"Eveline" is ultimately focused around a dilemma, and the internal turmoil centered around that dilemma. I find it interesting to note the story's first paragraph, which establishes Eveline sitting before the window, looking out at the world outside. It is an image that reflects the overall tone and subject matter of the story: she is a young woman largely caught in the grip of her past, and there is a sense of helplessness that pervades the entire story, at the mercy of an abusive father, torn between the safety of the familiar, and the possibility of a better future. The entire story is very internally focused, and there is a sense of passivity which runs across it. Throughout the story, there is the sense that Eveline has been reduced to a passive witness to her own suffering, a characterization which reflects the story's opening image.
Joyce uses symbols to build up a picture of Eveline's interior and exterior world. Early on in the story, we see Eveline staring out of a window at the world outside. The view from the window symbolizes the narrow perspective that Eveline has on her immediate surroundings. Her whole life has been spent in the capital city of a country with little in the way of cultural life. As such, Eveline has developed a limited, restrictive view of things, displaying the kind of cultural paralysis which forms the main theme in the stories that make up Dubliners.
Dust is also an important symbol in the story. It symbolizes what is familiar to Eveline in her daily life. No matter how hard she tries to get rid of it, the dust will always return. By the same token, she will never be able to rid herself of the stultifying, abusive home life that holds her back and which prevents her from starting a new life with Frank in Argentina.
Through the use of symbolism in "Eveline," the author attempts to provide meaning and depth to Eveline's feelings and to help the reader understand her struggle. For example, as she looks out the window, she notices the smell of "dusty cretonne." Then, as she looks about her room, she notices all of the objects which she has "dusted once a week for so many years, wondering where on earth all the dust came from." In these examples, dust symbolizes the past. Regardless of how often she attempts to escape or forget her past, she is reminded of it constantly.
The color of the houses could be another example of symbolism. Eveline's house is brown. The newer houses are red and are described as being "bright brick houses with shining roofs." Again, this could symbolize Eveline being confined to her present life. The bright red houses would represent something new and shiny, while Eveline lives in an older brown house. Brown would represent dullness and a lack of vitality or excitement.
Eveline contemplates her job working at "the Stores." The reader learns that Miss Gavan, who may be her boss, often criticizes her. Eveline thinks that Miss Gavan would be happy to see her leave. Frank, the man she would like to marry, often meets her outside the Stores to walk her home. Frank walking her home is symbolic of a savior. He frees her from that which puts her down and holds her back.
By using symbolism, the author attempts to provide visual and physical evidence of the struggle Eveline faces in deciding to remain in her current situation or to seek out a new life.
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