Eveline

Introduction …. This story was written by James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (1882-1941). This short story centered around a 19-year-old Irish girl was later included in his book named Dubliners. James Joyce was a writer, a literary critic and a novelist. Through his unique style, James Joyce rose to dizzy heights in the world of English literature. In many ways, this story reflects the trauma and the jubilation that he experienced as he traveled from one country to another, changing his jobs. Nevertheless, he remained glued to his love for literature, writing novels and stories that were lapped up by the reading public. Even today, Joyce enjoys great appeal among booklovers.

The story in brief .. Eveline was a 19-year-old girl who had lost her loving mother early. Her two brothers Harry and —- had moved out of the house to take up their own professions. Eveline remained anchored to her home headed by her father who had become increasingly acerbic, apparently due to his advancing age and the loss of his wife. Eveline worked in a shop and handed over her entire salary to her stern father every month, but he used to admonish her for being a spendthrift. Eveline took her father’s reprimands quietly as she knew she had to run the household smoothly. This was her mother’s parting advice to her. It rang in her ears each time her bruised mind rebelled against her father’s needless jibes. She did all the household chores and often felt weighed down by the load.

Later, she falls in love with a young man named Frank and decides to elope with him ignoring his father’s advice. All the while, her Catholic values and her late mother’s desire to “hold the house together’ told her not to go with Frank abandoning her ageing father. The safety and comfort of her home told her that life with Frank in a distant land could be fraught and could spell her doom.  However, for a young 19-year-old girl to spurn her lover’s hands was so impossible for her.

On the day of departure, the duo reach the harbor, but Eveline’s heart sinks in fear as she looks towards the sprawling sea waters. At the last moment, she breaks free of Frank’s hands and stays behind. Frank’s ship begins its voyage without her.

The story grips the reader’s mind with a torment of emotions. Breaking a young lover’s heart always leads to grief and despair. Sympathy for Eveline becomes especially because her dutifulness towards her father, and her late mother’s parting advice deters her from venturing out with a relatively unknown young man. Frank fails in his mission to make Eveline her wife. The reader accepts Eveline’s fate despondently.

The way the story is told by Joyce.  ….. Eveline sat by the window that overlooks the street. The screen rubbed against her face. She smelled the dust. She was in a relaxed mood. The street in front had no traffic. The place was eerily calm. At this point she got to hear the sound of the footsteps of a person walking down the street. As he neared Eveline’s home, the sound became louder. The man was heading to his home built at the far end of the street. His house had been constructed on a piece of land that used to be a playground earlier. Apparently, the man was affluent because the house he built was swanky compared to Eveline’s. She reminisced about her childhood days when boys and girls from the neighborhood used to gather in the playground for fun and frolic. Among her playmates were the Devines, the Waters, the Dunns and little Keogh, who was physically handicapped. Eveline’s dear brother Ernest was there, but he was a bit too old to mingle with the young children. At times, her father, always a hard task master, came there with a stick in hand to herd his children home. These memories had remained fresh in her mind. She could only lament the end of such good old days that vanished with the passage of time. Eveline looked around her room. Dust had settled on the furniture. The portrait of a priest who was her father’s friend, hung on the wall. Seeing these, Eveline became lost in thoughts.

A few years ago, a major disaster struck her family when her mother passed away. It was a devastating blow for Eveline who loved her mother so dearly. Her father was often rude towards her mother, but as a true Catholic housewife, she never recoiled, even with the slightest venom. Quite obviously, her quietness in the face of her husband’s rants, left its marks on Eveline. She also perceived her father as someone whose taunts should be tolerated, not resisted. On the death bed, the mother had told Eveline to go the extra mile to not let the family fall apart. These words had remained etched in Eveline’s mind. With passage of time, her father became harsher and more hurtful, but Eveline took everything in her stride. To add to her woes, her dear brother, Ernest, also passed away. Harry left the home to take up a job far away. The responsibility of running the house fell on her shoulders. She had to care for her father and two young children left with the family for rearing.

She took up a job in Stores (a shop) managed by a lady named Ms. Gavin. Eveline saw her as a person who had no soft feelings towards her. She didn’t enjoy her work at the shop, but continued her job because she needed money to support her father and two children left to the cares of the family. As a matter of rule, she used to hand over her total wage amount to her father. But, he never hesitated to berate her for spending money unwisely. She felt belittled by her father’s derisive comments, but Eveline took everything lying down, as a ‘true’ daughter. She had decided to contend with all the unpleasantness in the family so long as her tolerance kept the family together. She was a ‘true’ daughter of her departed mother. But the scars remained in her mind, adding to her unease.

Encounter with Frank, that triggered her romantic feelings .. The advent of Frank, a seafarer, in the scene marked a new turn in Eveline’s life. The duo became increasingly close to each other with each passing day.  Frank proposed to her and suggested that she accompany her in his next sea voyage to Buenes Ayres. Eveline was thrilled. Her father got a scent of what was going on between his daughter and the stranger, Frank. He put his strong foot down and warned Eveline to stop seeing Frank. But, the romance had reached a point of no return. The duo continued to see each other in the sly.

Eveline realized that she was fcing a hard choice. The obligation to kdeep the family together kept popping up in her mind. She couldn’t forget her mother’s last words. Her late mother had put up with her husband’s abrasive manners all her life, but had never thought of abandoning him. It was a moral bench mark that Eveline didn’t like to fall short of. She loved her father too despite his hurtful mannerism. But, the thrill of living with Frank in a distant land was irresistible. Her city Dublin treated her with scant regard. In a far away place, she could regain the recognition that she yearned for so much.

The final moments and the rupture of the romantic bond … The moral dilemma plunged her mind in a sea of anxiety. She wrote a letter to Harry explaining why she was leaving the home. She also penned a letter to her father showing her gratitude to him and seeking his forgiveness for her escape venture. She held the two letters in her lap. The time for departure was drawing nearer. At the final moment, an ominous funk shrouded her inner self. She dreaded the possibility of being jettissoned by Frank in the distant land. Frank was in a hurry as the boat had blown its final siren. He grabbed her, but she broke free of her lover’s grip. Frank rushed to board the boat all the time shouting to make her join him for the trip. Eveline stayed back. The bridge of romance gave way under the pressure of Catholic values and a desire not to hurt her departed mother’s spirit.

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Readers are requested to send us the questions from this lesson whose answers they need. Comments on the post will be most welcome.

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