Diamonds Are Forever, and a Palaver is a Bore

My diamond comes from comment made by the servant girl Lily.

"The men that is now is only all palaver and what they can get out of you."

Lily makes this remark to Gabriel when he asks about her romantic life. At this response, Gabriel becomes very uncomfortable. It is the first indication of a bit of a self esteem issue for Gabriel. It is a little oh in his Character. A chink in the armor of a person thus far built up to be the perfect man...or perfect angel as his name suggests.

What I find very interesting is Joyce's use of the singular helping "to be" verb with the plural subject "Men." She is both referring to the male species and a particular man...most likely Gabriel himself. I say this because Lily describes men as palavers which are people who speak idly or borishly, without any deep sensible meaning associated with genuine conversation. Gabriel is a well educated scholar and battles with himself about how smart he should sound in his speech. He contemplates the quotes to use to toast the night. As toasts at gatherings such as this are generally pretty shallow "here's to the hostess" sort of ordeals, using high faulted quotes makes the toast that much more insincere.

The bitterness in Lily's voice leads one to believe her comment is some sort of plea. Yet Gabriel overlooks this detail and for fear he has somehow offended her simply and shallowly offers her a tip to make up for his transgression. This further illustrates Gabriel's shallow nature and his concern with appearances. My guess is shallow and superficial actions were part of Joyce's view of the Irish paralysis, a trait carried over from "enlightened" England. Shallowness prevents true relationships and meaningful exchanges.