Angela's Ashes

Angela’s life is largely the product of the choice she makes during her fateful meeting with Malachy at the beginning of the story. From the moment she meets Malachy and conceives Frank, her life is out of her control. In marrying, she gives away much of her agency and instead is always at the mercy of what other people do. Angela is not by any means a meek or subservient woman; she is not afraid of Malachy and often lashes out at him, insults him, or commands him to stop talking. However, she is helpless in the face of his alcoholism, and she depends on him for food and other provisions.

Angela is generally resilient and seeks to make the best of her circumstances, especially with regard to her children. She teaches Frank how to care for his appearance and stands up for him when the Christian Brothers school slams the door in his face. She also sacrifices her own pride and seeks welfare from those who think it is a sport to humiliate the poor. At one point she essentially turns into a beggar so that her children can eat. Frank mentions that Angela considered going to England to work in the wartime factories, but she did not because she knew that orphanages were notoriously cruel.

Nevertheless, Frank tends to be more openly hostile toward Angela, especially in response to her antics with Laman Griffin in the loft, than toward his father. At least at the time, Frank sees only the sin of adultery; he does not acknowledge the possibility that Angela was once again sacrificing her pride for the sake of her children. As the memoir ends, the status of Frank and Angela’s relationship is ambiguous, but the fact that he titled the book after her provides a hint about his feelings; without denying the bleakness of Angela’s life (the word “ashes” suggests death), the title is nevertheless an homage to her.

The man with the “odd manner” from Northern Ireland, Malachy is absent for most of the second half of the book. His most defining characteristic is his alcoholism, and his tendency to drink away his wages is at the root of his family’s struggles. Early in the book, Malachy seems much more inclined to stave off his alcoholism, especially when his daughter is born. The sobriety never lasts long however, and at every critical moment, Malachy finds a way to get drunk, including on the eve of his son Oliver’s burial.

Malachy is not an unsympathetic figure. When the family arrives in Limerick, his accent reveals him as an outsider: a presumed loyalist and Protestant. He suffers discrimination when searching for work, and Angela’s family hates him because he is from the North. Malachy’s life, like Angela’s, is a truly hard one.

Eventually, Malachy heads off to England to work in the wartime factories; from this point onward, he (and his wages) is less and less present in the family’s life. Nevertheless, Frank handles the portrayal of Malachy in a way that highlights the man’s humanity and his big heart while also showing how ill-equipped he is to handle his responsibilities. It is safe to deduce from the text that Malachy wants to be a good father and a good man. He is literate, a skill that Frank admires and absorbs. He is a proud man and has a very healthy love of his country. When he is not drinking, he is a quiet, mild-mannered individual. Frank seeks his counsel often, and Malachy is always ready to give it. Whether these traits redeem Malachy in the reader’s eyes depends on how the reader views Malachy’s alcoholism.