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Jessica
I realize I may be in the minority here, but I don't think Eilis ever really loved Jim. I think she liked him as a person, certainly, but what I think she really loved was what he represented: a steady, familiar life in the town she grew up in. This struck me the most when she was attending her friend's wedding and thought that she "didn't love Tony now." What she was experiencing was a fun, cheerful event with all the people she'd known her whole life, and this is what she could have for herself if she stayed with Jim. But later on, when Miss Kelly pettily informs Eilis that she knows her secret, she's reminded of what else life with Jim will mean--living in a town where everyone knows who you are and what you've done, without any chances to start over. This is when a life with Tony in Brooklyn becomes more appealing, because now she's realized that she had adapted to life in a big city in a new country, and enjoyed her independence too much to forfeit it now. I certainly hope that she really does love Tony, but even if she doesn't then I imagine that she would grow to love him more with time.
Barrette
Throughout the entire novel, Eilis was a very passive character. Many of her decisions were guided by others--going to America was decided by her mother and sister, her living arrangements and any conflict at work was settled by Father Flood, and her relationship with Tony was one she often questioned.
So, the question is, did she make the right decision in choosing to go back to America? I don't think she really made any decision at all. Her final choice was dictated by a sense of duty: she was stuck to Tony because of their quick marriage. Overall, Eilis was unable to be decisive enough to see what she truly wanted in life. If she stayed in Ireland, she would feel guilty about her marriage to Tony and leaving him behind; but her choice to go back to Brooklyn also fills her with regret: she is leaving her mother and a life that is comfortable and secure--she even brings along the pictures that will, of course, remind her of a life she will never have.
So, no, I don't think Eilis made any decision that she will make peace with. Overall, a bittersweet ending filled with longing and just a smidgen of hope.
So, the question is, did she make the right decision in choosing to go back to America? I don't think she really made any decision at all. Her final choice was dictated by a sense of duty: she was stuck to Tony because of their quick marriage. Overall, Eilis was unable to be decisive enough to see what she truly wanted in life. If she stayed in Ireland, she would feel guilty about her marriage to Tony and leaving him behind; but her choice to go back to Brooklyn also fills her with regret: she is leaving her mother and a life that is comfortable and secure--she even brings along the pictures that will, of course, remind her of a life she will never have.
So, no, I don't think Eilis made any decision that she will make peace with. Overall, a bittersweet ending filled with longing and just a smidgen of hope.
Blair
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Anna
I think "would come to mean more and more to herself" might be read both ways - as her regretting this decision and coming back to it in her mind over and over again (she likes thinking about what happened during the day) and as her accepting Brooklyn as her home.
I agree with Steven Smith that Eilis' feelings were influenced by her surroundings. When she lived in Brooklyn home was "hazy" to her, then when she returned to Ireland, Brooklyn was "hazy" as well. So my reading is the second one - she accepted Brooklyn as her home.
However, I think that she returned not because of love but because of duty. She enjoyed routines, was a diligent student, liked things to be done the right way. If she hadn't got married, she might have stayed with Jim, I think.
I agree with Steven Smith that Eilis' feelings were influenced by her surroundings. When she lived in Brooklyn home was "hazy" to her, then when she returned to Ireland, Brooklyn was "hazy" as well. So my reading is the second one - she accepted Brooklyn as her home.
However, I think that she returned not because of love but because of duty. She enjoyed routines, was a diligent student, liked things to be done the right way. If she hadn't got married, she might have stayed with Jim, I think.
Kasey L
Eilis's dilemma isn't Tony versus Jim. Throughout the book, she cared for and admired them both, in different ways, and her feeling of not loving Tony at the wedding didn't show that she loved Jim more, but showed that she was capable of loving whichever man she chose and not regretting the loss of the other.
Eilis's conflict was between Brooklyn and Ireland. She would have been happy living in either place. In Ireland, she had old friends, family, familiarity, safety, and a village of people who would make her decisions for her. In Brooklyn, she had excitement, independence, more choices, new experiences, and the ability to live her own life (not Rose's).
