Prophecy in Eveline by James Joyce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Prophecy in Eveline by James Joyce - Essay Example This may be a prophetic utterance that signals the inability that Eveline displays in following her decision through to its very end. She is unable to take a strong and firm decision as to whether she wants to leave with Frank or stay on with her family. This inability to take a firm decision is then indicative of the modernist inertia that anticipates a painful end to any enterprise that would provide one with happiness. Happiness is then looked upon as a manifestation of meaning that would not be possible according to the modernist ethos. This would be an expression of the ultimate fate that befalls Eveline. Happiness for her is only something that lies in the anticipation. Even this is tinged with pain and the completion of pain is what eventually results. This impossibility of happiness is what the author is highlighting through the prophetic nature of the dialogue that Eveline’s mother utters. The nature of the dialogue also then needs to be analyzed and looked into. The dialogue has been a source of constant bafflement to critics through the ages. The language, which is most probably Irish, is one that Joyce frequently refers to. This is because of the fact that Ireland at this point of time was colonized by England and its language had, as a result, suffered a great deal. Joyce’s articulation is pessimistic in anticipating and conflating the fates of both the language and the protagonist of the story, Eveline. The language and the fact that many would not be able to understand its literal meaning, let alone the connotations of it, also points to the fact that the end the story would not offer an easy resolution. The resolution then is something that is foretold and in this prophecy of doom, there is a great deal of pessimism that Joyce is trying to articulate. This articulation then becomes one that indicates the modernist predicament- one that recognizes the inad equacy of language but still attempts to convey meaning through it. The story â€Å"Eveline† is a part of the collection Dubliners.