Journey Home (Maeve Kelly)

deals with:
men <-> women
emigration (leaving Ireland)
poverty
agriculture
everyday life
religion is important

summary
page 8:
- picks up her brother (Sean) with his wife (Josie) and their two children (Nigel and June) from the airport
- they treat her in a bad way, make fun of her accent and call her mother „Nana” which she doesn‘t like at all,
- say she drives awfully -> disrespect
page 9:
- Maura underlines that it is her farm, she worked on it all day long
- she gets aggressive when Josie talks to her, prays to god to kill her (because she‘s English)
- takes care of her mother who prefers her brother Sean, so he was well educated while she worked on the fields – she is jealous because of that
page 10:
- she doesn‘t have flush toilets yet although her brother gave her money for it, but she bought a new cow instead because an old one died
- Josie is upset due to Maura‘s language
- Maura doesn‘t think Sean‘s children are children, calls them „midget adults”
- her mother told that Sean should get the farm when she passed away, although Maura spent her life working on it, that shows that she always prefered him
- says she should marry Mick Meany, but she doesn‘t want him, she doesn‘t need a husband
page 11:
- her perfect husband would have to be strong and work all day and who loves what he does
- thinks there aren‘t any perfect men left in this world
- her dads said she should have the farm and she thinks she will kill for it
- her mother loves her brother‘s life in Africa
page 12:
- the children make fun of her
- people were always amazed by Sean, liked him more
- she was always the ugly and stupid one of the children
- tells Sean she has a letter from the convent and that she thinks about being a nun, says Josie can take care of her mum -> Josie isn‘t happy about this idea
- says it has never been her farm
- Sean doesn‘t believe her
page 13:
- it‘s time to live her own life
- Sean should tell their mother about this change
- her plan: they don‘t want to live in Ireland and he hands over the farm to her
- his decision: he can‘t expect her to put everything in the farm, he will hire a manager who takes it over with modern methods and someone to look after their mother
- she sees that her plan didn‘t work out ’ angry and disappointed -> drives insanely
page 14:
- they arrive at the farm, Sean says she‘s crazy and he is happy that they take over the farm now
- their mother calls them from inside
- Maura thinks that Josie will crack first and then she can take over the farm

characters:
Maura:
- main protagonist
- very self-confident woman who believes in her strength
- doesn‘t need a man to carry for her
- worked her whole life at her mother‘s farm
- is very strong but not that intelligent
- relationship to her mother isn‘t the best
- wants to keep the farm, although her mother doesn‘t want her to
- relationship to Sean is bad ’ hates him, because he lives in Africa and he doesn‘t work at the farm, he gets it without any work
- she also hates his wife and their children
- gets frustrated when her plan doesn‘t work out

Josie:
- comes from London‘s lower society, is married to Sean
- impolite towards Maura
- very direct, always says what she thinks
- has a domestic help

Sean:
- grandson of a Fenian, married to Josie
- tries and be polite to his sister, shows refinement (Kultiviertheit)
- lives in British East Africa
- studied and had a good education ’ owns a lot of money
- his children are clever, he says
- looks like his father

the mother:
- prefers her son, because he is well educated and has a good life
- ignores her husbands will to handle the farm over to Maura
- is disabled and is dependent on other people‘s help

What does this story add to our picture of Ireland?
- agriculture is important for the people there because education is very rare (in the poor areas)
- leaving Ireland can be seen as betrayal (Verrat)
- British people see Irish the Irish ones as low developed and stupid
- men have more rights than women
- family is an important aspect of everyday life