Critical Analysis of James Joyce's "Eveline"

Critical Analysis of James Joyce's "Eveline"

James Joyce’s, “Eveline,” focuses on a character of the same name amidst an

emotional turmoil. This story could be deemed a love tale which involves Eveline
who struggles to remove herself from the strong ties to her family and follow her
love, Frank, to Buenos Aires. Joyce uses literary elements such as setting,
symbols, and themes that help convey Eveline’s emotional struggle.

This story begins in a town in Ireland with the introduction of family

characters. Family seems to be a strong theme in Joyce’s writing. This theme is
evident when Eveline stays home and takes over the motherly duties in the household
as a teen after a promise was made to her dying mother. Death plays a major role
in this story as the author points out that many of Eveline’s friends and family
are said to have died at some point. Symbolism such as dust collecting around the
house and the aged yellow painting of Mary Margaret Alocoque, a French nun, enable
the reader to get a sense of the death and loneliness surrounding Eveline. 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. 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 sitting in the back row due to her inability to purchase
better seats. To Eveline, Frank represents a new and exciting lifestyle that she
has not had the opportunity to experience after taking over the mother role. Her
routine, mundane lifestyle that Eveline has led appears to be comforting to her
because of its stability, whereas being with Frank is something new and
spontaneous. Perhaps Eveline is not so much in love with Frank as she is with the
opportunity to embark on a new lifestyle that contradicts everything she has known
and become accustomed to. When the time comes for Eveline to make her life
altering decision she falters. Frank is urging her to go as they are at the
station and Eveline becomes frozen in a state of emotional paralysis, unable to
make a decision. Again, Joyce uses symbolism when Eveline grips onto the handrails
that lead down the steps to her new life. The handrails represent stability and
control. They represent the life she has always known and the comfort that it
provides.

James Joyce tells us that Eveline lacks the strength to make her own
decision. Therefore, she remains dysfunctional due to her fear of failure, promise
to her mother, or guilt that she faces for leaving her family behind. Joyce is
able to exaggerate all of these feelings inside Eveline primarily because of his
writing style. The use of these literary elements gives a more intense
understanding of the emotional quarrel that Eveline is forced to deal with.

Category : Literature

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