The scene at Bartocci's with Dorothy
I sensed that this scene wanted to display how Irish people are compared to Americans. Dorothy was all social and Eilis wasn't. Or was it just a scene showing that Eilis was shy and reserved?
shareTo me it is a bit of both. Certainly Eilis took some time, naturally, to get in sync with American customs, but she was mainly shy and compliant, we saw that even before she left Ireland and on the ship to America. It is just her character trait, however she began to break out of it when she confronted Mrs Kelly's meddling right before she returned to Tony.
..*.. TxMike ..*..
Having lived in England (and from an Italian family originally from Brooklyn) I will say that the British and Irish always note that Americans are much more open and outgoing with strangers than they are. Especially for someone from a small town where "everyone knows your auntie" as they say in the film. America is a mobile society so culturally we are more open to outsiders.
A friend of mine is married to a Scot and on a bus here in Chicago, her in-laws were shocked that she just got into a conversation with another rider (they both had infants and so there was a bond there immediately).
To Eillis that would have been odd and discomforting.