Eveline

Eveline is a short story written by James Joyce. It belongs to the collection of “Dubliners”. Just reading the title the reader understand that is the name of the protagonist, and he/she could imagine the story tells about Eveline’s life.

The episode is a monologue of the protagonist and it is divided in two sequence. The main theme of the episode appears in the first sequence. Evelin speaks her self to his familiar condition and explain the reason of his departure, she wants leave from home.  She speaks about her house and her family. Then the reader understand the real reason of the departure: her love for Frank. The protagonist described Frank and she thought about their project. Eveline’s inner monologue ends with the remembrance of her mother’s the death.

In the second sequence the protagonist is in the harbour and she is living when Eveline decides to leave Frank hand and to stay in Dublin.

The setting is Eveline’s house and the harbour, the time is not specified, it is the time of mind. Closed spaces have a symbolical meaning, they represent the paralysis of the Dubliners. Even if the harbour is an open space the author connotes the space, he says “She stood among the swaying crowd in the station at the North Wall.”  In the harbour there are a lot of people for this reason the reader understand that the protagonist couldn’t act. The protagonist is aligned in front of the external reality, her mind deforms time and space, she lives only in an inner reality.

The point of view of the third person external narrator coincide to Eveline’s  point of view. The author uses the narrative technique of showing to described the protagonist, and the other character is described by Eveline in her monologue. The themes of the episode are human being and the impossibility to leave away.

The protagonist is inappropriate to live at the contrary Frank lives, she says “Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live.” But even if she wants escape at the end of the story a supernatural element brakes her. The intelligent reader understand that there is a epiphany, a spiritual manifestation which change Eveline’s destiny.