mwestwood, M.A. Eveline's father falls into the stereotype of a drunk. Not only is he is a drunkard, but he is also abusive to his children, perhaps retaliating against them for his misery because of the death of their mother.

How does Eveline feel about her father?

Eveline says she fears her father would physically hurt her like he used to hurt Harry and Ernest, her brothers. He is the reason why Eveline has developed palpitations: ... Eveline's father makes Eveline feel rather tired and frightened. She needs safety and comfort, offered by her lover Frank.

Why does Eveline's father not like Frank?

Expert Answers

In James Joyce's story "Eveline," Eveline's father forbids her from having anything to do with Frank because, as he says, "I know these sailor chaps." There are two ways in which this can be interpreted: Eveline's father is attempting to protect his daughter from this "sailor chap."

What is the nature of the relationship Eveline has with her father?

Eveline's relationship with her father is similar to that between master and servant. Eveline's father is a domestic tyrant who expects his daughter to do everything around the house. As well as taking every penny she earns at the stores, he also threatens her with physical violence.

What is Eveline's duty to her father?

Throughout the narrative, it is very clear that Eveline is immensely committed to what remains of her family – her younger siblings and her troubled father. It was the promise she made to her dying mother that still resonates with her, she was to care for and keep the family together for as long as she could.

Learn English Through Story - Eveline by James Joyce

23 related questions found

What is Eveline's home life like?

In addition to her working hard at her job, there is much for Eveline to do at home: She must cook and clean, along with caring for two young children left to her charge. 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.

What is Eveline's duty to herself does she really believe she has a right to happiness?

– Her duty to herself is to live happy and have a satisfied life. I think she really believe she has a “right to happiness” because she is adult, so she has a right to do what she like to make her happy.

What kind of man is Eveline's father?

Eveline's father falls into the stereotype of a drunk. Not only is he is a drunkard, but he is also abusive to his children, perhaps retaliating against them for his misery because of the death of their mother. In his anthology of short stories about the residents of Dublin, ...

What did Eveline's father used to do when the kids played in the field?

Her father used often to hunt them in out of the field with his blackthorn stick. In other words, it was the fear of their father's violence which bothered them during their play. It was as though he cast a shadow over their lives, one characterized by violence and cruelty.

What is the moral lesson of Eveline?

In Eveline by James Joyce we have the theme of memory, responsibility, decisions, conflict, escape, guilt, paralysis and letting go (or rather the inability to let go).

Why is Eveline attracted to Frank?

Possessing a face bronzed by the life of a sailor, Frank is a lodger at a house that Eveline passes on the main road. She finds him "kind, open-hearted, and manly"; he is fond of music and often sings. Because he is a world-traveler, his tales of faraway lands intrigue Eveline.

What does Eveline's father think of Frank?

Eveline's father did not like Frank, and had forbidden her to see him. Eveline had been seeing Frank for awhile, and people in the neighborhood knew the two were courting.

Does Eveline identify with her mother in any way?

Eveline's mother has been an abused woman; however, there is some unconscious identification with the mother on the part of Eveline as she fears violence from her father, and she is certainly subjected to verbal abuse and "a hard life" and "a pitiful vision" that she is unable to leave.

Why does Eveline decide to stay?

Oddly enough, Eveline makes what seems to be an unbelievable choice: to stay with her family. After delving into the particulars of her life, she chooses to stay because she has no other alternative. ... She must fulfill "her duty" to both her family and her mother (Joyce 514).

What is the main theme of Eveline?

The main themes in Eveline are Paralysis, Epiphany, Stream of Consciousness and Irish Social Conditions and Emigration. Paralysis This sense of stagnation or paralysis is emphasized with the very words Joyce uses. The story “Eveline” presents an excellent example.

What is the message of Eveline?

“Eveline” addresses the subject of death both literally, as when Eveline lists off the people in her life who have died, and figuratively, in several other life events that become metaphors for death. She seems to be very aware of death, and the fact that she has been left behind, either by people dying or leaving.

Is Eveline's father abusive?

Eveline's father was abusive to her siblings and mother, but spared Eveline when she was young since she was a girl. He used to go searching in the field for her and her siblings with a blackthorn stick to call them inside, and appears to be a figure feared by all of the neighborhood kids.

How does Eveline feel about her dead mother?

The recollections Eveline has that are associated with her mother's death sway her one way and then the other: she doesn't want to continue in a life of abuse; she owes a duty to fulfill her mother's last wish; she doesn't want a life that ends unhappily in "final craziness"; she wants to fulfill her promise to "keep ...

What is Eveline's last name?

The protagonist of the story, Eveline is a hard-working Irish woman around age nineteen living with her father in her childhood home in Dublin.

What does Eveline's brother Harry do for a living?

D. In James Joyce's short story "Eveline", Eveline's brother Harry, a minor character who never appears in person, is described as being "in the church decorating business". He travels up and down the country and is seldom in Dublin.

How does Eveline feel about leaving Harry?

One moment, Eveline feels happy to leave her hard life, yet at the next moment she worries about fulfilling promises to her dead mother. ... Eveline suspends herself between the call of home and the past and the call of new experiences and the future, unable to make a decision.

What is the conflict of the story Eveline?

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

What is Eveline's attitude toward her work at the stores?

"She had always had an edge on her, especially whenever there were people listening. Because she is afforded to little respect at work, there are corollaries with her home live, being subservient both at work and at home.

What influences Eveline's choice at the end of the short story?

In "Eveline," the decision that Eveline makes at the end of the story is to stay put in Ireland instead of leaving with her lover, Frank, for Argentina. She makes this decision because she is in the grip of a debilitating inertia that prevents her from making necessary changes to her life.

In what way does Joyce describe Eveline's eyes at the end of the story what might be the significance of this?

James Joyce, author of the short story "Eveline," uses the simile "like a helpless animal" in order to describe Eveline's spiritual paralysis. ... She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.