James Joyce (1882-1941) Dunn was dead, too, and the Waters had gone back to England.
Everything changes. Now she was going to go away like the others, to
Eveline (1914)
She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. Her
head was leaned against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the
odour of dusty cretonne. She was tired.
Few people passed. The man out of the last house passed on his way
home; she heard his footsteps clacking along the concrete pavement
and afterwards crunching on the cinder path before the new red houses.
One time there used to be a field there in which they used to play every
evening with other people's children. Then a man from Belfast bought
the field and built houses in it—not like their little brown houses but
bright brick houses with shining roofs. The children of the avenue used
to play together in that field—the Devines, the Waters, the Dunns, little
Keogh the cripple, she and her brothers and sisters. Ernest, however,
never played: he was too grown up. Her father used often to hunt them
in out of the field with his blackthorn stick; but usually little Keogh
used to keep nix and call out when he saw her father coming. Still they
seemed to have been rather happy then. Her father was not so bad then;
and besides, her mother was alive. That was a long time ago; she and
her brothers and sisters were all grown up her mother was dead. Tizzie
leave her home.
Home! She looked round the room, reviewing all its familiar objects
which she had dusted once a week for so many years, wondering where
on earth all the dust came from. Perhaps she would never see again
those familiar objects from which she had never dreamed of being
divided. And yet during all those years she had never found out the
name of the priest whose yellowing photograph hung on the wall above
the broken harmonium beside the coloured print of the promises made
to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque. He had been a school friend of
her father. Whenever he showed the photograph to a visitor her father
used to pass it with a casual word:
“He is in Melbourne now.” She had consented to go away, to leave her
home. Was that wise? She tried to weigh each side of the question. In
her home anyway she had shelter and food; she had those whom she
had known all her life about her. Of course she had to work hard, both
in the house and at business. What would they say of her in the Stores
when they found out that she had run away with a fellow? Say she was
a fool, perhaps; and her place would be filled up by advertisement.
Miss Gavan would be glad. 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.”
She would not cry many tears at leaving the Stores.
But in her new home, in a distant unknown country, it would not be
like that. Then she would be married—she, Eveline. People would treat
her with respect then. She would not be treated as her mother had been.
Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in
danger of her father's violence. She knew it was that that had given her
the palpitations. When they were growing up he had never gone for her
like he used to go for Harry and Ernest, because she was a girl; but
latterly he had begun to threaten her and say what he would do to her
only for her dead mother's sake. And now she had nobody to protect
her. Ernest was dead and Harry, who was in the church decorating
business, was nearly always down somewhere in the country. Besides,
the invariable squabble for money on Saturday nights had begun to
weary her unspeakably. She always gave her entire wages— seven
shillings—and Harry always sent up what he could but the trouble was
to get any money from her father. He said she used to squander the
money, that she had no head, that he wasn't going to give her his hard-
earned money to throw about the streets, and much more, for he was
usually fairly bad on Saturday night. In the end he would give her the
money and ask her had she any intention of buying Sunday's dinner.
Then she had to rush out as quickly as she could and do her marketing,
holding her black leather purse tightly in her hand as she elbowed her
way through the crowds and returning home late under her load of
provisions. She had hard work to keep the house together and to see
that the two young children who had been left to her charge went to
school regularly and got their meals regularly. It was hard work—a
hard life—but now that she was about to leave it she did not find it a
wholly undesirable life.
She was about to explore another life with Frank. Frank was very kind,
manly, openhearted. She was to go away with him by the night-boat to
be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Ayres where he had a home
waiting for her. How well she remembered the first time she had seen
him; he was lodging in a house on the main road where she used to
visit. It seemed a few weeks ago. He was standing at the gate, his
peaked cap pushed back on his head and his hair tumbled forward over
a face of bronze. Then they had come to know each other. He used to
meet her outside the Stores every evening and see her home. He took
her to see The Bohemian Girl and she felt elated as she sat in an
unaccustomed part of the theatre with him. He was awfully fond of
music and sang a little. People knew that they were courting and, when
he sang about the lass that loves a sailor, she always felt pleasantly
confused. He used to call her Poppens out of fun. First of all it had been
an excitement for her to have a fellow and then she had begun to like
him. He had tales of distant countries. He had started as a deck boy at a
pound a month on a ship of the Allan Line going out to Canada. He told
her the names of the ships he had been on and the names of the
different services. He had sailed through the Straits of Magellan and he
told her stories of the terrible Patagonians. He had fallen on his feet in
Buenos Ayres, he said, and had come over to the old country just for a
holiday. Of course, her father had found out the affair and had
forbidden her to have anything to say to him.
“I know these sailor chaps,” he said.
One day he had quarrelled with Frank and after that she had to meet her
lover secretly.
The evening deepened in the avenue. The white of two letters in her lap
grew indistinct. One was to Harry; the other was to her father. Ernest
had been her favourite but she liked Harry too. Her father was
becoming old lately, she noticed; he would miss her. Sometimes he
could be very nice. Not long before, when she had been laid up for a
day, he had read her out a ghost story and made toast for her at the fire.
Another day, when their mother was alive, they had all gone for a
picnic to the Hill of Howth. She remembered her father putting on her
mother’s bonnet to make the children laugh. Her time was running out
but she continued to sit by the window, leaning her head against the
window curtain, inhaling the odour of dusty cretonne. Down far in the
avenue she could hear a street organ playing. She knew the air. Strange
that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her
mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could.
She remembered the last night of her mother's illness; she was again in
the close dark room at the other side of the hall and outside she heard a
melancholy air of Italy. The organ-player had been ordered to go away
and given sixpence. She remembered her father strutting back into the
sickroom saying:
“Damned Italians! coming over here!”
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!”
She stood up in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must escape!
Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But
she wanted to live. Why should she be unhappy? She had a right to
happiness. Frank would take her in his arms, fold her in his arms. He
would save her.
She stood among the swaying crowd in the station at the North Wall.
He held her hand and she knew that he was speaking to her, saying
something about the passage over and over again. The station was full
of soldiers with brown baggages. Through the wide doors of the sheds
she caught a glimpse of the black mass of the boat, lying in beside the
quay wall, with illumined portholes. She answered nothing. She felt her
cheek pale and cold and, out of a maze of distress, she prayed to God to
direct her, to show her what was her duty. The boat blew a long
mournful whistle into the mist. If she went, tomorrow she would be on
the sea with Frank, steaming towards Buenos Ayres. Their passage had
been booked. Could she still draw back after all he had done for her?
Her distress awoke a nausea in her body and she kept moving her lips
in silent fervent prayer. A bell clanged upon her heart. She felt him
seize her hand:
“Come!”
All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her
into them: he would drown her. She gripped with both hands at the iron
railing.
“Come!”
No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands clutched the iron in frenzy.
Amid the seas she sent a cry of anguish.
“Eveline! Evvy!”
He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow. He was
shouted at to go on but he still called to her. She set her white face to
him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love
or farewell or recognition.
Interaction: How all the elements interact to create
the story
At this stage, you should be able to:
- Explain how the elements of fiction interact with one another
to shape a story
- Describe how one element affects another (eg. How the
protagonist is shaped and changed by the conflict/how the setting
affects the plot (what happens in the story) or how the character’s
actions contribute to the theme, etc)
- Predict the way in which changing one element of fiction
would affect the other elements (eg. How would the setting be different
if the POV were changed? How would the story be different if the
character were male?)
A. PLOT (CONFLICT) & CHARACTER:
1. Conflict:
- Bored with her hard life, Eveline thinks about the outside world - the
escape, but she is unable to make a decision. She is a person of two
minds:
At home: She stood up in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She
must escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life,
perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live. Why should she be
unhappy? She had a right to happiness. Frank would take her in
his arms, fold her in his arms. He would save her.
At the quay: All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He
was drawing her into them: he would drown her.
- In some ways, she finds her present life secure and tolerable although
it is hard:
She had hard work to keep the house together and to see that the
two young children who had been left to her charge went to school
regularly and got their meals regularly. It was hard work—a hard
life—but now that she was about to leave it she did not find it a
wholly undesirable life.
[ Dilly - dally (v) waste time through aimless wandering or
indecision ]
- On the other hand, she finds her life trivial and provincial. This
creates the conflict in the story:
 [S]he had to work hard, both in the house and at business. What
would they say of her in the Stores when they found out that she
had run away with a fellow? Say she was a fool, perhaps; and her
place would be filled up by advertisement. Miss Gavan would be
glad. 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.”
She would not cry many tears at leaving the Stores.
2. Eveline’s dilemma:
- Eveline can be said to be between the devil and the deep blue sea,
which means she finds herself in a difficult situation where she has to
choose between two equally inconvenient courses of action:
If she went, tomorrow she would be on the sea with Frank,
steaming towards Buenos Ayres. Their passage had been booked.
Could she still draw back after all he had done for her? Her
distress awoke a nausea in her body and she kept moving her lips
in silent fervent prayer.
3. Eveline: a home-loving girl
Then she had to rush out as quickly as she could and do her
marketing, holding her black leather purse tightly in her hand as
she elbowed her way through the crowds and returning home late
under her load of provisions.
She had hard work to keep the house together and to see that the
two young children who had been left to her charge went to school
regularly and got their meals regularly. It was hard work—a hard
life…
=> In what way does Eveline differ from present-day?
4. Pros and cons:
She had consented to go away, to leave her home. Was that wise?
She tried to weigh each side of the question. In her home anyway
she had shelter and food; she had those whom she had known all
 her life about her. Of course she had to work hard, both in the
house and at business,
But in her new home, in a distant unknown country, it would not be
like that. Then she would be married—she, Eveline. People would
treat her with respect then. She would not be treated as her mother
had been.
B. POINT OF VIEW & TONE:
Frank was very kind, manly, openhearted. She was to go away with
him by the night-boat to be his wife and to live with him in Buenos
Ayres where he had a home waiting for her.
He was standing at the gate, his peaked cap pushed back on his
head and his hair tumbled forward over a face of bronze.
- Frank: suntanned, weather beaten, every inch a man
- Eveline is inexperienced and looks at life through rose-colored
spectacles
He took her to see The Bohemian Girl and she felt elated as she
sat in an unaccustomed part of the theatre with him. He was
awfully fond of music and sang a little. People knew that they
were courting and, when he sang about the lass that loves a sailor,
she always felt pleasantly confused.
He had tales of distant countries. => (these stories may be
fictitious, suggesting something about Frank’s character)
He had started as a deck boy at a pound a month on a ship of the
Allan Line going out to Canada. He told her the names of the ships
he had been on and the names of the different services. He had
sailed through the Straits of Magellan and he told her stories of the
terrible Patagonians. He had fallen on his feet in Buenos Ayres, he
said,
=> Suggesting that this may be not true
Of course, her father had found out the affair and had
forbidden her to have anything to say to him.
“I know these sailor chaps,” he said.
One day he had quarrelled with Frank and after that she had to
meet her lover secretly.

