# Two Gallants explained — Dubliners > Chapter companion for Dubliners by James Joyce. ## What happens Lenehan and Corley, two young Dublin men, spend an evening together as Corley recounts his manipulation of a servant girl he has been seeing. Lenehan, a parasitic drifter, listens and later follows the couple at a distance, anxiously awaiting the outcome of Corley's scheme to exploit the girl for money. After a long wait, he sees Corley succeed as the girl returns with a gold coin, highlighting the moral decay and futility of their lives. ## Themes in this chapter ### Alienation and Loneliness Lenehan's wandering through Dublin's streets and his bitter reflections on his friends and his own life underscore a profound sense of isolation and disconnection. ### Social Class and Ambition Corley's manipulation of the servant girl and Lenehan's envy of a settled life highlight the class dynamics and frustrated ambitions of Dublin's lower middle class. ### Disillusionment and Lost Innocence Lenehan's cynical view of friendship and love, and the girl's naive trust in Corley, reflect a world where innocence is exploited and disillusionment prevails. ## Character check-ins ### Lenehan A parasitic drifter who lives by his wits, Lenehan accompanies Corley and anxiously awaits the result of his friend's scheme. ### Corley A boastful and manipulative man who exploits a servant girl for money and favors, treating her as a conquest. ## Key lines > Two young men came down the hill of Rutland Square. One of them was just bringing a long monologue to a close. Two young men walked down Rutland Square hill, one finishing a lengthy story. _Introduces the main characters and sets the scene for their evening._ > He was a sporting vagrant armed with a vast stock of stories, limericks and riddles. He was a wandering storyteller, always ready with jokes and riddles. _Describes Lenehan's character and his reliance on charm and wit._ > She told me she used to go with a dairyman. … It was fine, man. Cigarettes every night she’d bring me and paying the tram out and back. She said she had been with a dairyman before. It was great—she brought me cigarettes every night and paid for our tram rides. _Corley boasts about the material benefits he receives from the girl._ > He suffered all the pangs and thrills of his friend’s situation as well as those of his own. He felt all the anxiety and excitement of his friend's predicament as if it were his own. _Highlights Lenehan's vicarious investment in Corley's scheme._ > A woman came running up the steps and coughed. Corley turned and went towards her. His broad figure hid hers from view for a few seconds and then she reappeared running up the steps. A woman ran up the steps and coughed. Corley approached her, briefly blocking her from sight, then she ran back up the steps. _The climax of the story, where the girl returns with the gold coin, symbolizing Corley's success and her exploitation._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/dubliners_se/chapters/two-gallants - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/dubliners_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/dubliners_se/chapters