Paralyzing Love

Eveline, the main character in James Joyce's Eveline experiences moments of paralysis followed by an epiphany similar to those experienced by the young boy in Joyce's Araby. Eveline is a nineteen year old girl who lives at home with her father, two young brothers, and sometimes her older brother. Since Eveline's mother died she has taken care of her younger siblings and the house while trying to avoid "her father's violence". (38) She lived a challenging life, but when she contemplated leaving she realized that she actually liked her lifestyle. The idea of leaving came about when Eveline met Frank. Frank was a sailor who wanted to take her to Buenos Aires to marry her and live happily in his house there. For Eveline Frank represented an escape. She said, "Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too." (40) Eveline idealized Frank as the antithesis of her father. The life she lived with her father made her unhappy and afraid while the life with Frank would allow her to be cared for and content.

She thought that Frank would be the perfect man to make her happy, so she decided to set sail with him. She made it to the docks with Frank where she saw lots of other soldiers and the ship. At this point, she experienced paralysis as "she felt her cheek pale and cold, and out of a maze of distress, she prayed to G-d to direct her, to show her what was her duty." (40) Eveline was unable to respond to Frank, she just stood there frozen in time and thought of the consequences of setting foot on the ship. She looked to religion for an answer. She was still caught up in indecision when "she felt him seize her hand". (41) He was leading her into a realm of uncertainty and she was trapped by her own inability to decide. Eveline, finally able to think, had a moment of epiphany. She knew that "he would drown her". (41) She had idealized what her life would be like with him, but it could have just as easily been as bad or worse than life with her father so she "clutched the iron [rails] in [a] frenzy." (41) She stayed on the dock and looked at him without compassion or guilt and watched him yell to her to follow him onto the boat. In her moment of epiphany, Eveline was terrified of the consequences of turning into her mother and leaving her family just as her mother had. She was paralyzed by the guilt of not fulfilling her obligation to her mother as well as the fear of how her father would treat her siblings. Eveline did not want to leave the place she grew up in as well as her family because the town had already lost many of its residents since she was a child and she did not want to leave the community that had provided so much for her. She felt an obligation to give the community what it had given her. Eveline's paralytic indecision led her to an epiphany where she chose family over impulsive love.

The young boy in Joyce's Araby was also paralyzed by a decision caused by love. He was in love with one of his friend's older sisters and he mustered up enough courage to ask her if she was going to the bazaar. She was not, but he decided to go anyway. The young boy got to the bazaar and went to the stall with the pottery that the girl loved. He wandered around the stall and pondered a purchase. Just as he was about to walk away from the stall without buying a vase for the girl, the lights went out and the boy's eyes filled with tears. His eyes burned because he took too long and the bazaar closed early. He was paralyzed while he was standing at the stall deciding whether or not to buy a vase for a girl. When the lights went out he had an epiphany as he had missed his chance and he had to go home empty-handed.

Just as Eveline went home without achieving her goal at the dock, the young boy went home without the vase for his crush. Both of them were paralyzed with their love of someone else and both idealized what would come of their relationships with the other had they taken the step after what had paralyzed them. For Eveline, it was a matter of leaving her family behind for the unknown and for the young boy it was not being confident enough or having enough money to buy something for the girl he thought he loved. They both felt sick by their indecisiveness. The young boy cried so much that his tears burned his eyes when the bazaar closed and Eveline had knots in her stomach that caused her to feel nauseous about going with Frank. Eveline and the young boy in Araby experienced similar bouts of love that caused them to be paralyzed and then reach an epiphany.