James Joyce’s Representation Of Love In Araby
What is Love? Oxford English Dictionary describes love as a deep affectionate feeling for another person. We humans are driven to love and want it to be fulfilled. James Joyce’s short story “Araby” disagreed with that perception. Araby is a story that portrays love in a way which is worthless and will result in a poorer quality of existence. Joyce illustrates this concept through the experiences of his protagonist and their differences.
Joyce does not give the name of the narrator, a young Catholic boy and “Magan’s Sister”, his love interest. The author, by removing the narrator’s identity and allowing him to follow his shallow love perception, removes his self-identity. Joyce’s boy lives in a desolate and dark environment. He is unable detach from it until he meets a girl who he can get lost in. Joyce shows the reader this with the narrator’s description, “a lamp ….. was caught on the white curve in her neck. It lit up all her hair”. The boy is only interested in her exterior, and does not care about her interior. The boy’s lack of understanding of her personality is further demonstrated by the symbolism that she vaguely resembles a lamp. Joyce shows how the narration assigns personality traits to her based on his physical observations. Joyce questions society’s societal values, asking why humans are more satisfied by aesthetics than any personal intimacy.
The narrator, in order to further understand Joyce’s concern, questions his motives through his journey. After overcoming obstacles and completing his journey to find love and success, he suddenly realised that he is “a creature driven by vanity”. He describes himself in a passive voice as a creature, embarrassed by the effects of his journey. This anticlimactic ending forces the reader into a state of confusion, and makes them question whether love is really worth it. Joyce argues against the notion that love brings fulfillment, insisting that it can only be achieved by separating oneself away from true friends. This will, in turn, decrease satisfaction and the quality of your life.
The story begins with the narrator reflecting on his friendships and the “screams that echo in the still street”. Silence is used to emphasize the lack of sound, evoking fear and loneliness. Joyce brings attention to how the shouts of the children filled in the empty space. The importance of friendships is also highlighted, along with the way they could overcome emotional challenges.
Joyce says that love does not fulfill and explains how it will only lead to loneliness, pain and a loss of friends. Author Joyce expresses doubts in love by using anonymity, vivid images, imagery, contrast, symbolism, and vivid imagery. Joyce adds the journey of finding love often produces pain that is unfulfilling due to an anti-climactic outcome. In response, he asks if love is worth the pain.
