# Corley — Dubliners character guide

> Corley in Dubliners by James Joyce.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0005-two-gallants

## Snapshot

A bulky, boastful Dublin ladies' man who walks like a conqueror and treats courtship as a transaction to be closed.

## Who they are

Corley dominates the pavement with his solid boots and swaying head, confident that he can 'pull off' whatever scheme he and Lenehan have hatched. He is vain, calculating, and casually contemptuous of the women he pursues, brushing off his friend's advice while keeping the details of his plan to himself. His easy conquest of the woman in blue sets the story's moral machinery in motion, exposing how charm and self-regard pass for romance in Dublin.

## Relationships

### [Lenehan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/characters/lenehan)

_friendship_

Two streetwise companions, with Corley as the boastful leader and Lenehan as his admiring but envious sidekick.

### [Lenehan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/characters/lenehan)

_friendship_

Two streetwise companions, with Corley as the boastful leader and Lenehan as his admiring but envious sidekick.

### [Lenehan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/characters/lenehan)

_friendship_

Two streetwise companions, with Corley as the boastful leader and Lenehan as his admiring but envious sidekick.

## In the story

### [Two Gallants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/chapters/two-gallants)

A boastful and manipulative man who exploits a servant girl for money and favors, treating her as a conquest.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/characters/corley
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dubliners_se/characters