A Portrait of the

Artist as a Young
Man
Study Guide by Course Hero

novel is written in the form of Stephen's first-person diaries as

What's Inside Stephen assumes control of his life.

TENSE
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce is
written in the past tense.
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1
ABOUT THE TITLE
a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 2 The title, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, signals the
book is a bildungsroman; this word, from two German words,
h Characters .................................................................................................. 3
bildung ("education") and roman ("novel"), is used to label
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 8 coming-of-age novels. The label is fitting, as the main
character, Stephen Dedalus, develops as an artist in this self-
c Chapter Summaries .............................................................................. 13 portrait.

g Quotes ......................................................................................................... 21

l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 24
d In Context
m Themes ....................................................................................................... 25

b Motifs .......................................................................................................... 26
Irish Independence versus
e Suggested Reading .............................................................................. 26
British Rule
Though no specific time period is given for A Portrait of the
j Book Basics Artist as a Young Man, it most likely takes place in the first two
or three decades of the 20th century. In Ireland the period
AUTHOR starting in the late 19th century and extending two decades
James Joyce into the 20th century saw extensive political and cultural
conflict. The root of the conflict was the clash between
YEARS PUBLISHED Catholics and Protestants over Irish independence from British
1914–15 rule. The repressive British government had been in place
since the 16th century and had dismally failed the Irish during
GENRE
the mid-19th century's potato famine, allowing the death of
Fiction
about one million Irish people through neglect. This tragedy
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR was brought about by a complex web of laissez-faire
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is told from a limited economics (centered on the idea that the government should
omniscient point of view; the narrator's thoughts mirror those not interfere with the economy), the Protestant religious belief
of the main character, Stephen Dedalus. The last part of the in divine providence, and an attitude of moralism that viewed
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Author Biography 2

the Irish in a stereotypical way, as lazy and in need of a good

lesson in self-reliance. The Epiphany
The Protestants, who were in the minority, largely favored In Christian theology an epiphany is a sudden showing forth of
continuing the British rule, while Catholics favored Home Rule, the divine. The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the visit of the
or creation of a separate Irish parliament. Charles Stewart three magi, or wise men, to the infant Jesus. Joyce used the
Parnell, a Protestant statesmen who led the Irish nationalist word to describe a sudden showing forth of a person or thing's
movement for Home Rule in the 1880s, died in 1891 without true nature. Stephen Dedalus has such moments in A Portrait
achieving his goal, having lost his leadership role after being of the Artist as a Young Man. The most significant of these
discovered to be an adulterer. Nevertheless, Parnell would moments is his realization, fairly late in the book, that he has no
become a symbol of rebellion among the Irish for many zeal for the priesthood. There is little warning for this
decades to come, and his ideas are discussed by the fictional realization, falling on the heels of a recommendation by one of
Dedalus family in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. the masters at Stephen's Jesuit school that he pursue the very
profession he now seems not to miss in the least. Yet, it
reveals Stephen's true feelings to himself and, in turn, to the
Modernism reader.

Joyce is considered one of the central authors of modernism, a

movement that sought to challenge previous literary traditions a Author Biography
such as romanticism or realism by finding new ways to write
about human experience. Other major writers of this artistic
James Joyce is widely recognized as one of the 20th century's
movement include T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Virginia Woolf, and
most influential authors, based on the reputation of four major
W.H. Auden. These writers, active from just after the turn of the
works: the short story collection Dubliners (1914) and the
20th century to the mid-1930s, were united by their mission to
novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1914–1915),
build literature from a culture broken by war. They were
Ulysses (1922), and Finnegans Wake (1939). Born on February
determined to communicate in new and surprising ways, by
2, 1882, into a large Catholic family in a suburb of Dublin, Joyce
pushing language beyond conventions and ignoring
was sent at age six to Clongowes Wood College, a Jesuit
conventional forms and structures.
boarding school. However, Joyce's father had money and
drinking troubles, and the family fell into poverty; as a result,
T.S. Eliot's poem "The Wasteland" is considered one of the
Joyce had to withdraw from school, and for two years, he tried
crucial modernist texts: composed of fragments, quotations,
to teach himself.
and allusions, it communicates the disjointed and inadvertently
doomed nature of modern life and forces the reader to
Always precocious, Joyce managed to learn a great deal: he
construct meaning from its parts. Ezra Pound's The Cantos
taught himself Norwegian so he could read Henrik Ibsen's
similarly mixed snippets from other languages with quotations
works in the playwright's original language, and in his lifetime,
and the author's frequently prophetic verse to address issues
he would know or speak 17 languages. Joyce and his brother
of importance to Pound, including historical progress and world
Stanislaus eventually received free admission to another
economy. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and
school, and afterward, Joyce received a bachelor's degree
subsequent works, Joyce uses extensive stream of
from University College, Dublin. Joyce then left Ireland for
consciousness, a technique through which the protagonist's
Paris, with the vague idea of becoming a medical doctor, only
thoughts and feelings are presented in a continuous,
to return in 1903 because his mother was ill; she died later that
uninterrupted flow. The effect is to show firsthand a
year. The following year he met Nora Barnacle, the great love
character's thought process—and in so doing make the work
of his life, and they married and moved to Italy. The Joyces
of fiction seem as "real" to readers as possible.
would continue to live away from Ireland for most of the
author's life. Although Joyce was obsessed with Ireland and
celebrated it through his writing, he was also repulsed by it on
a political level, objecting strongly to the Catholic Church's

