Eveline
Historical background: Irish Social Conditions and Emigration Ireland has endured waves of emigration, particularly after1848. Many left their native land to seek a better life elsewhere. The Irish were second-class citizens within their own nation; Ireland was a British colony and the Northern Protestants controlled the economy of the country. Catholic families often faced hardship. Alcoholism and abuse, as portrayed in “Eveline” were rampant. As a result, many of the Irish sought to escape
James Joyce represents everyday life of Dublin in the early twentieth century in his collection of short stories, Dubliners. Dubliners consists of 15 stories and each of them unfolds lives of many different Dubliners vividly. By describing details of ordinary life and characters' inner life, which is described by their interior monologue, Joyce succeeds in showing the realistic landscape of the inner space of Dubliners as well as that of outer space, the city Dublin at the turn of the century. Joyce tries to emphasize the fact that Dublin is not in the healthy state by showing unhealthy Dubliners. In Dublin, both spiritual and physical fathers are abnormal and the mother who stands for maternal love and fertility is dead. In a word, as Joyce thought, Dublin was the center of the paralysis in this early twentieth century. Under these conditions of inanimate life, Dubliners are trying to escape from the city. Identifying their lethargic reality with the place Dublin, they think escaping is a way "to live" they want to leave for the exotic Eastern world such as Persia or Arabia, or a distant unknown country such as Brazil (Buenos Ayres) or the Europe. When they try to be free from the place, however, they experience the moment that their fantasy is broken and face the raw reality.
Plot Summary
"Eveline" begins with a young woman gazing out the window to a Dublin street. Her name, Eveline, could be a reference to the title character of a nineteenth-century pornographic novel,
James Joyce represents everyday life of Dublin in the early twentieth century in his collection of short stories, Dubliners. Dubliners consists of 15 stories and each of them unfolds lives of many different Dubliners vividly. By describing details of ordinary life and characters' inner life, which is described by their interior monologue, Joyce succeeds in showing the realistic landscape of the inner space of Dubliners as well as that of outer space, the city Dublin at the turn of the century. Joyce tries to emphasize the fact that Dublin is not in the healthy state by showing unhealthy Dubliners. In Dublin, both spiritual and physical fathers are abnormal and the mother who stands for maternal love and fertility is dead. In a word, as Joyce thought, Dublin was the center of the paralysis in this early twentieth century. Under these conditions of inanimate life, Dubliners are trying to escape from the city. Identifying their lethargic reality with the place Dublin, they think escaping is a way "to live" they want to leave for the exotic Eastern world such as Persia or Arabia, or a distant unknown country such as Brazil (Buenos Ayres) or the Europe. When they try to be free from the place, however, they experience the moment that their fantasy is broken and face the raw reality.
Plot Summary
"Eveline" begins with a young woman gazing out the window to a Dublin street. Her name, Eveline, could be a reference to the title character of a nineteenth-century pornographic novel,