Beginning with the title “Eveline”, an intelligent reader can understand that the story is focused on a character. Reading the name Eveline, the reader don’t understand the topic of the story but he can speculate that the protagonist is a woman or a young girl. The reader can image or suppose that the short story is about the characterization of Eveline.

Reading the first paragraph, the reader discovers that Eveline is sat at the window watching the evening and that she is tired. The first three lines make us understand that the young girl is firm and tired. This is underlined by the absence of movement verbs. In this paragraph there are only verbs of perception. Indeed, this paragraph is characterized by use of present that represents the static (absent of movement).

In the second paragraph, there is a representation of what happens outdoors and the change of houses. Eveline sees a man who is backing home. This home is new and one time there used to be a field where children every evening played.

The verb used in the second section is the past. It is used to highlight the change from the past to the present and to create a movement. Eveline’s mind lives in the past because it brings to mind the old houses and Eveline is nostalgic. She is nostalgic for the old houses that are no longer there now and for children.

The setting is a closed one. Eveline is in a house. This collocation represents the Eveline’ inner space. She is closed and she is afraid of the outside world. The window and curtains of the room are defensive barriers that protect the young girls from the outside. The house represents the security, the outdoor represents a menace. Indeed, we can find another setting: Evelin’s mind. You can find it because there is a third person narrator who has the total access of Eveline’ s mind and he can speak from the point of view of the protagonist.