Paralysis & Epiphany

Emotional paralysis is equally pronounced, as characters are trapped in cycles of longing and regret, unable to bridge the gap between fantasy and reality. In “Araby,” the unnamed boy’s infatuation with Mangan’s sister drives him to idealize the Araby bazaar as a place where he can transcend the mundane and prove his love. Yet his journey to the bazaar—delayed by obligation, hindered by poverty, and culminating in the discovery of a closed, mundane market—ends in disillusionment. Standing in the darkness, he experiences an epiphany: “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.” This moment of self-realization exposes the futility of his romantic illusions, yet it does not propel him to action; instead, he remains trapped in the same cycle of longing and inaction. Similarly, in “Eveline,” the protagonist stands at the dock, torn between escaping her abusive father and clinging to the familiar miseries of her life. Despite her vow to “escape from home,” she is ultimately paralyzed by fear of the unknown, her hand “cold and clammy” as she renounces her chance at freedom, a decision that underscores the power of habit and fear to crush hope.