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“She had consented to go away, to leave her home, Was that wise? She tried to weigh each side of the question. In her home anyway she had shelter and food; she had those whom she had known all her life about her. Of course she had to work hard, both in the house and at business. What would they say of her in the Stores when they found out that she had run away with a fellow? Say she was a fool, perhaps.”
Here, Eveline debates whether she should leave home. Her present life feels extremely hard, and the new life promised by her suitor in Buenos Aires sounds better, but only if he’s telling the truth. She understands that jumping into an unknown situation, and before being married to the man, leaves her vulnerable to being tricked and possibly mistreated.
“Her father was becoming old lately, she noticed; he would miss her. Sometimes he could be very nice. Not long before, when she had been laid up for a day, he had read her out a ghost story and made toast for her at the fire. Another day, when their mother was alive, they had all gone for a picnic to the hill of Howth. She remembered her father putting on her mother’s bonnet to make the children laugh.”
Eveline begins to convince herself that home has its rewards after all. However, the examples she reflects on of her father’s good humor reveal how low her standards for him are. Here, she recalls two trivial events, many years apart. Readers can infer that life has beaten her down so much that she believes these crumbs of kindness remain significant, or that she merely wants to find reasons to remain at home—or both.
