Keeping in mind that the story is written in the genre of naturalism, it appears that the depiction of life should be focused on de facto aspects of it. And yet, symbols have a critical part in James Joyce’s writing. The symbolic meaning of colors is hinted a throughout the author’s works, and “Eveline” is no exception at that. Yellow is the color of utter disturbance for the author; it symbolizes decay, something that wastes away inevitably, gets paralyzed, stagnated, and dies in the end.
Old people smile with yellowing teeth; the photo of the priest is yellow as well. The color might be used to convey the atmosphere of death (Eveline’s mother and brother) or depict the death of the priest himself. Another possible explanation is that the house – and its inhabitants – are static in time. The old neighbors move out, and the new ones come round, the field is built up with houses, and it is only Eveline’s house that is the same as before.