Stephen's Journey to Maturation in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the author James Joyce uses the development of Stephen from a sensitive child to a rebellious young man to develop the plot of the novel. In this novel, Joyce suggests that through Stephen's experiences with religion, sexuality and education, Stephen not only becomes more mature but these experiences also inspire him to redefine his world and his understanding of his true feelings about art.
Religion, besides the practical need for food and shelter is one of the most powerful drives in Stephen's life. Religion serves as Stephen's guidance and saviour yet it is also responsible for his tormented youth and distracting him from his artistic development. As a child growing up in a strict Catholic family, Stephen is raised to be a good Catholic boy who will follow the teaching of Catholism as his guidance in his life. The severity of his family is shown when his mother tells him either to "apologise" (4) or "the eagles will come and pull out his eyes" (4). Stephen is taught by his mother to be tolerant when she "[tells] him not to speak with the rough boys in the college" (5). Similarly, Stephen's father also taught him a Catholic quality by telling Stephen "never to peach on a fellow' (6). Evidence of Stephen following the "never to peach" (6) quality is shown when Stephen agrees not to tell on Wells for pushing him into a ditch. However, as Stephen matures into his adolescence, religion becomes his savior rather than his guidance. As Stephen's family condition declines, he sees priesthood as a way to escape poverty and shame. In fact, priesthood is an opportunity for Stephen's personal gain...
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...lly as [he] can, using for [his] defence the only arms [he] allow [himself] to use - silence, exile, and cunning" (226-269). By discussing how education affects Stephen from a child to a young man, Joyce has shown the reader Stephen's development as an artist and human being.
The novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is an autobiography of James Joyce who delivers the influential aspects in his life and his artistic development to the reader through the eyes of the fictional character of Stephen Dedalus. In the novel, Stephen's journey to maturation and to become an artist is influenced by his religion, sexuality and education. Yet, Stephen is able to overcome the obstacles result from these aspects and experience his life to its fullest.
Work Cited
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. 1916. New York: Penguin,1993.
The article Artists Mythologies and Media Genius, Madness and Art History (1980) by Griselda Pollock is a forty page essay where Pollock (1980), argues and explains her views on the crucial question, "how art history works" (Pollock, 1980, p.57). She emphasizes that there should be changes to the practice of art history and uses Van Gogh as a major example in her study. Her thesis is to prove that the meaning behind artworks should not be restricted only to the artist who creates it, but also to realize what kind of economical, financial, social situation the artist may have been in to influence the subject that is used. (Pollock, 1980, pg. 57) She explains her views through this thesis and further develops this idea by engaging in scholarly debates with art historians and researcher, and objecting to how they claim there is a general state of how art is read. She structures her paragraphs in ways that allows her to present different kinds of evidences from a variety sources while using a formal yet persuasive tone of voice to get her point across to the reader.
Magalaner, Marvin and Richard Kain. Joyce: The man, the Work, the Reputation. New York University Press, New York: 1956.
The short stories collected in Dubliners are mostly predecessors and characterizations of James Joyce's later works. "The Sisters" is no different. It, along with "An Encounter" and "Araby," are drawn from Joyce's personal memories and sentiments. The young boy and the characteristics of these short stories are an indirect sampling of Joyce's next published work, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, a novel mostly written from his own memory. "The Sisters," by James Joyce, is a story that mingles unworldly associations with an aim to teach with realistic endeavor, revealing truths of life and death.
Fairhall, James. James Joyce and the Question of History. Cambridge University Press. New York, New York: 1993.
O’Connor, Kate. ed. A Brief Biography of James Joyce. 2011. The James Joyce Centre. 27
Kumar, Udaya. The Joycean Labyrinth: Repetition, Time, and Tradition in Ulysses. Oxford: Clarendon P, 1991.
Religion is an important and recurring theme in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Through his experiences with religion, Stephen Dedalus both matures and progressively becomes more individualistic as he grows. Though reared in a Catholic school, several key events lead Stephen to throw off the yoke of conformity and choose his own life, the life of an artist.
In James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus feels confined by the nagging presence and rigidity of his family, the Catholic Church, his Irish nationality and his social class. In order to free his soul and express himself as the artist he knew he was, Stephen had to break away from these social institutions. The journey Stephen takes, follows the narrative structure of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and shares similarities with the mythical character, Daedulus’s life.
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. New York: New American Library, 1991.
Joyce, James, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The Viking Press: New York, 1916.
Joyce, James. Dubliners. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The Portable James Joyce. Harry Levin, ed. Penguin. 1976, New York. Ulysses. Vintage, New York. 1961.
Throughout the story A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce we see Stephen's struggle with Catholicism, sin and his destiny. In Stephen's life, which almost mirrors Joyce's, Catholicism is a big part but it fades and in it's place comes art. The title alone tells us that he is an artist not that he is Catholic. It is Joyce's priority to tell us about himself as an artist and how he became to be one, by rejecting Catholicism.
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. New York: Bantam Books, 1992.
The women which Stephen comes across in his journey in becoming an artist define him and change him by nurturing him, fascinating him, and inspiring him. Stephen was forever changed by his mother, the Virgin Mary, Eileen, the prostitute, and the seaside woman. The object of the artist is to create the object of the beautiful, I argue that it was the beauty in the women of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which created the artist in the end.
While the reactions to A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man were not as severe as were those of Ulysses, it was still considered shocking, and was judged by critics including "The Times," "The Manchester Guardian," and even Edward Garnett, who had encouraged D. H. Lawrence. Criticisms and complaints about the book's "occasional improprieties" (The Times), and "astounding bad manners" (Manchester guardian) were common, and it is easy to see why taking into account the reserved culture in 1916. This aspect of supporting whether or not I agree with the accusations of the books morality and appropriateness is difficult because one cannot base the subject matter and use of language on today's culture and acceptance. Surely the material written by Joyce does not provoke the same feelings today as it did when it was first published, but, putting the time period in respect, I would agree that it was inappropriate material to have presented. Considering that even the bed-wetting event which takes place on the first page of the book was considered unsuitable, I feel that while it may have been practiced, such matters of prostitution and sexual promiscuity were certainly unnecessary.