Eveline by James Joyce

 

Eveline by James Joyce

Eveline Hill, a 19-year-old woman who works in a Dublin shop, sits inside her family's house recalling childhood, including some happy memories as well as her father's drunken brutality to her and her siblings. Eveline thinks about people she has known who have either left Ireland (a priest who has traveled to Melbourne, for example) or died (her mother and her brother Ernest), and of her own plans to leave the country with a man named Frank. She recalls meeting Frank, an Irish sailor now living in Argentina, and dating him while he visited Dublin on vacation. Eveline also thinks about her father's disapproval of Frank, and of her promise "to keep the home together as long as she could" before her mother grew deranged and died. Later, gripped by fear of the unknown and probably guilt as well, Eveline finds herself unable to board the ferry to England, where she and Frank are scheduled to meet a ship bound for South America. He leaves without her.

Stop and Think (Page 15)

1. Why did Eveline review all the familiar objects at home?

Answer: Eveline had decided to elope with her lover Frank, a sailor. She would go to another country to lead a life without permission of her father. It seems that she would miss all the objects later on. Above all she had a great attachment to all these objects. She had promised to her dying mother that she would try to keep her home together as long as she could.

2. Where was Eveline planning to go?

Answer: Eveline was in love with a sailor, Frank. He came from Buenos Aires and was staying in a house on the main road where she used to visit. After the marriage she was supposed to go to Buenos Aires as his wife.

Stop and Think (Page 17)

1. Who was Frank? Why did Eveline’s father quarrel with him?

Answer: Frank was a sailor who lived in Buenos Aires and was staying in a house in Dublin. After several brief meetings Eveline fell in love with him and they were planning to get married.

Eveline’s father found out the affair and forbade Eveline to meet Frank again. It seems he did not like Frank as he came from another country, “I know these sailor chaps,” he said.

2. What significance does Eveline find in the organ player’s appearance on the day she had decided to leave?

Answer: Eveline hears the song of an Italian organ grinder coming from down the street, the same song he played on the night her mother died. The song reminds Eveline of the promise she made to her mother to keep the family together as long as possible. But she believes she has a right to escape with Frank, a right to be happy.

She finds how people are neglected and deserve no honour in a country, which is not their own.

Understanding the Text

1. Name the two characters in this story whom Eveline liked and loved, and two she did not. What were the reasons for her feelings towards them?

Answer: Eveline always felt attached to her mother even after her death. She always felt sorry that her mother was badly treated by her father. She promised her mother that she would try to keep the family together as long as she could. Before eloping with Frank, her lover, she gave a consideration to it also.

Eveline thought that Frank would give her a new life; would bring her out of sufferings; and above all would love her.

Eveline could never feel comfortable with her father. He used to ill-treat her mother and she always felt sorry for that. She dared not oppose him.

Miss Gavan, the store owner, always used to taunt on her working style whenever there was a rush of customers. Eveline thought that she would be glad if she did not go back to the store to work.

2. Describe the conflict of emotions felt by Eveline on the day she had decided to elope with Frank.

Answer:  Eveline thought whether it was wise to leave her home as she had consented to go away with Frank. She tried to weigh each side of the question. She thought that in her home anyway she had shelter and food; she had those whom she had known all her life about her. Of course, she had to work hard, both in the house and at business.

Eveline sat near the window and began to recall her happy old days that she had spent in that house. She remembered her playing with neighbourhood children. She missed the presence of her brother Earnest.

She remembered the hardships her mother had to face as her father had always ill-treated her. She thought of her promise she had made to her mother to keep the house together as long as she could do.

She thought that in her new home, in a distant unknown country, it would not be like that. Then she would be married—she, Eveline. People would treat her with respect then. She would not be treated as her mother had been. Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father’s violence.

So we can say that Eveline had to go through a tough time while giving a consideration to her plan to elope with her lover.

3. Why do you think Eveline let go of the opportunity to escape?

Answer: On the docks with Frank, away from the familiarity of home, Eveline seeks guidance in the routine habit of prayer. Her action is the first sign that she in fact hasn’t made a decision, but instead remains fixed in a circle of indecision. She will keep her lips moving in the safe practice of repetitive prayer rather than join her love on a new and different path. Though Eveline fears that Frank will drown her in their new life, her reliance on everyday rituals is what causes Eveline to freeze and not follow Frank onto the ship.

QB. (1) Where did Eveline work and how much did she earn?

Answer: Eveline worked in a departmental store and she earned seven shillings a week which she was paid on every Saturday.

(2) What does Eveline remember from her childhood?

Answer: Eveline remembers her mother and the way her father used to behave with them. She also recalls that there used to be a field in front of their house where children used to play.

(3) “He is in Melbourne now.” Who was Eveline’s father talking about?

Answer: There was a photograph of a priest hung on the wall. He was a school from of her father. Her father used to tell the visitors casually about him that “He is in Melbourne now.”

(4) What did Eveline promise to her mother?

Answer: She promised her mother that she would keep her home together as long as she could.

(5) Why was Eveline willing to leave her father?

Answer: Eveline’s father was a violent nature old man who used to behave rudely with her. He did not like Frank, Eveline’s lover also.

QC. (1) Why were the children worried playing in the garden?

Answer: Children used to play in the field but Eveline’s father used often to hunt them in out of the field with his blackthorn stick. Little Keogh used to keep nix and call out when he saw her father coming.

(2) Mention the responsibilities that Eveline had to take over in her house?

Answer:  Her life at home is hard; she has many obligations to fulfill on a daily basis, like cooking and managing money, and two children were left to her to be looked after:

(3) How did Mr. Hill react to the relationship between Frank and Eveline?

