-aged scullery maid whom critics have characterized as a modern-day Irish saint while also describing her as somewhat vain and foolish. However, this protagonist is multifaceted, and Joyce’s use of paralipsis in the narration of this story allows this ambiguous identity to become an unfathomable enigma. Maria’s identity may be elucidated by engaging with notions of performance and performativity. As a symbolic puppet, Maria performs on a screen upon which different manipulations of her behavior are manifested. This multifaceted nature implies a performative subjectivity that resists referentiality and reductive interpretations of this tale.