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Characters 3

dominance there. and Finnegans Wake, his final novel. He lived a life of
considerable excess and was frequently ill. Toward the end of
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was Joyce's first novel. his life, his eyesight had declined so much he was almost blind.
He began an autobiographical novel titled Stephen Hero in He died in Zurich on January 13, 1941, as a result of
1903 but scrapped the material and used its main character in complications from intestinal surgery.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The text first appeared
in installments in a literary journal. After poet Ezra Pound read

h Characters
and praised the text for its virtuosity, it was published as a
book in 1916.

Reviews were mixed. Writer H.G. Wells lauded the novel,

comparing Joyce's writing to that of Jonathan Swift and
Joseph Conrad, among other critically praised novelists.
Stephen Dedalus
Others found the book perplexing; the Guardian sniffed at its
Stephen Dedalus is the novel's protagonist, although readers'
"passion for foul-smelling things," and the journal Everyman
sympathies may not always lie with him. From early childhood
called it an "extraordinarily dirty story of the upbringing of a
he perceives the world in a highly personalized and sensitive
young man by Jesuits." Joyce's association with fellow
way. As he grows older this peculiarity and sensitivity will prove
modernists such as Pound and T.S. Eliot—writers who
problematic; it will restrain him as a student, particularly as a
consciously chose to eschew traditional writing styles—did
student bound for the priesthood. The novel shows Stephen's
much to catapult A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to its
grappling with the warring impulses within himself: the impulse
current lofty stature despite the mixed nature of its early
to create and experience life at its fullest versus the impulse to
reception. The novel has proven to be one of the author's best-
lead a virtuous life as a model for others.
loved books.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is widely considered to

be partially autobiographical, as it reflects Joyce's own Simon Dedalus
upbringing in Ireland. Like Stephen Dedalus, Joyce grew up in a
large family with a financially irresponsible and alcoholic father, Simon Dedalus is the affectionate but dissolute patriarch of
and he attended a prep school, Jesuit school, and college Stephen's family. He is plagued by drinking problems, discipline
basically identical to those described in the novel. Even problems, and emotional problems. His inability to entirely
Stephen's close friends through school and university have master these issues is a source of stress and instability for his
parallels in Joyce's life. No one can know how closely Joyce's family. Simon and Stephen are close, but as Stephen grows
private thoughts match those of his protagonist, but the older and must assume more family responsibility due to his
correspondence between biographical detail and novelistic father's irresponsibility, their relationship becomes one of
detail make it seem likely the two have internal as well as strained tolerance.
external similarities.

The tale of a writer's youthful development would later be a Mary Dedalus

basis for what many people consider Joyce's greatest work,
Ulysses, which also features the brilliant but decadent student Mary Dedalus is portrayed in fairly broad strokes in the novel.
and writer Stephen Dedalus. Stephen's encounters and She takes care of Stephen, and early on he notes she has a
developments as a vulnerable, complex, and observant nicer smell than his father. Mary also attempts to discipline
individual and budding artist in A Portrait of the Artist as a Stephen when his father is absent (either physically or
Young Man form a kind of rough sketch for Ulysses, which emotionally). In the first chapter she reprimands Stephen for
uses Stephen as a lens for viewing the city of Dublin as a being too forward with a Protestant female neighbor; much
whole, and the world at large. later in the novel, she scolds Stephen for spending money from
an academic prize too wildly. Still later she bemoans Stephen's
Joyce lived much of his life in Europe, through the publication
abandonment of the priesthood.
of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Dubliners, Ulysses,

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Characters 4

Cranly
Stephen has a deep bond with Cranly. The two classmates
have conversations Stephen would never have with others
because Stephen feels Cranly can understand him. As a result,
Cranly learns more about Stephen than others do; he is also
more receptive to Stephen's eccentricity than others are.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Characters 5

