Araby

Araby’s Bazaar is a Dublin market organized by a religious organization as a way to raise money. The market is famous for selling objects from Asia, and these objects are particularly interesting to Mangan’s sister, who regrets that she will not be able to attend the market. The name of the market hints at the intrigue that Araby’s Bazaar poses to a young girl who likely has never left her home country. The items sold at the bazaar represent the world beyond Ireland; they symbolize the broader world which is only accessibly to the children of Dublin through the cheap trinkets sold from a market stall. Like the narrator’s conception of romance, Mangan’s sister’s conception of foreign cultures is limited. She is intrigued by the rest of the world, just as the narrator is intrigued by love. She can only conceive of foreign lands through a distinctly limited framework, however, just as the narrator can only express his love through a religious framework. The bazaar becomes a symbol of the desire to learn more while simultaneously representing the limited worldviews of the children in the story.

The bazaar is also an important symbol of the desires of Mangan’s sister.