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One life behind and one before, and I that stood between , – wrote Rosemary Dobson in her poem ‘Cock Crow’. This illustrates the universal human experience of paradox between individual’s aspirations and their social responsibility which confronts us all. Dobson’s poem ‘Cock Crow’ examines the inner struggle of a young mum who is overwhelmed by domestic duties and yearning to know what lays beyond. The entrapment arising from conforming to societal expectations can shapes a women’s life as clearly expressed within Amy Caroline. This personal conflicts can also be seen within James Joyce’s modernist short story ‘Eveline’ as Eveline must also chose between her familial duty and desire for a new life aboard. The struggle of finding a balance between one’s commitment and personal pursuits is a common dilemma faced by women and can cause emotional distress. Both Dobsons ‘Cock Crow’ and Joyce’s ‘Eveline’ provide insights into this human conflict.
‘Cock Crow’ portrays a young mum’s brief escape from her maternal duties during the night. In the first stanza the persona was wanting to be myself, alone. Dobson syntactically isolates ‘alone’, placing emphasis on persona’s desire to escape from her domestic duty. This is affirmed in the second stanza through three times I took that lonely stretch, three times the dark trees closed round’, where the high modality of I took demonstrates the personas desire for independence and her choice to pursue personal time. Dobson utilises a biblical allusion to Peter’s betrayal of Jesus in three times accentuates a similar sense of guilt in escaping the social constraint. After a brief escape, the persona returns home. In the final stanza: ‘And turned the handle of the door thinking i knew his meaning well. The motif of the door symbolises a return to domestic duty and confinement. This indicates the personas struggle and her acceptance of family duty.
Similarly, the inability of individuals to escape from the challenges imposed by social constraints can be seen through Joyce’s ‘Eveline’. Eveline portrays a nineteen years old Dublin girl facing a crucial choice of her life, staying in her harsh life with her abusive father or escainge with her young lover Frank to a new world. In the opening of ‘Eveline” the stagnant lifelesnesss life led by Eveline is demonstrated through the symbolism of ‘dust’: her head was leaned against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne . The audience is immediately able to visualise how old and grimy her life is which is later contrasted to the good air in Buenos Aires and the sea, both emblematic for escape and a new life. Mid-way through, Eveline ponders: ‘strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise she made her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could’. The repetition of promise..to her mother reiterates the gravity of her dilemma: she is caught between her duties as a domestic caregiver and her own desires. Once again, this can be linked to the modernist idea of re-evaluation of female roles in society.
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