The Dead

"The Dead" is the final short story in the 1914 collection Dubliners by James Joyce. It is the longest story in the collection and widely considered to be one of the greatest short stories in the English language. At 15,672 words it has also been considered a novella. It was made into a movie in 1987, directed by John Huston, and into a musical in 1999, with music by Shaun Davey and starring Christopher Walken in the original production. Gabriel Conroy, Father Constantine Conroy, Gretta Conroy, Kate and Julia Morkan, and Bartell d'Arcy are all alluded to in James Joyce's later work, ''Ulysses'', though no character from "The Dead" makes a direct appearance in the novel. The story centers on Gabriel Conroy on the night of the Morkan sisters' annual dance and dinner in the first week of January, 1904, perhaps the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6) Typical of the stories in Dubliners, "The Dead" develops toward a moment of painful self-awareness; Joyce described this as an epiphany.... full article at wikipedia