The Lady with the Red Shoes (Ita Daly)

deals with:
traditional picture of Ireland ’ strangers are treated as if they were crazy
emigration (to America) and coming back
it‘s difficult to be accepted
in Ireland you can‘t make your fortune

summary
page 47:
- the story takes place in Southern Ireland (North Mayo)
- it‘s told by a man (Mr. Montgomery) whose family always comes to this place at Easter
page 48:
- he likes the view from the hotel he stays in (McAndrews)
- it‘s in the middle of nowhere
- McAndrews gives dignity and personal privacy, which is hard to come by in commercial establishments
- Judith (his wife) didn‘t come with him this year because she was bored
page 49:
- talks to Murphy, the waiter but he is much more than a waiter for him
- loves the peace and routine in this place
- routine: breakfast (latish but heartly), walk to the village and back, an hour or two in the library, lunch and an afternoon in a deck-chair, looking out to the sea, another walk, back to McAndrews for a final glass, then read a book
page 50:
- thinks of his son Edward – they don‘t have a good relationship
- he enjoys and prefers his “boring life”
page 51:
- he sees the lady in the red shoes for the first time
- she makes several mistakes:
1. she calls Murphy a “waiter” (l.5)
2. she talks way too loud (l.4-5)
3. she has chosen a table in the middle of the room
4. her way of dressing is extraordinary
5. she isn‘t a resident
6. she dines alone in public as a lady
- she orders the menu from Murphy, but isn‘t happy about it when she receives it
page 52:
- the menu from McAndrews is different to normal menus, so the lady orders a beef steak
- here she makes some mistakes again:
1. she interrupts Murphy as he speaks
2. she calls him “waiter” a 2nd time
3. her opinion towards the Irish is expressed in a strong way (“All you Irish overcook meat”, l. 35)
4. she drinks whiskey to her steak
page 53:
- Mr. Montgomery wonders whether she has chosen this place, because there‘s an American motel not far away, but then he thinks she is impressed by McAndrews
- her rude behaviour is a sign of awe (Ehrfurcht) and inexperience
- Murphy gets angry, which raises attention to the happening
- when he isn‘t friendly any more, she orders another drink and gulps it
- she lights a cigarette but Murphy informs her that the guests don‘t smoke in the dining-room
- the lady leaves to the blue sitting-room and Mr Montgomery follows her
- he notices that her voice was Americanized but in reality she raised up not far away from the hotel
page 54:
- his idea of her life: she lived in some miserable cottage in West Ireland, McAndrews was a symbol of wealth and comfort for her, maybe she had even worked in the hotel as a maid, when she left Ireland she was scared of America first but then she worked and came back as a rich American lady to impress everyone
- he wants to tell her that she doesn‘t need to be sad by the fact that her plan didn‘t work out, because the world is changing, but he leaves without saying anything

characters:
Mr. Montgomery:
- family tradition started by his grandfather: he visits North Mayo every Easter
- comes from the West of Ireland but loves the South
- married to a woman named Judith, they spent their honeymoon there but she was bored so he didn‘t take her a second time
- loves the hotel “McAndrews”
- describes himself as old-fashioned, odd and a snob – a “dry stick” (p.48, l.47)
- doesn‘t like the bad manners in this present age, he prefers peace and quiet
- he likes to go by foot and not with his car (a Daimler)
- dependent on the company of his loved ones
- escapes from those aggressive young men with their self-confidence
- has a son (Edward) who is married to a beautician – he says he‘s a nasty old snob
- feels as if there was a gap between him and his generation and him and his son
- he escapes from the world; he prefers repetitions, no changes
- spent some years in West Africa when he was a young man

The Lady with the red shoes:
- she isn‘t introduced, so the reader doesn‘t know her name
- age: fifties, maybe sixties
- she is alone
- outward appearance: glasses with some kind of stones along the wings, a pink dress, pink hair, her teeth are very white (maybe false), red shoes
- she has an American accent: “her voice had that familiarity which so many aspects of American life have for Europeans who have never crossed the Atlantic” (p.51, ll. 29 f)
’ he guesses that it‘s a New York voice, but later he discovers that it‘s a local voice
- seems to be very self-confident (sits in the middle of the room, talks loudly)
- rude, impolite towards Murphy, the waiter – she offers a meal which isn‘t on the menu
- she drinks Scotch, which is a bit weird for a woman and she smokes
- Mr. Montgomery‘s idea of her life: she lived in some miserable cottage in West Ireland, McAndrews was a symbol of wealth and comfort for her, maybe she had even worked in the hotel as a maid, when she left Ireland she was scared of America first but then she worked and came back as a rich American lady to impress everyone

What does this story add to our picture of Ireland?
- inhabitants want to leave Ireland because life is hard there (especially in West Ireland) ’ in Ireland you can‘t make your fortune
- people who behave differently aren‘t accepted
- it‘s difficult to be accepted