discuss the representation of emigration in eveline

The representation of emigration is constant in the novel. It is seen as an escape from routine, an adventure, an opportunity. To leave Ireland means that Eveline will escape an unhappy dosmestic future in her homeland in favor of a happy marriage in Argentina, and yet she can't leave due to promises and the knowledge that her family needs her at home.

Loyalty and love for family supercede her desire to escape. Memories keep her home, even if they're memories she's white washed in her mind. Familiarity becomes more important than adventure. She's far more afraid of escaping and the unknown than she is of what she's familiar with, regardless that what' familiar isn't happy. In the end, she watches the departure of other and envies their escape, but it isn't what she chooses for herself.