The objective of the present text is to provide some considerations about the structural aspects of the short story Eveline written by James Joyce and highlight some connections with the novel Normal People written by Sally Rooney. In particular, the attention will be focused on the two main female characters Eveline and Marianne. 

For what concerns Eveline, the short story is set in Dublin: the writer quoted Eveline’s house and the North Wall Station. Moving to the narratives techniques, the writer adopted the third person narrator. There are lots of pauses in the narration characterised by a detailed description of the setting. Another relevant aspect to underline is that the present life of Eveline is mostly dependent on her past memories, especially about the figure of her mother. As a consequence, the language used makes reference to the past.

It is important to say that Eveline and Marianne have some interesting points in common: both of them are teenagers and have a difficult family situation. While Eveline has lost her mother, Marianne’s mother does not care about her. Eveline is living in Dublin and belongs to the working class; on the contrary Marianne belongs to a family with a modest socio-economic status and moves to Dublin to study at Trinity College. Both teenagers are victims of violence but have different reactions: Eveline is more introverted and her house represents a secure place since she is scared about the outside world. On the other hand, Marianne is victim of her father and brother's violence but she is more determined and autonomous.  Her house is a dangerous place and Connell, her boyfriend is her point of reference and security. Comparing to Marianne, Eveline is not able to take any decisions because she does not have a personal point of view in life. Moreover, she does not have the strength to react to the system that submits her.