A Promice

A Promise
In the short story “Evelyn,” by James Joyce, Evelyn must choose whether to run off and marry a sailor she hardly knows or stay in her familiar home life, with a father that sometimes can be abusive. Instead of leaving, Evelyn’s own insecurities and a promise she made to her dying mother forces her to stay with her family instead of venturing off into a life she is unsure off.
Evelyn is a very insecure girl who is unsure of herself and is afraid to leave home. During the story, Evelyn wonders what the local people will think of her if she leaves to run off with a young sailor, “What would they say of her in the stores when they found out she had run away with a fellow?”(5). She thinks the people in her town will look at her foolishly for running away with a sailor and leaving her family behind, and believes that if she was to run away the people in her new home will treat her with respect because she will be married. She is also insecure when it comes to Frank, “When he sang about the lass that loves a sailor, she always felt pleasantly confused” (6). She is afraid that he does not really love her and that he has done this with many girls. It does not help that her father is against the relationship with Frank, who feeds into her insecurities about the situation by claiming that all sailors are the same. “I know these sailor chaps” (6). Evelyn is worried about what other people think of her, including her father. This is causing her to want to stay since she does not want them to think badly of her. She is also confused about Frank’s feelings towards her and is unsure of how things will be if they run away.

During the story, Evelyn is constantly reminiscing about the past and is unsure if she wants to leave her familiar lifestyle. “Home! She looked around the room, reviewing all its familiar objects which she had dusted once a week for so many years” (4) Even though Evelyn has done these chores for so many years, it is familiar and comforting to her. While trying to decide on whether to stay or go, she starts to reminisce about all the good times she has had with her father. “She remembered her father putting on her mother’s bonnet to make the children laugh”(6). Even though her father was getting more abusive towards her, she knew deep down he does love her and was not always drunk and abusive. “Her father was becoming old lately, she noticed: he would miss her.” At the end of the story we learn that Evelyn made a promise to her dying mother, “her promise to keep the home together as long as she could” (6). Evelyn knows if she leaves her father would be lost. Her older brother has passed away and the other one is working “In the Country” (5). She is the one responsible for the upkeep of the house, and taking care of the two younger children. Evelyn is also responsible for running the store which helped support the family. “She always gave her entire wages-seven shillings”(5) She knows that if she were to leave, she would still be unhappy from guilt of not keeping her mother’s promise and staying with her family when they needed her the most. In conclusion, even though Evelyn is unhappy and for a moment thinks running away will change this, she decides to stay. “Why should she be unhappy? She had a right to happiness” (6) While Evelyn is waiting for Frank at the station, she has a moment of clarity, “A bell clanged

upon her heart” (7). Evelyn’s insecurities cause her to become afraid and she believes running away with Frank could be worse than her familiar home life. She also comes to the realization about how important the promise she made to her mother is. Without Evelyn there to take care of the home and her family, her father would become worse. Evelyn’s internal struggles are in her mind and in her heart, and she foresaw what life would be like if she ran away and got married to the sailor or if she stayed home to fulfill her dying mother’s last wishes. In the end, she chose to follow her heart and mind and keep her word and stay as long as possible to keep the family together and taken care of. If she left, she may be happy for a little while, but would regret it, and eventually come back home. A promise is a promise, and especially one that was her mother’s last wish to her loving daughter.

Works cited
Joyce, James. “Evelyn.” Literature and the Writing Process Compact Edition. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan et al. Boston: Pearson/Longman, 2010. 3-7. Print.