Discuss and consider the role of women in Stephen Dedalus' creative

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Discuss and consider the role of women in Stephen Dedalus' creative

process, how is this reflected in the language and narrative of the

novel?

From the very first page of "A portrait of the artist as a young man",

where Stephen Dedalus writes in simplistic and linear style and uses

inarticulate expression and description in his story of the "moocow",

to the last where he writes in journalistic form with a vast array of

vocabulary and complex language, there is a progression, a maturing, a

creative development; and this is influenced by the experiences,

relationships and personal growth Stephen goes through as he grows up.

Women are certainly an integral part of this creative process, from

his experiences with Eileen, to sleeping with a prostitute, and his

relationship with his mother, and his attempts to discover what his

sensual feelings mean in this journey of self discovery, women feature

prominently and have great significance in the creative process of

Stephen's life.

Stephen is a very interesting and intricate character, and comes

freakishly close to the contemporary boy of the time, there is such a

sense of realism which is conveyed through him by Joyce, most likely

because he is based on himself. For example, Joyce had a mother

devoted to Catholicism, as does Stephen, and Joyce was also educated

at Clongowes.

I think a key reason as to why women play such an important role in

Stephen's creative development is the fact that on many occasions he

does not know quite how to relate to them, he sees them as a

completely different species and really doesn't know how to respond to

them, as his experience with the prostitute will testify.

Stephen's relationship with the opposite sex begins to deve...

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...ourse to his destiny, and this significantly emphasises the

importance of women in Stephen's development artistically, it is not

even a girl with whom Stephen has any association, to him it is the

gender as a whole, and therefore shows how women have played such a

significant role for him.

In conclusion, there is no doubt in my mind that across the novel,

women play possibly the most important role of all in Stephen's

artistic development, and it is because of them, whether it be the

overbearing but supremely influential mother of Stephen, the

experience with the prostitute, the love Stephen feels for Emma, or

the epiphany on the beach with the wading young lady, that Stephen

reaches the artist status which he eventually obtains and the

intertwining suggests a fated nature which Joyce expertly conveys

through his language and conscious style of writing.

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