Eveline James Joyce Essay

Nick Tomlinson

English 122 Ms. Purvis

An Analysis of a Promise

The short story written by James Joyce "Eveline" is about a young lady who lives her life in a promise. The promise is to her mother, who had passed away, that no matter how bad the family became, she would always keep it together. At a significant point in Eveline's life, she was given the opportunity to leave the family and start a family of her own. Although Eveline is miserable with her life, she runs from Frank with no love in her eyes and remembers the promise that she had made. Is it that she did the right thing in keeping her promise, or was it that she wasn't willing to leave the life she's ever known. Though both ideas are relevant, it is strongly apparent...show more content... She looks forward to moving away like others in her town. She admits she will not be missed at her job and at nineteen, without the former protection of her older brothers, she is beginning to feel "herself in danger of her father's violence." This danger she sees is taken away when she meets her suitor, the sailor, Frank who promises her a better life away from these hardships she has faced.

Eveline's idea of escaping the potential abuse from her father and starting a new life is the driving force of running away with Frank. Eveline cannot end up like her mother, who was rejected by the town people, she feels her only option is to escape with Frank. In the story, Eveline's sudden impulse drives her to admit that Frank would save her if she goes with him east across seas. Her life would be so much better and complete, but what would her father think? Her father would reject her for trying to find her own happiness the same way her father has rejected Frank and forbidden her from seeing him.

Evelines situation becomes an inner battle between the ideas of leaving and staying, all of the thoughts she have sadly become a reality, so many ideas of better places, better times and an overall better life. Eveline is tired: "She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. Her head was leaned against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the odor

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By James Joyce

This is a story of an eighteen year old girl named Eveline, who was beaten, abused, threatened and frustrated by her father, in which she makes a decision to run away from home. But when she flashed back on the promises she made to her mother, she decided to stay with her family "strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could" (James Joyce 204). Eveline wisely realized that leaving her family was not going to bring a solution to the situation in her home. Eveline's father always beats her every day, even to the extent of taking from her, the money she had worked hard to earn from her little job, just to deliberately make her sad. All these situations in her family, reminded her of when her mother was alive, she remembers that her family was very happy. And as a little girl, she goes to the playing ground to play with her brothers, their friends and the neighbor's children. Eveline decides to stay with her father, because of the fear of the future, she is unsure of Frank'slove and her promises to stay with her family. Firstly, Eveline decided to stay with her family because she is not courageous enough to run away from home. Eveline wants to satisfy her mind when she was about to leave by saying to herself that her life is not "wholly undesirable" (James Joyce 203). The writer of this short story actually makes a statement of how unattractive and tough Eveline's life truly

What is happiness? Does it have anything to do with freedom? Everyone would like to live, think, and act freely. Whenever we make our own decisions, we learn and experience something new whether it is good or bad, we are still happy with it because it is our free choice. We all learn about life by living it. If we are too afraid to take a step we cannot go anywhere. Every other decision is another risk, and every other risk makes our heart beat faster which makes life more desirable. We always need to look forward in life because we cannot go back in time, and change things that are already happened. Our past plays a big role in our future, but we should not get stuck in our memories if they keep us away from moving on. In "Eveline", James...show more content...

What if she wanted to break the promise, and move on with her life? She was too young to be responsible for everything, but she did not have any other choices back then. Eveline was a hard worker. She lived in Dublin where people were poor and no one really had a great life. Things were not easy, and a lot of people were hopeless. Eveline had a simple and a boring life until she met Frank. She thought Frank was an amazing man who always had different stories to tell her. He was a sailor, so he traveled around a lot, and his words opened Eveline's eyes. When Eveline's father found out that she was seeing a sailor, he got very upset and had forbidden her to see him. Eveline and Frank would meet up secretly and try to keep their relationship alive. They both wanted to be together, and make each other happy, so they decided to run away, and start a new life together.

