In the short story "Eveline" by James Joyce, we see the main character Eveline forced to make a decision that will yield lifelong consequences. Throughout her entire life, Eveline Hill has been accustomed to a life of responsibility and duty. Now, suspended in indecision, she faces the prospect of a fresh beginning, an escape to a faraway country with an exciting new lover. The most difficult choice she has ever had to make leaves her searching her memories for reasons to stay. Through the story's theme of "fear of change" as well Joyce's word choice and literary devices, Eveline's character of indecisiveness and reluctance to move on is developed.
Her fickle nature is revealed by her tendency to dismiss the bad in her life using fragile justifications of good. Eveline manipulates the bad memories she has of her father in a way that shows she is searching for the good. However, Joyce undercuts her efforts with his use of litotes and anaphora that reveal the truth. Sentences such as "Her father was not so bad then" and "she did not find it a wholly undesirable life" demonstrate that even at its best, her life is nothing special. In fact, her life is very tough and demanding. Joyce emphasizes this by repeatedly describing her life as hard. "Of course she had to work hard", "she had hard work", and "It was hard work – a hard life" all effectively force the adjective into the reader's view of Eveline's life. .
Eveline also feels compelled to stay by the promise she made to her late mother to keep the family together. However, this conflicts with her desire to avoid her mother's fate; "that life of commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness." She makes excuses in order to put her memories in better light like how she remembers that "Sometimes he could be very nice". Eveline also believes that he will miss her, which is brought up by the picture of a school friend of her father.