True, she was a passive character who did not choose her destiny, but her smile at the end indicates that she was happy with the destiny that had been chosen for her. Brooklyn was perhaps not the decision she would have made on her own because it was painful and scary to leave her home, family, friends, and predictable life, but it was the place that later in her life, when homesickness had died away and maturity would bring her a greater desire to maker her own decisions, that she would be happiest. The last line means that she feels she does not need to feel guilty about Jack because over time Jack would get over her, and that over time, she would be glad that she had left Ireland and gone to Brooklyn.
Yes, the ending is slightly sad, but not because she is leaving Jack... it's sad because she is leaving Ireland and the life she could have had there. It represents the feelings of all immigrants who leave behind not just their family and friends, but also leave behind an alternate life that they easily could have chosen to live. Jack represents that other life that was left behind, a life of safety and comfort and familiarity. Tony represents the exciting, unpredictable life she would lead in Brooklyn full of possibilities. Her smile at the end shows that she will be happy with that life.
Eilis's conflict was between Brooklyn and Ireland. She would have been happy living in either place. In Ireland, she had old friends, family, familiarity, safety, and a village of people who would make her decisions for her. In Brooklyn, she had excitement, independence, more choices, new experiences, and the ability to live her own life (not Rose's).
True, she was a passive character who did not choose her destiny, but her smile at the end indicates that she was happy with the destiny that had been chosen for her. Brooklyn was perhaps not the decision she would have made on her own because it was painful and scary to leave her home, family, friends, and predictable life, but it was the place that later in her life, when homesickness had died away and maturity would bring her a greater desire to maker her own decisions, that she would be happiest. The last line means that she feels she does not need to feel guilty about Jack because over time Jack would get over her, and that over time, she would be glad that she had left Ireland and gone to Brooklyn.
Yes, the ending is slightly sad, but not because she is leaving Jack... it's sad because she is leaving Ireland and the life she could have had there. It represents the feelings of all immigrants who leave behind not just their family and friends, but also leave behind an alternate life that they easily could have chosen to live. Jack represents that other life that was left behind, a life of safety and comfort and familiarity. Tony represents the exciting, unpredictable life she would lead in Brooklyn full of possibilities. Her smile at the end shows that she will be happy with that life.
Lee Collins
I tend to fall on the macho side and for fear of sounding a little gay, my heart goes out to Eilis. I pushed back more than few tears in reading this book. I don't think Eilis was happy in the end but she had to settle for the only decision she could make under the sad and foolish circumstances she found herself.
This meant returning to Brooklyn and Tony. He had wisely (and unwisely) boxed her into a quick marriage before she left due to his own insecurity and fear she might not return. She was pressured into saying "I love you" earlier in their relationship when she clearly was not convinced she did. But she didn't want to hurt or lose Tony - who had been the only love interest in her innocent young life. She "liked" Tony and "liked spending time" with him but committing to "I love you" was something she felt pressured to do. In the movie, the fear in their facial expressions was obvious. It was not a happy joyous occasion as proclaiming ones love should be. Her fear of losing Tony and his fear of rejection (and then relief as she relented) dominated the scenes.
She also resisted his sweet but whiny badgering for them to get married before she left. Even after wondering why a promise to return was not good enough she finally gave in and agreed to marry. Keep in mind, in the book (unlike the movie) they had already had sex so her lack of interest in marriage at this point underscores the fact that true love was not there. In the movie, they did not have sex until they had already agreed to get married the next day.
The movie departs from the book in several areas all to enhance the weak and thinly veiled virtue of Eilis whose Catholic upbringing did not seem to slow down here sexual emergence - if anything it enhanced it. In the book she had sex before even discussing marriage which didn't come until several months later and only after confirming she wasn't pregnant. Also the movie does not show the very heavy petting (tongue in mouth, crotch touching, breast cupping, etc) that took place in Ireland between Eilis (married) and Jim who was gradually winning her heart by moving slowly in the relationship and displaying himself as a gallant gentleman with only her best interest in mind.
Two years earlier while still in Ireland during a brief encounter with Jim, Eilis misinterpreted Jim's behavior and took him as rude and stuck up when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. He was just shy and afraid to approach her. After learning how nice Jim truly was and how easy and secure her life with him would be back home with her mum living close by, she started to fall hard for Jim and dream of a life with him. Eilis openly acknowledged to herself she really did not love Tony. She even considered consulting with Jim as to helping her obtain a divorce but immediately rejected the idea (not due to its merit but due to Jim's innocence & how this whole mess would appear to him).