Eveline was not a child anymore, and she knew what she wanted in her life. She really liked Frank, and she thought if she would go with him, her life would be better. If she would go to Buenos Aires , people would respect her and make her feel important. She knew she deserved a better life, and she did not want to be treated like her mother had been. Things got harder for Eveline after her mother passed away. Her father became more aggressive, and she was afraid of him. He had many rules at home, and Eveline did not feel free at all. She knew that her father loved her and cared for her, but he

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Eveline's Decision in James Joyce's Dubliners

In the short story, 'Eveline,' James Joyce introduces us to the life of a young woman named Eveline. She has the opportunity to escape with Frank, the man she thinks she loves, to a faraway country in search of a new life. Instead, she decides to stay in the dreary and gloomy life she already knows. To understand Eveline's final decision to stay we have to analyze the reasons that prevent Eveline from pursuing a better life. Her fear of the unknown; the fact that she does not know Frank well enough; and the many attachments she has to her home, prompt Eveline to make her decision.

The first reason for Eveline to stay is that she is does...show more content... Another reason for Eveline to stay is that she does not love Frank enough to escape with him. She does not even know him well enough. What

Eveline knows about Frank is only what he tells her. Frank has ?tales of distant countries,? the word ?tales? suggests that all is a false story.

Everything she knows about him is what he tells her. She does not know whether he is lying or telling the truth, because she has no way to confirm what Frank tells her. Because Eveline's father does not like Frank, he prohibits her to continue seeing him. Her father says ??I know this sailor chaps'? because of the reputation sailors used to have. When her father and Frank had a squabble, Eveline has to meet Frank secretly, which makes Eveline think of her relationship with Frank in a more romantic and exciting way. Joyce tells us that ?first of all it had been an excitement for her to have a fellow and then she had begun to like him.? In her tedious life, the fact of going out with someone, to have someone to care about her, is a thrill. In the final sentence we discover that Eveline does not have any feelings for Frank when her eyes ?gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.?

The most important reason is that she has many strong ties to her home. First she has to take

The Theme Of Choice In Eveline

By James Joyce

The choices we make in our life have an effect on us and sometimes even in others' life one way or another in future. The choices at times can help benefit or in some way destroy of life and our future. James Joyce being one of the best authors of the 20th century described the process of decision in the best way in his one of the most celebrated short stories "Eveline." This short story explores the theme of importance of decision in a woman's life and takes a critical look at life in Dublin, Ireland in the early 20th century. Furthermore, the themes that underlie "Eveline" were not only relevant for the time the story was wrote in, but are just as relevant today.

Eveline is a young lady of 19 who has faced countless challenges in her life. In this story she faces one of her most difficult choices...show more content...

However, in the end, Eveline chooses to not take the opportunity given to her and instead decides to continue with the monotonous routine of her life in Dublin. It shows that fate is what we decide and it influences to our future life even if we don't accept it. Everybody is given a chance in her life at least once, but some appreciate it, some don't. Many authors of short stories allow the reader to make their own judgments of characters. However, Joyce decides to show his frustration with Eveline at the end of the story and judges her harshly. In fact, Joyce goes as far as to call Eveline a "helpless animal." Joyce sends the message through his main character Eveline that everybody has a climax in his or her life which manages her/his future life, even it is more responsible for women in this kind of society. Nevertheless, fate depends on our decisions and we decide how to live despite the fact that ends with good or bad

By James Joyce

Choices In the short story "Eveline," written by James Joyce in 1914, Eveline lived a poverty stricken life with her father, whom was an abusive drunk. Eveline struggles with wanting to leave her dead end life or stay and take care of her father, which she believes is her duty. James Joyce's "Eveline" tells a story of a girl who longs to live her own life away from her dark depressing home and her abusive father and start a new life with Frank who offers her a new life that she has only dreamed of, yet her inner struggles to leave may just be enough to keep her there. Eveline's home life is nothing but a dark depressing tragedy that she is longing to get far away from. Eveline was now the only child left in house. She was to care for her...show more content...

