In the novel "The Dead," by James Joyce, Gabriel Conroy is Joyce in character form. James Joyce was an outcast to society and in this novel it is understood that he is because of the way Gabriel Conroy acts. Being uncomfortable with society, Joyce made Gabriel have awkward encounters in which he gets angry but he is forced to hold his anger back. Gabriel Conroy holds his anger inside and expresses the outer facade that society expects him to wear.
During the early nineteen hundreds, the encounter that Gabriel had with Lily was very inappropriate. Gabriel tried to talk to Lily about marriage and such, which was not appropriate for the occasion or possibly ever. After the conversation, which was brief, Gabriel was angry because of the way she had acted when he tried to cover up his unsuitable actions towards Lily with money. He thought she was unappreciative and he was angry because she had acted bitter toward what he thought was an act of kindness. He did not want others to see he was angry and he tried to get rid of all signs of his anger before he was to meet up with his aunts and wife. "Which he tried to dispel by arranging his cuffs and the bows of his tie. Then he took from his waistcoat pocket a little paper and glanced at the headings" Gabriel shows that he will not show his anger in public or out loud because he does not feel as if it is fit for the society to see him that way. He needs to act proper and he will do anything to keep his mind off of his anger in order to be at his best. He makes sure that no matter how angry he gets, he will not show it especially at an event such as this one because it is very important to his family.
Gabriel was a man who wanted to be what everyone expected him to be. He did what he thought was socially optimal and made sure he was behaved well in front of other people, even his wife. After Gabriel and Gretta left the party, they made their way to the hotel they were staying at.