The role of setting in Eveline

¶ … Eveline" by James Joyce

Leaving for an unfamiliar territory: Reinforcing Eveline's fear through setting in "Eveline" by James Joyce

In the short story "Eveline," James Joyce presented a thought-provoking narrative of the life of Eveline, a woman who refused to let go of the world she had long lived in and pursue other opportunities and challenges life has to offer her. Her story had been established in two phases. The first phase involved a narrative of her family's history, the life she led long before her mother died. The second phase began with her mother's death, wherein most of Eveline's childhood friends had moved on to live separate lives. Even her brothers had moved on, Harry pursuing a career outside their hometown and Ernest dying soon after his mother's death. It became evident that Eveline was not the only one who refused to move on with life: her father, too, ceased to live life at the present and chose to live his life in the past.

The theme of refusing to leave for an unfamiliar territory -- that is, one's refusal to move on with life and live it in the present, has been reinforced with the setting of the story. Eveline's and her father's life was significantly interspersed with the physical environment they lived in: the world, evidently, had already moved on, migration was increasing, and people were exploring possibilities and opportunities the world has to offer for them. This paper posits that in the midst of the increasing expansion and mobility of human societies all over the world, Eveline failed to live on with her life by choosing to stay in the place of her childhood. The story's setting reinforced Eveline's fear because it signified and reflected the memories of her previous, happy childhood life; in effect, her physical environment restrained her from leaving because she equated leaving her home with leaving the memories of her family life behind.

Proof of this assertion was established early on in the story. Reminiscing about her childhood, an adult Eveline believed that memories of her family lived within the "familiar objects" in her home. By stating that Eveline "never dreamed of being divided" with these familiar and memorable objects, Joyce was highlighting the strong association his protagonist had created between memories and physical objects in her home.

Interestingly, Eveline evaluated her future life with Frank not by thinking about the opportunities that would be presented to her, but based on what she would be leaving behind once she runs away with Frank. This line of thinking not only reflected her attachment to her physical environment, but it was also apparent that Eveline was not really open to the idea that she would be living a new life with Frank in a different and foreign place. Her abusive father, their poor life, and the hostile nature of her neighbors made Eveline resentful of her life, but this did not deter her from loving it. Her promise to her mother, unfortunately, allowed her to develop the psyche that unpleasant as her life was, she had to live it in order not to disappoint her mother and break her promise.