It was hard work a hard life ..." Eveline wanted to get away. She wanted a new life away from her troubles at home where she could be a woman with a purpose. Frank is offering Eveline the chance of a life time to escape her spiraling downward hole of a life where she doesn't have to be belittled every day and can start a new life where she is a respected woman. Frank was offering Eveline the chance to get away and have a new life: "She was to go away with him by the night–boat to be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Ayres where he had a home waiting for her." She had a whole new life just handed to her. A life where she could be respected and have someone take care of her. He showed her how much he cared in just the simplest of ways: "He used to meet her outside the Stores every evening and see her home." Simple gestures like that showed how he wanted to take care of her. He is wanting to show her what it was like to be taken care of instead of taking care of everyone else. Frank is the one chance that Eveline may ever have to get away. Eveline's father knows that and tries to make sure his daughter never sees Frank again: "Of course, her father had found out the affair and had forbidden her to have anything to say to him 'I know these sailor chaps,' he said. One day he had quarrelled with Frank and after that she had to

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In the short story "Eveline" by James Joyce, the title character Eveline is fearful of making a change in her life by moving with her boyfriend Frank from her homeland of Ireland and making a life with him in Buenos Ayres. Joyce illustrates that one of our most inherent qualities as humans and one that Eveline displays is that we are resistant to change. Through Eveline's relationships with her father, Frank and various peripheral relationships, Joyce demonstrates to us how Eveline has come to have certain beliefs about change.

There is overwhelming evidence in Eveline's life that change is good, yet she continues to resist it. Eveline saw her mother make many common sacrifices and give up her freedom of choice in everyday...show more content...

He does not want a worldly man such as Frank having any influence on his daughter. He believes that if Eveline did become serious with Frank he, as her father, would become a lower priority in Eveline's life. She would most certainly leave the house and quite possibly move far away, which would be yet another change the old man would have to endure.

Other factors lead to Eveline being fearful of change. Not only change in commitments but change in physical surroundings are things she does not embrace, though she has been surrounded by change most of her life; when she was a child, she would play in the field with the neighbor children every evening, until it was built upon. She has also experienced change in the form of death; childhood friends, her brother and her mother – all are dead. Death is not a positive representation of change to be sure. As Evelyn ponders change, she comes to the realization that the physical surroundings of her everyday life would no longer be there. The furnishings, the pictures, the curtains, even the dust would be distant memories! Things she has unknowingly drawn comfort from her entire life would not be there to comfort her; they would be gone. Change may not be something she wants.

All of these realizations about change are due to Eveline considering the biggest change in her life: the change she is most fearful about, moving away from Ireland to be with Frank in Buenos

By James Joyce

Point of view is very crucial to stories, it tells us the story and the way it gets told. There are four point of views which are the following: omniscient, third–person limited, first person, and objective. "Eveline" by James Joyce is told in third–limited person point of view which only focuses on the thoughts and feelings of Eveline. The narrator demonstrates the knowledge of one character but lacks knowledge in other characters. In Eveline, we only see the situation and setting through her eyes. "The Lottery" is told in the objective point of view which doesn't show any knowledge of one character's feelings or thoughts. The narrator is telling what he sees or hears, we only get the process of how the lottery works. Each point of view has it's impactful effect that gives the story surprises like in the Lottery. If we were told infirst person then maybe it wouldn't give the surprising twist like it did. In Eveline, the readers didn't think Eveline was going to stay because she didn't know what she wanted, she was too afraid to make a huge decision for the first time in her life. If we would've gotten it in her point of view then maybe it would of been predictable and not have an effect on the audience. In Eveline, we see a young woman who holds onto her past which stops her from finally getting her freedom. In the beginning, she "sat at the window watching evening invade the avenue...she was tired." She was tired of being in a home where she only used to make food and

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In "Eveline," James Joyce uses the juxtaposition of the ever–changing setting and the unchanging stoic character of Eveline in order to exemplify the character's reluctance and inability to move forward. James Joyce is known for his juxtaposition of light and dark throughout his short stories, specifically in his story "Araby." I would argue that Joyce is using the contrast of opposing forces described above between the setting and the character in a similar way as he was light and dark. "Araby" and "Eveline" were both written in the year 1914 and "Eveline" precedes "Araby" in the larger work. They are both part of Joyce's larger work Dubliners which is a work of fifteen short stories. This compilation of stories all share the...show more content...

