---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do you know what Ireland is?' asked…"
description: "\"“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.”\" — James Joyce"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/james-joyce-281_disillusionment_do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephe_12149.jpg"
---

#  Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold…

![“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.” quote by James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/james-joyce-281_disillusionment_do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephe_12149.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/james-joyce-281_disillusionment_do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephe_12149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/james-joyce-281_disillusionment_do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephe_12149.jpg)

> ““Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.””

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A stark metaphor depicting Ireland as a self‑destructive mother, consuming her own offspring, reflecting cultural decay and internal conflict.

**In simple terms:** Ireland as a cannibalistic mother figure.

Key Takeaway

National self‑destruction.

Themes

identity decay conflict metaphor history

Mood

somber critical

Type

literary political

When to use this quote

- political discourse
- literary analysis
- cultural critique

Key Concepts

nationalism family violence

Practical Applications

- academic essays
- social commentary

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the metaphor reveal about Irish self‑perception?
- How does this image relate to historical events?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Disillusionment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disillusionment/) [Eats Farrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eats-farrow-370508/) [Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland/) [Ireland Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland-asked-370506/) [Ireland Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland-old-370509/) [Irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irish/) [Know Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-ireland-370507/) [Nationality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nationality/)

## Related quotes

> [Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/ireland-is-the-old-sow-that-eats-her-farrow/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [All that people in Ireland asked me was: 'When are you going to win a major?' They don't think you've made it unless you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/all-that-people-in-ireland-asked-me-was-when-are-you-going-to-win-a/)

[Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/)

> [People know I'm from Ireland or have Irish roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-connaughton/people-know-i-m-from-ireland-or-have-irish-roots/)

[Pat Connaughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-connaughton/)

> [In Ireland we have a very old saying, When you can see the mountains it's going to rain and when you can't see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/in-ireland-we-have-a-very-old-saying-when-you-can-see-the-mountains/)

[David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/)

> [Maybe the bride-bed brings despair, For each an imagined image brings And finds a real image there...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/maybe-the-bride-bed-brings-despair-for-each-an-imagined-image-brings/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [“All my life I have been the sort of person in whom people confide. And all my life I have been flattered by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zo-heller/all-my-life-i-have-been-the-sort-of-person-in-whom-people-confide-and/)

[Zoë Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zo-heller/)

> [“So long as the child was fed on its mother's milk, everything seemed to it smooth and easy. But when it had to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/so-long-as-the-child-was-fed-on-its-mother-s-milk-everything-seemed/)

[Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/)

> [ “\[S\]omehow, without his being aware of it, time had coated his awe with a rind of disillusionment, and the wine of wonder had turned… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-vinge/s-omehow-without-his-being-aware-of-it-time-had-coated-his-awe-with-a/)

[Joan D. Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-vinge/)

> [ “Disillusionment \[is\] one of the deepest of human wounds.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-perry/disillusionment-is-one-of-the-deepest-of-human-wounds/)

[Ann Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-perry/)

> [A Pitiful person who is afraid of taking risks, will never be disappointed or disillusioned; perhaps he won't suffer the way people do when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-pitiful-person-who-is-afraid-of-taking-risks-will-never-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Personal disillusionment accompanied by self-pity and self-loathing are the Achilles’ heel of modern humankind, representing the weakness of the human spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/personal-disillusionment-accompanied-by-self-pity-and-self-loathing/)

[Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/)

> [Will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me becuase it so thoroughly teaches me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/will-not-the-very-moment-of-great-disillusionment-with-my-brother-or/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [“Leaches Ten Tall by Stewart Stafford Don't play this game with me, Predatory whelk of tide pools, Taint me as Rigoletto to a bawd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/leaches-ten-tall-by-stewart-stafford-don-t-play-this-game-with-me/)

[Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/)

> [I definitely struggle with a disillusionment towards my body and my gender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esme-creed-miles/i-definitely-struggle-with-a-disillusionment-towards-my-body-and-my/)

[Esme Creed-Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esme-creed-miles/)

> [The proof that a philosopher does not know what he is talking about is apt to sadden his followers before it reacts on himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-proof-that-a-philosopher-does-not-know-what-he-is-talking-about/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

