By James Joyce .......North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet ...

and allure of the Middle East. When he crosses the river to attend the bazaar and purchase a gift for
the Mangan girl, it is as if he is crossing into a foreign land, like a knight-errant, on a mission on behalf
of his lady fair. But his trip to the bazaar disappoints and disillusions him, awakening him to the harsh
reality of life around him.
Ashpits: Perhaps symbols of the hellish life of many Dubliners.
Blind Street: Street that dead-ends. In the story and in real life, Dublin's North Richmond Street is a
dead end, as Joyce points out in the first four words of "Araby"—perhaps to suggest that the boys
playing on it are going nowhere. They will grow up to live in the same dreary Dublin, with its dreary
weather, dreary people, and dreary houses. In the third paragraph, the narrator describes the
depressing atmosphere:
When we met in the street the houses had grown sombre. The space of sky above us was the colour
of ever-changing violet and towards it the lamps of the street lifted their feeble lanterns. The cold air
stung us and we played till our bodies glowed. Our shouts echoed in the silent street. The career of
our play brought us through the dark muddy lanes behind the houses, where we ran the gantlet of the
rough tribes from the cottages, to the back doors of the dark dripping gardens where odours arose
from the ashpits, to the dark odorous stables . . . .
Brown: Color that Joyce uses in "Araby" to draw attention to the plainness and dreariness of Dublin.
(See the first paragraph.) He also uses it to describe the figure of the Mangan girl, for she conjured up
for him images of the Middle East, in particular the people of Arabia. But after he attends the bazaar,
he no doubt begins to associate the brownness of her figure with the dreary brownness of Dublin.
Café Chantant: In Europe, a café in which singers, dancers, and other entertainers performed for
patrons. Sometimes bawdy performances were featured. In "Araby," the presence of a café chantant
at the Grand Oriental Fête suggests that the bazaar is actually less than grand.
Devout Communicant: Abbreviation of a book title. The full title is The Devout Communicant, or Pious
Meditations and Aspirations for the Three Days Before and Three Days After Receiving the Holy
Eucharist. The author was Pacificus Baker (1695-1774), an English Franciscan priest. Joyce
mentions the book in "Araby" perhaps as a hint that the narrator equates his attraction to the Mangan
girl to a religious experience. Mention of the book also obliquely foreshadows the narrator's trip to the
bazaar to obtain a gift for the girl—a trip that to him is a like a quest for the Holy Grail.
Empty House: Two-story dwelling at the end of North Richmond Street. Joyce mentions it perhaps to
suggest an empty future awaiting the boys playing on the street.
Gantlet: Military punishment in which an offender was forced to run between two lines of men who
beat him with clubs when he passed.
Garden of the Priest: Garden of Eden, from which the priest and his religion emerged to labor in a
less-than-perfect world.
Mangan: James Mangan (1803-1849), whom Joyce read and wrote about. Mangan adopted a middle
name, Clarence, when he was a teenager. Mangan wrote poetry on romantic and patriotic themes,
notably poems supporting Irish nationalism. He also translated poetry from German and other
languages, including Ireland's Celtic language (sometimes referred to as Irish Gaelic). Some of his
translations include his own original writing, and some of his original poems are presented as
translations from Oriental languages. By giving the name Mangan to the girl with whom the young
"Araby" narrator is infatuated, Joyce links her with an author who sometimes wrote about exotic
eastern locales—in other words Araby.
O'Donovan Rossa: Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa (1831-1915), a revolutionary who worked to
overthrow British rule in Ireland.
Florin: British coin worth two shillings. Circulation of it began in 1849 and continued until 1971. In the
late nineteenth century, the coin bore the image of Queen Victoria on one side. The florin was a bitter
reminder to the Irish that they were under British rule.
Retreat: In Roman Catholicism, a period of seclusion for praying, meditating, receiving advice, and
discovering ways to improve one's moral life.
Salver: Tray.
Spike: Perhaps a phallic symbol. Joyce uses the word in the ninth paragraph. Here is the paragraph:
.......While she spoke she turned a silver bracelet round and round her wrist. She could not go, she
said, because there would be a retreat that week in her convent. Her brother and two other boys were
fighting for their caps, and I was alone at the railings. She held one of the spikes, bowing her head
towards me. The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her
hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing. At fell over one side of her dress
and caught the white border of a petticoat, just visible as she stood at ease.
Westland Row Station: Train station in South Dublin. Today it is known as Pearse Station.
Vidocq, Eugène François: Celebrated French adventurer. Between his adolescence and age twenty,