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Eveline is a short story by James Joyce that explores the relationship between the past and the future, and the difficulty of leaving a familiar but oppressive life in Ireland. The story follows Eveline, a young woman who plans to leave her abusive father and poverty-stricken existence in Ireland, and seek out a new, better life for herself and her lover Frank in Buenos Aires. She cannot go through with it, and instead clings to the past and the old Ireland that she loves.
A summary of “Eveline” in James Joyce's Dubliners. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Dubliners and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
Eveline (1914) 1. James Joyce (1882-1941) Eveline (1914) She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. Her head was leaned against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne. She was tired. Few people passed.
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"Eveline" is a short story by the Irish writer James Joyce. It was first published in 1904 by the journal Irish Homestead and later featured in his 1914 collection of short stories Dubliners. It tells the story of Eveline, a teenager who plans to leave Dublin for Argentina with her "lover".
- Ireland
- 1904
- English
- Irish Homestead
- Introduction
- Eveline Summary
- Themes in Eveline
- Eveline Characters
- Eveline Analysis
Evelineis a short story by renowned author James Joyce. It was published for the first time in 1904 in the Irish Homestead. It later made a place in his compilation of short stories Dubliners (1914). Its origin can be historically traced in the period of Irish Nationalism when anti-British sentiment was high. It was written not much later after the...
The protagonist of the story, Miss Eveline Hill is sitting near a window. She is thinking about her escape plan with an Irish sailor Frank who has settled in Buenos Ayres. She is nineteen years old and works at a local store. She looks from the window to the street outside. The smell of dust is prevalent in the air, and she muses where this all dus...
Many forms of Death
Death is both figuratively and literally discussed in this short story. In the example of people who are no more part of Eveline’s life are described as though ‘they are no more.’ But this is not the case in the majority of the persons who are alive but are no more in contact with her. This going has become the metaphor of death. She describes life before her mother’s death better than what it is at present. She also describes those who left Dublin and never asserts her emotional response to...
Catholic Values and Confinement
One of the major factors that need to be blamed for the failure of Eveline’s escape plan is her Catholic religion. Catholicism teaches sacrifice, promises, and guilt. When Eveline considers all these factors, she smells heresy because, for her own ends, she is deserting her father. At the end, she decides to sacrifice her own future and freedom for her family, and that will result in rewards from God. This religion teaches to keep promises, and her promise with her mother binds her to stay ho...
Nostalgia
Nostalgia is another prominent theme in Dubliners. InEveline, the protagonist’s main fetter is nostalgia, her thoughts begin and end with nostalgia, and that stops her from liberating herself. She is aware of the problems of the Dubliner life that emotionally kill a person. But she can’t leave Dublin because with it all her memories and identity will die, she won’t have the memory of sacrifices that she gave for her family. She will have to start life anew, and that is the thing she doesn’t w...
Eveline
Eveline is a nineteen years old girl. She is a resident of Dublin and is abused by her father. She has spent a miserable life after the death of her mother. She faces domestic abuse, and there is nobody to help her, so she decides to flee from her home with Frank, who is her boyfriend. Her parents or siblings haven’t loved her, and to seek love, she has come to Frank. She expects that he will fulfill her emotional needs and will stand by her side when she is in need. She works at a local stor...
Eveline’s Father
Eveline’s father is a drunkard and abuses his daughter. He takes all her pay from her on weekends and domestically abuses her. It was he who made the life of his wife a hell and now is doing the same with his daughter. There is an implicit suggestion of sexual abuse of his daughter, but it is not clearly stated. He is a selfish person and knows only his needs. After the death of his wife, he has never helped his daughter with her needs, if he has done, so it is once or twice at the illness of...
Eveline’s Mother
Eveline’s mother is a miserable character like Eveline. She has spent a wretched life, but like typical women, she is the one who still takes care of her husband. She is the one who has accepted the hierarchy in the family and recognizes her husband sovereign and higher in rank than her. There are suggestions in the story that she had faced abuse like her daughter and on the deathbed talks nonsense. She loves her children and wants to pass her responsibilities to her daughter. This can be tra...
This story, like the rest of the stories in Dubliners, has little action outside the mind of the protagonist. The major part of conflict takes place inside the mind of the protagonist, and the climax is reached when she decides not to board the ship with Frank. The plot is dependent on the internal actions taking place inside the mind of Eveline. F...
Eveline Summary. Eveline, a young Dublin woman, is sitting at the window watching dusk fall. She notices that few people are out, except the man who lives in the last house on her street. She listens to his footsteps as he approaches the part of her street filled with newer, red houses.
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Eveline is a short story by James Joyce about a nineteen-year-old woman who is torn between her childhood memories and her decision to leave Dublin for a new life in Argentina. The story explores themes of nostalgia, death, religion, and femininity through the character's choices and actions. Learn more about the plot, themes, characters, and literary devices of this classic work of fiction.
