Dubliners stories deal mortality/death . For, "Eveline," a young girl lives a promise made dying mother.
There is no denying the fact that morality is one of the principle themes in James Joyce's collection of short stories Dubliners, and in the tale "Eveline" in particular. Joyce is regarded as "one of the brightest stars of European literary modernism" (Spinks 1). In many ways, this short story functions as a precaution about morbidity. The antithesis of death, life, is highly prevalent and effervescent in this tale, always struggling to extricate itself out of the shadow of its more moribund counterpart. The titular charter in this work, Eveline, faces a struggle in which she attempts to assert her life and her volition to live against the diseased backdrop of her life -- as demonstrated through its past, present, and even future incarnations. Ultimately she fails, full acknowledging her mortality and evincing the limitations of the often harsh realities of life -- a fact which runs concurrent through other stories in this collection as well.
Mortality is largely represented within "Eveline" by the failure and even demise of the titular character's former life. Such a life was, at one point, vivacious. Eveline had a mother, a pair of brothers, a father, and numerous neighborhood friends who had all lived together. However, these facts are recounted to the reader in the past tense, because that life of effervescence, of playing outside as children and fully reveling in all of life's wonders and joys are over for poor Eveline. Dilworth refers to this time period as "the lost Eden of her childhood" (p. 457). The subsequent quotation indicates that the happiness and vitality of life that Eveline once readily embraced has past.
Still they seemed to have been rather happy then. Her father was not so bad then; and besides, her mother was alive. That was a long time ago; she and her brothers and sisters were all grown up; her mother was dead. Tizzie Dunn was dead, too, and the Waters had gone back to England. Everything changes (Joyce).
This quotation shows that the exuberance of life, as exemplified by a happy childhood filled with a lively family and friends, is over for Eveline. This passage alludes to the fact that Eveline's mother is dead, and that other family members and friends are also deceased. It also is an allusion to the death of one of Eveline's brothers. The fact that Eveline is estranged from the happiness that engulfed her family and friends is underscored by the length of time since all of them were alive, and by the fact that such things have changed for her ("everything changes"). Thus, rather early on in this narrative, Eveline's fragile morality is addressed by the author.
Another fairly important aspect of "Eveline" is the fact that the young woman has promised her deceased mother to watch over the family in the wake of her death. It is critical to realize, however, that doing so is really no longer an option for Eveline, due to the simple fact that other family members have died and the vibrancy of her once robust family has now eroded. However, Eveline's memory of this event and the promise she once made that is no longer fully applicable (since most of her family is gone, including her one brother who is still alive, Harry, who no longer lives with the rest of the clan) certainly reinforces the theme of mortality that pervades through this work, while suggesting some of "the feminist issues of the time period" (Barnes). The following quotation proves this point. "…it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could. She remembered the last night of her mother's illness; she was again in the close dark room…" (Joyce). The imagery in this passage is fairly morbid, as typified by the closeness and darkness of death in the room in which Eveline's mother died. It was there that Eveline promised her mother to attempt to keep the family together. Still, it is worth noting that the family is no longer together. With Eveline's brother Harry living apart from her, the family really only consist of Eveline and her father -- who has a propensity for violence. Therefore, Eveline has already fulfilled the promise to keep the family together for "as long as" is possible. Still, such a promise...
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