Eveline

     James Joyce's character of Eveline has extremely clouded judgement.  Her childhood was obviously rocky; therefore, she does not have a clear grasp on her own self-worth.  When she is offered the chance to escape, it seems a simple decision to make.  However, this decision is clouded by the way she has chosen to look back on her life in her moment of nostalgia.  With full knowledge of her father's abuse, she chooses to remember the good despite the severity of the bad things that have happened to her.  As she recalls the memories of her childhood, she implies a desire to be back in the place which has a significant effect on her decision to not join Frank.  However, the life she had as a child cannot be restored.  Her mother has passed, and her brother has moved away.  The life she longs for no longer exists; she is negligent of the passing of time and how drastically her life has changed since childhood.  "Home!  She looked around the room, reviewing all tis familiar objects which she had dusted once a week for so many years, wondering where on earth all the dust came from" (James Joyce, 218).  The only thing that has remained stable throughout this time has been her father.  Her life seems based upon stability in that she recalls components of childhood play like clock-work.   On some level, Eveline must find some comfort in this stability which fuels her reason for not joining Frank on the ship.