- To Eveline’s father, Frank appears as a trickster.
C. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Why are these different people interested in each other?
- Frank seems to have a genuine affection for Eveline. He has
arranged their escape and paid for it.
- Eveline obviously sees him as a means of escape. He probably sees
her as someone who would make him a good wife (as she is
unadventurous and home-loving)
However, he is not held back by her refusal to go. Why not?
D. CHARACTER, SETTING & POINT OF VIEW:
She stood among the swaying crowd in the station at the North
Wall. He held her hand and she knew that he was speaking to her,
saying something about the passage over and over again. The
station was full of soldiers with brown baggages. Through the wide
doors of the sheds she caught a glimpse of the black mass of the
boat, lying in beside the quay wall, with illumined portholes. She
answered nothing.
She felt her cheek pale and cold and, out of a maze of distress, she
prayed to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty. The
boat blew a long mournful whistle into the mist. If she went,
tomorrow she would be on the sea with Frank, steaming towards
Buenos Ayres. Their passage had been booked. Could she still
draw back after all he had done for her? Her distress awoke a
nausea in her body and she kept moving her lips in silent fervent
prayer.
- The interaction between these element helps reveal the emotional
state of the character.
E. SETTING & TONE:
- Infer the author’s attitude:
She stood among the swaying crowd in the station at the North
Wall. He held her hand and she knew that he was speaking to her,
saying something about the passage over and over again. The
station was full of soldiers with brown baggages. Through the
wide doors of the sheds she caught a glimpse of the black mass of
the boat, lying in beside the quay wall, with illumined portholes.
She answered nothing.

