In 1905-1906, Joplin published four piano pieces named after women; his marriage had been in trouble for a while and it was rumored that at least one of these pieces—Leola—was named for a girlfriend. The inspiration of Eugenia remains unknown; Joplin's pieces were often given titles that had more to do with the arbitrarily selected cover illustrations than the character or background of the music. At any rate, Eugenia is a rather sensual piece as rags go, its first theme slithering chromatically up and down the scale. The second strain dips gently into the minor mode without dampening the music's happy nature, the third strips off some of the syncopation, and the fourth turns mock-noble, as if Sarastro had just cakewalked in from The Magic Flute. Throughout, Joplin toys with harmonic instability. If Eugenia was one of Joplin's lovers, she obviously left him unsure of where he stood.

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