RIGHT DECISION FOR EVELINE

Eveline is the name of one of the stories in James Joyce's book Dubliners in 1914 and is also the name of the main character. If we consider the book as a person's life, the story of Eveline takes place in the part that corresponds to the adolescence period; for example, the story of The Dead is the last story of the book and represents the end of life. Considering that we have a young and unruly teenager, did Eveline make the right decision at the end of the story, or did she not? I think Eveline made the right decision because considering the environment she grew up in and the Irish of the period, I can say that her decision was logical in direct proportion to the period.

To start with, who is Eveline and what is the decision referred to as "the right decision", let's talk about these briefly. Eveline is a young girl who takes full responsibility for the household after her mother's death, takes care of her siblings and her violent father. It is necessary to know that the main theme of the short story is "escape". There are several reasons for this. First, Eveline wants to escape the unhappiness at home and the loveless and violent times she sees from her father. Secondly, it can be said that the main problem that James Joyce mentioned in his works, which we can say is the problem of almost all Irish, is the hunger, misery, and the potato famine in Ireland. As a result, psychological and social problems arise that affect every aspect of people's lives. One of those affected is Eveline herself.

Eveline plans to leave everyone and everything behind and flee to Buenos Aires with her lover because she is so unhappy and melancholy in her current situation. This is where Eveline's big decision takes place. Eveline has second thoughts until the last moment, and at the last moment, she gives up her plan to escape and gives up to start a new life with her lover Frank. As I said before, I find Eveline's decision to be right. There are so many conflicts in the story; happiness versus responsibilities or dream versus reality or Dublin versus Buenos Aires that can be said. I think I understand why Eveline gave up, what she took into account in this decision, I understand her, and I want to explain this.

To talk about the problems in Ireland, there are people who have been colonized by the British and the people are weak, powerless, hungry. This period is referred to as the potato famine. The consequences of this harm people psychologically and socially. Since they do not have financial strength, they also fall into a spiritual collapse. We can say that this is actually one of the biggest reasons why Eveline wants to escape but the Irish people are a connected, tradition-bound and prescriptive society. We observe one of the examples of this in The Dead, the last story of the Dubliners book, as not being late for meals, participating in organizations, nationalism, religious and non-religious rituals. In Eveline, on the other hand, Eveline's management of the house, taking care of her brothers and her father, and giving up escape by thinking about them is actually a phenomenon created by the Irish people within the framework events taking place.

On the other hand, there are other reasons as well. Building a life in a new place with her lover Frank means leaving her hometown where she was always used to, which means getting out of a safe space. People are not creatures who can easily let go of their habits. The fact that Buenos Aires is a place she does not know, not knowing what will happen encourages her to stay in her sad and unhappy life in Dublin. When you leave something bad psychologically, you start to feel not that bad. Already in the story, we witness a part of Eveline thinking about this and she has always second thoughts.

Moreover, before her mother dies, she asks Eveline to take care of her siblings, father and home. Since this last request never left Eveline's mind, it can be said that this plays a role in making the right decision. That's why she is talking to God at the last moment in the port, her conscience is not clear and she asks God for a sign as to whether she is doing the right thing by leaving. In the end, she is stuck between her happiness and her responsibilities and she gives up by making a sacrifice. This is one of the biggest sacrifices a person can make, she gives up her own happiness. I think it's partly because of the conscience and partly because, as I said before, the Irish people are rule-based.

Finally, I don't think Eveline loves Frank because at the end of the story there is a sentence like "Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition". This sentence makes me think that she doesn't have an intense love for Frank and their relationship doesn't have depth. Perhaps Eveline sees it as just an escape from her unhappy and miserable life, but when things get serious, she isn't happy about it, her old excitement is gone. This is one of the reasons he gave up.

In conclusion, as I argued at the beginning, I think Eveline made the right decision by staying. I am sure that it is an unhappy and harsh life, but I think that the unknown things hurt people more and in the story, escaping is an unknown thing. I supported my hypothesis and her thought that she doesn't escape considering her conditions and responsibilities at that time.