Name: khadizatul kubra

ID: 1811736615

Course: English 220

Section: 2

Topic: The conflict between duty and desire in – EVELINE.

how much you think your friends like you, when it is all said and done your family is always

there for you. Some say that your parents are your best friends and Eveline seemed to feel more

loyalty to her father than to anyone else. I liked the theme that, to me, seems to be that "Family is

the most important thing in your life and you should take care of it as best as you can".

Unfortunately for myself, the reader, only at the end of the grueling three pages was this theme

apparent to me and because this was the only part of the story I liked, the whole story was a big

waste of time for me to read until the end.

Eveline, emotionally distressed young lady, cannot leave her past behind her to welcome an

easier, more fulfilling life. As she reminisces about her childhood, a thought runs through

Evelines' head. It is always tragic when a mother dies leaving her family behind. With Evelines'

mother gone, she has to assume her duties and lifestyle. It is her turn to take care of the family

and the house. Eveline would have to work extremely hard to support herself, her father, and the

two children who she was taking care of. Eveline knew that she would have to "... work hard, at

home and at business." With her father too old to earn and too young to die, Eveline is

responsible for him, bound to him like a convict to his cell. Her inspiration to work so hard came

from her mother. Eveline made a promise to her mother upon her deathbed "... to keep the family

together as long as she could." This promise is what makes it so hard to live, and even harder to

leave, the life of labor and unhappiness. The fantasy of family existing forever is a common one,

however it is only a deception. Nothing in this world lasts forever, neither life nor happiness.

James Joyce's Eveline was originally published in his short story collection called Dubliners. As

the name suggests the story revolves around a young woman named Eveline who is torn between
her past and her potential future life not knowing which to choose. In the story "Eveline,"

Eveline suffers from what Joyce termed "paralysis." This is the stultifying pull of external and

moral forces, which are linked to the traditions of Catholicism and the forces of the Irish culture.

Eveline struggles to separate herself from religious and familial obligations.

The central conflict Eveline faces is whether or not to run away with her love, the sailor, to

Buenos Aires.She lives for her family, so this would represent a huge break from them, making it

a very difficult dilemma for her. She is conflicted within herself whether or not she should go

with the sailor, or stay with her family. Eveline's conflict is personal. She is pondering whether

she should elope with Frank or stay with her family, which has never been an easy life. In the

short story "Eveline" by James Joyce, the title character Eveline is fearful of making a change in

her life by moving with her boyfriend Frank from her homeland of Ireland and making a life

with him in Buenos Ayres. Joyce illustrates that one of our most inherent qualities as humans

and one that Eveline displays is that we are resistant to change. Through Eveline's relationships

with her father, Frank and various peripheral relationships, Joyce demonstrates to us how

Eveline has come to have certain beliefs about change.Struggles Although Eveline has to be the

central life and the caretaker of her family’s home, she dwells on the past and fearing her life

ahead of her. Eveline is seen as the woman in charge of the household. The narrator states, “Of

course she had to work hard, both in the house and at business,” implying that she not only

works hard around the home but also has a job where she earns her own money (Joyce).
Joyce’s, “Eveline”, most of the story is situated in the mind of the main character, Eveline.

Eveline is characterized as passive, easily-influenced, and indecisive. Joyce highlights Eveline’s

indecisiveness as she struggles with her immediate predicament; should she leave her abusive

father and disobey her duty as a daughter, or pursue a new life with her potential husband Frank,

to be free? As she contemplates, readers are taken inside Eveline’s mind to discover factors from

her past and present go back in time, and change things that are already happened. Our past plays

a big role in our future, but we should not get stuck in our memories if they keep us away from

moving on. In “Eveline”, James Joyce tells us a story about a girl who lives in Dublin , and is

about to make a major life decision. Eveline wanted to have her freedom, but she was afraid to

run away because she had a lot of responsibilities / duties.

“your move should be determined by your strengths, not your opponent’s expectations.’ Darcy’s

smile deepened as he warmed to her allusion to fencing.’Always move to your advantage.

Pamela Aidan,Duty and Desire (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman #2)’’

Of this was certain :to be in her presence was to know delight in a more vivid sense than ever he

had before.

Pamela Aidan,Duty and Desire (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman #2)’’

In the short story, "Eveline," James Joyce introduces us to the life of a young woman torn

between duty and desire, the known and unknown. She has the opportunity to escape with Frank

(the man she thinks she loves) to Buenos Aires in search of a new life. It seems obvious to the

reader that Eveline should take advantage of this opportunity and escape. Instead, she decides to
stay in the dreary and gloomy life she already knows. To understand Eveline's absurd decision to

stay, we must analyze the reasons that prevent Eveline from pursuing a better life. Her

uncertainty of Frank, the tragic deathbed promise made to her mother, and the relationship she

has with her father, all contribute to Eveline's strange and final decision. We first meet the title

character within her home, a home full of dust and stifling familiarity. As she sits at her window,

she notices a man walking home to one of the new red houses. These houses are "...not like their

little brown houses but bright brick houses with shining roofs" (Joyce 4). The imagery shown in

Eveline's comparison of the two types of houses symbolizes one of the main themes in the story.

The little brown houses represent her familiar and dreary life at home, while the shining red

houses represent her opportunity to embark on a new journey with Frank. Although she describes

him as "...very kind, manly, [and] open-hearted" (5), what Eveline knows about Frank is only

what he tells her. "He had tales of distant countries...He had sailed through the Straights of

Magellan and told her stories of the terrible Patagonians" (5). The word "tales" suggests that

Eveline might believe these stories are false. Because Eveline's father does not like Frank, he

prohibits her to see him. " "I know these sailor chaps," he said. Thoughts of leaving everything to

go with her love or the promise she made to her mother of taking care of her family after her

death.

