A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel written by James Joyce. Released in 1916, it tells of the childhood and artist of its titular Young Man, Stephen Dedalus (a character based on Joyce). It is considered a prelude to Joyce's major novel Ulysses.
Characters[]
- Stephen Dedalus - the main character and narrator, a native of Dublin based on James Joyce's early life and childhood
- Simon Dedalus - Stephen's father
- Mary Dedalus - Stephen's mother
- Cranly - Stephen's best friend at university
- Emma Clery - a woman with whom Stephen falls in love with
- Mrs. Dante Riordan - Stephen's governess
- Lynch - one of Stephen's friends at university
- Temple - an athiest student who Cranly despises but tolerates
- E.C. - a girl who Stephen befriends
- Mr. John Casey - one of Simon Dedalus' friends
- Rody Kickham - a student at Clongowes
- Nasty Roche - a bully at Clongowes
- Father Conmee - the rector of Clongowes
- Charles Stewart Parnell - a dead Irish political leader frequently mentioned by characters in the novel
rest to be added
Publisher's summary[]
2003 Penguin Classics edition. Includes an introduction and notes from Seamus Deane.
It is Stephen Dedalus's declared ambition "to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can, using for my defense the only arms I can allow myself to use - silence, exile, and cunning."
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man portrays Stephen Dedalus's Dublin childhood and youth and, in doing so, provides an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce. At its center are questions of origin and source, authority and authorship, and the relationship of an artist to his family, culture, and race. Exuberantly inventive in its style, the novel subtly and beautifully orchestrates the patterns of quotation and repetition instrumental in its hero's quest to create his own character, his own language, life, and art: "to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race."
Plot[]
Chapter I[]
Young Stephen Dedalus is born to a family in Dublin that includes his father, his mother, his uncle Charles, and his governess Dante Riordan). He is placed in the Clongowes Wood College, where he is bullied by some of the students as he learns the various social customs that are held by young Irish boys. He also learns his grammar and his place within the world. Along with this, he begins to glimpse the politics of Ireland from his family. While bedridden due to being sick, Stephen has a vision (or possibly a dream) of the death of a revolutionary named Parnell being announced. Once Stephen's illness has passed, he returns home for the Holidays and witnesses a violent row at the Christmastime dinner table over the priests (whom Dante Riordan fervently defends) and the dead Parnell (whom Stephen's father and a friend of his named Mr. Casey vitriolically defend).
Some time after returning home, rumors spread that a group of students have been "smugging" and the Jesuit teachers at the school start becoming more strict. Stephen accidentally breaks his glasses and is excused from his studies by one of his instructors. While at one of his lessons, he is found by another inspector (who believes that he is lying about breaking his glasses) and strapped on the hands. While the inspector says that he will come back and strap Stephen on the hands again, Stephen is convinced by other students to speak to the rector of the College about this. Seeing that the inspector was in the wrong, the rector says that he will speak with him and excuses Stephen from his studies for a few days. A triumphant Stephen then celebrates this with his fellow students.
Chapter II[]
During the summer, Stephen vacations with Uncle Charles in Blackrock. While at Blackrock, Stephen meets a friend of his father's and reads The Count of Monte Cristo. Shortly after Stephen returns home, his family is forced to move from the suburbs to the innards of Dublin due to debts racked up by Stephen's father. While Stephen initially finds some joy in exploring the city streets, he finds himself become more bitter and detached from all of the other children. Despite this, he begins learning about the fairer sex - befriending a girl named E.C. while at a birthday party.
Stephen is soon enrolled at a somewhat prestigious Jesuit school called the Belvedere College. Though he exceeds at his studies, the students are still somewhat antagonistic with him. While preparing for a school play, Stephen is teased by several students for his romantic dalliances - which makes him think of a time those same students savagely beat him during a quarrel over poets.
Some time after the play, Stephen and his father take a trip to the city of Cork. Throughout the trip, Stephen meets several of his father's old friends but feels distant from his father. After returning home, Stephen receives a literary prize. He very quickly spends all of the money gotten from this prize trying to fix his family's problems but is left feeling foolish by his failed efforts. This leads to him wandering the streets at night, during which Stephen has his first sexual encounter with a "lady of the night".
Chapter III[]
While at Belvedere College, Stephen begins to have religious awakenings. A religious retreat for the day of the patron saint of the college meant to foster "withdrawal into inner contemplation of the soul" serves as the beginning of this awakening. During the retreat, Stephen hears sermons on the everlasting torments of Hell which (according to the sermon) can be brought by a single unconfessed sin. This greatly disturbs Stephen (who fears that his dalliances with "demireps" and his vague gluttonous and slothful thoughts will send him to Hell) and he has visions of these torments before confessing his sins. The confession and forgiveness of his sins makes Stephen feel exuberant - believing that he has been given another chance at life.
