"A Mother" is a short story by James Joyce

James Joyce

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...

 published in his 1914 collection Dubliners

Dubliners

Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They were meant to be a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century....

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The story commences with a brief description of Mr. Holohan, who works for an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 cultural society and has been arranging a series of concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

s. Holohan’s bad leg is a prominent feature. We are then introduced to Mrs. Kearney, who was very accomplished at a young age but found that the young men of her class were intimidated by her, which prompted her to marry the working class Mr.