A Painful Case

                                                                                                            James Joyce, Ireland (1882-1914)
Summary in English

"A Painful Case" is the most popular story by James Joyce. This story reflects that life would be barren without love. According to writer, love is the foundation of progressive life. Life without love always remains dark and meaningless.
The central characters of the story are Mr. James Duffy and Mrs. Sinico. Mr. James Duffy lives in Chapelizod, far away from his home place, Dublin. He lives his solitary life. He has the desire of reading a number of books and intellectual exercises. Though he is aloof, he is far away from any physical and mental disorder. He works in private bank. Most of his time he spends his life lonely. Similarly, he is far away from any romance, love or women. Therefore, he has neither companions nor friends. He performs two social duties in his life i.e. visiting his relatives at the time of Christmas and accompanying them to the cemetery when they die.
Similarly, another major character of the story is Mrs. Sinico. Mrs. Sinico lives in a cottage in the outskirt of Dublin. Her husband is a captain in the sea. He is indifferent to his wife. So, Mrs. Sinico has been living lonely, miserable and boring life.
One day Mr. Duffy looks at two ladies sitting where he knows that Mrs. Sinico is the wife of captain. Mrs. Sinico is about a year younger than him. Mrs. Sinico frequently meets him after then. As a result, they become intimate friends and fall in love each other. They feel happiness in their lonely stay covered by their mutual love. They go for dating and share love that makes them too much friendly. They share their private life.
One evening Mrs. Sinico feels emotional with Mr. Duffy. She catches his hands on her cheeks. But Mr. Duffy becomes angry and breaks his relationship with her. In fact, he does not understand the importance of love and how lonely her life is. Rather he returns back those gifts to Mrs. Sinico. As a result, Mrs. Sinico starts drinking. There is a gap communication between them for years. Unfortunately, one day Mr. Duffy reads the message about the death of Mrs. Sinico in a rail road accident. Then, he realizes that he is responsible on her death. He finds nothing than regretting and hating his attitude. He becomes so sad and feels alone with full of pain and suffering caused by his lonely life without understanding the value of life.