The Ballroom of Romance by William Trevor
**Overview of "The Ballroom of Romance" by William Trevor**
"The Ballroom of Romance" is a poignant short story set in rural Ireland, centered around Bridie, an unmarried woman in her mid-thirties. Balancing her life as a caretaker for her disabled father, Bridie clings to the hope of finding a suitable husband at the local dance hall, which she cycles to each Saturday night. Throughout the story, readers are introduced to a range of characters, including Dano Ryan, the drummer Bridie secretly admires, and Bowser Egan, a middle-aged bachelor who expresses interest in her. The dance hall serves as a microcosm of Bridie's longing for connection and the societal pressures surrounding marriage. As Bridie navigates her interactions with various men, she reflects on unfulfilled romantic hopes and the inevitability of loneliness. The narrative explores themes of desire, disappointment, and the societal expectations placed on women, all while capturing the atmosphere of rural Irish life. Ultimately, Bridie's journey encapsulates a deep sense of yearning and the bittersweet realities of love and companionship.
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The Ballroom of Romance by William Trevor
First published: 1972
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The early 1970's
Locale: Rural Ireland
Principal Characters:
Bridie , a thirty-six-year-old single womanJustin Dwyer , the owner of a dance hallDano Ryan , a drummer with the dance bandMadge Dowding , a thirty-nine-year-old womanBowser Egan , andEyes Horgan , middle-aged bachelors at the dance
The Story
Bridie, an unmarried woman in her mid-thirties, lives in rural Ireland and spends much of her time caring for her crippled father. Bridie still hopes to marry, and on Saturday nights, she rides her bicycle the seven miles to a wayside dance hall. She has been going to the dances for years.
On this occasion, when she arrives at the dance, she greets Dano Ryan, the drummer in the band, and exchanges pleasantries in the cloakroom with her acquaintances among the girls. These include Madge Dowding, who is three years older than Bridie and is also unmarried. Madge tends to make a fool of herself chasing after the bachelors at the dance. Bridie dances with various men, sparing a thought for her father, who is probably falling asleep by the fire listening to the radio. She knows most of the men at the dance, and at various times over the previous decade, she has been kissed by some of them; however, this has never led to any possibility of marriage.
At ten o'clock, as usual, three middle-aged bachelors arrive at the dance, having cycled over from the public house. Bridie dances with one of them, Bowser Egan, who compliments her on her appearance. Another bachelor, Eyes Horgan, who is named for his bloodshot eyes, dances with Madge.
As she dances, Bridie's thoughts turn to Dano Ryan. She thinks that he might make an acceptable husband. Once she had pretended to have a puncture in her bicycle tire as she was about to go home from the dance, and he had pumped up the tire for her. It is well known in the dance hall that Bridie is interested in Dano, who works as a laborer for the County Council and lodges with a widow named Mrs. Griffin. He is said to be kind to Mrs. Griffin's disabled son.
Bowser pays great attention to Bridie, buying her a lemonade and complimenting her. After he goes to the bathroom to drink from the whiskey bottle he carries around with him (no alcohol is allowed at the dance), Bridie watches Dano. She imagines him sitting in her father's farmhouse kitchen, and the three of them eating a meal together that she had prepared. She imagines what her life would be like under such circumstances.
As a group gathers, the talk is about a new cement factory that is being built in a nearby town, but Bridie tries to talk to Dano on a more personal level. She tells him she will get him medicine for his eyes, which have been bothering him. However, he politely refuses, saying that Mrs. Griffin has arranged for him to have an eye test. Bridie immediately assumes that Mrs. Griffin is planning to marry Dano. She thinks back to two decades ago, when she was dancing with a young man named Patrick Grady. She had assumed they would one day marry, but he had married someone else. She feels about to cry. She dances some more, and Bowser Egan whispers that he would marry her tomorrow, but his mother would not allow another woman in the house. Bridie is not interested. Her attention is still on Dano.
As the evening draws to an end, Bridie decides that she will never dance there again. She thinks she is a figure of fun to the others. As everyone leaves, Bowser Egan rides his bicycle alongside hers. As they alight to walk up a hill, he drinks from his bottle of whiskey. Bridie knows that he will always be drinking and lazing around, wasting his time, although he says that when his mother dies, he will sell his house and pigs and buy something better for them both. Bridie knows that he will waste whatever money he inherits and will want to get married because he will want a woman to cook for him. She also knows full well that eventually she will marry Bowser Egan because she will be lonely after her father dies.