How does setting in "Araby" affect the story?

In Joyce's "Araby," the first setting is described in
terms of figurative blindness and paralysis (the street is a dead end, etc.)  This
reflects the young narrator's emotional and mental and spiritual states.  He is blinded
by illusion concerning Mangan's sister, his relationship with her, and the connection
between the religious and the secular.  He sees himself as a religious hero, the girl as
the embodiment of the Virgin Mary, and their relationship as something holy.  He is
unable to separate the religious and the secular.  He is figuratively
blind.

The setting of the bazaar, Araby, later turns out
not to be what he assumes it will be.  Instead of being unique and exotic, it is just a
mediocre traveling exhibit that sells trinkets, sponsored by the church to make money
for the church. 

This setting actually propels the narrator
toward his epiphany or awakening, during which he realizes that just as Araby is an
illusion, so is his idealized vision of the girl as the Virgin Mary, his view of himself
as a religious hero, and his view of their relationship as something
special.

In short, the dark, closed facility of the bazaar,
the trivial, senseless flirting he overhears, the rudeness of the worker, and the items
for sale lead the speaker to his epiphany.  Again, as Araby is not what he thought it
was, neither is Mangan's sister, etc. 

In the closing lines
of the story, the boy sees himself in a new way, and his
eyes burn--his blindness is lifted.