詹姆斯·乔伊斯(James Joyce, 1882～1941)是世界级的现代主义文学大师。他出生于爱尔兰都柏林，幼年接受的是天主教教会学校的教育，成年后却放弃了宗教信仰。1898年乔伊斯进入都柏林大学攻读哲学和语言学，毕业后曾经短暂转学医学。乔伊斯自1904年开始创作短篇小说集《都柏林人》(Dubliners)，小说集十年后出版。1916年，乔伊斯完成了半自传体的小说《一个青年艺术家的肖像》(A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man)。这两部作品奠定了乔伊斯的文坛声誉。被奉为现代文学集大成之作的《尤利西斯》(Ulysses)发表于1922年。乔伊斯生前出版的最后一部小说《为芬尼根守灵》(Finnegans Wake)出版于1939年，这是一部迷宫一样的作品，充满了实验特色。《伊芙琳》(Eveline)选自他的短篇小说集《都柏林人》，是其中较为精彩的一篇。
She2) was about to explore another life with Frank3). Frank was very kind, manly, open-hearted. She was to go away with him by the night-boat to be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Ayres4) where he had a home waiting for her. How well she remembered the first time she had seen him; he was lodging in a house on the main road where she used to visit. It seemed a few weeks ago. He was standing at the gate, his peaked cap pushed back on his head and his hair tumbled forward over a face of bronze. Then they had come to know each other. He used to meet her outside the stores every evening and see her home. He took her to see The Bohemian Girl and she felt elated5) as she sat in an unaccustomed part of the theatre with him. He was awfully fond of music and sang a little. People knew that they were courting and, when he sang about the lass that loves a sailor, she always felt pleasantly confused. He used to call her Poppens6) out of fun. First of all it had been an excitement for her to have a fellow and then she had begun to like him. He had tales of distant countries. He had started as a deck boy at a pound a month on a ship of the Allan Line going out to Canada. He told her the names of the ships he had been on and the names of the different services. He had sailed through the Straits of Magellan7) and he told her stories of the terrible Patagonians8). He had fallen on his feet9) in Buenos Ayres, he said, and had come over to the old country just for a holiday. Of course, her father had found out the affair and had forbidden her to have anything to say to him.
“I know these sailor chaps10),” he said.
One day he had quarrelled with Frank and after that she had to meet her lover secretly.
The evening deepened in the avenue. The white of two letters in her lap grew indistinct. One was to Harry11); the other was to her father. Ernest12) had been her favourite, but she liked Harry too. Her father was becoming old lately, she noticed; he would miss her. Sometimes he could be very nice. Not long before, when she had been laid up for a day, he had read her out a ghost story and made toast for her at the fire. Another day, when their mother was alive, they had all gone for a picnic to the Hill of Howth. She remembered her father putting on her mother’s bonnet to make the children laugh.
Her time was running out, but she continued to sit by the window, leaning her head against the window curtain, inhaling the odour of dusty cretonne13). Down far in the avenue she could hear a street organ14) playing. She knew the air. Strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could. She remembered the last night of her mother’s illness; she was again in the close dark room at the other side of the hall and outside she heard a melancholy air of Italy. The organ-player had been ordered to go away and given sixpence. She remembered her father strutting15) back into the sickroom saying:
“Damned Italians, coming over here!”
As she mused the pitiful vision of her mother’s life laid its spell on the very quick of her being—that life of commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness …
She stood up in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live. Why should she be unhappy? She had a right to happiness. Frank would take her in his arms, fold her in his arms. He would save her.
She stood among the swaying crowd in the station at the North Wall. He held her hand and she knew that he was speaking to her, saying something about the passage over and over again. The station was full of soldiers with brown baggage. Through the wide doors of the sheds she caught a glimpse of the black mass of the boat, lying in beside the quay16) wall, with illumined portholes17). She answered nothing. She felt her cheek pale and cold and, out of a maze of distress, she prayed to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty. The boat blew a long mournful whistle into the mist. If she went, tomorrow she would be on the sea with Frank, steaming towards Buenos Ayres. Their passage had been booked. Could she still draw back after all he had done for her? Her distress awoke a nausea18) in her body and she kept moving her lips in silent fervent19) prayer.