In the end, it was Ms Kelly's not so subtle threatening to spill the beans on her marriage back in Brooklyn to everyone she cared about in Ireland that pushed Eilis into deciding that her only remaining option (with the least collateral damage) was to return to Brooklyn and Tony.
If you notice the author spared Eilis by never revealing in the book what she would write to Jim when she returned to Brooklyn - her note to Jim in the book only said that she had to return to Brooklyn and would write him with a full explanation. I would have loved to read that one.
Previously in Brooklyn, Eilis was already concerned that once returning to Ireland she might decide to stay so the correct approach for Eilis would have been to insist on an engagement with Tony (as a compromise to marriage). This would have been stronger than a promise (at least in 1952) and still leave Eilis some wiggle room to adjust her life if needed when she returned to Ireland. If she decided to stay in Ireland then having sex with Tony could be denied and often is by girls claiming higher than actual virtue and the engagement could have been broken honorably. Unfortunately - Rose's death which forced Eilis's return to Ireland also deprived her of the only person she could have consulted with about such matters of the heart, something with which she had little experience.
Did Eilis make the right decision in returning to Brooklyn and Tony? - I don't think so but it depends on how you keep score.
This meant returning to Brooklyn and Tony. He had wisely (and unwisely) boxed her into a quick marriage before she left due to his own insecurity and fear she might not return. She was pressured into saying "I love you" earlier in their relationship when she clearly was not convinced she did. But she didn't want to hurt or lose Tony - who had been the only love interest in her innocent young life. She "liked" Tony and "liked spending time" with him but committing to "I love you" was something she felt pressured to do. In the movie, the fear in their facial expressions was obvious. It was not a happy joyous occasion as proclaiming ones love should be. Her fear of losing Tony and his fear of rejection (and then relief as she relented) dominated the scenes.
She also resisted his sweet but whiny badgering for them to get married before she left. Even after wondering why a promise to return was not good enough she finally gave in and agreed to marry. Keep in mind, in the book (unlike the movie) they had already had sex so her lack of interest in marriage at this point underscores the fact that true love was not there. In the movie, they did not have sex until they had already agreed to get married the next day.
The movie departs from the book in several areas all to enhance the weak and thinly veiled virtue of Eilis whose Catholic upbringing did not seem to slow down here sexual emergence - if anything it enhanced it. In the book she had sex before even discussing marriage which didn't come until several months later and only after confirming she wasn't pregnant. Also the movie does not show the very heavy petting (tongue in mouth, crotch touching, breast cupping, etc) that took place in Ireland between Eilis (married) and Jim who was gradually winning her heart by moving slowly in the relationship and displaying himself as a gallant gentleman with only her best interest in mind.
Two years earlier while still in Ireland during a brief encounter with Jim, Eilis misinterpreted Jim's behavior and took him as rude and stuck up when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. He was just shy and afraid to approach her. After learning how nice Jim truly was and how easy and secure her life with him would be back home with her mum living close by, she started to fall hard for Jim and dream of a life with him. Eilis openly acknowledged to herself she really did not love Tony. She even considered consulting with Jim as to helping her obtain a divorce but immediately rejected the idea (not due to its merit but due to Jim's innocence & how this whole mess would appear to him).
In the end, it was Ms Kelly's not so subtle threatening to spill the beans on her marriage back in Brooklyn to everyone she cared about in Ireland that pushed Eilis into deciding that her only remaining option (with the least collateral damage) was to return to Brooklyn and Tony.
If you notice the author spared Eilis by never revealing in the book what she would write to Jim when she returned to Brooklyn - her note to Jim in the book only said that she had to return to Brooklyn and would write him with a full explanation. I would have loved to read that one.
Previously in Brooklyn, Eilis was already concerned that once returning to Ireland she might decide to stay so the correct approach for Eilis would have been to insist on an engagement with Tony (as a compromise to marriage). This would have been stronger than a promise (at least in 1952) and still leave Eilis some wiggle room to adjust her life if needed when she returned to Ireland. If she decided to stay in Ireland then having sex with Tony could be denied and often is by girls claiming higher than actual virtue and the engagement could have been broken honorably. Unfortunately - Rose's death which forced Eilis's return to Ireland also deprived her of the only person she could have consulted with about such matters of the heart, something with which she had little experience.
