Although they have busy lives and families of their own in Dublin and London, they have never really left the family home because they feel more important there. The novel opens with an elderly, weak, and depressed Michael Moran being taken care of by his daughters. This prayer is significant as it is part of the Rosary, which is prayed every day in the Moran household, and the event is a repeating motif throughout the novel.

The title also references the traditional prayer, the Hail Mary, which contains the clause 'blessed art thou amongst women'. Firstly, the title refers to Moran's largely female household, with much of the book focusing on the domineering relationship between the patriarchal Moran and the women surrounding him. The title can be interpreted in two ways. Most of the story is told through the use of flashbacks, as Moran's daughters attempt to recreate Monaghan Day for their elderly and depressed father, because it was the day when he always seemed to be at his best.Įxplanation of the novel's title His children strive to establish their own lives while remaining loyal to the family. He dominates the lives of his second wife, Rose, and his five children. Although Moran is a well-respected member of his community and a devout Catholic, there is a cruel, violent, and controlling side to his character. It centres on Michael Moran, patriarch of the Moran family and a former IRA member who was an officer and guerrilla fighter in the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War in the 1920s. The story spans a period of twenty years in the middle of the twentieth century. The novel is set in County Leitrim in the rural border region of the Republic of Ireland. It was shortlisted for the 1990 Booker Prize and won The Irish Times/ Aer Lingus Literary Award in 1991. Published by Faber and Faber, the novel tells the story of Michael Moran, a bitter, ageing Irish Republican Army (IRA) veteran, and his tyranny over his wife and children, who both love and fear him. McGahern's best known novel, it is also considered his greatest work. Amongst Women is a novel by the Irish writer John McGahern (1934–2006).

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