Eveline Flashcards
by James Joyce — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Eveline
Where is Eveline sitting at the beginning of the story, and what is she doing?
She sits at the window watching the evening invade the avenue, her head leaned against dusty cretonne curtains.
What childhood memory does Eveline recall about the field near her home?
She remembers playing there with neighborhood children before a man from Belfast bought the field and built bright brick houses on it.
Where does Eveline plan to go with Frank, and how will they travel?
They plan to take the night-boat to Buenos Aires, where Frank says he has a home waiting for her.
What triggers Eveline's sudden impulse to escape near the end of her time at home?
A street organ plays an air that reminds her of her mother's final illness and the deathbed plea to keep the home together, filling her with terror.
What happens when Eveline reaches the North Wall station with Frank?
She freezes, grips the iron railing with both hands, and cannot board the boat despite Frank's desperate calls to her.
What two letters has Eveline written before leaving, and to whom?
One letter is to Harry and the other is to her father.
How does Eveline describe her weekly Saturday night routine with her father?
She hands over her full wages of seven shillings, endures his accusations of squandering money, then rushes out to buy Sunday's dinner at the market.
What is the final image of Eveline in the story?
She sets her white face toward Frank, passive like a helpless animal, her eyes showing no sign of love, farewell, or recognition.
Who is Frank, and what is his background?
Frank is a sailor who started as a deck boy on the Allan Line, has traveled widely including through the Straits of Magellan, and claims to have settled in Buenos Aires.
How does Eveline's father treat Frank, and what is the consequence?
Her father forbids her from seeing Frank, saying 'I know these sailor chaps,' so she must meet Frank secretly after that.
What is Eveline's relationship with her brothers Ernest and Harry?
Ernest was her favorite but is now dead; Harry works in the church decorating business and is nearly always away in the country.
Who is Miss Gavan, and how does she treat Eveline?
Miss Gavan is Eveline's supervisor at the Stores who always has an edge on her, especially in front of others, ordering her to 'look lively.'
How has Eveline's father's behavior changed over the years?
He was not so bad when her mother was alive, but has grown threatening toward Eveline now that her brothers are gone and no one can protect her.
What domestic responsibilities has Eveline inherited?
She must keep the house together, care for two young children left in her charge, ensure they attend school and eat regularly, and manage the household shopping.
How does the story illustrate the theme of paralysis?
Eveline is unable to act on her decision to leave Dublin despite having a plan, passage booked, and Frank waiting -- she physically cannot move at the critical moment.
How does the conflict between escape and family duty shape Eveline's decision?
Her desire for a new life with Frank is counterbalanced by her deathbed promise to her mother to keep the home together, and this promise ultimately holds her in place.
How does the story explore gender constraints in early 20th-century Dublin?
Eveline hands over her wages to her father, endures his threats, and has inherited all domestic duties -- marriage to Frank is her only visible path to independence and respect.
What role does fear of the unknown play in Eveline's paralysis?
Despite her hard life in Dublin, she reflects that it is 'not a wholly undesirable life,' and at the dock the unknown sea becomes a drowning threat rather than a passage to freedom.
What does the dust and dusty cretonne symbolize in the story?
The pervasive dust represents the stagnation and monotony of Eveline's domestic life -- she has dusted the same objects weekly for years without change.
What does the iron railing at the dock symbolize?
It represents the barrier between Eveline's old life and her potential new one -- by gripping it, she physically chooses entrapment over escape.
How does Joyce use water and sea imagery in the climax?
The sea shifts from representing passage to freedom into a drowning threat: 'All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her.'
What narrative technique does Joyce use to tell Eveline's story?
Third-person limited point of view with free indirect discourse, filtering everything through Eveline's consciousness as her thoughts drift between past and present.
What is the significance of the window as a framing device?
Eveline watches life from behind the window at both the opening and during her deliberation, symbolizing her position as a passive observer unable to step into action.
What does 'cretonne' mean in the context of the story?
A heavy printed cotton fabric used for curtains and upholstery -- Eveline leans against dusty cretonne curtains at the window.
What does 'palpitations' refer to when Eveline mentions them?
Rapid, irregular heartbeats caused by anxiety -- Eveline attributes hers to living in fear of her father's violence.
What does 'keep nix' mean in the story?
Dublin slang meaning to keep watch or act as a lookout -- little Keogh would keep nix and warn the children when Eveline's father was coming.
What is the significance of Eveline's mother's dying words, 'Derevaun Seraun'?
The phrase is deliberately obscure and possibly garbled Irish or nonsense, representing the mother's madness at death and the incomprehensible weight of duty Eveline carries.
What does the line 'Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition' reveal?
It shows Eveline's complete emotional shutdown at the dock -- she is so paralyzed that she cannot even acknowledge Frank as someone she knows and loves.
What is revealed by Eveline's thought that her life was 'not a wholly undesirable life'?
This double negative reveals her self-deception and rationalizing -- she cannot honestly call her life good, but she is already convincing herself not to leave.