In the story’s powerful closing lines, Joyce uses a simile to leave the reader with the lingering image of Eveline paralyzed after Frank calls for her to follow him onto the boat headed for Buenos Ayres:
“[Eveline] set her white face to [Frank], passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.”
In the above passage, Joyce likens the image of Eveline’s white face to that of a “helpless animal.” The comparison of these two unlike things draws the reader’s attention to Eveline’s appearance and echoes the earlier description of her cheek as “pale and cold” after she first sees the boat. By comparing Eveline to an animal, the story suggests that Eveline is unable to make logical sense of her actions at this moment. And by using the words “passive” and “helpless,” Joyce paints an image of Eveline frozen in place and lifeless, as if she were dead. This paralyzed position reflects Eveline’s inner conflict and inability to make a decision. The fact that Eveline is described in this manner at the very moment she is about to board is a crucial turn in the story and contributes to its melancholy end, as Eveline is unable to bring herself to join Frank on the boat.
