Araby (James Joyce): Theme of Universal Frustration

'Araby' by James Joyce turns on the theme of relation between dreams and reality. It is basically a story of Joyce's own childhood. As a boy he lived in the drab surroundings of Dublin City. He pined for romance and beauty. The beautiful sister of his friend, Mangan brought for him the taste of romance and ideal beauty. Her image haunted him night and day in lonely hours and in the crowds and noises of the street. He had never spoken to her. Her figure and gestures tingled his blood and thrilled his senses and mind. One evening he felt the passion of love.
           One day, his dream girl spoke to him. She spoke about the dream land Araby. Araby was an oriental fete associated with glamour and grandeur. It was another romantic affair for him. It was made more romantic and ideal because his dream girl spoke about it. He resolved to go there on next Saturday.  He was so excited and he was like a knight of the Medieval age going out of an adventure for the sake of his lady love.
           He reached the place late at night. Many stalls were closed and the hall was partly dark. A few men gathered here and there. Before a cafe two men were counting money. In another stall, a young lady was gossiping with two gentlemen with frivolous manner. She asked him of he would buy anything in a casual manner. He left the stall in disgust. Two pennies from his pocket fell on the floor. Then there was complete darkness in the hall. He left the place in anguish and anger.
          Araby fell far short of his dreams. His dream world was shattered to pieces and he came to know the reality of the bazar, where coins were counted and gossip was done. There was the same dullness and darkness here. He thought that Araby was full of romance and grandeur for all time. But here also as night drew near, darkness pervaded the place.
            The story may be taken as a frustrated quest for the ideal beauty. The story records the universal frustration in the universal search for the ideal deep in the human heart, there is the craving for beauty and romance. The boy's excursion into dreamland of Araby at the command of his lady love whose image he carries in the heart symbolizes the universal yearning for ideal beauty. The boy's failure to realise the ideal, his mortification and anger at the dullness of Araby, his disillusionment signify the universal failure and frustration in realising the ideal beauty.