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Star of the Sea : A Postcolonial/Postmodern Voyage into the Irish Famine

Mary Duane

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Mary Duane (Non-Spoiler) Mary Duane initially doesn’t seem to be a very important character - she’s presented as David Merridith’s maid and nanny to his children. However, as the book progresses, she emerges as one of the main and central characters around whom the plot revolves.

Since Mary's mother, Margaret, basically reared both David and Mary from infancy, we discover that the two grew up together and were very close. Mary and David are childhood sweethearts whose romance is quickly cut off when it is discovered.

She eventually meets another central character, Pius Mulvey, and the two begin a relationship. He leaves her pregnant and wanders around Ireland and the United Kingdom, and Mary is thrown out of her house. Pius’s brother Nicholas hears of this situation and leaves the seminary to marry her and save her from shame. Following the loss of her first love, Mary endures many other losses: children, husband, and home. Finally, she makes her way to Dublin, living rough until she is hired by David as a nanny to his children (O'Connor 260).

Her life has been marked by hardship, yet will she exercise revenge or forgiveness?

While on the ship, she eventually crosses paths with Pius Mulvey again and is not terribly thrilled to see him.
And it was just at that moment that the girl came in.
She stood very still in the doorway, as motionless as plaster madonna. . . .
It was as though the sight of the cripple had profoundly shocked her. As for the cripple, he looked similarly aghast. . . .
'Oh Mulvey. I don't know if you've met my children's nanny. Miss Duane.'
'It's yourself, Mary,' the mick said very quietly.
Kingscourt appeared mildly confused. 'You know each other?'
Again nobody said anything for a considerable period.
'You've knocked into each other going about the ship, I suppose?'
Very meekly the hopfoot said: 'Miss Duane and myself, sir, we knew each other when we were young people, sir. Our families was friends one time. Back in Galway I mean.' (O'Connor 290-291)
Mary is one of the most forgiving characters in the novel. She shows mercy where absolutely none is deserved. There is room on a lifeboat off the ship that's stuck in the harbor for one person, and Mulvey begs for a place with Mary, since families were being kept together and he's her brother-in-law. Despite the fact that Pius left her pregnant and alone and has done nothing but harm to her and her family, she lets him on the boat, admitting that they are related. (O'Connor 364).
She was asked by the old Galwayman if what Mulvey was saying was correct. Was he indeed related to her? She must speak the truth. To deny one of your own family was a dreadful thing to do. Far too many in Ireland had done it before. So many had turned against their own blood now. He was not blaming anyone; it was just so cruel what had happened to the people. It would break your heart to see it happen. Neighbour against Neighbour. Family against family. For a man to turn his back on his brother was the blackest sin. (O'Connor 364).
At the end of the novel, Mary disappears into the shadows, and no matter how hard Dixon searches for her, he can never pin her down.

Work Cited
O’Connor, Joseph. Star of the Sea. Florida: Harcourt Books, 2002. Print.
Researcher/Writer: Michaila Gerlach
Web Designers: Madison Luke and Andrew Olsen
Mary Duane (Spoiler) Mary Duane initially doesn’t seem to be a very important character - she’s presented as David Merridith’s maid and nanny to his children. However, as the book progresses, she emerges as one of the main and central characters around whom the plot revolves.

We discover that she grew up with David as her mother Margaret basically raised both of them. Mary and David are childhood sweethearts whose romance is quickly cut off when it is discovered, since it is later revealed that Mary's mother Margaret is David's mother as well.

She eventually meets another central character, Pius Mulvey and the two begin a relationship. He leaves her pregnant and wanders around Ireland and the United Kingdom, and Mary is thrown out of her house. Pius’s brother Nicholas hears of this and leaves the seminary to marry her and save her from shame. Pius’s child is stillborn, but Mary and Nicholas are already married, so there’s nothing to be done about it. She and Nicholas eventually have a daughter, Alice-Mary, together, but Nicholas drowns her and kills himself on Christmas Eve because they are starving.

Mary is pregnant again, and walks from Galway to Dublin, but loses her child along the way. She turns to prostitution, and meets up again with David when he comes to where she's working (O'Connor 260). He hires her as a nanny for his children and then takes her to America with him.

While on the ship, she eventually crosses paths with Pius Mulvey again and is not terribly thrilled to see him.
And it was just at that moment that the girl came in.
She stood very still in the doorway, as motionless as plaster madonna. . . .
It was as though the sight of the cripple had profoundly shocked her. As for the cripple, he looked similarly aghast. . . .
'Oh Mulvey. I don't know if you've met my children's nanny. Miss Duane.'
'It's yourself, Mary,' the mick said very quietly.
Kingscourt appeared mildly confused. 'You know each other?'
Again nobody said anything for a considerable period.
'You've knocked into each other going about the ship, I suppose?'
Very meekly the hopfoot said: 'Miss Duane and myself, sir, we knew each other when we were young people, sir. Our families was friends one time. Back in Galway I mean.' (O'Connor 290-291)
Mary is one of the most forgiving characters in the novel. She shows mercy where absolutely none is deserved. There is room on a lifeboat off the ship that's stuck in the harbor for one person, and Mulvey begs for a place with Mary, since families were being kept together and he's her brother-in-law. Despite the fact that Pius left her pregnant and alone and returned only to enact revenge for Mary marrying his brother by destroying their crops and killing their livestock, which lead to their starvation even more quickly when the blight came, she lets him on the boat and saves his life (O'Connor 364).
She was asked by the old Galwayman if what Mulvey was saying was correct. Was he indeed related to her? She must speak the truth. To deny one of your own family was a dreadful thing to do. Far too many in Ireland had done it before. So many had turned against their own blood now. He was not blaming anyone; it was just so cruel what had happened to the people. It would break your heart to see it happen. Neighbour against Neighbour. Family against family. For a man to turn his back on his brother was the blackest sin. (O'Connor 364).
At the end of the novel, Mary disappears into the shadows, and no matter how hard Dixon searches for her, he can never pin her down.

Work Cited
O’Connor, Joseph. Star of the Sea. Florida: Harcourt Books, 2002. Print.
Researcher/Writer: Michaila Gerlach
Web Designers: Madison Luke and Andrew Olsen