Jane Joyce s Eveline Gender Differences - 1068 Words

Eveline: Gender Differences in Post Colonial Ireland Gender equality is achieved when both men and women receive the same rights and opportunities throughout all areas of society. Often, it is men who are given dominance while the women are deprived of owning such superiority; this is called a patriarchal society. In James Joyce’s Eveline, it is quite clear that women were not allowed the equality of men in the social, political, and economic fields, primarily in the postcolonial times at which this book was written in. As Eveline’s life was greatly influenced by people of the male gender, her decision at the end of the short story suggests that she was significantly influenced by her religion, economic status, as well as her identity as a woman during this time period in Dublin, Ireland. During the postcolonial times the presence of the Roman Catholic Church dominated the Republic of Ireland making Irish Christianity the largest religion. It is through marriage that Eveline is able to fulfill the personal desire encultu rated within her through society. O’Brien identifies in Study: An Irish Quarterly Review that Eveline believes that by becoming Frank’s wife, she can â€Å"completely valorise her female identity† (207). By becoming a married woman she would gain ‘respect’, as Joyce explains, â€Å"then she would be married – she, Eveline. People would treat her with respect then. She would not be treated as her mother had been† (73). It is through Frank that Eveline can find her