Crucial Decisions in James Joyce's

"" Eveline eventually comes to the conclusion that even if her father did not often manifest his love and care for her, she will not abandon her aging father as he was the only constant parental figure while growing up. The undulation between staying and going soon follows throughout the story. .
             The home in which she grew up in would forever be an emotional tie between her and Dublin. Eveline felt that while at home "she has shelter and food; she had those whom she had known all her life."" From this, we can decipher that she had the comfort of basic necessities like meals when hungry and shelter when cold which are all strictly materialistic enjoyments. As well, she had the memories of "familiar objects from which she had never dreamed of being divided [with]."" She also had the memories of those who were involved in her life from the past such as her mother, brothers, and sisters. With all the subtle familiarities of her father's home we are made to believe that she really is at home where she feels comfortable and safe. Yet her feelings towards are house are a fazade for the fact that she truly does not feel at home or welcomed there. Her father's house is still unfamiliar to her and "she had never found out the name of the priest whose yellowing photograph hung on the wall."" .
             Eveline is reminded of the "promise to her mother, the promise to keep the home together as long as she could."" Because of this memory, we understand her reason for staying in a house full of broken memories and foreign objects. It is because of a promise made to her dying mother many years earlier. Moreover, Eveline's mother cautions her before she died, "Derevaun Seraun- which is Gaelic for "the end of pleasure is pain- (www.haterslight.com). This resonating statement that Eveline's mother made to her descends into her mind, and she becomes fearful of leaving her father and her home for the pleasure that awaits her and Frank in Buenos Ayres.