States of Paralysis

Paralysis is not necessarily limited in definition to physical captivity. It can be a state of being or a way of life defined by inaction and monotony. Paralysis, in this sense, is explored in the short story “Eveline”, written by James Joyce. The main character, Eveline, is defined primarily by her captivation in her mundane and often unhappy lifestyle. Eveline struggles through multiple levels of paralysis and then comes to the realization of what she must do.

Eveline is in a state of paralysis throughout the entire piece. She has lived a life of unhappiness, one in which she has settled for. However, when she has an opportunity to escape, she presumes that will leave quietly and not come back. As she ponders the choice she has to make, to run away and marry Frank, she enters a new sort of paralysis. Unlike her other case of paralysis, characterized by a mundane lifestyle, this paralysis is one of indecision. She seems like she wants to go, stating that in her new life “people will treat her with respect” and she will not have to live in fear of her father’s violence. However, the longer she sits the more and more she justifies staying. She considers what people will say of her when she leaves. She thinks, “What would they say of her in the Stores when they found out she had run away with a fellow? Say she was a fool”. She almost insinuates that she agrees. Still, the first large sign of her indecision is when she thinks about her father. We learn that her father is abusive towards her, and now that one brother has died and the other has left home, she has no one to protect her. Despite the pain her father inflicts on her, she acknowledges that her father can “sometimes be very nice”. Eveline is trying to justify not leaving, and convincing herself that it is not always the extreme, things are not always that bad. She is already on her path to making the decision to stay with her family. She, however, is still in a state of paralysis over what to do even though the reader can foresee her choice.

Still, it is not her father, her childhood friends she’ll miss, or the house she grew up in that truly help her make her decision. Instead it is a promise made to her dying mother. When Eveline’s mother was dying, she made a promise to “keep the home together as long as she could”. Eveline, by leaving, feels that she would be abandoning the last wish her mother had asked of her and therefore disrespecting her. This is the moment where Eveline begins to move away from paralysis and headed toward her epiphany. There is a shift when she remembers this promise, a shift that keeps her from running away. As Eveline goes to leave with Frank, she realizes that she must stay and as she looks at Frank, there is no sign of “love or farewell or recognition” in her eyes. Eveline recognizes that the love she has for Frank is false. She does not love him, but instead clings to the idea of him because he was her way out. This is Eveline’s great epiphany. She stays.

It is difficult to say whether Eveline, despite her epiphany, ever left her state of paralysis. In some sense she has because one level of her paralysis was indecision. Eveline finally made the decision to stay with her family. Perhaps, her freedom to choose to stay or leave, and act of making a decision itself is the way of escaping paralysis. Her entire life had been characterized by the lack of freedom to choose, but she finally made the choice. However, on a deeper level Eveline’s entire life is a state of paralysis not just her indecision. So although she did take action with her life, she chose to live in a state of paralysis. It seems whether she has the freedom to choose or not, Eveline’s life is in some way or another characterized by paralysis, whether it be her lifestyle, state of mind, or lack of freedom.

Eveline experiences multiple levels of paralysis, much like the main character in “Araby”, also written by James Joyce. The young boy is paralyzed by his infatuation with a girl in the entirety of the story. On a more material level, he is also paralyzed by his Uncle’s tardiness when he wants to go to the bazaar in order to buy a gift to reveal his affections for the girl. He too has an epiphany. He realizes that his long hours of waiting that he suffered were merely a waste of time, since the bazaar was essentially over and everything there was too expensive. He had waited for hours, stuck in a state of paralysis, only to have the epiphany that he was too late. On the deeper level, he realizes that his effort to buy a gift for the girl is also a waste. H realizes that he was “a creature driven and derided by vanity”. A gift cannot show affection without intent behind it. For the girl it will just be a gift because he never expressed to her his feelings. His eyes “burned with anguish and anger”. He realizes that all the time he spent admiring this girl from a distance has been a waste because she will never know his true intentions. Much like Eveline, he becomes aware of his inaction and must choose whether to live with it or change it. Eveline chooses to live with it, and it is ambiguous whether this boy will choose to act, instead of being in a constant state of paralysis.