Character Map

Simon Dedalus
Weak, sentimental
man; nationalist

Spouses

Father

Emma Clery Mary Dedalus

Feminine ideal Pious woman
Loves

Mother
Stephen Dedalus
Sensitive young man;
budding artist

Mentor
Friends

Cranly
Father Arnall
Intelligent, trustworthy
Master at Jesuit school
student

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Characters 6

Full Character List Emma Clery is one of Stephen's first love

interests. In a prolonged daydream
Emma Clery
Stephen and Emma are married in a
grand ceremony.
Character Description

Connolly is one of Stephen's classmates

Stephen Dedalus is the novel's
at Jesuit school. After having a revelation
Stephen protagonist. Early on he considers
about the path his life is to take, Stephen
Dedalus becoming a priest, but by novel's end he
Connolly sees Connolly and several other boys
decides to become an artist.
swimming in the ocean, and they appear
transformed to him when they are not
Simon Dedalus is Stephen's father. wearing their normal clothes.
Simon Though he is a hard worker, Simon
Dedalus frequently is in financial trouble, forcing
Big Corrigan is one of the older students
his family to move numerous times.
Big Corrigan at Clongowes; he appears to have
achieved immunity in relation to flogging.
Mary
Mary Dedalus is Stephen's pious mother.
Dedalus
Dan Crosby is a tutor with whom Simon
Dedalus confers at length when he and
Dan Crosby
Cranly, a friend from Jesuit school, is Stephen are visiting the University at
Stephen's confidante; when Stephen Cork.
Cranly
decides not to become a priest, Cranly is
the first person he tells.
Dante is Stephen's honorary aunt, and
governess, who takes care of the
Father Arnall is one of the teachers at Dedalus children. She is strongly
Clongowes. He is decent to Stephen, Dante religious, and stands firm in her belief
Father Arnall that all people in Ireland should be
allowing him to skip his schoolwork when
he breaks his glasses. obedient to the Catholic Church, first and
foremost.

Athy is one of Stephen's classmates at

Clongowes. He is thought to receive Davin is a classmate of Stephen's from
Athy Clongowes, a simple country boy who is
special treatment because his father
bribes one of the school's clergy. strongly nationalistic. He tells Stephen a
poignant tale about passing by a cottage
Davin
one evening and being invited in by a
Boody is one of Stephen's younger young woman, whom Davin refuses. He is
Boody
siblings. concerned about Stephen's shirking of
his duties to his country.
Mr. Casey is a friend of Stephen's family
and a guest at Christmas dinner. He is Stephen has a conversation late in the
Mr. Casey
very supportive of John Parnell and grief book with the dean, who encourages him
stricken when he dies. Dean of to complete his degree first and to worry
Studies about artistic aspirations afterward. He is
another example of failed clergy for
Johnny Cashman is one of the drunk old
Stephen.
Johnny men Stephen and his father encounter
Cashman when they are out on a bar crawl in Cork
after selling their family house. The director of the Jesuit school directly
encourages Stephen to pursue a life in
Director the priesthood. Shortly after this
Uncle Charles is Stephen's paternal
conversation Stephen realizes he has no
uncle. He takes walks with Stephen
Uncle interest in the priesthood.
during his nephew's school vacations,
Charles
and Stephen learns about world events
from him. Donovan is one of Stephen's college
Donovan
classmates and a highly arrogant fellow.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Characters 7

Eileen is a Protestant girl for whom Jimmy Magee is one of the older
Stephen has a youthful attraction. She Jimmy students at Clongowes; he runs in a
Eileen flirts with him one day by putting her Magee somewhat mischievous clique with Paddy
hand in his pocket. Stephen never makes Rath and Big Corrigan.
any advances toward her, however.

Maggy is one of Stephen's younger

Maggy
Ennis is one of Stephen's classmates at sisters.
Ennis
Clongowes.

McCann is one of Stephen's college

Fleming is one of Stephen's schoolmates classmates. McCann accuses Stephen of
Fleming at Clongowes. He tells one of the priests McCann being too wrapped up in himself, in
when Stephen catches a fever. opposition to McCann's sense of social
activism.

