Eveline

British rule over Ireland, from the first plantations in the 16th century until Irish independence in the 20th century, left deep scars on the nation for both the inhabitants and the culture. Those of Catholic descent in particular were oppressed under British imperialism, beginning with the confiscation of land under Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century. Shortly thereafter, the Catholic Penal laws limited Catholic landownership, education, and occupation and established the Church of England while outlawing Catholic clergy. Each of the stories in Dubliners takes place (and was written) only half a century after the Great Famine of 1845 to 1851, during which Ireland lost over 2 million people to death and emigration. Although Joyce’s exile was his own choice, he became part of the greater Irish diaspora, in which Irish people and their descendants spread to nations far and wide, including South America, like Frank. Even after the Famine ended, Ireland was impoverished during British colonial rule. Irish people continued to leave their homeland to find better lives, just as Eveline nearly escapes to Buenos Aires with Frank.

Irish rebellions occurred intermittently over the centuries, and during Joyce’s time, such revolutionary impulses were growing yet again. In 1912, a Home Rule Bill was finally passed, but the beginning of World War I in 1914 prevented it from being turned into law. In April 1916, Irish Republicans began what came to be known as the Easter Rising, beginning Easter Monday and lasting for six days. The British Army suppressed the uprising and executed 16 of the Irish Republican leaders in the aftermath. As tensions rose, the Sinn Féin party, which supported Irish republicanism, won a majority of Irish seats. The Irish War of Independence began in 1919 when MPs declared Ireland’s independence, and The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 ended the war, creating the Irish Free State. However, the truce divided Ireland into two nations: The 26 southern counties comprised the Irish Free State, and the six northern became Northern Ireland and remained under British rule. Sectarian violence broke out among the Irish over this treaty, with some revolutionaries believing that the treaty was an imperfect victory while others refused to accept a divided Ireland. The Irish Civil War ended in 1923, and Ireland remained divided into two nations.

Joyce himself either avoided Irish politics or criticized elements of Irish nationalism. Despite this, British imperialism left an indelible mark on his writings, which often reveal hints of Joyce’s own belief in Irish freedom despite his antipathy for the nationalist leaders and trends. Dubliners and “Eveline” model the effects of British oppression through the paralysis of the characters and the city. Joyce wrote of Ireland in his Trieste lecture, “Ireland: Island of Saints and Sages,” that since the date of the English invasion, Ireland “ceased to be an intellectual force in Europe” and that the country was “poor and, moreover, politically backward” as a result (Joyce, James. “Ireland: Island of Saints and Sages.” James Joyce: Occasional, Critical, and Political Writing. Ed. Kevin Barry. Oxford University Press, 2008). This sense of arrested development pervades “Eveline,” finally manifesting in the title character’s inability to escape to Argentina, standing instead on the dock and clinging to the land she knows.