Through thematic choices, modernist narrative techniques, and realistic/naturalistic detail, Joyce creates in “Clay” a microcosm of small, backward-looking, and stagnant Ireland through his portraits of Maria and Dublin. Joyce’s thematic treatment of The Diminishing Power of Low Social Status underscores Maria as a symbolic representation of Ireland. Maria is described as “a very, very small person” (95), just as Ireland is a small country in both size and population. She is Catholic and under the domination of a Protestant power structure, and she has very little social status as an unmarried, lower-class woman. Likewise, in 1905, Ireland was considered a “poorly-developed” country and of little social or cultural value to Britain specifically and to Europe at large. Ireland was still a colony of Britain and in no way an equal partner. There was no Home Rule at that point, and all decisions concerning Ireland were made in London.

Similarly, Maria’s life is dictated by others. She is held in low regard and forced to behave in ways she does not necessarily choose for herself. Joyce hence explores The Disparity Between Desire and Reality for Maria. As a colonized person, Maria was taught to admire and look up to her colonizers.