Mike Flynn is an old friend of Simon

Dedalus, yet another former dazzling Mercedes is the love interest of the
athlete who has fallen on hard times fictional Count of Monte Cristo from the
Mike Flynn through drink. He encourages Stephen to novel of that name. Stephen fanaticizes
be an athlete and times Stephen when he her as his own love interest. As Stephen
runs around a racetrack during his Mercedes grows into an artist, his early ability to
vacation from Clongowes. participate imaginatively in the action of a
heroic novel foreshadows his growing
sense of standing as a hero for the Irish
After Stephen decides he does not wish people.
to pursue the priesthood, he sees a
Girl on
young woman standing in the ocean. The
beach
image of the girl helps Stephen to Brother Michael is an academic official at
understand his main purpose in life is art. Brother Clongowes. He is in charge of the
Michael infirmary and takes care of Stephen
when he is sick.
Mr. Gleeson is one of the masters at
Mr. Gleeson Clongowes. He is known for doling out
corporal punishment to the students. Aubrey Mills is a boy with whom Stephen
spends a lot of time during his vacation
Aubrey Mills
from Clongowes, playing imaginary
Vincent Heron is a friend of Stephen's games.
Vincent
from school. He often challenges
Heron
Stephen in matters of taste.
Simon Moonan is one of Stephen's
classmates at Clongowes. Simon is
Katey is one of Stephen's younger Simon thought to be a bit of a sycophant,
Katey
sisters. Moonan always seeking the school officials' favor,
but he is also mischievous and gets into
One of the masters at Clongowes trouble once or twice.
summons and scolds Lawless for
Lawless thinking Friday is a "free day." The Moynihan is one of Stephen's college
exchange makes Stephen apprehensive classmates. During a lecture, Moynihan
about the stern lecture to follow. Moynihan
whispers jokes about the professor in
Stephen's ear.
Lynch is one of Stephen's college
classmates. His tastes are decadent, but Nash is one of Stephen's classmates at
Lynch
he is one of the few students with whom Clongowes. At one point Nash and some
Stephen can discuss his theories. Nash other students bully Stephen,
interrogating him about his favorite
MacAlister is one of Stephen's college writer.
MacAlister classmates. He criticizes Stephen at one
point for "intellectual crankery."

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Plot Summary 8

The prefect of studies, or Dean of Wallis is one of Stephen's classmates.

Students, at Clongowes beats Stephen's Wallis is a mischief maker, but he doesn't
Wallis
hands when he learns Stephen has not have the strength to do something truly
Prefect of
been doing his schoolwork; he says he unforgivable.
Studies
knows Stephen broke his glasses on
purpose despite the fact that it was an
accident. Wells is one of Stephen's classmates at
Wells Clongowes. He muscles Stephen into a
muddy ditch.
Paddy Rath is one of the older students
Paddy Rath
at Clongowes.

The rector, one of the masters of

Clongowes, is viewed as something of a
k Plot Summary
Rector moral authority; Stephen's classmates
urge him to tell the rector he was unjustly Set in Ireland at the turn of the century, A Portrait of the Artist
paddled by the prefect.
as a Young Man describes Stephen Dedalus's development
from a bright young student to a promising clergy student to an
Nasty Roche is one of Stephen's artist. It begins with his earliest childhood memories and
Nasty Roche schoolmates at Clongowes. He bullies
Stephen quite frequently. progresses to his grand epiphany, in which he announces to
his closest companions his decision to pursue art rather than a
Shuley is one of Stephen's classmates at religious life. Stephen's decision results from a combination of
Jesuit school. After having a revelation factors: the temperament that colors his impressions of the
about the path his life is to take, Stephen world, his interactions with others, and his interpretation of
Shuley sees Shuley and several other boys
social forces.
swimming in the ocean, and they appear
transformed to him when they are not
wearing their normal clothes. From the start evidence indicates Stephen will be an artist.
Readers first meet him as a very young child growing up in a
Mr. Tate is one of Stephen's masters at rural community in Ireland and attending Clongowes
Jesuit school. He famously points at Preparatory School. He is a timid child who doesn't socialize
Mr. Tate
Stephen and accuses him of having easily. Stephen has been bullied on the playground because of
"heresy in his essay."
his small size and shy demeanor; when his glasses are broken
following an accident, he is excused from writing exercises by
Temple is one of Stephen's college
classmates. Temple and Cranly, one of his teacher. When one of his masters finds out, he beats
Temple Stephen's close friends, have an inimical Stephen's hands and heightens the boy's belief that his
relationship, at one point nearly coming treatment by the universe is "unfair." Family and friends at a
to blows.
Christmas dinner represent some of the differing political
attitudes pervading Ireland at the time, both for and against the
Cecil Thunder is one of Stephen's
Irish nationalist politician Charles Stewart Parnell, and the Irish
classmates at Clongowes. Thunder
Cecil independence movement. As Stephen grows older and begins
seems to have broad knowledge of
Thunder
flogging—namely, who is likely to receive to develop love interests, he romanticizes these prominent
it.
political figures; he also fantasizes about the nature and
landscape of the afterlife, encouraged by the fire-and-
Uncle Charles is Stephen's paternal brimstone sermons of his schoolmasters. Both tendencies
uncle. Although he is not tremendously
influential within Stephen's life, the two show the strong imagination of an artist.
Uncle
take walks during Stephen's school
Charles As Stephen matures, school authorities try to persuade him to
vacations, and Stephen learns a great
deal about world events through join the priesthood. In many ways joining such a large
overheard conversations.
institution makes sense. His family is Catholic and would see a
life with the clergy as a fine vocation. The priesthood would

