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Women in Hardship
This essay compares and contrasts “Eveline” by James Joyce and “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” by D.H. Lawrence with regards to their storylines, context and literature.
The short fictions ‘Eveline’ and ‘The Horse Dealer’s Daughter’ are two stories that display several similarities as well as contrasts when it comes to themes and events. The stories are written in a crisp engaging manner that keeps the reader alert and anticipating as to what is to come next. The central idea around both the stories is how women, when subject to poverty and hardship, cope with it.
The authors of both the stories have used rich literary devices in relating the stories. While Eveline is written from the single point of view of Eveline, her memory flashbacks and thoughts convey the story entirely and aptly to the audience. In ‘The Horse dealer’s daughter’ though, we see the story from multiple point of views including Mabel and Fergusson. We can glimpse more than just Mabel’s life but the multiple narratives give a richer and more complete picture to Mabel’s story.
The stories are both written in the third person and that makes the reader an outsider to the story. This is an excellent technique as well since it gives the reader the idea that it is impossible to measure the plight of the protagonists and a third person view is the closest the reader can get.
The protagonists of both the stories are humans to a fault. We see their characters unfold in the way they see the world around them. The circumstances of both the stories are gloomy and plunge the reader into an era of hardship and difficulty. The protagonists seem to be trapped in a situation that they cannot remove themselves from unless and until they take some drastic step. The protagonists of the story, though women, are bold enough to attempt this bold step and this is what makes the reader appreciate their faults just as much as he/she appreciates their good qualities.
One of the main similarities in the stories is that both are centred on a woman. The main character in the story...