## More by James Joyce

> [He found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-found-in-the-world-without-as-actual-what-was-in-his-world-within/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [“Ah, poor dogsbody! Here lies poor dogsbody's body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/ah-poor-dogsbody-here-lies-poor-dogsbody-s-body/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [The studious silence of the library ... Thought is the thought of thought. Tranquil brightness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-studious-silence-of-the-library-thought-is-the-thought-of-thought/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [“two cronies drank to the memory of their past. An abyss of fortune or of temperament sundered him from them. His mind seemed older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/two-cronies-drank-to-the-memory-of-their-past-an-abyss-of-fortune-or/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [He passes, struck by the stare of truculent Wellington but in the convex mirror grin unstruck the bonham eyes and fatchuck cheekchops of Jollypoldy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-passes-struck-by-the-stare-of-truculent-wellington-but-in-the/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [“-Qui vous a mis dans cette fichue position?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/qui-vous-a-mis-dans-cette-fichue-position/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [I hear the ruin of all space, shattered glass and toppled masonry, and time one livid final flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/i-hear-the-ruin-of-all-space-shattered-glass-and-toppled-masonry-and/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/full-many-a-flower-is-born-to-blush-unseen/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [In woman's womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/in-woman-s-womb-word-is-made-flesh-but-in-the-spirit-of-the-maker-all/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [Though people may read more into Ulysses than I ever intended, who is to say that they are wrong: do any of us know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/though-people-may-read-more-into-ulysses-than-i-ever-intended-who-is/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-stephen-said-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [“It flows purling, widely flowing, floating foampool, flower unfurling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/it-flows-purling-widely-flowing-floating-foampool-flower-unfurling/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [“The artist, like the God of creation, remains within or behind or beyond or above his handiwork, invisible, refined out of existence, indifferent, paring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-artist-like-the-god-of-creation-remains-within-or-behind-or/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

[Explore all 707 James Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

## More Disillusionment quotes

> [The proof that a philosopher does not know what he is talking about is apt to sadden his followers before it reacts on himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-proof-that-a-philosopher-does-not-know-what-he-is-talking-about/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [I definitely struggle with a disillusionment towards my body and my gender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esme-creed-miles/i-definitely-struggle-with-a-disillusionment-towards-my-body-and-my/)

[Esme Creed-Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esme-creed-miles/)

> [“Leaches Ten Tall by Stewart Stafford Don't play this game with me, Predatory whelk of tide pools, Taint me as Rigoletto to a bawd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/leaches-ten-tall-by-stewart-stafford-don-t-play-this-game-with-me/)

[Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/)

> [Will not the very moment of great disillusionment with my brother or sister be incomparably wholesome for me becuase it so thoroughly teaches me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/will-not-the-very-moment-of-great-disillusionment-with-my-brother-or/)

[Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/)

> [“Personal disillusionment accompanied by self-pity and self-loathing are the Achilles’ heel of modern humankind, representing the weakness of the human spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/personal-disillusionment-accompanied-by-self-pity-and-self-loathing/)

[Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/)

> [A Pitiful person who is afraid of taking risks, will never be disappointed or disillusioned; perhaps he won't suffer the way people do when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-pitiful-person-who-is-afraid-of-taking-risks-will-never-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [ “Disillusionment \[is\] one of the deepest of human wounds.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-perry/disillusionment-is-one-of-the-deepest-of-human-wounds/)

[Ann Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-perry/)

> [ “\[S\]omehow, without his being aware of it, time had coated his awe with a rind of disillusionment, and the wine of wonder had turned… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-vinge/s-omehow-without-his-being-aware-of-it-time-had-coated-his-awe-with-a/)

[Joan D. Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-vinge/)

> [“So long as the child was fed on its mother's milk, everything seemed to it smooth and easy. But when it had to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/so-long-as-the-child-was-fed-on-its-mother-s-milk-everything-seemed/)

[Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/)

> [“All my life I have been the sort of person in whom people confide. And all my life I have been flattered by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zo-heller/all-my-life-i-have-been-the-sort-of-person-in-whom-people-confide-and/)

[Zoë Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zo-heller/)

> [Maybe the bride-bed brings despair, For each an imagined image brings And finds a real image there...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/maybe-the-bride-bed-brings-despair-for-each-an-imagined-image-brings/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [“He thought of his own by-now legendary novel, American Disillusionment, that cyclone which, for years, had woven its erratic path across the flatlands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/he-thought-of-his-own-by-now-legendary-novel-american-disillusionment/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“She was a stranger because something essential was shielded, released in tiny bursts until it became a flood---a flood of what I realized I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/she-was-a-stranger-because-something-essential-was-shielded-released/)

[Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/)

> [“My hopes were all dead --- struck with a subtle doom, such as, in one night, fell on all the first-born in the land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-hopes-were-all-dead-struck-with-a-subtle-doom-such-as-in-one-night/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“Fundamental belief consoled him for superficial irony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/fundamental-belief-consoled-him-for-superficial-irony/)

[Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/)

[Browse all 227 Disillusionment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disillusionment/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "James Joyce"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Disillusionment"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/james-joyce-281_disillusionment_do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephe_12149.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/james-joyce-281_disillusionment_do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephe_12149.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/885/james-joyce-281_disillusionment_do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephe_12149.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.” — James Joyce",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "James Joyce",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Do you know what Ireland is?'...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```