With Corley gone, Lenehan’s performance stops, and his real feelings shine through. His preoccupation with the harp, and the image of Lenehan moving to the mournful music’s melody, symbolize his discontent with his life and with the state of his country. Though Lenehan was eager to live vicariously through Corley and catch a glimpse of the maid, he now seems “older,” and his former “gaiety” has dissipated, suggesting that he isn’t satisfied with the same shallow pursuits that Corley enjoys. Rather than “invent[ing] to amuse,” Lenehan seems to long for more meaningful relationships and a sense of purpose, yet he is paralyzed when it comes to actually carving out a better life for himself. Ireland as a whole was similarly paralyzed at this time, stagnated and unable to forge a path for itself while under English colonial rule. The futility and stagnation Lenehan feels (and that the whole of Ireland was experiencing) are symbolized by his urge to just keep walking—not to anywhere, not for anything, but just to walk.