EVELINE

Eveline

Eveline

Letter

I think that she wanted to leave at first because she felt miserable. She felt that Frank could give her a non-miserable life. When she went back and thought about it as miserable as it is it is still her home. She wants to get away from her father but at the same time she remembers the good things about him and feels that he wont be able to get around so well and take care of himself that well if she leaves. I think that is what is holding her back. She knows her father is getting old because she is seeing him waken and that is why she likes home as much as she hates it. I think she says she hates it to cover her real feeling of liking what she does at home.

I think that the final lines of the story lead to a tragic anticlimax; "Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition." The ternary rhythm in this line emphasizes the horror of Eveline's fate. I believe that this mood is strengthened by the second climax because it epitomizes the heroin's dilemma; whether to continue on with the known routine, which would most likely result in her never experiencing true happiness or pleasure, or to face the unknown. I believe that she ultimately ends up denying herself the right to be happy and refuses the unknown . In my opinion, there is no single climax in "Eveline," but rather several. The first climax occurs just after her mother's words of madness, "derevaun seraum, derevaun seraun," when she "stood up in a sudden impulse of terror," and becomes panic stricken, realizing that, if she stays in Ireland, she will be trapped there forever, resulting in a life that in actuality would be better described as a "death within life." Another way to describe this climax is to say that she experienced a kind of revelation, i.e. a moment of acute awareness of her fate, an epiphany if you will (Dixona, 2009, 80-80).

It seems to me that a second climax occurs when Frank cries out to Maria "Come!" and with "a cry of anguish" stays put, appearing to be in a state of shock at her own refusal to comply. This is a great example of Joyce's ability of character development.

There are several issues presented by Joyce that give rise to Eveline's internal conflict of breaking the promise to her mother and leaving with Frank. One major problem is that the family is very poor and money is a very precious resource in their lives. Eveline expresses the importance of money when she is walking to the market with her purse clasped close to her body almost as if to protect it as though it were her very own life (Dixona, 2009, 80-80). Her family's poverty is apparent when Frank takes her to the theater and she expresses her delight with the seats Frank has purchased because she has been accustomed to ...