Long Island

Jim Farrell, one of the three point-of-view characters and love interest to both Nancy Sheridan and Eilis Lacey, struggles throughout Long Island to take definitive control of his life. Throughout the novel, Jim lives a comfortable life following the same routine he has followed since he was a young man. While he convinces himself that he is happy, his growing loneliness leads him to Nancy, the first woman he has truly felt for since Eilis Lacey left him two decades before. Eilis’s flight from him is the defining moment of his young life and continues to have implications for him even in the present: “With Eilis Lacey...he still wondered if he might have convinced her to stay. If she really was married, they could not have lived together in the town, but they could have gone somewhere else, or he could have followed her back to America” (103). Jim loves Eilis, even before she returns to Enniscorthy, and his biggest regret in life is that he was frozen by inaction when she left. His failure to pursue her or try to be with her haunts him, and he spends the majority of Long Island hoping to remedy this by pursuing her confidently.

Throughout the novel, Jim is more decisive with Eilis than he was 20 years prior, confidently expressing his feelings for her and his desire and willingness to be with her, even if it means he must move to America. Though this seemingly marks a change in his character, the change does not last. Confronted with a situation in which he must openly defy the town’s rigid morality to be with Eilis, he finds himself unable to do so. His indecision makes him a fairly static character. Despite this, Jim still believes he can pursue Eilis, though he is unsure how: “Maybe tomorrow he would have some idea what to do. But for now he would wait here, do nothing. He would listen to his own breathing and be ready to answer the door when Nancy came at midnight. That is what he would do” (294). As Jim waits for Nancy, unable to go after Eilis, he finds himself in a similar situation as he did when Eilis first left him. He cannot decide how best to convince her to be with him or what course of action to take to stop her from leaving. He is still indecisive, and his waiting for Nancy shows that he is more inclined to take the easier, more comfortable path.

Nancy Sheridan, the third point-of-view character and love interest of Jim Farrell, struggles throughout the novel with insecurity about her appearance, her career, and her relationship with Jim. Her need to keep her relationship with Jim a secret stems from her insecurity over how it will be received, especially so close to her daughter’s wedding. However, the insecurity that wracks Nancy even applies to her appearance, such as when she is upset over how she looks in front of Eilis: “She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the landing. In the future she resolved, she should make an effort to dress more carefully during the day, not just put on anything she found in the wardrobe that still fitted her” (71). Though Nancy often has an idea of what she needs or wants, she rarely has the confidence to pursue it outright. Even when she knows she does not want to run the chip shop, the only way she sees to achieve this is through a marriage with Jim, and she attempts to maneuver him into making the decision for her.

Despite her lack of confidence, Nancy grows over the course of Long Island, abandoning her insecurity after realizing that Eilis and Jim have rekindled their love. Nancy proves to be a dynamic character in the aftermath of this revelation by decisively announcing her engagement to Jim to the town. As Nancy acts decisively in these final scenes, her habitual indirectness becomes a strength. By announcing the engagement, she forces both Jim and Eilis to decide the status their own relationship without needing to confront either of them. To accomplish this, Nancy goes out into town to speak with people and show herself off, something she has not done in many years: “Normally, when she had to walk through town, she tried to avoid people who wanted to stop and talk. But this time she sought people out. She even made a visit to Dunnes Stores. And to everyone she met she showed the engagement ring” (274). Nancy’s parade through town is a marked change in her character, and she acts as though she is a different person. This confidence is later reflected in her meeting with Jim, in which she refuses to confirm that she knows about Jim and Eilis and approaches him in a way that challenges him to admit it. In the face of Nancy’s newfound decisiveness, Jim’s indecision becomes fatal: He backs down and acquiesces to her desires, further solidifying their engagement.

Mrs. Lacey, Eilis’s mother, is at times antagonistic toward her daughter, demonstrating the friction caused by Eilis’s time away in America. While Eilis’s return may be a moment of joy for Mrs. Lacey, she remains angry and resentful toward her daughter for leaving. She treats Eilis coldly, not wanting to hear about her life across the Atlantic: “Her mother did not mention Jim. Nor had she been eager to hear news of Tony and his family, and even Eilis’s efforts to talk about Rosella and Larry had not met with enthusiasm” (81). Mrs. Lacey’s refusal to share information with Eilis about life in Enniscorthy combined with her lack of interest in Eilis’ life wound Eilis, often causing her to take breaks from the house.

