Eveline
By: James Joyce

Eveline Hill is a young girl that is lonely.  Her mother passed away, and one of her brothers has also died.  Her father is an abusive man, and it seems like Eveline desperately wants to escape her family life.  The only person that she truly seems to care about is a sailor named Frank.  Eveline is in love with Frank.  Her father does not approve of Frank, though.  Regardless of this, Eveline plans to escape with Frank to go off and marry him.  "She was to go away with him by the night-boat to be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Aires where he had a home waiting for her" (220).  This life with Frank is a promise of happiness in Eveline's eyes.  However, she remembers the promises she made with her mother.  She promised to keep her family's household alive.  She also committed to keeping her family together.  Eveline realizes that she will break these promises by escaping with Frank.  As the boat starts to move away, Eveline pulls away from Frank and lets him leave without her.  This showed that Eveline decided to stay true to her family.