The Dead

The Dead

On the lightly-snowy evening of January 6, 1904 in Dublin, elderly spinster sisters Kate and Julia and their niece Mary Jane--all music teachers or performers, past or present--are hosting their annual Epiphany dinner, and with the exception of Mary Jane's new crop of students and the young gentlemen tasked with keeping them company, most of the guests have attended in previous years. Kate and Julia's nephew Gabriel and his wife Gretta hold integral roles for the evening; Gabriel is Freddy Malins' caregiver if he gets too drunk (which is often the case), and he is also to carve the dinner goose and provide the evening's main toast; Gretta is to present the pudding. With the added unexpected excitement provided by Irish nationalist Molly Ivors for Gabriel, the party basically goes according to script. As most of the guests have departed and just before Gabriel and Gretta are to do the same--this year they're staying in a downtown hotel instead of making the long trek to their suburban home and children--something happens to give Gretta a moment of deep reflection. When she confesses the cause to Gabriel at the hotel later, Gabriel also reflects on the evening's sum total of events, his and Gretta's marriage, and life and death in general.