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Plot Summary 9

offer stability as well; Stephen's family changes homes several

times during Stephen's youth due to his father's financial
irresponsibility, so a steady existence might be a relief.
However, the novel shows a growing conflict between
Stephen's impulse toward the priesthood and his development
as an artist. Joyce offers numerous dialogues between
Stephen and his friends about books and vast aesthetic and
philosophical issues. These dialogues mirror Stephen's inner
crisis and give insight into his psychological development.

As he gets older, Stephen begins to visit prostitutes in Dublin.

This habit becomes increasingly hard to reconcile with the
priestly calling, and his guilt becomes more than he can bear.
Gradually, Stephen comes to realize he has no zeal for the
religious life and decides instead to become an artist. Joyce
presents the last episodes in the book as a series of
epiphanies and exchanges. Stephen sees a woman on the
beach who represents, in his creatively inspired state, art itself.
Later, on the streets of Dublin, Stephen encounters again a
woman he loves and declares his intentions to her. As readers
last glimpse the artist, he vows "to forge the uncreated
conscience of [his] race," or express to the world his sense of
beauty and truth in the way he knows best: through art.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Plot Summary 10

Plot Diagram

Climax

Rising Action 4 Falling Action

6
3

2 7
1
Resolution
Introduction

Falling Action
Introduction
6. Stephen is inspired by a woman standing in the ocean.
1. Stephen is pushed into a ditch as a young student.

Resolution
Rising Action
7. Stephen declares his artistic ambitions.
2. Stephen sleeps with a prostitute as an adolescent.

3. Stephen confesses his visits to prostitutes to a priest.

4. A master at school urges Stephen to join the priesthood.

Climax

5. Stephen realizes he has no interest in the priesthood.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Plot Summary 11

Timeline of Events

Early Childhood

Stephen Dedalus has fragmented sensory memories of

his early childhood at home.

Three years later

Stephen is sent to boarding school at Clongowes Wood

College.

Soon after

Stephen gets sick at Clongowes and has to go to the

infirmary.

Christmas

At Christmas dinner Stephen's family has a heated

argument over Irish politics.

Later in winter

Stephen fails to do his schoolwork and gets his hands

struck by the prefect of studies at Clongowes.

Same day

Stephen tells the rector of Clongowes he was beaten

unfairly by the prefect.

Summer

While on school vacation Stephen walks with his Uncle

Charles and obsesses over girls.

End of summer

Stephen's family moves to Dublin from the country.

A few years later

Stephen is in a school play at Belvedere College, a Jesuit

day school.

Later

Stephen goes with his father to Cork to sell the family

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Plot Summary 12

house.

Later

After a school play Stephen has his first encounter with

a prostitute.

Soon after

Father Arnall gives a lengthy speech about St. Xavier,

which shakes Stephen.

That night

Stephen makes a confession and feels somewhat better

afterward.

Fall

A Belvedere College master suggests Stephen consider

priesthood as a vocation.

Same day

In an epiphany Stephen realizes he does not have

sufficient zeal for the priesthood.

Same Day

An encounter with a girl standing in the ocean begins

Stephen's life as an artist.

Later

Stephen tells his classmate Cranly he will soon leave the

university to be a writer.

April

Stephen tells Emma he plans to be an artist rather than a

priest.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Chapter Summaries 13

English government; beyond this opposition lies the opposition

c Chapter Summaries of those who disapprove of the Catholic priests using the
pulpit as a way to direct political decisions, and those who
believe that Catholicism is intrinsically linked with Irish politics.

Chapter 1 As Stephen listens, readers learn he has political interests and

opinions even at his young age. He expresses sympathy for
Parnell and puzzlement at Dante, who is a profoundly religious
Summary individual and has changed her view on Parnell dramatically
upon learning of his adultery. As the argument grows more and
The novel is told from Stephen's perspective. When readers more heated, finally culminating with Dante's storming out of
first meet Stephen, he is a baby, forming thoughts and noticing the room and Stephen's father's bursting into quiet tears over
details as a baby might. The family has a conversation, and Parnell's death, Stephen's nature is evident as he observes and
Stephen hides under the table. The opening passage is a records other characters' gestures and facial expressions: one
hodgepodge of different impressions and images: seeing a person leans across the table, another puts his taut fingers
cow, wetting the bed, hearing the sound of a hornpipe and an together in an arch, one scrapes the air "as if he were tearing
Irish dance. Stephen's mother says, "Stephen will apologize," aside a cobweb." The passion of the argument influences him
indicating the relationship between Stephen and his parents is profoundly, as he learns that individuals close to him are in
somewhat punitive and Stephen is held accountable for his conflict over something complex, political yet personal, and
actions by his mother. The novel then moves forward in time. difficult to grasp.

