Choices made daily influence every choice and action in the future. Unfortunately, these choices may be based on various external constraints and forces. Over the years gender may play a major role in stagnation and lack of ability to make choices for oneself. Many live in despair about what might happen in the future based on the decision they make at that time. It is the apprehension of the unknown that leads one to believe that the right choice is overwhelming and perhaps inaccessible. In James Joyce's short story, “Eveline,” the narrator uses guilt, along with images of dust and decay, to expose Eveline's sense of paralysis resulting from limited options as a woman in the twentieth century. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The dust found throughout Eveline's house is directly related to how she feels. James Joyce instantly mentions a sense of inertia in this short story. It begins with Eveline “leaning against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the order of dusty cretonne” (Joyce 3). Dust is typically found in places that are often abandoned, forgotten and no longer paid attention to. In other words, exactly how Eveline feels in her life. Her favorite brother and mother are both dead, leaving her with an abusive and demanding father. She was left with an endless cycle of working to support the family, care for her younger siblings, and keep the house intact. In addition to taking care of his siblings, he also has to take care of and watch out for his abusive father. However, after reading the beginning of the story, it is easy to see that he is juggling so many different things that he cannot properly take care of the curtains, since he gets no help from anyone else. James Joyce emphasizes the word dust because it shows the difficulties Eveline has faced since her mother died. As Eveline looks around, she remembers all the different objects she has continually dusted, "wondering where the hell all that dust came from" (3). Even after cleaning everything, week after week, dust continued to appear throughout her house. It was a never-ending cycle, just like Eveline's life. Eveline is stuck in a cycle of tyranny. She lives in fear of her father's abuse, constantly works hard, and must secretly meet her lover. Just as he wonders where all the dust keeps coming from, he may also wonder where all this negativity in his life is coming from. As Eveline examined all the familiar objects, she also points to the photo of the priest. He never learned the priest's name after all these years and the photo was now broken and decaying. His father also shrugs at the priest whenever he is asked about him. This shows the lack of sincerity his father has towards the people he should care about. The last dust episode in this tale occurs near the end. Eveline is sitting in the same place as at the beginning of the story, “inhaling the smell of cretonne powder” (5). This could foreshadow the fact that she is stuck where she is and will not be able to leave on the boat with her lover Frank. She is still surrounded by dust, just as she has continually been surrounded by her duties and responsibilities. As Eveline sits at the window she begins to be struck by guilt for abandoning the promise she made to her mother to keep their home together for as long as possible. She begins to realize that even if she left with Frank, the dust in her house would always remain. There would always be a job that didn'tit would be done without her or her mother at home. She comes to the conclusion that she was destined to live the same life as her mother, surrounded by the same suffocating dust. The guilt and doubt that Eveline begins to explore plays a role in her decision and her sense of paralysis. She worries about breaking the promise she made to her dying mother if she decides to leave with Frank. She worries about her younger siblings and who will take care of them, since she is currently the one bringing the money and doing the household chores. Beyond the guilt, she begins to doubt her decision to be with Frank. She states that he is "very kind, manly, open-hearted" (4). However, he never confirms his love for her or that she loves him. Just before Eveline boarded the boat with Frank, she "prayed to God to guide her, to show her what her duty was" (6). However, she is wondering what her duty is, assuming that it would also be a responsibility to be with Frank. Right now she doubts that leaving with Frank would be any different from her current life. She immediately believes that going to Buenos Aires would make her live the same life her mother lived with her father, doubting everything she and Frank had. The degrading role of women in the twentieth century plays a major role in Eveline's stagnation. Women were seen as workers in the home and had to take care of the children, prepare dinner and do all the cleaning. After her mother's death, Eveline became the woman, or worker, of the house. Even beyond simply being domestic workers, women were supposed to submit to the man of the house, regardless of how they were treated. Eveline not only takes care of all the housework, but also works outside the home and gives her earnings to her father. However, when she asked her abusive father for money, he said: "he squandered the money, that he had no head, that he would not give her his hard-earned money to throw on the streets" (4 ). Although Eveline's father is not willing to help her in everything she does, she is still forced to fulfill all his wishes. In the 20th century, women were also not guaranteed the same quality of education, making it more difficult to get a professional job. The jobs women could get would also earn them less money than they would pay a man. This leaves options for women very limited and makes it almost impossible for them to progress or succeed in life. Furthermore, due to the lack of opportunities, it is difficult for them to move and start a new life. At the beginning of the story Eveline considers moving to Argentina as a possible new world of equality. She thought she would have an opportunity to break out of the role she's been thrown into since her mother died. However, he concludes that there is a possibility that it will be worse than the life he is currently living. People are constantly faced with choices that lead to unknown outcomes and must balance all possible outcomes. To make a change you have to leave other things behind. Eveline is forced to choose between starting a new life that could be better or staying stuck in her old, dust-choked life. Eveline ultimately decides to live the life her mother lived, but was it the life she lived that caused her untimely death? James Joyce challenges his readers to understand that most choices made will have ups and downs, but sometimes it's best to start over. However, it is the guilt caused by these choices that makes it difficult to do the right thing. The limitations of the twentieth century prevented many people of that time from going out and following their dreams, or in this case a new and better life. The reality is that you always get stuck in your own,.