- Soldier (doer) >< Eveline (dreamer)
* Review questions:
1. Discuss the heroine’s positive and negative traits of character. What
kind of girl is Eveline? How do you know? In what ways is Eveline
different from girls in present-day society? Support your answer with
ample evidence
2. How does POV help to sharpen these traits?
3. Analyze the interaction between character and setting in the passage
from “She stood among the swaying crowd…” to the end
4. Why do you think a man like Frank falls in love with a girl like
Eveline? WHat may they expect of each other?
5. To Eveline, Frank is many things. Why, in your opinion, doesn’t she
elope with him at the end of the story? Give evidence from the story.
* Discuss questions:
1. Find examples of figurative language (simile, metaphor,
symbolism, etc) in the story. Explain to make the examples
understandable.
+ She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue.
Her head was leaned against the window curtains and in her
nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne. She was tired.
…invade the avenue: metaphor, indirect comparison with the
action of an army invading an area => the evening was probably
threatening to her => the time for making the decision was running
out
+ She stood among the swaying crowd in the station at the North
Wall. He held her hand and she knew that he was speaking to her,
saying something about the passage over and over again. The
station was full of soldiers with brown baggages. Through the wide
doors of the sheds she caught a glimpse of the black mass of the
boat, lying in beside the quay wall, with illumined portholes. She
answered nothing.
1. Soldier: a symbol (probably symbolizing what E was not: strength,
determination, action,etc)
2. Black mass: a symbol of her fear, the boat taking her to the
unknown
 She felt her cheek pale and cold and, out of a maze of distress, she
prayed to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty. The
boat blew a long mournful whistle into the mist. If she went,
tomorrow she would be on the sea with Frank, steaming towards
Buenos Ayres. Their passage had been booked. Could she still
draw back after all he had done for her? Her distress awoke a
nausea in her body and she kept moving her lips in silent fervent
prayer.
1. A maze of distress: metaphor
2. Mournful whistle: personification
2. Clanged : onomatopoeia (từ tượng thanh)
“Eveline! Evvy!”
He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow. He was
shouted at to go on but he still called to her. She set her white face
to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign
of love or farewell or recognition.
1. Barrier : can be a symbol for a mental barrier Eveline couldn’t cross
2. Like a hepless animal: simile

A bell clanged upon her heart. She felt him seize her hand:

“Come!”

All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing
her into them: he would drown her. She gripped with both hands
at the iron railing.

“Come!”

1. All the seas…He was drawing her into them…drown: hyperbole