The story begins with Eveline "watching evening invade the avenue." (Booth 552). From her window Eveline sits as day turns to night. We even read that "in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne." (Booth 552) In the first two sentences of this story the setting around Eveline is changing while she remains sitting with her head against the window, it doesn't even say she smelt the cretonne just that the smell was in her nose. Air is flowing, but Eveline doesn't even notice. We learn a little about her family history and how that has also changed with time. We learn that she has two brothers; one of them is dead and the other is not at home anymore. We also learn that her mother is dead, and her father is a violent man (Voogd 48.). Eveline still poised by the window in her room remembers how the scenery she is watching has changed over time. The new red house across the street used to be a field in which she and the neighbor kids would go to play. She recalls being happy and then it seems she makes the statement, "Everything changes." At this time we learn that Eveline has plans to leave just like the others, and for the first time in the story Eveline moves. In Eveline's first movement of the story we watch as she looks across the room "reviewing all its familiar objects..." the reader is then

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James Joyce

James Joyce's "Eveline" is a short story following a nineteen–year–old Eveline, who faces a difficult decision of leaving a life she is accustomed to and moving to an unknown land with a man she barely knows. She needs to make a choice between two contrasting figures; Frank, a man who offers her stars in the sky and her father, whom she fears. In one hand she holds the weight of uncertain happiness, in the other, inevitable misery. Following her mother's death, Eveline assumes the role of a parent and inherits all the chores accompanying it. She works hard at home and "the Stores", but for all her troubles, Eveline gets little respect in return. Now with one brother dead and other away on business, she is left alone to keep the family together and bear her father's ever increasing abuse. She struggles to make the right choice, but in the end, her struggles are in vain as she stands paralyzed at the dock watching her lover and her life gently slip away. As "She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue", we can visualize Eveline separated from the world, like a prisoner in her father's home. A hard life has taken a toll on a young girl: "She was tired", not only of hard work but being submissive and accommodating all the time. Recalling the field brings back memories of times when she was happy playing with her friends; that field now stands covered by houses, much like her life, weight down by responsibilities. She misses those days and "wants a

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James Joyce

James Joyce's short story, "Eveline," displayed Eveline's indecisiveness on whether to leave home or stay at home. In the first part of the story, Eveline lost the physical presence of her family and friends; they either preceded in death or moved to another place. As she tried to develop her new life with her father, she noticed her father's violent actions that she does all she can to escape the violence (Joyce, par. 9). When she explored life with Frank, she developed feelings for Frank in order to escape home. However, Joyce ended the story with her motionless as the boat takes Frank without her. This leaves readers wondering what happened to Eveline.Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic criticism gives readers insight of what happened to...show more content...

Not only does the id contained the darkest wishes, it also contained her fears, mostly from her father. Joyce developed the father's character by saying that Eveline's father "was not so bad then." (Joyce, par. 2). However, as Eveline became nineteen, Joyce explained the father's change of character, as Eveline "felt in danger of her father's violence." As a little girl, she saw her father "go for" her brothers, Harry and Ernest; as Eveline became a mature girl, her father would threaten her to "do to her only for her mother's sake," leaving her defenseless against her father's violence (Joyce, par. 9). In addition, her father met with Frank and quarreled against him, leaving her to keep her affair a secret (Joyce, par. 12). The change in her relationship with her father gave her intense fears that she could suffer the same fate as her mother. With her experience of the deaths of her family and friends and the abuse of her father, her deep desire to leave home came from those past experiences. However, her treatment of love and respect from Frank gave her expectations for better things in her life; those expectations are home to her where she can experience love, as she did long ago, and a husband she found attractive that will give her respect, different from her mother. The id makes this her first priority and ultimate mission in the story so Eveline can find happiness at all costs. Freud's second

