The empathy reflected in those lines shows a break in Gabriel's solipsism. Whether this is a momentary or lasting change remains unclear, for the reader sees Gabriel at the instant of recognition with no indication in the narrative as to its effect on him. The reader is left to consider Gabriel's possible moral future, and, by extension that of the Irish society that is the real subject of the entire work (Fargnoli & Gillespie 54).

What we have seen in Gabriel's journey in "The Dead" is that he is a man, a narcissist, whose preoccupation with the world around him has led his astray. He wasn't a man living in the world anymore, but rather, he was a dead man because he was not truly living to his fullest potential. He was dead inside emotionally -- not truly caring about others because he was so...

He was a man who lived by shame yet longed for a more meaningful existence -- whether or not he got it is up to the reader, but Joyce probably would have given him a second chance at life.
Works Cited

Fargnoli, a. Nicholas., Gillespie, Michael Patrick. James Joyce a to Z: The Essential

Reference to the Life and Work. Oxford University Press. 1996.

Joyce, James. Dubliners (Norton Critical Edition) W.W. Norton & Company. 2006.

Lowen, Alexander. Narcissism: Denial of the True Self. Touchstone. 2004.

Simpson, Mark. Male Impersonators: Men Performing Masculinity. Routledge; 1st edition. 1994.

Tucker, William. How People Change: The Short Story as Case History. Other Press; 1st edition. 2007.