Literary scrap book
Eveline is the protagonist in this short story. The story is set primarily in the protagonist mind. Eveline’s mother and her brother Ernest are dead. Her other brother Harry who is in the business of decorating churches is never at home. Eveline lives with her abusive father and has to work two jobs, one in a shop and the other as a nanny to maintain herself and her elderly father (Joyce, 1989). Eveline’s is presented as a bitter character wishing to leave her home in search of a more exciting life elsewhere. She although is indecisive on whether to live her home for a better life elsewhere or to just stick around and continue with her miserable life.
Eveline depicts the kind of life led by women in 20th century Ireland. James Joyce, the author of this short story “Eveline” chooses Dublin to portray the position of women in Ireland and in the western world as at that time. This can be compared to various feminist movements inherent in the 21st century in the contemporary or modern world. According to the character of Eveline, women are given a low social status and are unable to choose for themselves.
The character of Eveline can be compared to the character of Lily in the “Secret life of bees” a 2008 drama film directed by Gina Prince- Bythewood. Just as Eveline, Lily’s mother is dead. She is often accused by her abusive father that she was responsible for the death of her own mother. Lily just like Eveline lives with the memories of her mother and hopes that one day she would be rescued from her abusive father and gets a better and happy life. Lily’s father falsely accuses her of having an affair with an anonymous boy. Lily’s father is very much against Lily having any relationship with boys (Prince-Bythewood, 2008). This is the same case with Eveline whose father is very much against her affair with Frank. These two scenarios, though separated by time depict the powerlessness of women in the society. They depict the male dominance of the western world back then and in the contemporary society.
Just as Eveline is disrespected in the short story “Eveline”, Lily is also looked down upon in “The secret life of bees” showing how women are disrespected in this society. When Lily and Rosaleen encounter the three racist men, Rosaleen is abused and attacked brutally on the basis that she had disrespected the men. These though are just false allegations as the men had provoked her into that action so that they could find a reason of abusing her (Prince-Bythewood, 2008).
On the whole, Eveline and Lily really do have much in common. There in ability to decide for themselves, their being abused by their fathers and the sad lives they both led as a result of holding on to their past. They are also both presented with an opportunity to escape of escaping from their sad lives but are caught up in indecision of whether to leave or not.
The short Story “Eveline” and the movie “The secret life of bees” have a thus a lot in common. They are both trying to show the plight of women and how this has changed with time. Although there isn’t much hope for Eveline, Lily in the 21st century has a glimpse of hope. This shows that much has changed in the western world on how women are treated and viewed.
Prince-Bythewood, G. (Director). (2008). The secret life of bees. (Film). North Carolina:
Paramount Pictures.
Joyce, J. (1989). Eveline: Creative short story serious. Minnesota: Creative Publisher.