At School: Clongowes Punishment at School

Stephen is at Clongowes, a Catholic boys' school, and is Stephen listens in on the playing field as other boys discuss an
suffering the accompanying torments. Readers watch him half- incident where older boys were caught engaging in sexual
heartedly playing rugby with his classmates, then weathering behavior and were going to be expelled or flogged. He reflects
some teasing about kissing his mother before bedtime, then on his associations with the "square," or area where the school
drifting through his classwork—struggling to figure out, amidst latrines are, and on his mystification of what "smugging"
the daily noise about him, who he is—and then placing himself involves. (The term smugging refers to homosexual encounters
as a member of the cosmos by giving "The Universe" as part of or sexual explorations that young men sometimes engage in,
his home address. Later in the section he has a feverish dream, such as mutual masturbation.) He extends his thinking to
and it turns out that he is sick—seemingly a result of getting examine group punishment for individuals' wrong actions. The
pushed into a drainage ditch by a classmate. At the end of the boys marvel at how their classmates did it and then ruminate
section he has a dreamlike memory of the death of Irish on the punishment they receive. Stephen imagines the physical
political leader Parnell. The memory is partly a mockery of the experience of the punishment: the feeling of cold air on bare
self-dramatization of his sickness, partly an indicator of his skin during flogging, the sound of the pandybat hitting flesh,
family's interest in politics. and the sting of the flogging. When Joyce has Stephen imagine
such things, with such completeness and detail, he is indicating
that Stephen's nature is one of an artistic temperament, which
Christmas Dinner will serve him well in the future.

Christmas dinner is taken up with an argument about the Later in the chapter Stephen will grapple with punishment
scandal over Parnell's affair, and how the Catholic Church used himself, as one of the school's supervisors, or prefects, beats
the affair to derail Parnell's power in Irish politics, specifically his hands unfairly. When the prefect of studies visits the class
Ireland's separation from British rule. The two opposing sides and sees Stephen is not working, he assumes Stephen is
are those who support Parnell, an early fighter for Irish merely trying to shirk his responsibilities, and flogs his hands
independence, and those who support dominance by the aggressively. In fact Stephen has been excused from his work,

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Chapter Summaries 14

because after breaking his glasses he cannot see well enough "Away with God!" to indicate his support of secular governance
to complete it. After the beating, Stephen seeks justice for and Dante is shouting "Blasphemer! Devil!"—raise the question
what he views as a slight to his honesty by gathering the of whether or not Catholic priests should be involved in
courage to see the rector of the school. He receives support shaping Irish politics. A question so hotly debated on the
for his decision from his peers, who encourage him to report national stage must inevitably affect Stephen, even at a young
the injustice. When he explains what has happened, the rector age, and will indeed be one of the burning questions of his
says he will talk to the prefect about it, presumably to reproach young life. Readers can see how involved Stephen is in the
him. When Stephen returns from getting satisfaction from the argument, as a glow comes to his cheeks in sympathy with one
rector, his classmates greet him with cries of delight, lifting him of the speakers and then his face is "terror-stricken" as the
above their heads like a returning hero. dispute comes to its crashing conclusion. The purpose is to
show how Stephen's mind is being shaped and to what extent
these early arguments will determine his own passions.
Analysis
While Stephen's moral sense continues to develop, he also
Readers learn important specifics about Stephen in the book's continues building his acute perception of all physical senses,
opening: he is observant, as one can see by the way he spots from eating to breathing to being flogged. In so doing his
details around him; he is also able to distinguish nuance at an attention to minute detail makes many of his experiences
early age, as one might tell from his differentiated reactions to multi-dimensional. Stephen's intense awareness of the way
his mother's and father's smells. He also does not fit in easily, things feel, smell, and taste will contribute to the sexual
as evidenced by his difficulty at sports, and being singled out appetites he experiences later in the novel.
for bullying behavior by his classmates. His failure to conform
Also apparent is the emergence of Stephen's intensified sense
to social expectations will impact the novel's later treatment of
of right and wrong. It is wrong, in his mind, for the prefect to
the subject of exile. Stephen is inexorably disconnected from
beat him if he is following orders regarding not writing in class.
those around him and, by extension, his country.
Therefore, after encouragement from his classmates and older
The early smells, visual sensations, and auditory experiences students, he takes his complaint to the highest moral authority
Stephen has will also bear fruit later in the novel. Cold things, he can think of, the rector, and pursues right action against the
such as the feeling of urine in his bed after he has wet it, will adult world. Justice is restored, in Stephen's mind, and he is
always be ominous; warmth, such as the warmth he looks satisfied; as his classmates greet him as a victorious returning
forward to inside the school when he is outside playing rugby, conqueror, readers also come to view him as a hero who has
will always be associated with comfort. In these early moments done something others didn't have the moral courage to do.
in the book Stephen seems to be someone who frequently
questions his world and his role in it. He must turn both over
and over, seeing how they work. His trait of self-examination Chapter 2
helps to build one of the plot's crucial questions: whether or
not Stephen will eventually join the priesthood.

