The Day of the Rabblement by James Joyce. Short summary

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Using the example of the Irish literary theater, Joyce deduces the general concept of art as a service to truth and the figure of the true creator who rejects the will of the crowd and the needs and tastes of the masses.

1 minute

Joyce writes about a problem relevant to his time, examining the decline of the Irish literary theater, where real creators are no longer valued at all and act to please the public. Although Joyce also points out that there is no English censorship in Dublin and, in fact, it is possible to stage fairly good quality works. Nevertheless, not only the crowd but also the creator and are in a kind of decline. More precisely, the crowd always demands primitiveness, and a number of authors, particularly those working for the Irish Literary Theater, engage in connivance and acquiesce to the tastes of the masses for the sake of profit.

Historical figures like Giordano Bruno followed the ideals but not the preferences of the masses and that is why they could truly serve that world and truth. However, the work of real creators can always be continued and picked up. Ibsen will be succeeded by Hauptmann and other authors, including himself, who, in his own words, will not fail.