What Is The Gab Ton Eolchaire

Often, some of the most important aspects of a culture can be found in the stories told by its people. In ancient Ireland, storytellers would often speak of the ‘gab ton eolchaire,’ which translates into ‘the wave of longing’. The idea of longing for something that can never be attained is not only present in the ancient stories of Ireland, but also in modern Irish literature as well. James Joyce, in his collection of short stories Dubliners, brings the idea of ‘gob ton eolchaire’ into the 19th century. Characters in A Little Cloud and The Dead long to live elsewhere, but they remained trapped in Dublin, longing for life in another place but are unable to fulfill their wish, falling victim to ‘gab ton eolchaire’.
In A Little Cloud, Little …show more content…
Only in the last two scenes of the story does her husband, Gabriel, learn of Michael and her longing to be with him. Before leaving the party, Gretta listens through closed doors to Bartell D’Arcy singing. Gabriel finds her on the balcony and is taken aback “by her stillness” (211). Clearly listening closely, Gretta remains undisturbed as Gabriel thinks about painting her, wanting to call the painting “distant music,” as she longs to be in the room with the song. Later, after they return to the hotel, Gretta admits that she is “thinking about a person long ago who used to sing that song” (220). It becomes clear that not only does this song mean a lot to her, enough to make her freeze and just listen, but also the person who it reminds her of means a lot to her. As she explains that it was her first love, Michael, who would sing that song, Gabriel realizes that it is not him she longs to be with, but Michael instead. He realizes that when she said, “I’d love to see Galway again” she meant she would love to see Michael again (191). Gretta longs to be with Michael and yet she cannot because he has already passed west, and the longing she has for him will never be