Longing for the Forbidden: Desire, a Swayed Powerful Force Existing within the Human
In James Joyce’s coming-of-age short story Araby, a young Catholic Irish boy becomes strongly attracted to his friend’s sister. She asks whether he is going to Araby, an oriental bazaar, which she is unable to attend because of a retreat in her convent. To the narrator, she symbolizes the tempting idea of pleasure and change from his ordinary life. He is determined to seek her affection; therefore, he offers to buy her a gift from Araby. However, his efforts end up being discouraged and his sexual desire and romantic idealism are ultimately unsatisfied. The boy has been raised in a faithful Catholic family, and this religious background has shaped how he understands …show more content…
Thus, he resorts to the familiar language represented by the religious allusions to express what love means to him. The narrator is infatuated with his neighbor Mangan’s sister, and he idealizes her throughout the story: “Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance” (Joyce 454). He is overwhelmed and obsessed by her that he pictures her in places where a person would not normally even think of romance. Her physical descriptions, which illustrate that he wants her, help in understanding his sexual attraction towards her: “The light from opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand on the railing” (454). However, because he considers himself a religious follower, he cannot combine his romantic fantasies with religion; he has to set a barrier: “I stood by the railings looking at her” (454). The altar rails in a Catholic church separate the congregation and the holy altar. Therefore, the boy redefines his “confused adoration” in religious terms to permit himself to both daydream of her and not taint his religious principles. Furthermore; his fiction romance consumes his thoughts to the point where he worships her: “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand” (454). He buys into the notion of giving her a sacred image: “I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes” (454); he associates her to the holy chalice in the Last Supper, indicating that she holds as much of a value to him as religion does. Hence, he disobeys one of the guidelines written by the apostle Paul: “put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5”(
In James Joyce’s coming-of-age short story Araby, a young Catholic Irish boy becomes strongly attracted to his friend’s sister. She asks whether he is going to Araby, an oriental bazaar, which she is unable to attend because of a retreat in her convent. To the narrator, she symbolizes the tempting idea of pleasure and change from his ordinary life. He is determined to seek her affection; therefore, he offers to buy her a gift from Araby. However, his efforts end up being discouraged and his sexual desire and romantic idealism are ultimately unsatisfied. The boy has been raised in a faithful Catholic family, and this religious background has shaped how he understands …show more content…
Thus, he resorts to the familiar language represented by the religious allusions to express what love means to him. The narrator is infatuated with his neighbor Mangan’s sister, and he idealizes her throughout the story: “Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance” (Joyce 454). He is overwhelmed and obsessed by her that he pictures her in places where a person would not normally even think of romance. Her physical descriptions, which illustrate that he wants her, help in understanding his sexual attraction towards her: “The light from opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand on the railing” (454). However, because he considers himself a religious follower, he cannot combine his romantic fantasies with religion; he has to set a barrier: “I stood by the railings looking at her” (454). The altar rails in a Catholic church separate the congregation and the holy altar. Therefore, the boy redefines his “confused adoration” in religious terms to permit himself to both daydream of her and not taint his religious principles. Furthermore; his fiction romance consumes his thoughts to the point where he worships her: “Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand” (454). He buys into the notion of giving her a sacred image: “I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes” (454); he associates her to the holy chalice in the Last Supper, indicating that she holds as much of a value to him as religion does. Hence, he disobeys one of the guidelines written by the apostle Paul: “put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5”(