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Coming of Age
“Araby” can be classified as a bildungsroman which is a coming-of-age story that follows a young protagonist on their intellectual and moral journey from childhood to young adulthood. Joyce reveals to the reader that his young narrator is on the cusp of adolescence in the text’s opening paragraphs when he refers to the children’s play as their “career.” Joyce’s word choice is crucial because he implies that their time of playing in the street is almost at an end. Soon, they will all have actual careers and enter society as young men, leaving childhood behind. Joyce solidifies this component of his coming-of-age story towards the end of the text when the narrator chooses to stay inside and reflect on his emotions instead of rough-housing with his friends outside.
The narrator’s final transition from childhood to adulthood is marked by his disillusionment, in the text’s final scene. The narrator arrives at the bazaar intending to buy a gift to ingratiate himself to Mangan’s sister and win her love. However, once he is there, the narrator has a change of heart because the experience is not what he expected it to be and he loses hope in both the bazaar and his future with Manan’s sister. Tragic as it may be, the narrator’s disillusionment marks his departure from the idyllic world of childhood into the realistic adult world.
Exoticism as a Form of Escapism
It is part of human nature to dream of far off lands and exotic locations, but at no time is that activity more sacred and more practiced than in childhood when the line between fantasy and reality is at its thinnest. Most children engage in adventure-based make-believe as they begin to make sense of the world around them. However, as people grow older, the romanticization of foreign spaces can turn into a form of escapism as opposed to innocent play-pretend. This is the case for “Araby”’s young narrator. Whether consciously or not, the narrator characterizes his sleepy Dublin street as dull and uninspiring. He is bored of playing in the street, he finds school tedious, and he is unimpressed by the somber rows of identical houses. However, the apathetic language that the narrator uses to describe his home melts away into a romanticized exoticism the moment he starts to think about Araby. While this shift in tone can be partially attributed to his desire to procure a gift for Mangan’s sister at the bazaar, the narrator is notably drawn to the “magic[cal]” Eastern or Arabian world. As a result, readers are able to determine that the narrator engages in Eastern exoticism to escape the monotony of his daily life in North Dublin. However, Joyce cautions his readers to avoid similar practices because he ends his short story with the narrator realizing that his romanticization of the “exotic” Araby was both premature and misplaced.
Infatuation, Desire, and Developing Sexuality
“Araby” is a coming-of-age story but it is also a tale of young love and budding sexuality. Joyce’s young narrator has developed a powerful crush on his friend Mangan’s sister, so powerful that the narrator is unable to focus on anything else whether it be school, chores, or play. Some manifestations of the narrator’s feelings are innocent and childlike such as his inability to speak in her presence and his excitement whenever she comes to interrupt the boys’ play to call her brother to tea. However, other manifestations of the narrator’s feelings reveal that he is beginning to contemplate his own sexuality for the first time. For example, the narrator takes a voyeuristic pleasure from watching Mangan’s sister whether he is spying on her through the windows of his house or following her from a few paces behind on the street. While watching the girl from afar, the narrator is drawn to her sensual figure and is fixated on the way her body, clothes, and hair move as she walks. He is also eager to catch a glimpse of her white petticoat beneath her dress. Through the narrator’s lengthy descriptions of the girl’s appearance, readers can determine that his feelings for his friend’s sister are primarily based on physical attraction, even if he is too young to actually know what sex is. As a result, “Araby” tracks the narrator's developing sexuality as his sentiments blossom from a childish crush to full-fledged desire.
