Eveline | BBS Second Year | Vision English

 Summary of Eveline

In the story, the protagonist is a young girl called Eveline who lives in Dublin, Ireland. Being a Catholic upbringing, she is not allowed to go out side to play with her friends. She has to follow strictly Catholic norms and values. She desperately misses her old life and spends most of her time remembering it.

When the story opens, the girl sits at her sitting room window and watches outside scene continuously. Eveline remembers what the street looked like before builders filled it with houses. She loved playing in the field with her friends. Everyone on the street knew each other. It was a lovely place to grow up. The only problem was Eveline's father. He was a temperamental man who didn't like her playing outside so much. He wanted her at home where he could keep an eye on her.

Eveline tells that her mother kept her father's temper in check. Later, Eveline decides that it's time to leave home. She knows that she might never return. To cheer herself up, she obsessively dusts all the furniture. She wants to preserve this moment forever because she knows that, even if she does come home again, everything will look different. If she's not there to dust and clean the house, it will decay and stagnate.

Midway through the story, Eveline reveals that she's running away with a young man called Frank. She wants to reinvent herself. Her father is domineering and nature of spending money unnecessarily in alcohol. He would be bad on Saturday because he would spend money unnecessary going in inn (2)

Her duties is to provide all salary to her father and run home. Father spends her salary drinking alcohol. She works in the store to support economical parts of the family. Her father only gives her money to buy goods for dinner on Saturday.

She thinks that if she moves far away from home, she can forget her past and would be happier. She's the last of her siblings to leave the house. She thinks if she marries with Frank, people will treat her with great respect. She thinks that Frank is kind, manly and open-hearted.So, she is about to go away with by night boat to be his wife in Buenos Ayres (arda). Eveline reveals another truth that Frank is a sailor. He's very handsome, charming, and friendly.

Once, Eveline's father knew her relationship with Frank and had warned her to stay away from Frank because he thinks that Frank loves her to sleep but Eveline thinks that he loves her as true lover.

As she was with Frank and ready to elope with him, she recalls her given promise to her dead mother, thinks her old and sick father and future of her brother. Actually, she had promised her dead mother to unite her family members. While recalling such realities of her family, she does not find any sign of love or farewell or recognition

What is Eveline's home life like? How does she expect her new life to be different? Do you think this expectation is realistic?

At home, she feels loss of identity and think to make her life worthy by getting marry. I think that her such expectation is not realistic. In Eveline's home, Eveline and her brother are badly behaved and dominated by their domineering father. On Saturday night, her father spends money unnecessary that the money is earned by her working in the store. He would give her the money only to buy Sunday dinner. However, I think that she is so secured at her father's home.

Does her religion have any bearing on Eveline's decision?

By going through the text, economic condition of the women is presented so poor in Ireland. Being a daughter, she has to look after her father, home and her brothers. In mid nineteenth century of Ireland, women were largely excluded from participation in productive works. Instead, the Irish Catholic church expected to fulfill the tradition role of self-sacrificing wives and mother, submissive and humble to their father. Young woman should be virginal. In the story too, Eveline does not allow to go outside and has to care family member. Her mother has even tried to give her best to her domineering husband.

Eveline has failed to manage her social and economic life.Discuss

As Eveline becomes bold enough in her decision, she holds in her lap two letters, one to her father and next to her younger brother, Harry. She reasons that her life at home cleaning and cooking is hard. Personally, I think that it is worse option to elope. She has to do the same thing and follow the same routine that she has repeated at father's home. if she eloped. She thinks her father spends money and is domineering but he is not always mean ( g). She also might think that he has sons to take care of him. He is now widower too. Seeing his such situation, she should not have left the home.

It is true that she has failed to manage her social life leaving at home. Her father would take her salary and brothers left the home. She sees progress leaving at home. She is not allowed to go outside and is not free to love with Frank. However, she is safe at home. She could leave there as a respected Catholic girl. People's hardship is not the cause of family but it is due to socially constructed norms and values of patriarchy and religion.

In brief, she might be the failure while staying at home economically and socially but there is also not guarantee to lead her life freely with Frank because Frank is also outcome of patriarchal society.