Empathy And Sympathy In Eveline, By

James Joyce

Sympathy is a word countless hear, but few accurately understand. It is often confused with empathy, and many times true sympathy is occasional. Countless people take a moment to commiserate or feel remorseful for someone, yet they rarely give it another thought. As a class, we read a short story by James Joyce called Eveline. The first time reading this story, it was a bit confusing and quite irritating. As a woman of the 21st century, one whom is "fierce" and independent, I found it tough to sympathize with Eveline. "Stop your pity party and create a happier life." This is what I found myself saying, after my initial reading. However, I took a step back and actually looked at the story. I remembered the context, it takes place in. The year, country, and how different things were back then. Placing myself in Eveline's shoes, a woman from the early 1900's, assisted me in sympathizing with her. Eveline was a female that was brought up in a poor area of Dublin, Ireland. As with all underprivileged areas around the world things were harsh. There was a higher importance placed on morals and values. Eveline's job was to care for her father and the house after her mother passed. A promise she made to her mother on her deathbed, and promises are to be kept. She also had two children that she oversaw caring for. Her responsibilities were routine, comfortable, and safe. There is nothing that the human race likes more than routine. There is a comfort that comes with knowing how

The choices we make in life will always have an effect on us one way or another in our future. The choices at times can help benefit or in some way destroy of life and our future. Fears of the unknown and change have always found a way of rearing their ugly head and making us second guess ourselves. At times, fear of the unknown is so great that the choice we were supposed to make becomes unthinkable, unbearable, and even unreachable. Not many people can deal with the tension of the fear even if it means eventually having a better life for them or someone else. However, there are people who are strong enough to fight it with everything they have in their body,mind, and sprit. There are people like Eveline who find a decision too...show more content...

In the story, Eveline "sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue" (Meyer, 420). For most of the story she sat at the window just thinking. Thinking about how her life had turned out. Thinking about the promises she had made. Thinking about the two little children she had babysat. Sitting at the window just had her thinking about what could possibly be and the life she would be leaving behind. The window symbolizes many things in this story. Outside the window is a whole world waiting to be explored by her. Looking outside the window she can see many things she have never done before which is just a touch away. After her mother's death Eveline did not find joy in the life she was living. She wanted to escape the life however she had made a promise to her mother and even though she is dead it was hard for Eveline to break it even at the cost of not living her life the way she wants too. In the passage the author James Joyce describe how life in the house had been for her, how good her life was before her mother had passed away. Looking out the window expresses her desired to escape the life she is living. Eveline sat at the window for hours just remembering how good of a childhood she had. The joy she use to feel as a child is has found its way to her life through Frank. Frank wanted to show her there is more to life than what she is use to. Many people want the opportunity but are afraid to grab the Get more content

The heartache of losing a loved one is indescribable. Many people live out their lives based off how that one person would want them to live. James Joyce's short story, "Eveline," is an example of how promises are hard to break. As James Joyce writes his stories, his characters and themes share similarities within his own life, giving them more value and much more meaning behind the importance of the story. To begin with, "Eveline" is the story of a young teenager facing a dilemma where she has to choose between living with her father, who has beaten her in the past, and escaping with Frank, a sailor which she has been with for some time. This story is one of fifteen stories written by James Joyce in a collection called "Dubliners". The...show more content...

"Eveline" and "The boarding house" are two stories written by Joyce, where he writes about the effects of the Irish society on younger girls. "The heroin Evelyn, portrayed as a young girl burdened by responsibilities, represents the joyless life of the Irish." (The Explicator). Having lived through his childhood up to the end of his university education, Joyce has become aware of the life in Ireland and the ambition of young people to leave Ireland and be what they say, free. In these two stories however, there is a kind of weakness in the two different girls because at the end of the stories, they both choose to continue their domestic roles. "Eveline" and "The boarding house" offer two portrayals of women whose lives are structured and controlled by the stigma of femininity that are attached to them by the stigma of their patriarchal societies. Each ends up serving a domestic role, one realizing the gendered aspect of their fate, the other not aware of any other option (Ingersoll). In these stories, Joyce writes about the rigid society which he grew in and how it affects these two girls in each case. Another pattern, probably the most significant, is his catholic family background. Eveline comes from a strongly catholic family, her mother was catholic while she was alive, and Harry, her brother, is in the church decorating business. The picture of the priest which hangs on the wall in their house and whom she knew nothing about is also

