Let the Great World Spin

The necessities of life include food, shelter, and clothing. One of the corporal works of mercy in the Roman Catholic tradition is to “clothe the naked.”

Thus, one of Corrigan’s acts of growing religious commitment is to give away his father’s suits to the poor on the day of his mother’s funeral. This symbolizes Corrigan’s complete disrespect for the father who abandoned his mother and her sons. It also foreshadows Corrigan’s later work with poor in New York. 

The symbolism of clothes becomes much more personal in Corrigan’s relationship with Adelita. When she comes to visit him in a provocative outfit, Corrigan “clothes” her, as well. “But instead of asking her to unknot the blouse and cover herself up he made a theater of giving her one of his own shirts to wear over her outfit. As if it were the tender thing to do. He draped it around her shoulders, kissed her cheek. It was one of his old black collarless shirts, past her thighs, almost down to her knees. He hitched it on her shoulders, half afraid he was being a prude, the other half rocked by the sheer immensity of what was happening to him” (58).

The sense of sexual energy created in the act of putting clothes on instead of taking them off demonstrates McCann’s creative skill as a writer.