NCERT Solutions Class 12, English, Kaliedoscope, Short Stories, Chapter- 2, Eveline
Stop and Think
1. Why did Eveline review all the familiar objects at home?
Solution:
Eveline went through all of the familiar objects in her house because she felt nostalgic as she prepared to go with her lover Frank. All of her happy and wonderful memories from her youth flashed before her eyes.
2. Where was Eveline planning to go?
Solution:
Eveline intended to flee from her home with her lover and begin a new, respectable life in Buenos Aires, far away from her father and his boring lifestyle.
Stop and Think
l. Who was Frank? Why did Eveline’s father quarrel with him?
Solution:
Frank was an Irish sailor and a man whom Eveline admired. He was a very kind and open-hearted man, who wanted to marry her. Eveline’s father had a quarrel with him because he discovered his affair with Eveline.
2. What significance does Eveline find in the organplayer’s appearance on the day she had decided to leave?
Solution:
The organ player’s appearance reminded Eveline of the street organ that played on the night before her mother’s death and the kind of life her mother lived. As she resolved to leave, she recalled the promise made to her mother before her death. She promised her to keep the home together as long as she could.
Understanding the Text
1. Name the two characters in this story whom Eveline liked and loved, and two she did not. What were the reasons for her feelings towards them?
Solution:
The two characters in the story which were liked by Eveline were her mother and Frank. She loved her mother as she used to take care of everyone in the family, for her mother's family was above all. Her mother used to bear torture inflicted by her husband. Frank was her love. He wanted to marry Eveline and he promised her to give her happiness and fill the loneliness of her life. The two characters she most disliked were her father and Miss Gavan. She was never loved by her father, he would get drunk and had always been harsh to her. Miss Gavan was always rude and tried to criticize her.
2. Describe the conflict of emotions felt by Eveline on the day she had decided to elope with Frank.
Solution:
Eveline loved Frank. Both have decided to marry and start a new life. It was not simple for her, on the day when she had to elope with Frank, all memories of her childhood flashed in front of her eyes like a movie. She remembered how her brothers Ernest and Harry played together. Little Keogh used to keep an eye like nix, to inform them of their father's arrival. If their father found them playing, he used to beat them with a stick. Now nobody was there to protect her. Ernest and her mother had passed away now and Harry was in the decorating business of the church and was almost always down somewhere in the country. She wanted to escape and start a new life with her love Frank and wanted to enjoy life. On other hand, she remembered the promise given to her mother that she would keep the home together as long as she could. This thought shook her and made it difficult for her to go with Frank.
3. Why do you think Eveline let go of the opportunity to escape?
Solution:
Eveline let go of the opportunity because she was struck with the memory of her mother and siblings. Also, she felt a sense of responsibility and was burdened by the promise she made to her mother that she won’t let her housebreak and she will hold all the members together as long as she could. That’s why she did not elope with Frank feeling a sense of responsibility towards her mother and family.
4. What are the signs of Eveline’s indecision that we see as the hour of her departure with Frank neared?
Solution:
As the time for eloping was coming near, Eveline suddenly got distressed and turned pale. She also prayed to God to direct her about her duty. She felt a sense of nausea and cried of her anguish.
Talking about the Text
1. Deciding between filial duty and the right to personal happiness is problematic. Discuss.
Solution:
In the story, Eveline was a character, who dealt with the dilemma of choice between responsibility and happiness. She promised her mother that she’ll not let the thread of relations break and will always think of her family and stay with them. On the other hand, she had a choice to start a respectful, happy, and fairy-tale story with her beloved Frank. All the promises, memories, and relationships acted as a shackle to her legs. In the end, she gave up on her dreams and chose the welfare of her family.
This shows that there is always a conflict when a person has to choose between their family and their personal life, happiness, and future. The same happened with Eveline. It was hard and burdensome for choosing between her monotonously tortured life with her family or eloping with her lover. Thus, in the social sphere, the right to personal happiness is always considered selfish and bounds a person to fulfill their filial duty, sacrificing happiness in their private spheres of life.
2. Share with your partner any instance of your personal experience where you, or somebody you know, had to make a difficult choice.
Solution:
One of my friend’s father had to leave for America for 5 years, leaving his children and wife alone in the country. But, he had to do that because he wanted to provide a bright future to his children by earning money. That was the toughest decision I think I have seen someone taking during my lifetime.
Appreciation
1. The description in this story has symbolic touches. What do you think the ‘window’, the ‘gathering dusk’, the ‘dusty cretonne and its odour’ symbolise?
Solution:
James Joyce had used a lot of visual imagery in her story, Eveline. Through the imagery of the window, the writer symbolizes the opportunity to elope that she has got just like a ray of sun falls in from the window and the weight of memories and responsibility flashing through her. Like with the opening of the window, a fresh breeze comes in, the window symbolizes opportunities and happiness.
Similarly, ‘gathering dusk’ and ‘dusty cretonne and odor’ symbolize dullness and lifelessness. It portrays the monotony and tiresomeness of life. With the dark color of the room, the writer has shown the burden of memories and the dullness of Eveline’s life.
Thus, the writer has drawn a contrast between opportunity and burdening memories.
2. Note how the narrative proceeds through the consciousness of Eveline.
Solution:
It would be right to say the narrator proceeds through Eveline's consciousness. The story starts with an opening scene in which Eveline went through the stream of her life journey. There was a glow of memories from her childhood. In real life, most of the actions don't take place. When a person's thoughts and conscious reactions to the event, then consciousness is considered as a literary device. The writer has narrated the emotions of Eveline in a precise way.
3. In the last section of the story, notice these expressions
(i) A bell clanged upon her heart.
(ii) AlI the seas of the world tumbled upon her heart.
(iii) Her hands clutched the iron in frenzy.
(iv) She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal.
What are the emotions that these images evoke?
Solution:
These images evoke the emotions of pain and fear. They depict the heaviness of her heart and her helplessness and inability to move on and being decisive. She got stiffened and did not go with Frank. All this depicts her passiveness and burden of leaving her family for personal benefit.
4. Do you think the author indicates his judgement of Eveline in the story?
Solution:
The author focussed more on the pitfalls of getting stacked to the past and the conflict between family and personal life and future. He used Eveline’s character to present the dilemma in the mind of the people of Irish society.
