Brooklyn as the 'untold story' of 'Eveline': Reading Joyce and Tóibín with Ricoeur.

This essay uses Paul Ricoeur's concept of the '(as yet) untold story' to consider the relationship between James Joyce's 1904 short story 'Eveline' (in Dubliners) and Colm Tóibín's award-winning 2009 novel, Brooklyn. Although Tóibín has denied the influence of Joyce in general, there are many similarities in the storyworlds of the two protagonists, Eveline Hill and Eilis Lacey: Eveline wishes to leave her father's home in Dublin but stays, whilst Eilis would prefer to remain at home but is forced to emigrate. Both act according to their perception of their mother's wishes and the rightness of their decisions has preoccupied readers. Through close analysis of thought and speech presentation, this essay shows that interpretive responses to the actions of Eveline and Eilis are inextricably linked to the formal qualities of each text. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]