The argument the characters have at Christmas parallels and

Summary
personalizes an argument raging across Ireland at the time the
book was written. The individual's relationship with the church
and the role of the Catholic Church in directing Irish politics are
Home for the Summer
central to the argument and will influence Stephen's
Stephen is home from boarding school for the summer,
considerations when he chooses the path of an artist. He
spending his days with his amiable Uncle Charles as he makes
prepares for a career in the priesthood and then must ask
the rounds of their village. Stephen's keen attention to
himself if he really wants the vocation, or if it is unsuitable for
language as it is spoken in a variety of scenarios is one of the
his temperament.
indicators of his development as an artist. He also spends time
with a group of friends, having mock-battles at various
The final words of the argument—in which Mr. Casey is crying

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Chapter Summaries 15

locations. Stephen carries himself somewhat apart from his Simon relates a conversation he has had with the rector at
companions, due in part to a heightened sense of his own Stephen's former school. He reveals the staff took Stephen's
heroism, inspired by reading The Count of Monte Cristo, a work accusations lightly, rather than with the seriousness Stephen
significant here for its portrait of a central figure long in exile, would have expected.
which echoes the future that Stephen himself will follow.

Readers soon learn Stephen will not be going back to boarding New School: Belvedere
school. The unspoken reason is his father cannot afford it. This
circumstance serves to move Stephen's maturation along Stephen has a part as a "farcical pedagogue" in the
slightly more quickly, as he begins to ask himself how he will Whitsuntide play at his new Jesuit school, Belvedere, and every
find his place in the world, both economically and spiritually. As aspect of the description communicates how mechanical and
he rides with the local milk deliverer, he ponders what it might artificial Stephen finds the daily life of the school to be. Joyce
be like to have a job, and then, while he is musing on accentuates the woodenness of the sets, the props, and the
employment, he begins to wonder how his own family will find student actors' deliveries to convey Stephen's distance from
stability now that his father is "in trouble." During this time of these events and their temptation for engagement on his part.
economic instability, Stephen enters fully into the heroics of The play is significant in that it reveals the moment when the
The Count of Monte Cristo and fantasizes about the Count's young artist begins to make the switch from life imitating art, to
love interest, Mercedes. This novel provides Stephen with an art being life itself, as the play had "suddenly assumed a life of
imaginative outlet: he can create his own noble, stable world its own." Indeed, when Stephen meets some of his classmates
where he ventures forth righting wrongs. Stephen's imaginary outside the building before the play is held, they make fun of
pursuit of Mercedes heightens his own emerging adolescent him in a somewhat aggressive way, teasing him about a girl
urges for romance and physical contact. By choosing a hero to whom his father brought there to see him. Stephen, however,
emulate, Stephen again distances himself from others and reflects that he "knew that the adventure in his mind stood in
takes bold measures to create the world of an artist. no danger from these words"—that is, the school chums can
say nothing to either dissuade or intensify his attractions or, in
a larger sense, his growing inner life. He chooses to remain at a
Moving On distance from even his closest friend, and no longer feels any
pull from father or church to be a gentleman or a good
The upheaval continues as the Dedalus family leaves the house Christian.
at Blackrock to move to a semi-furnished, bleak rented house
in Dublin. The move is caused by Simon Dedalus's financial As with the other women in the book thus far, readers learn
woes. It is a shock to Stephen, unsettles him, and forces him to only the bare minimum about the girl who has come to see
reconsider events from the recent past, such as groups of Stephen perform: Stephen is attracted to her, she is very polite
servants whispering in the Blackrock house's hallways. to his father, and Stephen longs to be alone with her. Stephen
is not yet grown up, so his relationships with women focus
Forbidding though the move may be, it advances the heavily on objectification rather than on interaction. As always
development of Stephen's artistic sensibilities. Stephen goes he fixates on being alone with the girl but gives little thought to
with his mother to visit family members, and even joins a what might happen when they are alone, most likely because
birthday party for a younger child. Again he is compelled to he has no idea.
observe and take note rather than join in, adding to his trove of
moments and scenes. When he leaves the party with a young
girl who was also there, he briefly considers the opportunity for A Trip to Cork and Back
flirtation and physical contact but retains his distance from her.
The experience fuels his desire to write, and he picks up a new Stephen takes a poignant but provocative trip with his father to
pen and new paper to dedicate a poem to her in the style of Cork to complete the sale of some family property. It is clear
Byron. Once again he develops and nurses romantic from the outset that Stephen and Simon are having two wholly
obsessions, but because he is slightly older, these obsessions different experiences. Simon is primarily interested in drinking
are considerably more elaborate and romantic. heavily, reminiscing about his past at the University of Cork,

