James Joyce's "Eveline"

            “Eveline”, is but one of James Joyce’s characters who emulate the hardships of the Irish during his time and under England’s rule (Joyce 279). For Joyce, the goal to attain with his characters was “to betray the soul of that hemiplogia or paralysis of its people”, while the people he was writing about were Dubliners (Baldwin 278). “Eveline”, uses the details of a young Irish woman’s life to portray the effects of England’s rule over the people of Ireland.

            Joyce successfully utilizes a variety of themes to include paralysis, poverty, entrapment and escape in the story. In addition, Eveline’s progress is hampered by her attachment to her home and all she has ever known, as well as the expectations of women in her time. The plot of Joyce’s short story, “Eveline” does not follow a chronological path but speaks through Eveline’s , “stream of consciousness” (Baldwin 278).

            Eveline describes with affinity a field in which children used to play in which eventually, “a man from Belfast”, built houses on (Joyce 278). The Belfast builder symbolically destroys a field that children of the community used to play in when he builds, “bright brick houses with shining roofs”, not at all like the other people in town (Joyce 278). The man from Belfast parallels the invasive nature of England’s rule upon the Irish.

            Eveline mentioning the, “broken harmonian”, is symbolic of the broken harmony of the home she grew up in (Joyce 279). As a child, Eveline is threatened by her father when he seeks out his children while they were at play. Her father used his “blackthorn stick”, “to hunt” his children out similar to the paternal nature of England over Ireland. Eveline’s relationship with her father is riddled with violence mostly directed towards her brothers. As Eveline grows into a young woman, “she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father’s violence” and complains of physical symptoms of being abused (Joyce 279).  Ireland also experienced violence at the hands of both England, and the country’s own people similar to how Eveline suffered violence at the hands of her own people.

            As a young Catholic woman, Eveline is held to certain standards and expectations. Eveline wonders to herself if the townspeople will think, “she had run away with a fellow”, because she knows a young woman is held to Catholic Standards (Joyce 279). Yet, Eveline knows that, “Mrs. Gavan would be glad. She always had an edge on her, especially whenever there were people listening.” (Joyce 279). It is likely that Joyce was highlighting the dysfunctional morality of the people of Ireland. Eveline is concerned about the townspeople judging her who are themselves sinning according to their Holy Bible further exemplifying the backwards morals of the people. In addition, Eveline’s brother, “who was in the church decorating business”, earned a living off of the church (Joyce 279). Another parallel comes as Eveline’s father curses the Italian musicians playing in the street and Eveline’s mother bursts out with “foolish insistence” a phrase that resembles nonsensical Gaelic (Joyce 281). The fact that the mother’s outburst is not communicated is symbolic of the meaninglessness of the original Irish language in relation to the mother’s time.

            Like many of the characters in Joyce’s, “Dubliners”, Eveline exemplifies “the paralysis” he viewed as “the moral conformity and blindness of its people” (Baldwin 278). Eveline becomes entrapped by her inability to leave the suffocating life she lives, just as Joyce felt the people of Ireland were.

Works Cited

Dean Baldwin, Patrick Quinn. An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Shortfiction. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2007.