Chapter 3 begins by describing the beginning of Christmas in the town as the people get ready for the festivities. The description of the Virgin Mary kneeling passively in the town’s nativity scene is symbolic of the role of women in both religion and in Ireland at the time. The people of the town gather to watch the lights being switched on.
The local councillor arrives in his ‘Mercedes’ and ‘Crombie’ coat, signifying his wealth in comparison to the ordinary person of New Ross. The fact that he only arrives to put on the lights shows the divide between rich and poor within the town.
Furlong’s daughter Loretta is scared of Santa and this has an impact on Furlong who fears that she may not be ready for the world, highlighting the dangers faced by people in this society.
At home that evening, they make a Christmas cake, write letters to Santa and do the ironing. Furlong comments on the fact that they are always busy, always looking towards the next job, with no room for pause or reflection. Furlong begins thinking of his own childhood as he watches his children writing their letters to Santa. He thinks of his own experience as a child, asking Santa for a jigsaw puzzle or his father. He did not get what he requested but instead got a tooth brush, a bar of soap and a book. The image of the young Furlong crying in the barn is a poignant moment as he yearns to be like the other boys of his age who all have fathers. The poignancy is amplified when the children laugh at the thought of getting a jigsaw for Christmas.
We get a sense of the heartache that Furlong suffers from through not knowing his father, as he looks at older men to see resemblances. He also thought about asking Mrs Wilson but couldn’t summon the courage to do so and she ends up having a stroke and losing her speech. Furlong stares intently at the pictures of Eileen’s family, her mother and father and other family. This is symbolic of what is missing from his life.
At bedtime, Furlong prepares the hot water bottles for bed and is again transported to the past as he remembers the hot water bottle Ned, the farm hand, had given him for Christmas. He reflects on how that hot water bottle had comforted him on a nightly basis. The hot water bottle is symbolic of love and warmth and it is a link between Furlong’s past and present. The book, which Mrs Wilson had given him was A Christmas Carol and with the help of Mrs Wilson and the big dictionary, he had finished. He also won a spelling competition at school, to which Mrs Wilson commented, ‘you’re a credit to yourself,’ which made Furlong feel that he was anyone’s equal. This highlights the positive role that Mrs Wilson plays in Furlong’s life and shows how a person does not have to be biologically connected to someone to care for them.
Furlong and Eileen read the girls’ letters and they comment on how the girls do not ask for ‘the moon and the stars.’ Furlong says that this is down to Eileen but she responds by saying, ‘we’ve not a penny owing and that’s doing to you.’ The list of presents represents the changing nature of Irish society, with Levi’s 501s and a Queen album showing how Ireland is moving towards a more open and free society.
When it comes to discussing presents for themselves, there is little imagination or romanticism that would be evident today. Bill mentions getting a book and then says he’d like a big dictionary for the house just like the one that Mrs Wilson had and Eileen asks him if he is okay as she noticed that he was ‘miles away’ all evening. She asks if it was out in Wilson’s he was, which shows how well she knows him.
They discuss their present financial situation but something is weighing Furlong down and he quietly wonders about the stress and worry of everyday life and how the same monotonous routine continued day after day with little to show for it.
As he continues to think back on his childhood, Eileen fills him in on the news from the town. The undertaker has proposed to a girl half his age, the barber’s son had been diagnosed with cancer, the postmistress gave birth to triplets and the people out at Wilson’s had sold all the livestock and Ned had a touch of bronchitis.
The chapter ends with Furlong falling asleep and Eileen finishing off the Christmas cake highlighting the hard working role of women within the world of this text,
Questions:
- How is the gap between rich and poor highlighted in this chapter? What does it suggest about the world they live in?
- What have you learned about the role of men and women within this text? Show examples to back up your points.
- Elieen and Bill are very different people. Discuss.
- What did you learn about Furlong’s childhood from this chapter? Did you feel sorry for him at any point? Explain.
- Do you think Furlong’s past has shaped the person he has become? Explain