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By James Joyce

Eveline loves Frank, but his love is not enough to free her from the cage of a dark, lonely, sad, tiresome life she has become trapped in. With her mother and brother having passed away, another brother moving away, the rest of her siblings being younger in age, and her father being a mean, abusive, controlling, alcoholic, Eveline finds herself alone and miserable. After meeting Frank, whom is described as a "kind, manly, open–hearted" guy, Eveline starts to think she too could live a happy life full oflove and adventures. She spends her time in sitting in one place, staring out a window, trying to convince herself why she deserves the life Frank could give her. All Eveline has to do is board the ship and sail away to a dream come true, but Eveline does not leave with Frank. Whether it is the promise she made her mother to take care of the family, or her father in general that stops her from leaving, Eveline clearly makes her choice based on feelings and thoughts of others and not her own. Eveline Hill is a nineteen year old girl longing for a fulfilling life, who comes face to face with inner and outer struggles, leaving her literally stuck within her mind and dark surroundings.

In the story Eveline by James Joyce, Eveline is portrayed as a sad, lonely girl who is longing for a deeper connection with not only the outside world, but also personal human contact in her life. The story begins with Eveline thinking back to happy childhood memories of playing with friends. The Get more content

Eveline by James Joyce was a part of the author's first published work, Dubliners (1914). The short story is centered around the main Character Eveline, whose name is speculated to be an anagram for "A small life" which certainly describes her situation. In the beginning of the story we meet Eveline who sits by the window recalling parts of her childhood. We get to follow her thought process from happy childhood memories to her abusive father and the hardship of providing for her family. Through her inner monologue we are presented with her dilemma; stay in her somewhat dull current situation as an obedient daughter, or follow her lover across the ocean for a life that promises freedom, yet uncertainty.

Throughout the ages humans have always...show more content...

When looking back to the state of Ireland during this time his choice to stay away is no surprise. Dublin was a place of massive contradictions, divisions of class, and diversity. Ireland was a country of instability and between 1919–21, the War of Independence broke out, later followed by the civil war. Due to the uncertainty many of the Irish emigrated, or at least struggled with the decision, and here is where we pick back up the Dubliners.

The Dubliners features fifteen short stories with different characters who all have one thing in common; they are all from Dublin. Of course this might be considered extremely obvious, nevertheless it is what Joyce meant to be defining the characters; their geography. It is the feelings, thoughts, dreams, hopes, as well as the failings of the characters which unify the collection, but the answer to why a character thinks or acts like she does will always be the place where she

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A Subjective Reader–Response Criticism of James Joyce's Eveline

The subjectivity evident in literary interpretation is hard to deny. Though one person may feel that James Joyce's writing proves Joyce's support of the feminist movement, another may believe that Joyce views women as inferior. What could account for such a difference in opinions? Schwarz explains that subjective reader–response critics would respond to a question such as this by answering that each reader uses the literary work to symbolize his or her own life and, therefore, each response is unique to the individual reader. He asserts that the reader will always find an identity theme in the particular text he or she is reading. Consequently,...show more content... Readers respond to "literature in terms of their own lifestyles," which have "grown through time" and is also any new experience the individual brings with them, including the experience of literature (Holland 973). Therefore, when people reread stories, they may interpret them differently from when they originally read these

stories.

The changing interpretation that time and new experiences bring was evident to me after rereading "Eveline" a year after my original reading. In both readings, I found that because of my own desire to symbolize my life through "Eveline," I emphasized specific images and concepts in the story that most closely correlate with my own life and feelings. However, in reading the story a year later, my original interpretation of the story was altered due to new experiences in my life. Though in both readings I found as the theme of "Eveline" my own psychological need to overcome the paralysis of fear and obligation and take a chance for a more satisfying way of life, the causes of paralysis and obligation were different.