Over the course of the novel, Mrs. Lacey’s attitude changes as she proves to be a dynamic character who does indeed care for her family and feels pride for them. Despite the many contentious moments between Eilis and her mother, Eilis witnesses a wholly new person when Larry and Rosella arrive. Mrs. Lacey is kind to and interested in her grandchildren and even shows them off to the entire town at church: “Eilis realized that her mother had planned this moment, knowing the right time to step out into the aisle and how to walk back to her place as though no one was looking at her” (247). When Mrs. Lacey makes everyone in the family wait to be the last to receive communion, she does so to show Enniscorthy that her family cares for her and is there for her. She is showing off the success of Jack and the shine of her American grandchildren. This pride culminates in Mrs. Lacey’s plans to join Eilis in America, hoping to live with her and be close to her grandchildren.

Francesca, Eilis’s mother-in-law, is the closest character to an outright antagonist in Long Island. As Tony’s mother, she defends her son after his infidelity and tries her hardest to convince Eilis that the new baby belongs in the family. Francesca uses manipulation and flattery to get her way and keep peace amongst the family, often at the expense of others’ well-being. After the revelation of Tony’s child, Eilis prepares herself for Francesca’s efforts to minimize her discontent:

Francesca had a way of making everyone in the family, including Eilis herself, feel that they did no wrong. Even when Lena, in one of her rages, tried to run Enzo over in the driveway of their house, her mother-in-law declared that these things happened in the most loving families (22).

Francesca’s goal is to keep peace and keep the family together, most directly by keeping her sons happy. She cannot fathom not having Tony’s child involved in their family, and refuses to take Eilis’s feelings into account, though she often pretends to.

Manipulation is Francesca’s main tool when it comes to accomplishing her goals, and Eilis realizes this from an early moment. Though Eilis expresses her opinions on the child and Tony, Francesca refuses to budge, proving herself to be static in her antagonistic identity. Francesca ignores Eilis’s ultimatum, taking in the child and doing her best to convince her grandchildren that it is the right course of action, such as in the letter she writes to Rosella announcing the baby:

Your father is besotted with her and your grandfather has not stopped smiling since little Helen came into the house. He is already talking to her in Italian. I got the film developed extra fast because I knew you would want to see her. How lucky she is, I told her, to have a sister like you! (251).

By sending this letter, Francesca attempts to draw Rosella to her side, making her see that the baby is a blessing and a part of the family. She emphasizes how happy the child makes Tony, erasing any harm the child’s presence does to Rosella’s mother. 

Tony Fiorello is the husband and former love interest of Eilis Lacey, whose infidelity and dishonesty result in the deterioration of their once strong love. Tony is very emotionally dependent on Eilis, often spending much of his time with her and looking to her for support. He is an antagonist in Eilis’s eyes, however, as he lets his mother dictate how to approach the crisis of his new baby. Eilis knows that he loves her dearly, but also sees that this love will not triumph:

She knew that he must dread her going. If he really did not want her to go, she thought, all he had to say was that she would never see the baby and never have to worry about its being brought up by his mother. But it was clear to her now that he would not say that (51).

While Francesca tries her hardest to put the pressure of deciding the future of their marriage on Eilis, forcing her to either accept the baby or leave, Eilis sees the decision as belonging to Tony. She gives him her ultimatum, telling him it is either her or the child, and just as he is too afraid to tell her about the child himself, he is too afraid to accept her terms.

Larry and Rosella Fiorello are the children of Eilis and Tony and are the primary reason Eilis struggles to decide her future. She loves her children and fears realizes damaging her relationship with them by leaving Tony. Their different reactions to news of their parents’ possible split highlight their differences. Larry, the younger of the two, begs Eilis to not leave and change their lives: “I needed to tell you that I like things the way they are. I like how we are all together and maybe I complain sometimes when you or Rosella criticize me, but I don’t mean it. I wouldn’t want anything to change” (129). Larry goes so far as to hint that he believes he may be a reason behind her leaving, apologizing for his behavior and expressing his desire for nothing to change. Rosella takes a different tone and though she agrees with Larry on not wanting change, she centers her mother in her thinking: “I don’t want you to be unhappy. And I am going to college. From next month I will be away most of the time. But I’d like to come home and find you and Dad and Larry there. Of course I would!” (211). Rosella recognizes that Eilis staying may cause her mother pain and that her near departure for college represents a new stage in her life in which she will not be as connected to the family. Both of her children put pressure on Eilis and make her consider what she wants her life to look like and how her desired relationship with her children will impact her decision related to Tony.