Christina Ferguson
English 100
Essay on Character
March 1, 2000

Eveline Hill is James Joyce's major character in "Eveline." Eveline

is a character that grows up knowing only duty and responsibility. As the

story progresses, Eveline is forced to choose between a fear of the unknown

of an exotic love and the routine life to which she has grown accustomed.

As the main character struggles between the torment of leaving the home she

has known all of her life and discovering a new world that will hopefully

offer her the happiness she feels she is lacking, her strong feelings of

obligation and responsibility are revealed to the reader. The main

character's traits are revealed, however, not through her interaction with

other characters. Rather, Joyce's use of the third person limited

omniscient point of view allows the reader to experience the thoughts and

feelings of Eveline as she struggles through an inner conflict. While there

is no physical description of Eveline, the character's traits are revealed

through her memories of her father, the memories that she had of her mother,

and the choices that she is presented regarding her fiancé.

Eveline's memories of her father of both good and bad times growing

up are revealed to the reader in a way manipulated to make the audience

believe that Eveline is searching for the good in her memories. In spite of

her father's authoritative figure in the household, which often embarrasses

her in front of her friends as they played in a field down the street, she

remarks, "Still they seemed to have been rather happy then." The

unhappiness that she feels toward her home is evident as she consoles

herself believing that because shelter and food and the people that she has

known all of her life are present that she should be able to survive. She

pulls instances out of her mind that will convince her to stay, when she is

truly not certain of what she wants. For example, although her father used

to be extremely tough on her brothers, she pities him as she believes that

he might miss her. Another time, when Eveline was sick, she recalls her

father reading her a story and making her something to eat. "Sometimes he

could be very nice," she remembers. All of these instances reveal Eveline's

desire to accept her environment the way that it is out of a responsibility

to "keep the family together." Eveline justifies the truly unpleasant

instances in her life as she is faced with the difficult decision of whether

or not to leave that which she knows so well.

Eveline's fear comes through as she recalls her mother who has passed

away. In the beginning of the story Eveline remarks that they "seemed to

have been rather happy then" and this is a result of her mother being alive.

With the loss of her mother, came the loss of the only solace she had in a

world that required so much out of her. Beyond the bond that Eveline felt

with her mother is Eveline's desire to be treated with the respect that she

feels her mother was not. Eveline feels that if she were to leave her home

to be with the man that she has chosen, she will "not be treated as her

mother had been." This reveals not only the fear that Eveline has of her

father but also the fear she has of repeating the same cycle that her mother

experienced. Still, as Eveline wants to rise above the treatment of her

mother, she is held back by the promise that she made to her mother to keep

the family together. This obligation that Eveline made is compounded by her

mother's foreboding statement, as she is about to die. Eveline's mother

says, "The end of pleasure is pain." This repetitive statement that

Eveline's mother makes resounds in her mind, and she becomes utterly fearful

of leaving her tough life for the pleasure that her love from Buenos Aires

might give her. This remark strikes fear into the heart of Eveline and

impacts the decision that she later makes, forsaking the man that she loves

for an environment that she is comfortable with because she is afraid that

her mother's statement will come true and the end of her pleasure truly will

be pain.

Eveline is intrigued by the exotic nature of the relationship that

she develops with a man from Buenos Aires. She recounts all of the

wonderful luxuries and exotic glimpses that he will offer her, including the

respect that her mother never received. Strangely enough, however, love is

on the bottom of her list of hopes. She merely wants to escape. She is

grateful for everything that he has done for her thus far. However, as she

contemplates whether or not to leave with him, she feels a sense of guilt

that almost begs her to continue on her journey to Buenos Aires. He is so

dutiful in his love to her. He has shown her so many aspects of life that

she had no idea could ever exist. His tales of a far away place and the

foreign films that they watch together thrill her. And, while she is

"pleasantly confused" with the love that he offers her, she still feels a

duty to her home and a security in that which is familiar. This love sparks

a desire in her to break free of the security that she has known for so

long. However, she is still trapped by her obligation to her family; i.e.,

the indebtedness that she feels to her love does not rival that which she

feels toward her family and her home.

Through her memories of her father, the memories that she had of her

mother, and the choices that presents itself in the image of her fiancé,

James Joyce reveals the strong sense of duty and obligation and the inner

torment that Eveline endures as a result of finding love. As the main

character tries to find happiness in the disturbing memories of her father,

she reveals her sense of duty and obligation. Her memories of her mother

only solidify this and also portray her fear of leaving the unknown.

Eveline's love demonstrates her desire for something more fulfilling, her

hope of a new life and her dream of respect that she has never known. In

the end, however, the main character is burdened with a decision that she

must make. The decision to uphold and remain with her family and forsake

her love is a difficult decision to make, but she would rather live knowing

the life that she was meant to lead rather than live in fear of what it

might be. The internal conflict of this character reveals the traits of

duty, obligation, and fear that the author sets forth. The development of

these traits through the introduction of each flat character is essential to

the dynamic development of the main character by drawing out these inherent

qualities and presenting the main character with a choice to make that

defines her character all the more.