Did Eilis make the right decision in returning to Brooklyn and Tony? - I don't think so but it depends on how you keep score.
Katie Sterling
Obviously, the book was not simply about Eilis choosing between two men. It was about her choosing between her independence in America (and who she grew to be) vs. the familiarity of returning home (and essentially living Rose's life). I never thought Eilis loved Jim. I believe her relationship with Jim was a guilt ridden Eilis trying to stay close to her grieving mother and the ghost of her sister.
When she returns to Ireland, suddenly things not available to her before she left become available because everyone starts looking at her differently. All that makes her question whether she should go back because life now feels easy. However, the fact remains that she outgrew Enniscorthy. Miss Kelly's comment did not spark Eilis' sense of obligation to her marriage, only to begrudgingly return to Tony, instead it reminded her what life in small town Ireland would mean. Her return to Brooklyn was the first decision she truly made for herself. Her leaving and going back to Tony read as a happy ending for me.
Concerning the men, Jim was too conservative - Tony brought out something in Eilis that Jim never did. Eilis fancied Tony's humour and excitability. Eilis' taciturn Irishness complemented Tony's extroverted Italian nature. They worked brilliantly together, with Tony I read unwavering admiration rather than pushiness. Sure he was implusive, but I think Tony knew Eilis better than he's given credit for. He was loving and reliable, though no intellectual, he had big dreams for his family. (5 plots of land in Long Island?? Hello, great investment!)
I also don't think Tony would have been oblivious upon her return to Brooklyn. He obviously knew she was struggling with something while she was there as she was not returning his letters. She was always forthcoming with him when they were together. I think he was aware that she was deciding whether or not to return to him and would gladly accept her back with open arms.
The book and the movie ended quite differently, however Tóibín himself said his favourite scene in the movie was the one he didn't write ... the ending. This also leads me to believe that the last paragraph did mean that she made the right decision returning to Brooklyn.
Nora Webster, another one of Tóibín's, also briefly mentions 'Eily's children' and Tony, so it seems it worked out.
When she returns to Ireland, suddenly things not available to her before she left become available because everyone starts looking at her differently. All that makes her question whether she should go back because life now feels easy. However, the fact remains that she outgrew Enniscorthy. Miss Kelly's comment did not spark Eilis' sense of obligation to her marriage, only to begrudgingly return to Tony, instead it reminded her what life in small town Ireland would mean. Her return to Brooklyn was the first decision she truly made for herself. Her leaving and going back to Tony read as a happy ending for me.
Concerning the men, Jim was too conservative - Tony brought out something in Eilis that Jim never did. Eilis fancied Tony's humour and excitability. Eilis' taciturn Irishness complemented Tony's extroverted Italian nature. They worked brilliantly together, with Tony I read unwavering admiration rather than pushiness. Sure he was implusive, but I think Tony knew Eilis better than he's given credit for. He was loving and reliable, though no intellectual, he had big dreams for his family. (5 plots of land in Long Island?? Hello, great investment!)
I also don't think Tony would have been oblivious upon her return to Brooklyn. He obviously knew she was struggling with something while she was there as she was not returning his letters. She was always forthcoming with him when they were together. I think he was aware that she was deciding whether or not to return to him and would gladly accept her back with open arms.
The book and the movie ended quite differently, however Tóibín himself said his favourite scene in the movie was the one he didn't write ... the ending. This also leads me to believe that the last paragraph did mean that she made the right decision returning to Brooklyn.
Nora Webster, another one of Tóibín's, also briefly mentions 'Eily's children' and Tony, so it seems it worked out.
Sara Pezzati
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Centralcoaster
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Steven Smith
I think one reading is that the coming to mean more and more to her is in specific reference to the fact that they were spoken to Jim and she would regret the decision. However, my reading is that it was simply that her feelings seem to be governed mostly by her immediate surroundings and she literally meant that the fact of her leaving for Brooklyn would mean she would be spending the rest of her life in Brooklyn and all that it would mean for her. I think her near smile in the last sentence should give you good reason to feel that she made the right decision. For her, everything that is close at hand is real and the further she gets from a place in space and time, the more hazy, dream-like and unreal it becomes.
