Eveline is from a collection of short stories, “Dubliners” by James Joyce. Dublin is a city from Ireland and the book itself connects readers to the people who lived during the early 1900s. In the story “Eveline” a young woman Eveline is the main character whose weary life gives us an insight about the society, customs, position of women and expectations from them during that period.
In the starting of the story Eveline is sitting at the window leaning her head smells the odour of dusty cretonne, even though she cleans the furnitures every week. Here it is implied that Eveline has become frozen in time and so dust has collected which represents the stillness and numbness of her life. She lives with her father and takes care of two children left under her supervision. Eveline earns seven shillings for the family and they live in miserable conditions, which can be cited by the yellowing photograph and the broken harmonium. Her father does not respect her and she is seen as a lowly mammal who wastes money. But now She has met Frank a sailor who offered her to escape with him.
Eveline mother died when she was young and she made her promise to take care of the family and abide the obligations at her death. Since then Eveline has become a housewife without a husband. But her father liked his son, Harry and Earnest, more and gave no affection to her. She works very hard to earn money for the family without any acknowledgement. Frank and Eveline have courted and he has offered him to escape with her.
Eveline is now in a great dilemma whether to get a taste of freedom or remain as a slave in such hardship. Eveline is the best exmple of the feminine characteristics during that period where they are molded in such a way by the society and the custom, so they have no dreams of their own. The girls are treated as a mere utility tool to give birth, raise children and take care of the family. Frank, Eveline’s boyfriend has tempted her to run away with him by the...