Joyce is able to demonstrate moral and spiritual paralysis through symbolism. For example, before she decides to leave with Frank, she plans on leaving two letters for her father and brother. But as the evening goes by it appears that she is still holding on to the letters (Joyce 29). This shows how she is incapable of letting go the family relationships, even though her father is unkind and her brother is never home. Furthermore, two symbols that emphasize the instability of the home or Eveline’s spiritual paralysis are the priest and Margaret Mary Alacoque. In the beginning of the story when she is looking at a print of Mary Alacoque, which is an Irish symbol that represents protection and goodness, Eveline starts to become hesitant about leaving her home. At the same time she also notices a photograph of the priest, she does not know his name, but she knows he left the country and that he has been forgotten (Joyce 29). This makes her wonder if she will be forgotten as well. This shows her fear of leaving a setting that she knows well. Moreover, when she is given the opportunity to make a life changing decision, she fails. When Frank is telling her to move, she becomes emotionally paralyzed, unable to make a decision. For support, she holds onto the hand rails, thus, the hand rails represent stability; in other words the life she knows and security it provides.
Another way Joyce is able to demonstrate paralysis is by using irony. Joyce makes it appear that Eveline has to make a decision between love and her duty. But, through the story the reader is able to figure out the Eveline is not in love in fact she believes that love will happen after marriage. So, towards the end of the story Eveline shows that she is incapable of love because she becomes frozen and unable to move toward Frank. Her duty holds her back, she convinces her self that her father will need her and recalls two events when he was very nice, and she also stays because of the promise she made to her mother (Joyce 31-32). Thus, there is no fight between responsibilities and love. The latter two represent a mask that hides the truth and the fear of changing. Therefore, instead of having a happy ending the reader is left with the thought the Eveline will have to go back and do the same routines for the rest of her life, and this makes it ironic.
Also, Joyce is able to use repetition to further emphasize the theme of the story. For example, in the beginning of the story, he uses key words “in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne,” to illustrate the setting of the story. Later on in the story he repeats the word “dust” when Eveline is looking at the room that she repeatedly dusted for so many years (Joyce 29). The repetition of dust gives it an important significance, a promise that Eveline made to her dead mother. Thus, through repetition the reader is able to understand Joyce’s them of paralysis. This is because repetition shows that Eveline is afraid of change, and that she is more comfortable doing a routine that she already knows. As a result the use of these literary tools gives a deeper understanding of Eveline and the paralysis that the people of Ireland experience.
