From a distance, James Joyce’s
"Araby" might appear to be a love story in which the author tries to
convey the boy's final realization that true love not only internal or
religious as he thought it would be, but also secular and flirtatious. After
all, when the nameless narrator elaborated the North Richmond Street as a
"blind" and "quiet" street where the "houses had grown
somber" and "cold air stung us," the boy seems to be one of the
more innocent people in the village. Meanwhile, the boy gets to establish
fantasies about the girl he loves, with his eyes often "full of
tears" and at times "a flood from his heart seemed to pour itself out
into his bosom." The boy then seems to reach his epiphany in the very last
sentence of the story: "I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by
vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger," which indicates his loss
of innocence and rage at the realization. However, on the other hand, such
interpretation of the story is misleading. The boy was already aware of physical
love himself since he first met the girl, given by the part where he notices
every little movement of the girl: "she turned a silver bracelet round and
round her wrist," and "The white curve of her neck, lit up her hair
that rested there and, falling…" In the first place, the boy begins his
ecstasy of love after witnessing the physical attractiveness of the girl,
provided that he did not speak to her very often and that he did not know her
very well. The problem is that he did not want to admit that he was not
religious; he believed that his love was innocent. But still, he could not
refuse to take a look at her physical appearance, saying "I was thankful
that I could see so little." This situation can be attributed to the
effect of the religious village on the boy. (ex) The Catholics say people
should repress their sexual desires and love that relies on physical attractiveness
is wrong and improper. The whole village has religious atmosphere, and this
religious thought is also dominant on the boy's uncle and aunt he is living
with. (ex) Since it is inevitable for a child to be affected by his
environment, the boy tries his best to repress his sexual emotions toward the
girl, which is obviously too hard for him. Consequently, it can be concluded
that the boy is having an internal conflict between his instinct and his religious
beliefs. Therefore, it is perhaps more accurate to assume that
"Araby" discloses the idea that the boy is disappointed at himself, particularly
his instinct, not at realization of true love nor the girl. In this sense, he
is despaired because he finds out that he himself was not truly religious, and
that his background is inevitably portrayed in his true personality and
identity.
