Analysis of the Short Story Eveline from Dubliners by James Joyce

The short story Eveline is taken from Dubliners, a collection of fifteen short stories written by James Joyce during 1904 and 1914.
From the title the reader can expect the story will be about a female character whose name is Eveline.
In the first sequence there is a female character but it is possible to understand this only from the personal pronoun "she". The character is sat at a window and is looking out of it. She can smell the dusty of the heavy cotton curtains: this makes the reader understand she is not rich and he can feel what herself feels.
There are also visual feelings: she notices a neighbour walking on the street and she thinks about the past: a man from Belfast bought the field there was there once a time and built beautiful houses, not like her. She remembers also when she was a child and she was used to play in the field with some friends: also this make the reader understand her social status and also something about her past: in that time she was happy (second sequence). There are some informations about woman's family: she had got brothers and sisters. The eldest of her brothers was Ernest. She thinks her father is not a good person now and the reader can also understand her mother is dead. Then she reflects about her present and life: many people were dead and she thinks also she is going away: this make the reader interested into where she is going and why she is leaving her house.
In the third sequence she looks around in the room, she thinks again about the past and how many times she cleaned the objects there were: this makes the reader understand she belongs of a low social status because herself was constrained to clean everything.
The reflection about an old photograph leads her to reflect about her departure. She is not sure of her choice because she wonders again if it is a good idea. The novelist writes she weighted each side of the question, so she is a thoughtful person. She thinks also about her work: she works in a store and she thinks about it and she intriduces another character, Mrs Gavan, probably her employer: it is possible to understand this from Mrs Gavan attitude towards her. The reader is also provided of a new informations about the woman: she is "Miss Hill" so she is not a married woman.
Moreover she does not like working in the store but she thinks about what they could say about her escape with a man. So the reader can understand now why she is going away. (fourth sequence)
Then it is possible to know her name - Eveline- and also her age, over nineteen years old. She is going far, she is also getting married there and another information about her father emerges: he is a violent man, with many problems, who is used to threaten her. (fifth sequence)
Eveline reflects again about her family: her eldest brother Ernest is dead and her brother Harry works in a church as decorator. Moreover her family has many money problems and Harry and she must give their money to their father: he does not want to give it to Eveline because he does not trust her, but then he does it because she has to care about the house and the children (probably her young brothers).
Then Eveline considers her future new life: the man she is going to marry is kind, beautiful and he is a sailor. His name is Frank. They are going to Buenos Aires and she remembers the first time she has seen him. He has some money: the reader can understand this because Eveline thinks to the time he has brought her to the theatre and also to his love for music and also because he has got a home in Buenos Aires. Now the reader can understand because she is going away: she loves a man but her father does not share her choice. (sixth sequence)
Then she looks at the letters she keeps in her hands. The first one is for Harry and the other for her father. She thinks again about him because he has not always been a bad father and now she is leaving him. (seventh sequence) 
The music in the street leads her mind to the past: she remembers the promise she made to her mother before her death: to care about her family. In these lines the reader can also discover the opinion about Italian immigrants because of what Eveline's father said. (eighth sequence)
Then Eveline realizes she must be happy and the only person who can save her is Frank: she decides to leave her home (ninth sequence), and the reader can understand it from the suddenly change of scene.
In the last sequence she is with Frank at the station and there are many soldiers: it makes understand there is a war.
Then she sees the ship and she is scared. When he takes her hand and invites her to go, she does not want to leave her country anymore. He goes beyond the iron railing without her but he goes on to call her with affection (he uses a nickname). She decides to rest, even if she will be not happy.

The narrative technique used in the short story is the interior monologue: Eveline's thoughts are all connected between them.
Eveline's characterization is built up through out her name, her surname, her social status, her family, her relationships, her work, her desires and her duties.
The narrator is a third person narrator, omniscient (because he knows what she feels and thinks) but not intrusive. The language used is simple and the sentences have got yet the right order of subject and verb.
The reader has the feeling to get in Eveline's mind. The writer in this way makes the reader feel and see what she herself is feeling. Moreover the reader can understand the point of view of a young woman and her situation at the beginning of the 20ieth century.