"No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands clutched the iron in frenzy." (222)
For this blog, I will be answering the sixth question that follows "Eveline" by James Joyce. I think that Eveline's refusal to board the ship is only partly due to her judgement and will. I think it is more indecisiveness and uncertainty that prevents her from boarding the ship. She begins to think about everything she would be leaving behind and begins to get cold feet about the future because she has been in the same place doing the same thing for so long. I don't think she is choosing not to go, I think she is choosing to give herself more time to think about everything. She doesn't have the will power to say no to Frank, so this is her way of showing her feelings and opinions about the situation. She doesn't want to pass up this opportunity to get out, but she doesn't necessarily want Frank to be her ticket out of this life she is leaving. Eveline has not decided not to go with Frank, but she hasn't chosen to stay either.
Hey! I did this question.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you considered that by leaving Frank behind, Eveline was giving herself more time to reach a decision. I figured it was a one-time chance to run away with Frank.
I feel like Eveline wouldn't take the opportunity to weigh her options again -- she never really reached a logical decision in the first place, and more time would just make her more "indecisive" and "uncertain" (I'm quoting you).