Eveline

Eveline Summary | Detailed Summary

It is evening, and Eveline is sitting at the window of her home, watching the afternoon fade into night. There are few people out, only the man who lived in the last house on the street is passing on his way home. As she hears the gravel crunch beneath his feet, she is reminded of her childhood when she and the other children of the neighborhood used to play in the vacant lot where several new homes now stand. She recalls one of the children standing watch so that she and her siblings could be warned that their father was coming to look for them. As she thinks back to these long-ago days, she realizes how much has changed: her mother is dead; so is Tizzie Dunn; the Waters family has returned to England. Now, she was leaving too.

As she contemplates the fact that she will soon be leaving, Eveline looks around the room, taking note of all the familiar things that have surrounded her for so many years and wonders if she will ever see them again. As she looks, she takes note of the photograph of a priest - a school friend of her father's - that hangs on the wall and realizes that she never learned the priest's name.

Once again, her thoughts turn to her impending departure and she wonders if she is doing the right thing. While she acknowledges that she works hard - both at home and at her job - at least she knows that people she knows surround her and she does not have to worry about having shelter or food. Even so, she wonders what her supervisor and co-workers will say when they discover she has left. She suspects her supervisor will be glad that she is gone and will quickly fill her position with another worker.

Eveline contemplates what it will be like to married. She suspects people will treat her with respect and that she will be safe from her father's violent moods. While he never harmed Eveline in the way that he harmed her brothers, he has been threatening to do so more often - a development that has left her scared and anxious. There is no one left at home to protect her; her older brother Ernest is dead and her brother Harry is usually away, working.

Eveline particularly fears Saturdays because she inevitably ends up arguing with her father over the money she needs to run the house and care for her two younger siblings. Usually by Saturday, her father is quite drunk and so rather than give Eveline the money she needs, he accuses her of squandering his hard-earned wages. In the end, he usually gave her the money, but by this time, it was late in the afternoon and she was forced to complete the marketing quickly before the stores closed. As Eveline thinks about how difficult her life has been, she begins to think that perhaps things were not so bad after all.

As Eveline thinks about what her future will hold, she thinks about how kind Frank - the man she is to marry - is. The couple has planned to travel by boat the Buenos Aires where they will be married and live in the home that Frank has waiting for them. Eveline remembers how they met - he was renting a room at a house in town and she used to see him outside. Little by little, they became acquainted and soon, he would meet her after work and walk her home. At first, Eveline thought she was attracted to the idea of having a boyfriend, but over time, she realized that she genuinely liked Frank. Frank has spent a good number of years at sea and always had interesting stories to tell of the various countries he had visited. He eventually settled in Argentina and was back home on vacation when he and Eveline met. When Eveline's father found out about Frank, he forbade her to see him; so, the two meet in secret.

Eveline's thoughts are interrupted as she glances at the two letters in her lap: one for her brother, the other for her father. She thought that her father seems to have aged recently, and thinks that he might actually miss her.

She continues to sit by the window, even though the time for her departure is drawing near. As she looks down at the street below, she hears the strains of a street organ and finds it somewhat ironic that she had heard the very same tune the night that she promised her dying mother that she would keep their family together for as long as possible. She thinks of her mother's life - a life controlled by her husband and by daily routine - and vows to make her life different. Eveline believes that the only way for her to have a life better than her mother's is to go away with Frank and so she leaves her home and goes to meet Frank at the port.

As they wait to embark the ship, Eveline is aware that Frank is talking to her but she does not answer him. Instead, she begins to pray for guidance as well as for assurance that she is doing the right thing. While she feels indebted to Frank and does not think it would be right for her to change her mind, she wonders if she is doing the right thing.

As the ship's bell rings, Frank implores Eveline to follow him on board. Eveline is paralyzed by fear and grips onto the iron railing, unable to go any further, even as Frank begs her to follow. Eveline remains behind and as Frank moves away, he notices that her face is void of all emotion.