Eveline's decision should have been based on herself. Not out of selfishness, but to break the restraint of the guilt she felt throughout her overwhelming nineteen years of life. Sitting in miserable dusty seclusion she began to reminisce of some of the good times saying that her father was not so bad back then when her mother was still alive. Although her life was rigorous and full of unnecessary responsibilities this was all she knew. It was secure, comfortable, and she had fallen in to the burdensome pattern of what had been. She was petrified of the unknown, of what was forbidden, and didn't want to leave what was familiar. Yet when she met Frank she felt like he was the key to free her from obligation. Little did she know she had the key all a long but just needed a little help finding it. With Frank there was promise of adventure, freedom, and romance. It shouldn't have been about Frank "saving" her or "giving her life," but about her cutting the cord and realizing that she had done all that she could do. All of her life or at least after her mother had passed away she had felt the weight of people depending on her for numerous things. After Ernest passed away and Harry was on his own she should have ventured out. Instead her Dad filled the void. She felt he depended on her for happiness, and that he "needed" her. In reality she "needed" to feel "needed." She should have gone with Frank not because he filled an emptiness and offered her excitement, but to break the chains of restraint. So she could spread her wings and find out who she was inside not who she should be.
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