Answer: Mr. Hill is angry when he finds out about the relationship between Frank and his daughter, Eveline. He forbids Eveline to see Frank, and he warns her about 'sailor chaps.' Shortly after, Mr. Hill quarrels with Frank, which prompts the young lovers to meet each other in secret.

(4) In what way was Eveline similar to her mother?

Answer: She feels trapped in her mother's role since her father expects her to take care of him and the children. She is further frightened because of the way her father has abused her mother. Her father's control prevents her from doing what she wants to do.

(5) “Damn Italians, coming over here”, who said this? What does this reflect about his character?

Answer: Eveline’s father said this on seeing an Italian playing organ outside his house. It shows the hatred against refugees or outsiders. Eveline felt that she would also be condemned in Buenos Aires as being an outsider.

(6) Why was Eveline reviewing all the family objects at home very carefully?

Answer: Eveline had decided to elope with her lover Frank, a sailor. She would go to another country to lead a life without permission of her father. It seems that she would miss all the objects later on. Above all she had a great attachment to all these objects. She had promised to her dying mother that she would try to keep her home together as long as she could.

(7) What does organ player’s appearance signify to Eveline when she decides to leave?

Answer: Eveline hears the song of an Italian organ grinder coming from down the street, the same song he played on the night her mother died. The song reminds Eveline of the promise she made to her mother to keep the family together as long as possible. But she believes she has a right to escape with Frank, a right to be happy.

She finds how people are neglected and deserve no honour in a country, which is not their own.

D. (1) What are the aspects of contemporary society that caught the consideration of James Joyce in Eveline?

Answer: In Eveline by James Joyce we have the theme of memory, responsibility, decisions, conflict, escape, guilt, paralysis and letting go (or rather the inability to let go). Eveline can remember, as a child, playing across the road from her home, in a field that no longer exists. This is significant as it suggests that in some ways Eveline is lamenting the past, a past when she remembers her life was easier.

As the story continues it also becomes apparent that Eveline has a major decision to make. Whether or not to move to Buenos Ayres (escape) with Frank. She is torn between staying at home and looking after her father and younger siblings or moving to Argentina. Again this is significant as it suggests an internal conflict within Eveline.

There are also traces of symbolism in the story. As Eveline is sitting by the window she notices all the familiar objects around her and despite dusting them every week, the dust remains. Eveline’s action, of dusting every week for so many years is significant as it suggests repetition, doing the same thing, which in turn would suggest a paralysis within Eveline. It is also significant that the dust remains. This suggests that no matter how much Eveline does while at home nothing will change.

 Despite knowing she would be better off going to Buenos Ayres (escape) with Frank, and starting a new life, Eveline still finds it difficult to let go, which again suggests to the reader a state of paralysis. Even when she is standing by the dock with Frank, she remains unsure of what to do and through prayer, seeks guidance.

The element of guilt that Eveline feels regards her promise to her mother is also a factor in holding her back and stopping her from leaving for Argentina with Frank.

(2) Why did Eveline choose at last not to elope with Frank?

Answer: In James Joyce's "Eveline," a woman must choose between the possibility of happiness with her love or a continued life of drudgery as the caretaker of her family. Even though a difficult family life destroyed her mother, Eveline's decision is confused by her obligation to her family. Oddly enough, Eveline makes what seems to be an unbelievable choice: to stay with her family. After delving into the particulars of her life, she chooses to stay because she has no other alternative. James Joyce's heroine must either stay with her dysfunctional family or go with Frank, the man who has swept her off her feet. On the night of her elopement she is reminded "of the promise to her mother, her promise ‘to keep the home together as long as she ‘can. This promise is partly responsible for Eveline's choice. She cannot break the promise she made to her mother. If Eveline lets the family fall apart, then her mother's "life of commonplace sacrifices" was all for nothing . Eveline's life with her father is "a hard life" ; but "conditioned by her mother's sense of duty" , Eveline cannot leave her family behind. Her word becomes a bond that she cannot break. She must fulfill "her duty" to both her family and her mother.

Eveline makes the decision she has been raised to make. She is faithful to the promise she made to her mother and assumes her role as the matriarch of the family.

(3) Eveline’s home is full of dust. What does it symbolize?

Answer: The first glimpse we get of the main character in James Joyce’s “Eveline” is as she “leaned against the window curtains” smelling the “dusty cretonne” . Immediately, Joyce has introduced the main symbol of this story…dust; and it continues to appear throughout the story. His use of dust as a controlling symbol in this story reinforces our understanding of this young woman’s dreary, suffocating, arid life. Dust represents monotony. The dust in the house keeps collecting no matter how frequently Eveline cleans it, paralleling the monotony of Eveline’s life in Dublin: she is constantly taking care of people or cleaning, only to wake up and do the same thing the next day.

The second mention of dust comes as she sits in her home “reviewing all its familiar objects which she had dusted once a week for so many years, wondering where on earth all the dust came from” . For quite a long time, it had been Eveline’s job to keep things nice and clean, yet the dust always returned. There was never an end to the dust. Much like there was no end to the oppressive life she led.

The last reference to dust occurs near the end of the story. Even as the time grows near for her to leave and meet Frank for their escape, “she continued to sit by the window, leaning her head against the window curtain, inhaling the odour of dusty cretonne” . Throughout the entire story, Eveline’s character has not moved from her position against the dusty curtains. She is surrounded by the dust just as she is surrounded by responsibility. She resigns herself to the fact that it is just as futile to try to escape her destiny as it is to escape dust itself.