# Aunt Kate Morkan — Dubliners character guide

> Aunt Kate Morkan in Dubliners by James Joyce.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Kate, Miss Kate

**First appearance:** 0014-the-dead

## Snapshot

The brisker Morkan sister, who smooths over Julia's lapses with brisk tact and frets over Lily's changed manner.

## Who they are

Kate Morkan co-hosts the Misses Morkans' annual dance, managing the room, the guests, and her sister's wandering attention with practiced cheer. She laughs heartily at Gabriel's goloshes joke, then redirects the conversation the moment it threatens to embarrass, and she is the one who notices that Lily is not the girl she was. Her brisk tact keeps the evening's surface intact, but her sharp eye for small defections hints at the anxieties beneath the hospitality.

## In the story

### [The Dead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/chapters/the-dead)

The other hostess, who is vivacious and worried about Freddy Malins's condition.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/characters/aunt_kate_morkan
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