Michelle
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Jennani
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Cecily
Don't forget, she may have booked the boat, but at the bottom of her case, she packs <spoiler>the beach photo of her with Jim</spoiler>. Even if Tony never finds it, that suggests ambivalence than might not be a recipe for happiness.
Erin
I am in the same boat.....Given the fact that Eilis seems to be making peace with Tony throughout the novel, I think she is satisfied, but not entirely sure she made the right decision. Almost like she focuses on "what is" vs. what could have been. That being said, I believe, like the ending, Eilis isn't ever really sure....I wanted her mother to come with her so I would feel a little better :)
Vesna
I think, she loves her life in Brooklyn. She is a migrant, she loves her hometown, she loves that she is being attached and someone there, even more so when she comes back from America. I have a migrant background myself (short version: born in former YU, came as a child to Germany, loved my life there but felt torn, went back to home when 24 for 6 months and realized, I have become too much German so went back there) and you never loose this feeling that you cannot have both worlds and that you have to chose the one that is better for you. But when you visit, you really get very fast this feeling, that the other life is a fantasy. So, she chose to be Brooklyn Eilis instead of Enniscorthy Eilis and Tony maybe just came with that package, but still he was very good for her.
ARP
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Angie Nielsen
I loved this book, but the words indicate that while she loved her life in NYC, her decision to marry Tony was one that was rash. She made her peace as she made her promise is how I looked at it - a common rationale back in the day.
I do think Tony loved her very much (that no one can disagree with), but he also was firmly rooted in having a plan (get married, buy a house, etc. - common for a man back then but different in that he wholly supported her educational and career dreams, which while not common, there were those who were ahead of their time) whereas Eilis was rooted in logic but was a free spirit - and was able to maintain a balance between the two.
It was heartbreaking yet uplifting to read the end of the book.
I do think Tony loved her very much (that no one can disagree with), but he also was firmly rooted in having a plan (get married, buy a house, etc. - common for a man back then but different in that he wholly supported her educational and career dreams, which while not common, there were those who were ahead of their time) whereas Eilis was rooted in logic but was a free spirit - and was able to maintain a balance between the two.
It was heartbreaking yet uplifting to read the end of the book.
Giselle
I think that the last part probably eludes that she ends up having a happy life with Tony BUT i hate how the last few pages she was set on divorcing Tony and just because her old boss reveals that her secret isn't so secret and realizes her divorce wouldn't be so quietly covered up. Usually when i read a book with a love triangle I feel a sense of conclusion and relief that the character made up their mind but this story didn't. I think in the end the character neither wins nor loses in a way.
Marie Lutz
In the 1950s divorce was often a shameful thing. Unlike many other commentators I don’t think Eilis had any choice but to return to Tony. The author describes Jim as a rather conventional man. In a small town, could he have accepted the stigma of her divorce, the gossip, the condemnation of so many people? Could Eilis have tolerated it? Even if she could, I think she knew that Jim would reject her after he found out about her marriage. I think Eilis somewhat loved Tony while she was with him in Brooklyn and didn’t love him in Ireland. She was the kind of girl who became attached to the man she was with. The last paragraph means that Jim would forget about Eilis and she would accept the reality of Tony and Brooklyn. I don’t think she would be devastated about the way things turned out.
AP
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Hussain
How is Eilis different from her sister Rose? Why do you think Rose encouraged Eilis to go to America?
Tom
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Nancy Brennan
Did Eilis sleep with Jim?
Karen Hoagland
What did ilshes note to Jim say at the end of Long Island
Maria Rose
I am under the impression that Eilis is the passionate person she is about living her own life, plus dealing with the attitude ( both religious standards and moral standards) of that period, she felt she had no other choice but to keep her obligation to return to Tony since she was legally married to him, even though she was already questioning that choice. At this point in her life, she wasn't sure which person she wanted to be with as both treated her with respect, and she had created a life in America, so different from the old ways in Ireland that felt less stifling at this point
Marjorie Levin
Do Eilis and Jim get together at the end of the Life ng Island novel?
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