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On the morning of the bazaar, the narrator reminds his uncle that he plans to attend the event so that the uncle will return home early and provide the train fare. He then trudges to school, eager for the day to be over so that he can head to the bazaar. Unfortunately, dinner passes and a guest visits, but the narrator’s uncle does not return despite the reminder that morning. The narrator impatiently endures the time passing, wandering from room to room and singing to himself as a distraction. He stands at the window and sees his friends playing in the street but his sour mood and nervous disposition cause him to simply watch the merriment from the window instead of joining in himself. Instead, he gazes at Mangan’s house for an hour and imagines Mangan’s sister leaning on the fence just like she did when she asked him if he was planning on going to Araby.
Finally, the narrator’s uncle walks through the front door at 9:00 p.m, several hours after he was supposed to be back. The uncle is unbothered and unapologetic that he has forgotten about the narrator’s plans to go to the bazaar. The uncle attempts to joke with his nephew by reciting the epigram “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” while he hands over the money but the narrator is too frustrated to even smile. The uncle then asks him if he knows the poem “The Arab’s Farewell to his Steed,” but the narrator manages to leave just as his uncle begins to recite the lines and makes a hurried dash for the train station despite the late hour.
Thanks to eternally slow trains, the narrator arrives at the bazaar just before 10:00 p.m., when it is starting to close down. Undeterred, he approaches one stall that is still open and looks at its contents. While perusing porcelain vases and floral tea-sets, the narrator eavesdrops on the young woman watching over the stall as she flirts with two older customers and remarks that all three of them have English accents. The young woman asks him if he wishes to make a purchase, but the narrator derives from her tone and demeanor that she is addressing him out of obligation as opposed to friendly interest. The narrator’s excitement to be at Araby soon gives way to discomfort and apprehension because the young woman makes him feel unwanted and childish. As a result, the narrator does not buy anything. With no purchase for Mangan’s sister, the narrator stands angrily in the deserted bazaar as the lights go out.
