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Eveline | Introduction

Although the story “Eveline” is famous in its own right, it is difficult to categorize by itself since it is an integral tale in James Joyce’s short-story collection Dubliners (London, 1914). The collection, as a whole, presents a glimpse into the lives of average Dubliners of various ages and conditions during the close of the nineteenth century. Joyce, in his youth, was heavily influenced by the Norwegian dramatist, Henrik Ibsen, and incorporated his naturalistic or realistic style into the tales; the stories do not sugar-coat the day-to-day life of Dubliners, but present difficult themes of alienation, emigration, sexuality, and the struggle of a humdrum existence. Upon the book’s reception, Joyce was criticized for emphasizing a side of Irish life that many did not want to acknowledge. Among the themes he broaches is the plight of woman in Irish society. Joyce, borrowing from new ideas in psychoanalysis, acknowledges streams of consciousness in his work. “Eveline” is an early, rather concise example of an author emphasizing the internal reality of a heroine and her attempt to deal with her environment. The story illustrates the social conditions that women in Ireland faced in the latter years of the nineteenth century.

In “Eveline,” Joyce’s presents the dilemma faced by a young woman who must either care for her father and children or flee her homeland with a sailor who has made a rather ambiguous proposal. Although seemingly a straight-forward tale, the writing style is unique for its era since the action takes place in the protagonist’s mind, as descriptions of the heroine’s reaction to internal and external impressions and memories.

Eveline Summary

There is virtually no action in “Eveline”; the vast majority of the tale recounts the thoughts taking place in the heroine’s mind as she sits in front of a window in her home at dusk. In this sense, the story is non-linear. Although it begins with Eveline, the nineteen year-old protagonist, sitting in the invading darkness, the reader is given a glimpse of emotions and thoughts that she experiences rather than any action or plot; the locale shifts as Eveline’s thoughts wander. And, her thoughts eventually return to the crux of the matter: Eveline has met a sailor, Frank, who has convinced her to run away with him to Buenos Aires. Eveline’s thoughts and emotions are largely a result of this “proposal” (whether Frank is actually honest, or frank, and truly intends to marry Eveline is never actually clarified by Joyce).

The story unfolds with Eveline, whose name is a diminutive of the biblical name Eve (Little Eve), sitting motionless as emotions, impressions and images sift through her mind and catch her attention. Her thoughts give insight to the predicament of women in Dublin society. As Eveline sits and thinks, the reader learns:

She used to like playing in a field that was vacant next door with other neighborhood children. The field has since been built on by “A man from Belfast,” who is probably an outsider, a Protestant from the North of Ireland. The past is idealized and the present seems bleak; her childhood companions have emigrated or are dead.

Her attention then turns to an old photograph of a priest who was a friend of her father but who has since moved to Melbourne, Australia. Again, her thoughts turn to... » Complete Eveline Summary