Eveline Character Analysis

Motivations of Eveline and The Birthmark Characters

There is reason behind characters actions and point of view, it’s their motivation that influences them. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, “The Birthmark,” you can easily discover that the main character, Aylmer’s motivation is selfishness. Selfishness can be defined as the lack in consideration for other and is only concerned with oneself. Aylmer presents his selfishness through his obsession of perfection and success. He wants his experiment to work so badly that he sacrificed his wife Georgiana’s life. Eveline’s father in James Joyce’s short story, “Eveline” is also selfish in his own way. Eveline’s father forbids his daughter Eveline from dating and moving away with her boyfriend

Although his motivation is not directly announced, you can tell that Eveline’s father greatly depends on her rather than being responsible himself. For example, Eveline says, “She had hard work to keep the house together and to see that the two young children who had been left to her charge went to school regularly and got their meals regularly.” (Joyce 4). This means he puts all the everyday responsibility into Eveline’s hands. Eveline’s father doesn’t want Eveline to leave the house for her lover Frank because she’s the one who takes care of things around the house. This is how he uses people for selfish purpose of keeping Eveline at home. Eveline’s motivation is to satisfy her dead mother promise to keep the family together. It’s shown when the narrator says, “She knew the air. Strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could.” (Joyce 5). This factor is powerful enough that it influences her to stay home even though she hates her home life. Eveline feels the pressure when deciding whether to stay home or go with Frank. She gives up her happiness in a life with Frank to follow through with her mother’s

Aylmer and Eveline’s father had a more egocentric view of their life, and therefore used people to advance themselves. Aylmer care about success in his experiment rather than his wife’s life. Eveline’s father used Georgiana’s help as a reason for her to stay home and not date Frank. Eveline and Georgiana were more motivated to accommodate because of their love for certain people. For Eveline it was the love for her mother and the wish to please her. For Georgiana it was the love for Aylmer and the hope to receive the same love in return. These characters have similarity in their