For both readings, the first image presented by Joyce that truly caught my attention was that of Eveline leaning against the window curtains, smelling the dusty cretonne and looking out upon a quiet avenue that had Get more content

By James Joyce

Motivation and Paralysis in "Eveline" Through symbolism, history, and allusion, James Joyce depicts a struggle between paralysis and motivation in the short story, "Eveline." The story shifts between the happenings of present day and past recollections. Early on, the protagonist, Eveline makes the decision to leave home in order to make a better life for herself. She wants to flee from her abusive, alcoholic father. Eveline determines that it is time to make her own choices. When it comes time to leave, Eveline is mentally unable to leave and face the unknown. Her feet remain paralysed on the dock in front of the boat headed for Bueno Aieres. The readers know that the options she has is to leave home or remain trapped in the miserable life she currently resides in. Maybe she does not leave with Frank because she is afraid of how he will treat her. There is the possibility that she is just too attached to her home, or that she is influenced by the mental and physical abuse she has endured. Whatever the cause may be, paralysis is indeed present, along with motivation, in "Eveline." As well as having reasons as why not to leave home, Eveline has motives pushing her to change her life. Based on information given at the beginning of the story, it can be assumed that Eveline's father was abusive. "Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father's violence.(4). Eveline's father started taking his drinking aggression out on

By James Joyce

In 1914 James Joyce wrote a short story called "Eveline." The story is about a young girl who wants have freedom and happiness. Also for someone to be there and love her. Eveline is faced with a difficult decision of staying with a family that has practically already fallen apart, or leaving with her future husband, Frank.

Eveline lives in a place called Dublin with what is left of her family. Eveline has a big family with brothers and sisters, but one her brothers passed. His name was Ernest and the narrator said "Ernest had been [Eveline's] favorite." Another brother that had been mentioned in the story is Harry. Harry no longer lives at home. He travels a lot throughout the country with his "church decorating business." Eveline had also lost her mother, but when her mother was still alive she promised her that she will "keep the home together as long as she could." That was her mission according to Linda Rohrer Paige: "Her mission...is providing the glue that will hold together a crumbling family together (Paige)." When losing a mother can be challenging to undergo, but also promising to stay and keep the family together. That would be heart wrenching and that is exactly how Eveline is felling at the moment. Sense her mother had died Eveline felt she is "imprisoned in domestic, 'motherly' duties (Paige)." After all these tragic events that have occurred in Eveline's life, now she is living at home with her father. There are sometimes where Eveline "felt herself in danger of

James Joyce's "Eveline" Critique "Eveline" can be seen as a story comprised of a single choice–to stay or go. This story has caused debate about whether that choice was correct or not. The choice of a teenage girl to stay, rather than leave with a sailor she barely knows, will be shown as the correct one. Eveline's suiter (Frank), appears to live a glamorous life and is offering her an escape (Kenner 64). Frank divulges these glamorous stories to be viewed as the freedom/happiness she desperately wants; therefore, the future with him becomes an idealized image (Khorsand 99). One knows she entertains this freedom, as the story states, "Why should she be unhappy?" (Joyce 21). However, Frank is viewed in more of an infatuated light by descriptions such as, "face of bronze", ". . . very kind, manly, open–hearted.", and states she was "elated" and "unaccustomed" to the experiences Frank was seducing her with (Joyce 21). This is accentuated by her vividly remembering everything about the first time they met, like a love stricken girl (Ben–Merre 455). Eveline sees Frank as the means of rescue from her hard life (Zennure 590). She compares her life to being "pitiful", while she sees herself in her mother's domesticated shoes (Joyce). This stems from promising her dying mother that she would care for the family (Joyce 21). This contrasts an unhappy life versus the prospect of an escaped fairytale one (Zennure 590). Frank is the symbol capable of breaking her destitute life (Khorsand 99). Frank is a sailor who came to the country "... for a holiday" and has ". . . a home waiting for her" (Joyce 21). This is ". . . a kind of fiction Eveline will believe.", as she is looking haphazardly for any escape (kenner 64). Most know the stereotype of a sailor's motives while in port. This stereotype is expressed by her father when stating, "I know these sailor chaps" and forbids her to see him (Joyce 21). One can view her interactions with Frank more like an adventure, similar to a sailor's adventures around the world (Khorsand 100). Interestingly, she only uses the verb "'would'" when describing her future, which shows direct hesitation with Frank (Khorsand 101). Moreover, the word love is never used in the entirety of

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