After
accepting a proposal from a free-spirited sailor, Eveline prepares herself for
a new life with her husband in exotic Buenos Aires. In the onset of the story,
Joyce paints an idyllic portrait of childhood nostalgia as Eveline looks back
on the youth she spent so wistfully in the city of Dublin. The protagonist
struggles against the strong emotional attachment she has to her hometown as
she convinces herself that a life no longer exists for her in Ireland.
Eveline’s
psychological journey to find her self is representative of the search for
national identity apparent in Ireland in the onset of the twentieth century.
James Joyce, through the eyes of his heroine, tells the story of a lost nation
caught in the perpetual landslide of an identity crisis.
As
Eveline muses on in her nostalgic reverie, she begins to feel the pressure of
her conflicting emotions. Part of her psyche screams telling her to escape, to
leave Ireland and never look back. It is not until the final four sentences of
the story that Eveline realizes she can no longer ignore her heart as it
lovingly pulls her back to her home, Dublin.
Continuing
his metaphor, Eveline’s conflicting emotions are indicative of the converging
influences plaguing Ireland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Eveline’s ultimate epiphany also showcases the passionate nationalism apparent
in the Irish people at the time. In the form of a poignant vignette, Joyce manages
to educate readers about the state of affairs in Dublin at the turn of the
century.
A
Quote to Remember: “She set her white
face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love
or farewell or recognition.”
Good job highlighting Eveline's tension in the story of wanting to simultaneously leave Ireland for a romantic escape and wanting to remain at her home. I read that Joyce was caught in this same position as Eveline in his youth, though he instead chose to emigrate permanently from Ireland. It's interesting that he wrote of a character who took the opposite option from his own.
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