Masculinity and femininity are important topics today; however, they were also important topics in the 20th century. Authors such as James Joyce, who wrote The Dead, were wrestling with this avant-garde topic in 1914. Masculinity is the characterization of masculine qualities associated with men, such as aggressiveness and emotionless attributes (Farlex) . Femininity is described as the characterization of feminine qualities associated with women, it essentially corresponds to the nature of the female sex (Merriam-Webster). Joyce wrote in favor of masculinity, that is, at least in The Dead. In The Dead, Joyce provides perfect examples of this battle between masculinity and femininity – and the lack thereof. The main character, Gabriel Conroy, seems to only approve of the female characters as if they are just background noise and only there to feed his ego – or push him further into the story. He's someone who plays the piano, and what's more, beautifully. She's a strong female character and that's something we don't see in the majority of female characters in the story. Despite being ignored by Gabriel. Although she is a beautiful and remarkable pianist, she is belittled by Gabriel. He criticizes her internally and explains that she cannot play certain notes and that these notes are unbearable to listen to because they are wrong. You feel this sense of battle between Joyce wanting to be a feminist and showing that femininity; but it is dominated by its masculine culture. So, on the one hand, you can argue the opposite; however, this does not seem to go all the way to Joyce's side and this aspect of feminism. You notice the way Joyce seems to continue to demean these female characters, even though they are supposed to be strong women.