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James Joyce’s “Araby” is both a bildungsroman and a tale of young love about an unnamed boy living in North Dublin. A bildungsroman is a coming-of-age story that follows a young protagonist on their intellectual and moral journey from childhood to young adulthood. Because “Araby” is a bildungsroman, the text’s central conflict is the narrator’s quest for maturity which is represented by his (ultimately unsuccessful) pursuit of Mangan’s sister.
“Araby” opens with the unnamed narrator giving an account of his neighborhood and the games that he and his friends used to play when they were released from school. As is often the case with Joyce, the setting is crucial. “Araby” is a coming-of-age story and a love story, but it is also a story about Ireland. “Araby” is part of Dubliners, a collection of fifteenshort stories about life in Dublin at the start of the twentieth century. Joyce immerses his readers in Dublin life in the text’s opening paragraphs in which the narrator offers a vivid depiction of North Richmond Street. As a result, it becomes impossible to imagine “Araby” taking place anywhere else. Joyce’s attention to detail when it comes to the sights and experiences of Dublin persists throughout the text to such a degree that Dublin, itself, feels like a supporting character in the unfolding story.
The reader quickly learns that the narrator is obsessed with his friend Mangan’s sister as the opening paragraphs progress. Interestingly, Joyce begins the tale with the narrator already aware of his feelings instead of showing the reader the moment that cupid’s arrow first struck. As a result, the narrator’s relationship with Mangan’s sister is kept at a distance from the reader because we have no idea how long his infatuation has been going on. This contributes to the sense of voyeurism that purveys the text because Joyce forces the reader to make assumptions about the narrator and Mangan’s sister based on the brief glimpses that we are allotted. The narrator’s feelings for Mangan’s sister are also crucial to his coming-of-age story because his romantic and sexual attraction to the girl across the street shows that he is on the path from childhood to young adulthood.
The narrator sets the scene by describing his growing infatuation with Mangan’s sister. He is afraid to actually talk to her, but he is always watching her. For instance, he waits by the window until he sees her leave the house so that he can walk on the street behind her. The narrator also spends most of his time thinking about Mangan’s sister, so much so that he is unable to concentrate in school. While the narrator uses the word “love” to describe the strength of his feelings, Joyce includes these one-sided moments to show that the narrator does not really know the object of his affection because he is unable to make a meaningful connection with her.
The inciting incident of the story occurs when Mangan’s sister asks the narrator if he is intending to attend the bazaar at Araby and laments that she cannot go herself because her school is having a retreat that week. After the narrator is able to overcome the shock of Mangan’s sister actually speaking to him, he says that he will bring her back a gift if he goes. This is a crucial interaction because the narrator starts to romanticize Araby and sees the bazaar as an exotic escape from his sleepy and narrow life in Dublin as well as a chance to improve his relationship with Mangan’s sister. It is also an important step in his coming-of-age story because most bildungsroman narratives hinge on a quest that forces the protagonist to develop in the real world outside the comforts and routine of home.
However, when the narrator actually arrives, Araby is not what he expected it to be. He is met with English accents and common home goods as opposed to exotic people and items. He is also embarrassed by a shopkeeper at one of the stalls who makes him feel like a little boy instead of a real customer. In the story’s climax, the narrator’s aspirations are shattered and he is unable to buy anything for Mangan’s sister. As the bazaar closes down, he realizes that Mangan’s sister will fail his expectations as well, and that his desire for her is actually only a vain wish for change. The narrator’s change of heart concludes the story in a moment of epiphany, but not a positive one. Instead of reaffirming his love or realizing that he does not need gifts to express his feelings for Mangan’s sister, the narrator simply gives up. He seems to interpret his arrival at the bazaar as it fades into darkness as a sign that his relationship with Mangan’s sister will also remain just a wishful idea and that his infatuation was as misguided as his fantasies about the bazaar. Tragic as it may be, the narrator’s disillusionment marks his departure from the idyllic world of childhood into the realistic adult world.
