Absence of Love in Brooklyn

Oftentimes, love is romanticized as warm, sincere, kind, gentle, honest, and authentic. Love can have an infinite number of meanings depending on the context in which it’s used. A prominent theme throughout Brooklyn, written by Colm Tóibín and its film adaptation directed by John Crowley, is the recurrence of love, or lack thereof. Both the novel and its subsequent film follow an Irish woman, Eilis Lacey as she works on the shop floor of Bartocci’s Department Store. Shortly after, she travels from Enniscorthy, County Wexford to America in search of new opportunities. While in Brooklyn, New York, Eilis embarks on a journey of self-discovery and meets an Italian fellow, Tony Fiorello, whom she eventually secretly marries. All is well until family hardships call her back to Ireland where she begins mingling with Jim Farrell. Despite being married, Eilis begins questioning whether she truly loves and wants to be with Tony. Ultimately, she decides to return to Brooklyn to be with her husband. The theme of love is portrayed as complicated in Brooklyn when in reality, it’s simply nonexistent. From her relationship with Tony Fiorello to her entanglement with Jim Farrell, Eilis Lacey’s uncertainty and hesitancy emphasize the absence of love throughout both texts. By analyzing Eilis’ dialogue and actions, we can conclude that she returns to America not for the sake of her marriage but because of her ambitions and aspirations.

Brooklyn conveys how unsure Eilis was about her love for Tony soon after meeting him. Tony’s thoughts are direct, and his feelings are sincere as opposed to Eilis. In part three of the novel, just before their marriage, Tony impulsively brings up how he wants their children to be Dodgers fans. She was baffled by this remark, and it led her to ponder other things he’s said to her: “…he had begun to tell her after he kissed her that he loved her and she knew that he was waiting for a response, a response that, so far, she had not given,” (Tóibín 148). Similarly, one Friday at the dancehall, Tony “whispered to her once more that he loved her. When she did not respond…he whispered it to her again. Without warning, she found herself pulling away from him,” (Tóibín 149). As a result of Tony’s intense feelings, Eilis becomes uncomfortable since she doesn’t fully know or understand her feelings and emotions. This interaction between the two further stresses the idea of Eilis’ uncertainty. Although minor, this is the first instance in which Eilis wonders about her true feelings for Tony. Her inability to say “I love you” back to Tony shows how her feelings aren’t nearly as strong as his or are nonexistent altogether. This combined with Eilis’ actions contribute to one common theme: her inability to confess her love for Tony to others. Interestingly in the adaptation, Jim Crowley “eschew[s] voiceover narration, they stay outside the head of Eilis… her core thoughts and feelings become more enigmatic and even more suggestive than they are in the book,” (Sragow 71). Her feelings are even more questionable since we can’t see her internal thoughts, adding to the complexity of Eilis’ character. In both instances, her lack of communication and expression highlights her commitment issues, reluctance, and uncertainty regarding her relationship with Tony.

Eilis Lacey creates a sense of falsehood regarding her fondness for Tony by contradicting her feelings for him. Following the visit to the beach with her good friend, Nancy Byrne, her husband, George Sheridan, and Jim Farrell, Eilis had doubtful thoughts about Tony. “She wished now that she had not married him, not because she did not love him and intend to return to him, but because not telling her mother and her friends made every day she had spent in America a sort of fantasy…” (Tóibín 226). While Eilis claims to love her husband, her view dramatically shifts during her visit to Ireland. After seeing Nancy and George walk down the aisle, she began to think about how much she longed for what they had: “sweetness, certainty, and innocence,” (Tóibín 246). Her thinking shows that she feels as though these traits are missing from her marriage. She would have no reason to yearn for a marriage like Nancy and George’s if she truly loved and cared for Tony. Equally, it hints at her need to conform to the societal standards of Irish culture: “…church representatives believed that marriage satisfied natural male and female desires to marry and establish households,” (Burns 43). This also emphasizes the contrast between Eilis’ and Tony’s two cultures: Irish and Italian.

