The main
characters in "" are the narrator, an unnamed young man, Mangan's sister, and the
uncle.
- The narrator
The youth
takes the reader on a journey of the mind as his perceptions, which certainly extend beyond the
temporal, are what are presented in the narration. His romantic illusions recreate Mangan's
sister, the object of his romantic desire, and imbue her with his shrouded lust as he stays in
the shadows and defines her "by the light from the half-opened door" in which she
stands. As he carries groceries for his aunt, he imagines that he is a knight who bears the Holy
Grail: "I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes."
Of
course, these illusions do not last, and after he goes to the bazaar, the narrator's fog of
adolescent lust clears and he sees himself "as a creature driven and derided by
vanity" in a crushing epiphany.
- Mangan's sister
Originally perceived as "shrouded in mystery," Mangan's sister is
more mundane than the narrator realizes. She, too, is not named in order to convey how
impractical and illusory the narrator's perception of her is. He has elevated her to an almost
saintly position as he sees her with an aura of light behind her. Yet, she is no spiritual
creature as she is described as turning "a silver bracelet round and round her
wrist."
- The uncle
The
narrator's uncle seems to display little concern for the youth's desires. When the youth reminds
his uncle on Saturday that he wishes to attend the bazaar in the evening, his uncle answers
curtly, "Yes, boy, I know." However, he neglects to return until nine o'clock because
he has stopped at the pub and he has forgotten. He apologizes, but detains the youth as he asks
his nephew if he knows The Arab's Farewell to His Steed, and he begins to
recite the first lines.
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