There are obvious parallels to be drawn with Joyce's own life – Joyce and Nora Barnacle lived, unmarried, in Trieste, during the years the fictional Rowans were living in Rome. During this time, Joyce and his lover considered themselves to be living in Exile, directly mirroring the setting of Exiles. Robert Hand too, draws a connection to Joyce's personal life as he resembles two friends of Joyce's, Oliver St. John Gogarty and Vincent Cosgrave, and even shares a few defining characteristics with them both. Another source of inspiration used by the author to model the character of Robert Hand was the Italian journalist Roberto Prezioso, which he met during his time in Trieste.[3] Similarly, the character of Beatrice Justice has been said to reflect a cousin of Joyce's, Elizabeth Justice, who died in 1912.[4] However, Exiles is by no means straightforwardly autobiographical.
"The great question which Joyce sought to use as the basis for a drama was that of human freedom and human dignity. It is exposed and focused in terms of love and sexual relationships."[5]