Likewise, differences in their background and Eilis’ desire to follow custom contribute to her inability to confess her love for Tony and accept their marriage for what it is. “The major difference between the Irish and Italians…[is] that the Irish had larger family size ideals than the Italians, and that the difference was greater in the younger than older age group,” (Vosburgh & Juliani 278). This also emphasizes the contrast between Eilis’ and Tony’s two cultures: Irish and Italian. This evidence not only emphasizes the contrast between their cultures but also shows that there’s a greater obligation for the Irish to follow tradition compared to the Italians. Throughout both the novel and its film adaptation, Eilis remains reluctant to tell people about Tony. In both cases, we’re under the impression that she refrains from doing so because she fears for her reputation; however, this is only true to a certain extent. Instead, she avoids discussing Tony with others in Ireland because she constantly questions her love for him and fears her family’s opinion of him. Therefore, seeing the purity between the married couple prompted Eilis to reconsider her marriage and instead, imagine one with Jim. This contradiction between her previous and current ideas adds to her inconsistency, lack of love for her Tony, and family ideals, which she is hesitant to follow. 

In addition to Eilis’ uncertainty, her disloyalty to Tony also plays a part in why it’s safe to say she doesn’t love him. While in Ireland, Eilis often finds herself in the company of Nancy, George, and Jim. By the end of the novel, Eilis has created an avid bond with Jim Farrell. After being with him one night at the dancehall, she briefly comments on how she views him: “He was handsome, graceful, smart, and, as the night wore on, she was proud to be with him. Now, they found a space in between a guest house and a new bungalow and began to kiss,” (Tóibín 237). Early in the film, Jim Farrell had zero interest in Eilis, making the audience wonder why she is proud to be in his arms (Crowley 2015). This contrast shows us that since going to America, Eilis is now more appealing in the eyes of Jim. It also highlights how a part of her seeks something more within their relationship, which leads to her disloyalty. If she genuinely had a love for Tony, she wouldn’t think so deeply about another man. Despite her marriage, she ultimately cheats on her husband with Jim Farrell, exhibiting how untrustworthy and unfaithful she is. Her quickness to turn on Tony and engage in a romance with Jim strengthens my main argument: she doesn’t love Tony or never loved him initially. During her stay in Ireland, Eilis refuses to tell anyone about her secret marriage and independent lifestyle in Brooklyn. Consequently, she acts upon the newfound attention received from Jim, which represents her willingness to pursue him. Again, we can see how Eilis feels about the two men in her life.

Although there are quite a few differences between Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn and its subsequent film, the idea that love is absent remains consistent. They demonstrate Eilis Lacey as complex and indecisive regarding her marriage to Tony Fiorello. It not only highlights Irish tradition as a hindrance but also represents it as an essential part of her uncertainty and refusal to discuss her marriage. Acknowledging that Brooklyn is hardly a love story paves the way for an alternative way of thinking about the novel. Other themes that have emerged from and may further explain the absence of love in Brooklyn include Irish and Italian customs, immaturity, and self-discovery, all contributing to understanding the many layers of Brooklyn.

References

Burns, Catherine M. “The Courtship of John Rooney and Katharine Cusack, 1887-93: Obligations and Marriage Ideals in Irish-American New England.” New Hibernia Review, vol. 16 no. 4, 2012, p. 43-63. Center for Irish Studies at the University of St. Thomas Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/nhr.2012.0047.

Crowley, John. Brooklyn. Twentieth Century Fox, 2015.

Sragow, Michael. “Brooklyn.” Film Comment, vol. 51 no. 6, 2015, p. 71.

Tóibín, Colm. Brooklyn. Simon & Schuster, 2010.

Vosburgh, Miriam G. Juliani, Richard N. “Contrasts in Ethnic Family Patterns: The Irish and the Italians.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies, vol. 21 no. 2, 1990, p. 269-286.

This was originally created as part of a class assignment for Writing and Critical Inquiry at the University of Virginia.