Eveline
by James Joyce
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One of the fifteen stories of Dublin life in Joyce's 'Dubliners', 'Eveline' is a sympathetic portrayal of a young woman who has within her reach an escape from the drudgery of her life but cannot gather the courage to seize it. Nineteen-year-old Eveline sits at her window at dusk, weighing her decision to elope with Frank, a kind sailor who has offered to take her to Buenos Aires and marry her. She reflects on her hard life at home and at work, her abusive, ageing father, the squabbles over money, and the promise she made to her dead mother to keep the home together. As she remembers her mother's life of 'commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness', a sudden terror of the same fate makes her long to escape. Yet at the crucial moment, standing at the North Wall station as the boat's whistle sounds, she is paralysed by fear and duty; she grips the iron railing and cannot go. As Frank is swept forward with the crowd calling her name, Eveline sets her white, passive face towards him, 'like a helpless animal', giving him 'no sign of love or farewell or recognition'.
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The story portrays the paralysis of a young woman torn between filial duty and the chance of personal happiness, unfolding almost entirely through her consciousness.
Eveline at the window
As evening falls, Eveline sits at her window, tired and reviewing the familiar objects of her home. She has consented to leave with Frank, and she weighs each side of the question, the shelter and hard work of home against the unknown promise of a new life abroad.
The burden of home
Eveline recalls the hardness of her life: her violent, ageing father, the weekly squabbles over money, the endless housework, and her responsibility for the two younger children. She had promised her dying mother to keep the home together as long as she could, a promise that weighs heavily on her.
Frank and the dream of escape
Frank, a kind, open-hearted sailor, offers her love, respect and a new home in Buenos Aires. As Eveline remembers the tragedy of her mother's life 'closing in final craziness', she is seized by terror of the same fate and longs to escape and live, 'she had a right to happiness'.
The moment of paralysis
At the North Wall station, amid the swaying crowd, the boat's mournful whistle sounds. But at the crucial moment Eveline is overcome by fear, guilt and duty; she prays for guidance, then grips the iron railing in a frenzy. As Frank is drawn onto the boat calling her name, she cannot follow. She sets her white, passive face to him 'like a helpless animal', her eyes giving him 'no sign of love or farewell or recognition', her chance of happiness lost to her own paralysis.