ABSTRACT
Framing the discourses of sexuality and economics in the Irish context, the closet assumes a novel historical form: the unstable dynamics of the closet suggest how newly commodified forms of dissenting sexual identities became available for exploitation during the years of the Tiger. Given the centrality of the sex and sexuality in the novel, the third historical frame and, in particular, the discourse of the closet, emerge to frame this retrospective gaze and the connections among economics and affect. The work of both Sedgwick and Berlant is helpful for understanding the politics of sexuality and economics during the Celtic Tiger. The pain of life in the closet frames both scenes-it exposes the false optimism of the Celtic Tiger and reveals the violence of a reassembled repression. By tracking the enchained values of commerce and affect, the novel makes two modes of critique available to readers.
