Araby

Araby Summary | Detailed Summary

The narrator describes his adolescent crush on the sister of his friend, Mangan. As a boy, he lived on a quiet cul-de-sac in Dublin. There was an uninhabited house standing at the end of the street, detached from the other houses. These houses faced one another so it was possible for the boy to watch his neighbors. The house in which the boy lived was formerly occupied by a priest. When the priest died, the boy, his aunt, and his uncle moved into the house. They found its rooms musty, and discarded papers had been left in a room behind the kitchen. Among these papers, the boy found several old books: a novel by Walter Scott, a devotional book, and the memoirs of a legendary detective. The narrator remembers that he liked the detective book best because its pages were yellowed. There was a garden behind the house with an apple tree and some ragged bushes. Under one of the bushes, the boy found the priest's rusted bicycle pump. The narrator describes the priest as very charitable because he left all of his money to institutions and his furniture to his sister.

In winter, the early dusk fell before the boy and his friends had eaten dinner. They stayed out in the street as long as they could, however, playing until they were called home. They regularly tried to avoid those who would make them go inside, hiding in the shadows if they saw the narrator's uncle or lurking out of sight by the doorstep where Mangan's sister stood to call him home to tea. The boy paid close attention to the sister, noting how her braided hair and her dress would toss and swing as she moved, and became infatuated with her.

The narrator describes how, when he was a boy, he watched the door of Mangan's house every morning from behind a nearly closed blind. He waited to see the sister come out on the doorstep. When she did, he would grab his school books and follow her. Close to the place where their paths diverged, he would hurry to pass her. He performed these same actions morning after morning, but never spoke to the girl except casually. The narrator remembers how just the mention of her name made his blood rush.

The image of Mangan's sister stayed on his mind even in places that were not in keeping with romantic thoughts. During the shopping trips when he had to accompany his aunt and help her carry things, he moved through the crowded noisy streets thinking about Mangan's sister and feeling emotions and yearnings he did not quite understand.

One dark rainy night the boy went into the room in his house where the priest had died. It was quiet in the room except for the sound of rain. The only light came from a distant source, but the boy was glad the darkness hid his desires. He stayed in the room, giving himself up to feelings of love.

Finally, Mangan's sister spoke to the boy, asking him if he was going to go to the Araby bazaar. She told him that she wanted to go but she was scheduled to go on a religious retreat at the time the bazaar would be held. The boy promised her that if he went to Araby he would bring her a souvenir.

After making this promise to the girl, the boy could think of nothing else. His schoolwork and family chores became obstacles to his goal. He lost patience with all of his regular activities, which seemed childish to him and much less important than going to Araby and bringing something back for Mangan's sister. When he asked his aunt for permission to go she was surprised at his desire but, with some misgivings about the bazaar being a Freemason event, she ultimately agreed that he could go.

On the morning of the day he wanted to go to Araby he reminded his uncle about his plans, since the uncle would have to give him some money for the event. His uncle brushes him aside with an offhand comment and said he knew the boy wanted to go. The boy felt less than comfortable with his uncle's response and was out of sorts all day. When he came home for dinner his uncle had not yet arrived and so he wandered through the empty upstairs rooms of the house, singing. He watched his friends playing in the street below, but could focus on nothing but the image of Mangan's sister in his mind. A neighbor woman came to visit and stayed for tea, and the boy had to listen to the woman and his aunt gossiping. The woman left, and his uncle had still not arrived. His aunt commented that he would have to give up his plan to visit the bazaar because it was getting to be too late.

The uncle finally came home at nine o'clock, having forgotten about the boy's desire to go to Araby. The aunt chided him for this and asked him to give the boy some money so he could go, despite the fact that it was so late. The uncle apologized for forgetting and gave the boy money. He then started to recite poetry about an Arab and his horse.

The boy grasped the money tightly and walked to the train station through the crowded city streets. The train he took was a special one chartered just to take visitors to the bazaar. Because of the late hour, the boy was the only passenger in the train. The train moved slowly through the rainy night and crossed the river. At one station people tried to get on but the conductor said it was a special train and turned them away. At ten minutes to ten, the boy finally arrived at the building housing Araby.

Because he could not find a less expensive entrance, the boy paid a higher than planned price to go inside the large hall. Almost all of the vendor stalls were closed, and much of the hall was dark. There were a few people looking at the merchandise of the stalls that were still open. The boy watched two men counting money in a closed café. He then remembered that he had come to the bazaar to buy a gift for Mangan's sister.

He went to one of the stalls where the sales girl was talking and laughing with two young men. He listened to the conversation and noted that they all had English accents. When the girl saw him, she came over to ask if he wanted to buy anything. The boy was not encouraged by her tone and so he told her no. The girl went back to chatting with the men but looked toward the boy from time to time. The boy stayed at her stall to show he was interested in the merchandise, but he felt it was useless to be there and walked away. As he walked through the darkened hall, more lights were turned off along the upstairs gallery. He clutched what was left of the money in his pocket. He felt hurt and angry because of his experience. He realized that Araby had been a disappointment and admitted to himself that he had become a victim of his own vanity.