James Joyce's Eveline was originally published in his short story
             collection called Dubliners. As the name suggests the story revolves around
             a young woman named Eveline who is torn between her past and her potential
             future life not knowing which to choose. The themes of sexuality and gender
             dominate the story as Eveline is shown trapped in a patriarchic society and
             the only hope for escape is marriage. This sheds light on the general
             thinking of men and women in modernist society. Women were usually
             mistreated or accorded less respect than they deserved and this is what
             happens to Eveline. Every young woman then grew up believing that marriage
             would save her from all her troubles. James Joyce explores this issue
             carefully to illustrate the flaws in such thinking and the reasons why most
             women consider marriage an answer to all their troubles. The problem with
             Eveline is that on the one hand, she wants to escape her present life that
             was defined by her father's violent temper and her monotonous job at the
             Stores, on the other she also lacks courage to change her life primarily
             because of fear. The decision of Eveline to not leave her home and familiar
             objects can be both praised and condemned because it is based on two
             things, rational thinking and fear. The fact that Eveline "prayed to God to
             direct her, to show her what was her duty." (Joyce 331) shows that women
             are conditioned to pout duty before love and a better life. They are made
             to believe that they must make sacrifices for the sake of others and must
             not think about their owjn wishes and desires as that is considered
             selfish. After carefully weighing the pros and cons of her decision,
             Eveline realizes that her chief reason for marrying Frank was a desire to
             escape her present circumstances and thus she decides not to run away at
             the very last minute. On the other hand, her decision is also motivated by
             fear of her father an...