Masters of the Prose

Eveline
James Joyce's Eveline is a story about a young woman, Eveline Hill, who being discontented with her life decides to elope with a man whom she courted with. To develop the plot of the story, Joyce spreads the exposition throughout his piece, showing the depth of Eveline's character and her problems (mainly with her father and all that arose from their relationship) at times that helps you to best understand the reasoning behind her actions. The climax of Eveline only comes only after the long flashbacks into Eveline's life end, where the time finally comes for her to shed her past life behind and join Frank in Buenos Ayres; Eveline is torn between her desire to leave, and the safety and comforts of her life. The conflict between Eveline's decision to leave and her desires to stay never does come to a true resolution, the story only ending in the lines, "She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. …