Eveline- James Joyce

Eveline, the main character in Eveline by James Joyce, struggles at home with a drunk father and a missing mother and brother. She is left to care for her two youngest siblings for herself. She is always working hard to keep the family together. It is when Frank, a "kind, manly, open-hearted" man comes to her that Eveline decides that she wants to be happy (Joyce, 220). Her father has become out of control and violent to her, something that had never happened before. Miss Gavan, her superior is not too fond of her. She criticizes her and tells her to ,"Look lively, Miss Hill, please" (Joyce, 219). Her father seems to not do much for the family besides torture them when they see him drunk. It is when she is leaving for sure that the memory of her mother comes to her. It is her mother telling her to promise not to ever leave her family. It causes Eveline to think secondly about what she is doing when leaving with Frank. She wants to live a better life than her mother but knows that it is her place to stay just where she is and keep taking care of her brothers and the house. It will mean that she sacrifice her happiness to fulfill her mother's wishes.