Chapter IV[]
While back at home, Stephen begins using an extremely rigid religious discipline in the hopes that this will change his life for the better. This starts as a simple routine before morphing into a test of endurance - with Stephen forcing himself to withstand various irksome sensations, such as kneeling for a long period of time or smelling a vile smell. Though this works for a time, Stephen soon begins to worry that he is still sinning and becomes acutely aware of the minor flaws of others. Along with this, Stephen begins to worry that his original confession was invalid.
Once Stephen returns to the Jesuit school for his last year at the school, he is brought into a meeting with the director of the school on whether Stephen feels the calling to become a priest. Stephen is initially quite intrigued by this and begins thinking of his life as a priest. Soon, though, these feelings of interest turn cold and (while toiling at home) he realizes that he is destined for a worldly life instead of a cloistered life.
Soon, Stephen decides to enter university. Though Stephen's mother is against this idea, Stephen's father decides to help him enter. While his father speaks with his tutor about entering the university, Stephen takes a walk on the coastline and sees a group of friars also walking on the coast. Stephen briefly thinks about talking to them but decides against it. While reciting poetry, Stephen sees a group of his schoolmates swimming (who jokingly recite his name) before locking eyes with a beautiful girl - who is beautiful enough that Stephen thinks of her as an angel of youth and beauty. That night, Stephen climbs a hill and stares out at the moon.
Chapter V[]
After a somewhat tense meal at home, Stephen slips out and wanders the streets of Dublin. While doing, Stephen ruminates over poetry, philosophy, and a friend of his known as MacCann before realizing he is late for an English lecture. While walking to college, Stephen thinks over a story his friend Davin told him involving a housewife. He soon realizes that he has also missed a French lecture and walks to the physics hall, arriving just before a lecture begins. While waiting for the lecture to begin, Stephen starts a conversation with the dean which quickly turns awkward due to Stephen's use of local Irish words. The following physics class (on coils) which is somewhat ineffectual - with Stephen thinking about the boorish nature of some of his classmates instead of the actual lecture.
After this lecture, Stephen takes part in some jesting with his classmates. This soon turns into a discussion over universal peace which turns into an argument over Stephen's honor and Irishness. Once this argument ends, Stephen discusses his theory of aesthetics and arts (which is based largely off the ideas of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas) and the divinity with some of his friends. While leaving, Stephen learns that his beloved is nearby. Stephen dreams of her that night and writes a poem about his beloved shortly after waking up. While thinking over his beloved, Stephen briefly thinks over his fears that his beloved is seeing another man before it passes and he finishes his poem.
While sitting on the steps of the university library, Stephen muses a flock of birds flying above him before thinking over a recent play by Yeats. He then walks with his friend Cranly and an atheistic boy named Temple who quickly begin arguing over religion. During this argument, Stephen's beloved walks past and nods a greeting to Cranly (briefly making Stephen somewhat jealous) before Cranly is involved in an argument between Temple and a short squat man named Glynn over the fate of unbaptized children. Stephen and Cranly leave Temple to this argument and discuss the love of a mother. This quickly turns into a religious debate, which makes Stephen think over his relationship with the Church. Though he considers himself an atheist, Stephen still holds some Christian beliefs out of fear that they may be true. Along with this, Stephen fears that he may have to abandon his friends and his family due to his artistic ambitions.
Shortly after this, Stephen begins writing a journal about his college days. Starting with the conversation with Cranly about religion, Stephen discusses conversations with his mother, his dreams, conversations with his beloved (one of these involving his artistic ambitions), and his studies. The final (known) entry of this journal is a prayer to Stephen's "old father" (presumably Daedalus) to guide him and stand him in good stead.
See also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Hero | James Joyce | 1944 | An unfinished first draft of this novel which was published posthumously |
| Sons and Lovers | D.H. Lawrence | 1913 | A modernist bildungsroman novel based on its author's real life |
| Of Human Bondage | W. Somerset Maugham | 1915 | A bildungsroman novel based on its author's real life |
| True History of the Kelly Gang | Peter Carey | 2000 | A novel examining the Irish character |
| Angela's Ashes | Frank McCourt | 1996 | A memoir with similar themes |
| At Swim-Two-Birds | Flann O'Brien | 1939 | An Irish novel with somewhat similar themes |
| Reading in the Dark | Seamus Deane | 1996 | A novel about childhood in Ireland |
| The Form of the Sword | Jorge Luis Borges | 1942 | A short story based on the Irish Rebellion |
| Fieldwork | Mischa Berlinski | 2007 | An inventive novel with a main character based on the author |
| The Catcher in the Rye | J.D. Salinger | 1951 | A bildungsroman novel with similar themes |
| Trinity | Leon Uris | 1976 | A novel based on the Irish Rebellion |
Sources[]
- Goodreads
- Wikipedia
| Works of James Joyce | ||
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Prose/plays published within his lifetime | ||