James Joyce's "The Sisters" is full of symbols, most of them are Christian. While reading "between the lines" we can see from the beginning of the story till the last paragraph the symbolism in words, behaviors and even in characters. The broken (and empty) chalice , for example, symbolizes the religion, the priest appears as a symbol of the Catholic Church etc. Through those symbols Joyce shows us the incredible influence and captivity of the Catholic Church over the lives of people and his disappointment of the Church.
The first symbol that we find in "The Sisters" is the symbolism of light and darkness. Joyce emphasizes this symbol by using numerously the words that represent the darkness: night, death ("corpse") and words that represent the light: candles. "Night after night I had passed the house and studied the lighted square of window: and night after night I had found it lighted in the same way, faintly and evenly." (1). The words that represent darkness appear more than the light. With that symbol Joyce wants to show that the Church's dark institution that it's influence on people's life is so strong that they follow it blindly : "I would see the reflection of candles on the darkened blind for I knew that two candles must be set at the head of the corpse."(1).
Father Flynn who stands for all the clergy of the Catholic Church symbolizes the Church. The priest has followed the rules of the church, he has tried to "educate" young boys ( he had taught the boy a great deal as Latin, the different ceremonies of the Mass ) he had listened to confessions, he has handled the chalice:" he had explained to me the meaning of the different ceremonies of the Mass."(3) The fact that even after his death the boy couldn't free himself from the priest shows the captivity of the church from which it's was impossible to get away. " but the grey face still followed me, it murmured that it desired to confess something.
