Essay Database

Eveline” - Character Analysis “There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision (James).” Originally appearing in Dubliners, a compilation of vignettes by James Joyce, his short story Eveline is the tale of such an unfortunate individual. Anxious, timid, scared, perhaps even terrified -- all these describe Eveline. She is a frightened, indecisive young woman poised between her past and her future. Eveline loves her father but is …

…distant unknown country (Joyce 4).” Although fear is not Eveline’s constant companion, it is a common one. A companion that contributes greatly to her lack of self-confidence. A companion that gives her fate over to a wavering will. Eveline’s indecision leads to a paralysis that dooms her to the fate she sought to avoid. Besides, “we know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over (Bevan).”