J. Joyce's "Araby" undoubtedly deals with the torturous experience of a first love. And as with most "first loves," it is never really true love that the hero of the story feels towards Mangan's sister, but rather an obsession and a longing for her as he watches from the safety of windows and street corners.
The innocent, almost "coming of age" aspect of this story could be compared to the author's rather infamous wrestle with his Catholic faith.
In the story, the boy feels a powerful draw toward the sister of his friend, and breathes her name as if it were a prayer. When he hears her disappointment at not being able to attend a festival, he immediately decides that it is his duty to attend the event for her and bring her back a souvenir, almost like a promise to serve God while awaiting His return on earth.
However, when he arrives at the bazaar late, due to the sins of his forgetful uncle, he is suddenly hit with a dark reality. He realizes in the dim atmosphere of the closing festival, that he is not on this self-imposed quest so much for his "love" of Mangan's nameless sister, as he is for himself and his own vanity.
Contrary to the priest, a man of holiness, who was reading novels of romance before his death, the boy in the story was perhaps seeking holiness in his romantic yearning for Mangan's sister.
The story of "Araby" could possibly be looked at as the disappointing outcome of a self-serving faith. Instead of finding a meaningful or fulfilling expression of love at the bazaar, the main character is left with only "anguish and anger" and Qoheleth's cry of vanity.
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