In this paper, the desire of Maria in James Joyce’s “Clay” is examined from the viewpoints of the author, reader, and narrator. Because Maria is unmarried and evidently old, the narrator’s perspective, which is grounded in symbolic language, sees Maria as lacking in every way. Maria claims she does not want a ring nor a man, yet the narrator’s unarticulated narrative disproves this claim. Maria, likewise, tells herself that she is content with the little money she has and her independence. Because the narrator does not take Maria’s statements at face value, the reader can now begin to question the narrator’s objectivity. Herein lies the author’s function. The author reveals the gap between what can be said and what cannot, as well as the interstice between the narrator and the reader, in a suggestive manner. The author does not control the narrator nor Maria from within, behind, beyond, or above his creation; instead, he guides the puzzled reader into the void where they are forced to confront Maria’s true desire. Contrary to the narrator’s claim that she is concealing her actual wish to get married, she has no interest in pursuing the social position of a married woman. By leaving out the second verse of the aria starting I dreamt that I dwelt, in which a noble host asks Arline for her hand in marriage, Maria makes it clear that she prefers remaining unmarried, which is distinct from stating she is “not yet married.” Maria is a trailblazer in creating a new path by deciding what is not the accepted norm.