Eilis Fiorello

Eilis Fiorello is one of the novel’s main characters. In the narrative present, Eilis is married to an Italian man named Tony Fiorello, with whom she has two children, Rosella and Larry. The family lives in Long Island. Some years prior, Tony, his parents, and his brothers built “four houses in a cul-de-sac” in the Lindenhurst neighborhood (29). The families spend all of their time together, which often makes Eilis feel claustrophobic and trapped. Her Italian relatives are not only nosy and boisterous, but often treat her in a condescending manner. She feels particularly affronted when they attribute her moods and behaviors to her Irish background.

After Eilis learns that Tony got another woman pregnant, her sense of truth and reality changes. To make matters worse, the woman’s husband has promised to leave the baby on her doorstep after its birth. Not long later, the news...