Eveline, is a story about a woman trying to decide her path in life. She is trying to decide

between living her life to its fullest, or living her dull life she's used to. She has always lived with

her family and is used to the harsh way she is treated, she gets to have a boyfriend that wants her

to stop this from it's roots and has the choice to leave with him. She is very confused with her

decision, but she decides her family is more important than the love she has towards her
boyfriend. After she decided that she had to stay with her family, she went back to her house and

try to start her life again, but now without her boyfriend. She would continue her dull life living

with her father. She may be probably thinking that her boyfriend is going to come back to her

and probably try to convince her again of leaving with him. But, everything is just a supposition

for her everything is uncertain she doesn't know what is going to happen next, but she knows that

she made the right choice. She had given her word to her mom and she had been able to do what

she really wanted her daughter to do. It was not the best, but sometime she would receive a

reward. In the story, we sense a depth of love she feels for her family that seems much deeper

than that which Eveline feels towards her fiancé. This is probably because of the love that

women in this world always have towards the nearest people. It is something that will be greater

than the love a man and a woman could have. It may be that Eveline's love for her mother seems

far deeper because it was one based on a real and lifelong relationship.

Eveline" by James Joyce is a story about duty and family ties. The author introduces us to a

young woman who is conflicted between her desire for freedom and the promise she has made to

her dead mother. Throughout the story Eveline is perceived as a helpless animal caged in her

own house by a tyrant father. In this story James Joyce focuses mainly on the feelings of the

young heroine. He uses setting, symbolism and foreshadowing to reinforce his portray of Eveline

as a weak and distressed woman. The narrative begins with Eveline gazing out of the window,

watching the beginning of the evening. As the story unfolds the young woman takes us on a trip

down memories lane where we are introduced to the members of her family. Right away the

reader is stroke with the tangled feelings Eveline associates to her past: happiness mixed with

fear. These feelings are an implication, on the author's part, of the melancholy that consumes
Eveline's family. Death seems omnipresent in Eveline's house and is emphasizes on by the

somber mood of the story as well as the departure of Eveline's childhood friends. The author

accentuates the dark mood of the story by the young woman's memory of her mother's last night

of illness: "As she mused the pitiful vision of her mother's life laid its spell on the very quick of

her being – that life of commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness. She trembled as she

heard again her mother's voice saying constantly with foolish insistence: "Derevaun Seraun!

Derevaun Seraun!" " (p.4) Eveline is petrified at the idea of leading a life like her mothers and

James Joyce exploits these feelings throughout the rest of his story, leading us to believe that

Eveline's real desire is to break away from the ghost life of her mother's. Symbolism plays an

important part in "Eveline James Joyce's "Eveline" describes a story of a confused girl that is

stuck in a situation that could change her life forever. Eveline, suppressed by her mother's

deathbed wishes, is mentally subdued by her abusive surroundings, making it impossible for her

to make a better life for herself. Eveline, being the young indentured servant that she had been

accustomed to, is surrounded by an abusive father and a society that treats her like she's still an

infant. Her mother had passed away at an early age leaving her an obligation to remain home and

take care of her family. Her mother's final words were "Derevaun Seraun," a Latin phrase

meaning the end of pleasure is pain. This seemed to be one of the most impacting things she had

left her with that kept her inept in her very uncomfortable home. Her drunken abusive father

contributed to her inability to leave her surroundings also mentally influences Eveline. In her

small town it describes the people as being un-approving of her and looking at her like she needs

help tying her shoes. At her job, her persistent boss Miss Gavan always reminds her of her duties

when people were around. Miss Gavan always implied: "She had always had an edge on her,

especially whenever there were people listening. Miss Hill, don't you see these ladies are
waiting? Look lively, Miss Hill, please." People were always giving her un-needed instructions

as to what she needed to do. This contributed to her feeling, as like she was a child that needed

instructions. Then came along gentlemen Frank, who swept her off her feet. He took her to a

play, which she had never been before. They also sat where her class would normally not allow.

"He took her to see The Bohemian Girl and she felt elated as she sat in a unaccustomed part of

the theater with him."

It is the choices we make, consciously and subconsciously, that direct our lives. As Eveline

analyzes her life, she realizes that "She must escape! Frank would save her." Evelines' boyfriend

Frank is a young sailor who is willing to take her out of bondage and introduce her to a life of

freedom. With him, she would live life for herself, not her abusive father. Eveline knew that she

wouldn't stay in her town of origin forever. She knew that the familiar smell of dust would

eventually fade just as did the field on which she once plays as a carefree child. "She had a right

to happiness," everybody does. The unfortunate circumstance in lie is that with ones happiness

often comes someone else's misery. As her present life is not good.she had e desire to led a good

and happy life . For that she once decided to leave with his love on .but eventually she could

not . Because she promised her mother she will take care of her family after her death . Her

promise her to her mother,her duty towards her family made her leave frank . For her duty ,she

sacrificed Her desire to have a good life with frank.

https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/27286.html

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Eveline-F3JJSAYVJ?fbclid=IwAR1cgLNAhpAWtqXtGob-

bhQAY2tjRO5zI6mkBQdv8SwRkOH23HRAYGVdLhI