Eveline

The short story deals with a young girl who has chosen to leave her family.

The story as well as the other chapters of the Dubliners is set in Dublin and is characterized by the protagonist’s epiphany and paralysis.

Just reading the title the reader can think the story deals with a protagonist whose name is Eveline. This name has a symbolical meaning, indeed is composed by the name “Eve” and the word “line”. Joyce’s choice makes the reader understands the protagonist is similar to Eve; if you read the story Eveline is innocent because her youth like Eve but she is inability to act according to her decision, differently from Eve.

The text is substantially the list of Eveline’s inner thoughts. Joyce creates a direct relation between the character and her consciousness through the “stream of consciousness” and the free indirect speech.

Eveline is sitting and she is showing “the evening invades the avenue”, the image seems to underline her future way is dark and unknown. Later homesickness arises her pain of leaving and of future life with her lover. Her lover’s name is Frank and his name is very meaningful, indeed he was frank “kind, manly and open-hearted”. The description seems to try to convince herself he will be a good husband. But despite that she will decide to stay with her family.

The image of evening invading the avenue returns in the following paragraph when she hears the sound of an organ and she comes to mind the old promise she did to her mother.

Eveline’s situation of life is not good because of father’s violence, poor work and misery but her pain of future stops her to leave her family. In addition the feelings she feels for Frank isn’t enough, indeed she never affirm “I love him” or something similar but “she always felt pleasantly confused” and the term “confused” expresses her insecurity.

Eveline’s epiphany makes her understand about her life condition and Joyce makes the event explicit with the phrase “Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her” after her mother’s state of fury; but Eveline is destined to stay in Dublin and to bear her situation because of state of paralysis.