The thought of leaving everyone behind to explore her dreams seems only like a fantasy. Reality strikes her and she must make sure the younger children, who have been left in her care, attend school and get their meals on a regular basis. .
The relationship between Eveline and her father is unpleasantly sad. He is an alcoholic and very violent. She dreads coming home on Saturdays because "he is usually bad on this day." She knows it is his aggressive and barbaric attitude that has given her the palpitations. After taking her wage that she earned away, he at the end gives her the money back just to ask her, "if she had any plans of buying Sunday's dinner." She rushes out as quickly as she can and does her grocery shopping. Afraid that her father will slash out on her for taking too long, sometimes she reflects back to the past when her father was nice. She remembers, " Not long before, she had been laid up for a day, he had read her out a ghost story and made toast for her at her fire." This would be the most recent cheerful time they spent together since her mother's death. This never-ending life of suffering guides her to pursue respect, and above all, happiness. However, she is still unclear on what she should do.
Living in a depressed environment makes her feel alone with no one to protect her. Many of the people she grew up with, is dead or has moved far away. Her brother Harry, who was involved with church activities, was always down somewhere in the country, far from Eveline. The only close family member is her aging father who most of the time treats her badly. She is in desperate need of love and affection. Filled with mixed feelings, she starts to wonder what the future might hold for her if she moves far away. She dreams of a place where she will be happy, people will treat her with the respect she is much seeking and she will get married and all the wonderful things she has been searching for comes true.
