Mooney was forced to take steps, out of fear, determination and pride, to liberate herself and her children. At the same time, this "liberation" of her children turns out to merely be the opportunity for Mrs. Mooney to exercise her ability to manipulate and control others. She allows her daughter and the boarder to become lovers so that she can force the man to marry her daughter. By showing the reader the instability of her daughter, her son, and her daughter's lover, Joyce emphasizes the controlling and manipulative power of Mrs. Mooney, who is thoroughly, even icily stable.
The voice we hear telling the story is that of the omniscient mobile narrator. The attitudes of the narrator are not made evident, but are for the most part submerged in the internal voices of the characters. In the narration which stands outside of the characters, the prevailing voice clearly is intelligent and worldly enough to appreciate the control which Mrs. Mooney exercises, and is compassionate enough to sympathize with the plight of the wayward daughter and her entrapped lover.
From the second line of the story, "She was a woman who was quite able to keep things to herself: a determined woman" (179), we are made aware that Mrs. Mooney is a strong woman, and that she "kept her own counsel" (180). We are told "she counted all her cards" (180) before making the move which would force Mr. Doran to marry her daughter. These phrases and words indicate she sees life as a game of control and manipulation, and she is determined to win at that game. These phrases and words point to the theme by making the reader aware, again and again, that she is, indeed, a woman who appears at first to be under a man's thumb, but is in actuality an individual who, sooner or later, would take steps to control her own and others' lives.
Joyce, James. "The Boarding House." N.P., N.D. 179-183.
The main character in James Joyce's short story "Araby" is the boy who is under ...