Gender and Loneliness in Contemporary Irish Short Stories

This thesis sets out to explore the theme of loneliness and self-determination in contemporary Irish short stories in relation to the gender of the main protagonists, how the major shift in gender roles and especially the position of women in Irish society changed in relation to the Celtic Tiger. As society in Ireland is traditionally patriarchal and family-oriented, there are many social expectation attached to one's gender that often get to play a crucial part in the person's life. The situation the characters in the stories is further complicated by their placement - rural areas versus towns, marginalization of some individuals due to their difference from the majority and one's social standing. Attention will be paid as well to the stereotypes and the struggle to define oneself due to the present outer circumstances shattering the protagonists' identities and therefore leaving them feeling displaced and isolated, left out of the community, consequently affecting their happiness and enforcing their feeling of loneliness. Frank O'Connor claims that the genre of short story is defined by "an intense awareness of human loneliness" mainly affecting the "outlawed figures wandering about the fringes of society," yet contemporary Irish short story focuses more on the self-realization and the feeling of..