A bell clanged upon her heart. She felt him seize her hand:
“Come!”
All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her. She gripped with both hands at the iron railing.
“Come!”
No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands clutched the iron in frenzy. Amid the seas she sent a cry of anguish.
“Eveline! Evvy!”
He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow. He was shouted at to go on but he still called to her. She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.
1.节选部分选自小说的后半部分，主要描述的是离别在即，主人公伊芙琳却对现有的一切恋恋不舍了，最后她改变了初衷，放弃了出走。
2.she：指小说的主人公伊芙琳
3.Frank：弗兰克，小说中伊芙琳的男友
4.Buenos Ayres：布宜诺斯艾利斯，阿根廷首都，也是阿根廷最大的城市，素有“南美巴黎”的美誉。
5.elated [ɪˈleɪtɪd] adj. 兴高采烈的
6.Poppens：文中指小宝贝、小乖乖
7.Straits of Magellan：麦哲伦海峡，南美洲大陆南端同火地岛等岛屿之间的海峡。因航海家麦哲伦于1520年首先由此通过而得名。
8.Patagonian [ˌpatəˈgəʊnɪən] n. 巴塔哥尼亚人(南美洲南端巴塔哥尼亚印第安人)
9.fall on one’s feet：交好运
10.chap [tʃæp] n.〈口〉家伙；小伙子
11.Harry：哈利，小说中伊芙琳的哥哥，主要干的是装饰教堂的活儿。
12.Ernest：欧内斯特，小说中伊芙琳的哥哥，已经夭折。
13.cretonne [kreˈtɒn, ˈkretɒn] n. (做窗帘等用的)大花型瑰丽印花装饰布
14.organ [ˈɔː(r)ɡən] n. 风琴；管风琴
15.strut [strʌt] vi. 大摇大摆地走
16.quay [kiː] n. 码头
17.porthole [ˈpɔː(r)tˌhəʊl] n. 舷窗
18.nausea [ˈnɔːziə] n. 恶心
19.fervent [ˈfɜː(r)v(ə)nt] adj. 热烈的，热情的
作品赏析
人生随时随地需要面对选择：从小处而言，是选择吃中餐还是吃西餐、选择穿皮鞋还是穿球鞋、选择坐地铁还是乘出租车等诸如此类的小事；从大处来说，是选择什么样的工作、嫁给什么样的人、过哪种生活等举足轻重的大事。前一类选择不会产生深远影响，后一类则会改变整个人生轨迹。小说《伊芙琳》中的女主人公伊芙琳所面对的就是后一类抉择。
伊芙琳生活在20世纪初的都柏林，是一个19岁的女孩。她的母亲早已去世，父亲酗酒，脾气暴躁，有暴力倾向。她小小年纪已经是家里的顶梁柱，既要操持家务，又要赚钱养家。伊芙琳不喜欢这样的生活，于是决定随在船上当水手的男朋友弗兰克私奔去南美洲。船即将启航，弗兰克率先登船，伊芙琳却忽然丧失了出走的勇气，改变了初衷，任由弗兰克如何催促，她最终还是选择了留在码头上。
