The Life of Eveline and Her Decision to Stay
The life of everyone encompasses the daily challenges of making crucial decisions which affect both friends and the family. The Eveline is one of the exciting short stories by James Joyce, describing a story of the protagonist Eveline, whose life’s decisions are highly based on the family structure. In the story, Joyce introduces the readers to the main character Eveline, who attains a chance to escape with Frank, her lover, but she chooses to stay in the gloomy and miserable old life. Eveline prefers the humiliation of her father’s abuse over the unconquered life because the reasons for her stay lightly overrun the ones for leaving, including her fear for the unexplored, her promise to her mother, and the fact of not knowing Frank so much. This paper focuses on analyzing the Eveline by James Joyce, emphasizing why the protagonist failed to pursue her initial decision of escaping her old life.
Eveline's Promise to Her Mother
One of the primary family members who affects Eveline’s decision is her deceased mother. In numerous families, daughters and mothers usually establish a long-lasting relationship, especially, when the mom provides an advice to the child. Peterson argued that “there is nothing powerful as mother's love, and nothing is healing as a child's soul.” In her deathbed, Eveline’s mother asks the protagonist to promise to "keep the home together as long as she can” (Joyce 6). Eveline agrees to keep her mother’s promise, not comprehending that such an obligation may trap her in a miserable life forever. To honor her mother’s promise, Eveline works at the Stores day in and out in order to make some money to take care of both the family and her siblings. Eveline experiences remarkable difficulties thinking about escaping her home with the sailor Frank, who had asked her for a marriage. Therefore, the promise she made to her mother intensely affects Eveline’s decision, hence she cannot escape with Frank while honoring her mother’s promise.
The Influence of Eveline's Father
Eveline father is the second primary family member who contributes remarkably to influencing Eveline’s escaping decision. Eveline’s father consistently orders her what she should do, not allowing her some opportunity to make independent decisions. Eveline’s father is very abusive and a heavy drinker, who makes Eveline "sometimes to feel herself in danger” (Joyce 4). Her father’s fear makes Eveline immobile, hence she feels trapped in the roles of her mother, and her father awaits her to take care of both him and the younger children. Joyce acknowledges that “Eveline’s father had found out the affair and had forbidden her to have anything to say to him" (Joyce 4). Despite the fact that Eveline keeps meeting Frank in secret, the control of her father keeps her from making major decisions. Therefore, Eveline fears to stand up against her father, especially, when she is faced with the controversy of making the escaping decision.
The Significance of Memories
Another reason influencing Eveline’s decision is because she has so many memories linked to her family. Eveline remembers how her father used to “read her out a ghost story and make toast for her at the fire and how he used to put on her mother’s bonnet to make the children laugh” (Joyce 5). Although her father beats and treats her cruelly, Eveline still thinks her father could change and be a better person as he used to be. According to Paul, “our memories are more perfect world than the universe, providing life to those who no longer exist.” Therefore, although these exciting memories may seem insignificant compared to the mistreatments Eveline gets from her father, they play a highly significant role in influencing her final decision.
Eveline's Love for Frank
Eveline’s love for Frank was not sufficient enough to make her abandon her own family. The only way Eveline knows about Frank is from what he tells her, especially, the distant countries’ tales. Eveline does not differentiate whether Frank is telling a lie or truth, hence she lacks a way to confirm so. Eveline’s father dislikes Frank, prohibiting him from seeing Eveline because he acknowledges that “I know this sailor chaps” (Joyce 3). After betraying Frank by not leaving with him, Joyce affirms that “Eveline’s eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition” (Joyce 6). Although Eveline thought she loved Frank, her emotions for him were not sufficient enough for her to abandon her family. Therefore, Joyce describes how the main character Eveline is unable to abandon her ordinary miserable life, even when she gets an opportunity for self-improvement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when growing up, people are always faced with daily challenges of making crucial life decisions which impact both our friends and families. The Eveline
is one of the most exciting short stories by James Joyce, describing how the protagonists’ life decisions are affected by her family structure. Eveline prefers the humiliation of her father’s abuse over the unknown life because the reasons for her stay lightly overrun the ones for leaving, including her fear for the unexplored, her promise to her mother, and the fact of not knowing Frank so much. Therefore, Joyce describes through the story how the protagonist is unable to abandon her miserable life, even when she gets an opportunity for self-improvement.
Work Cited
Joyce, James. James Joyce's Dubliners Eveline. St. Martin's Griffin, 1904, pp. 1-6.
Paul, Charles. Memories. Nabu Press, 2010, p. 46.
Peterson, Evan T. "The Impact Of The Mother-Daughter Relationship". Family Living, vol 23, no. 4, 1961, p. 355. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/347593.
