TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: EVELINE

Eveline is a short story from Dubliners. It is about a young girl who lives in Dublin and takes care of her family after her mother’s death. She works in a department store and has got a boyfriend. Her days are quite busy between her job at the department store and at home.

Right from the start the reader can realize the girl’s passivity; as a matter of fact she is introduced “sitting at the window, watching the evening invade the avenue”. In addition to this the choice of adjectives such as dusty reinforces the idea as something old. The reader can also perceive a feeling of dissatisfaction with her present life. The contrast between her past life and the present one is clear. Infect the girls says: “one time and now”. Her past life was happy because her mother was still a live and her father “was not so bad than”. Unfortunately now everything has changed and she is going to live with her boyfriend Frank. However if on the one hand Frank represents a way to escape from her a boring life, on the other hand she can’t make up her mind whether to live or not with Frank. The girl’s indecisions are in a certain way the representation of the passivity of all the inhabitants of Dublin. Although she is not happy with her present life Eveline’s sense of duty toward her family and the promise she made to her mother to look after the house prevent her from living with Frank.

Almost out the end of the story the reader can notice the novelist uses a description of the girl “setting by the window leaning her head against the window curtain…”. Such a stylistic choice turns out to be useful to reinforce again the girl’s passivity once.

As regards the narrative technique the story is told by a third person narrator who often disappears and what comes to the surface is mainly Evelin’s thought.

The short story Eveline allows the novelist to give voice to the representation of Dublin and its inhabitants at the beginning of the XX century. The city and its inhabitants seem to share a sense of passivity and paralysis very similar to the one which characterizes the character of Eveline.

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: THE DEAD

The Dead is a short story taken from the collection Dubliners by James Joyce.

The story develops around a party which is held inside Conroy’s spinsters’ house. As regards time it is evening and the weather is cold and snowy.

The main chapters are Gabriel Conry and his wife Gretta. As regards Gabriel, he is a middle-aged man, his way of dressing is formal. His wife is attractive and elegant. During the party Gabriel makes his speech about Irish hospitality. He points out that the past generation had precious qualities such as hospitality and generosity which seem to be missing in the present one.

In addition to this he reminds people of dead people saying that their place is among the living.

It’s worth taking into consideration Gretta’s listening to the song which takes her back to her past. As a matter of fact the song makes her remind of her youth and boyfriend Michael. Gabriel’s reaction to his wife’s recollecting her past makes him realize that the dead affect the living and moreover he reflects on the distant and cold relation his wife and he have.

The lack of warmth in their relationship is also underlined by the light outside the house which is characterized by street lamps which contribute to giving an atmosphere of coldness.

As regards the narrative technique the story is told by a third person narrator who often disappears and what comes to the surface is Dubliners’ thoughts.