小说《伊芙琳》的篇幅很短，但作者却在有限的文本空间内(从伊芙琳决定出走到最后放弃)将伊芙琳的内心挣扎呈现得立体而丰满。伊芙琳善良而懂事，她幼年丧母，作为家里唯一的女孩，她早早就承担起了母亲的角色，照顾父亲，呵护家人。可是在这样的生活中，她没有做自己的权利，她的存在是为了服务他人。她需要扮演乖巧的女儿，还需要充当操持家务的免费女佣。父亲将收入都挥霍在了酗酒上，而她则时常为如何维持生计而发愁。她有两个疼爱她的哥哥，但一个哥哥常年离家在外，另一个已经病故。她有一份工作，但工作却无法给她带来成就感，而且上司对她挑剔而苛刻。更糟糕的是，这样的生活并没有任何好转的迹象。
伊芙琳生活在都柏林一个普通的社区，住在一套普通的公寓房里。她的人生就像她窗外的街道一样，平庸而寂寥。因此，弗兰克的出现对伊芙琳来说具有特别的吸引力。“起先，她为有了个亲密的伙伴很激动，随后，渐渐喜欢他了。”显然，伊芙琳是喜欢和弗兰克在一起的。对于伊芙琳来说，家庭生活沉闷，工作没有意思，和性格活泼的弗兰克谈谈恋爱是一种暂时的逃离和解脱，她的生活为此平添了一种新的色彩。同时，伊芙琳一直生活在都柏林，而弗兰克却随船到过很多地方，见多识广，和弗兰克在一起让伊芙琳大开眼界。然而，喜欢不等于至死不渝的爱。伊芙琳为了这份不够确定的情感决定离家出走，深层的原因只有一条：弗兰克为她提供了一种新的生活方式。她要离开阴冷的都柏林，离开没有吸引力的工作，离开背负不完的家庭责任。私奔不是为了爱，而是为了抵达沐浴在南美洲艳阳下的布宜诺斯艾利斯；成为弗兰克太太不是为了和深爱的人终生厮守，而是为了赢得全新的身份，开始全新的人生。
伊芙琳是如此渴望过上新的生活，旧生活中有那么多她想抛弃的重负。正因如此，伊芙琳在结尾处选择留在都柏林的决定才显得格外具有悲剧性色彩。小说没有详细说明伊芙琳放弃出走的原因，或许是因为在最后一刻她无法彻底摆脱亲情的羁绊，但最深刻的原因应该还是她对未知世界的恐惧。她还没有踏上漂洋过海的旅途，就已经感觉到“全世界所有的海浪都在她的心头翻滚。他(弗兰克)正拉着她往那里面去。他会淹死她的。”茫茫的大海象征着看不到岸的冒险，曾经令她欢欣雀跃的未来在这一刻却让她感到莫名的惊恐。
美国诗人罗伯特·弗罗斯特在《未选择的路》这首诗中写道：“一片树林里分出两条路——/而我选择了人迹更少的一条/从此决定了我一生的道路。”站在码头的伊芙琳也面临着人生的岔路：一条路延伸向远方，一条路指向旧家的方向，她即将踏上旅程，却选择了停在原地。自此以后，布宜诺斯艾利斯的风景只能是装饰她回忆的一场梦。她的生活又回到了之前一成不变的人生轨迹。旧街区的灯光昏黄，老房子的窗帘散发着棉布和灰尘的陈腐气味。她将继续上班做一份没有意思的工作，下班照顾一家老小。在不久的将来，留在都柏林的伊芙琳多半会走上她母亲的老路，年纪轻轻便被生活压弯了腰，甚至是榨干了生命。
小说作者詹姆斯·乔伊斯本人就在都柏林长大。他讨厌这个城市的保守和墨守成规，更讨厌这里一成不变、毫无光彩的生活状态。无数生命在沉默中像行尸走肉一样活着，他们的灵魂疲倦而灰暗，偶尔做一个美丽的梦，也会被动地等待梦想的烛光一点点熄灭。“哀其不幸，怒其不争”，乔伊斯将人们精神上的这种无力感称为“瘫痪症”。这些人就像是罹患了瘫痪症的病人，丧失了行动能力，一代一代就这样在默默忍受中度过了一生。
乔伊斯的《伊芙琳》完成于1904年，曾经单独在爱尔兰当地的文学杂志上发表，1914年被收入短篇小说集《都柏林人》。在1904年完成《伊芙琳》后不久，乔伊斯便决定离开他所厌倦的故乡，和妻子诺拉一起动身前往欧洲。他们先后在巴黎、苏黎世等地生活，成为世界公民。即便穷困而漂泊，他们也不愿再回到都柏林去过安稳而缺乏意义的生活。
当眼前出现一条崭新的路，有多少人真正有勇气选择踏上征程，随时准备着承受这一选择所带来的风险？伊芙琳静静地退回生活的旧囚牢，她就像是在笼子里被养得太久的鸟儿，没有坚强的翅膀，惧怕过于广阔、过于湛蓝的天空。不知道该埋怨是生活使她胆怯，还是该埋怨她的胆怯使她只能拥有这样一份生活，但事实的确是如此：敢于做梦的人很多，敢于行动的人很少。