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Chapter Summaries 16

and shoving the experience of having to sell family property continuation of his close attention to gesture, image, and
out of his mind. He takes Stephen on a tour of the college language from the first chapter of the novel. In the book's
campus, and every name he brings up to a porter is out of date; narrative structure, readers witness here his sexual awakening,
the individuals Simon remembers have been succeeded by one or the beginnings of it; in a broader sense, though, this is a
or two generations. After the sale of the property is complete, continuation of his artistic awakening.
Simon and Stephen go out on a "bar crawl," during which
various bartenders reminisce about Simon's charisma as a Stephen also begins to grow up during the summer. When he

student and Stephen becomes increasingly embarrassed. accompanies his uncle on his rounds, he overhears a lot of talk
of politics. As he repeats the words the adults are saying in
Stephen feels betrayed by this trip to Cork with his father. Not order to understand them, he begins to learn about world
only is he unable to fully understand or empathize with his affairs—and, more importantly, to ponder how he will involve
father's nostalgia, he is uncomfortable with Simon's himself in the world of adults. In other words he begins growing
drunkenness and flirting with barmaids, and he's plagued by his up by wondering what it would be like to be a grown-up. This
own imagination. His feverish dreams on the train of a sleeping consideration makes it impossible, then, for him to indulge in
populace, and his overwhelming visions of the word "fetus" children's play-acting with the same pleasure his friends have.
carved into a desk come to a head as he is concerned that he He is intentionally distancing himself from those around him as
might progress along his father's life path, amounting to he nurtures his artistic development.
nothing. He calms himself by repeating his name, much as he
did when writing out his address all the way to "the Universe" Much of the narrative here comes through a series of

as a child. impressions, not necessarily connected, much like a series of

photographs: Stephen at a party, Stephen on a tram, Stephen
His fear seems justified when, after winning a substantial at home in his relatives' kitchen. The cumulative effect of these
academic prize back in Dublin, Stephen squanders it in grand impressions is to communicate that Stephen's feelings of
fashion. Despite the fact that Stephen is attempting, in part, to loneliness and alienation have intensified, and he considers
provide for his family in so spending his earnings, they're still himself both above the frolicking of his peers and unhappily cut
lost. The fear of following in his father's footsteps seems even off from them. Overwhelmingly, Stephen's imagination calls to
more justified when, unable to restrain himself any further, him more loudly than any more earthly demands.
Stephen finally travels to a red-light district in Dublin and
sleeps with a prostitute. The family's move to Dublin marks Stephen's first encounter
with the city, a locale in which he will be immersed for the
remainder of the novel. The city is a central setting for Joyce
Analysis and for the modernists as a whole, being the location where
the triumphs and the failings of civilization can be most readily
Toward the end of summer Stephen says he wants "to meet in witnessed. The urban landscape Joyce initially offers here
the real world the insubstantial image which his soul so intimates that what will follow will be a rich landscape for
constantly beheld." Though he is describing a fictional woman Stephen, full of images which build a murky, potentially
he's been daydreaming about, the statement has much larger dangerous atmosphere: an empty city square, a filthy dock
implications. The subject he addresses here is, in its thematic area, a dusky river view, horses pulling a nearly empty tram,
meaning, the creation of art. Anyone who writes, paints, or which is itself littered with used tickets. Although on the one
composes ultimately wishes to see their ideas come to fruition hand, Dublin reminds Stephen of "another Marseilles," which he
and to "encounter" them the way Stephen wishes to encounter has never visited but has read about in Dumas, it also leaves
Mercedes—to make human, tangible contact. The text could him clearly seeing that he is different, a difference he then
also be said to be referring to the study and appreciation of embraces.
artworks and literary works, the desire to involve one's self
Stephen's artistic maturation process is in full display here.
with them by reading them, listening to them, and exploring
Joyce offers a glimpse of Stephen's semi-conscious editing
them. Stephen is studying the life around him, gathering
process when he tries to compose the poem for the girl: "all
material in his mind, including the vocabulary and speech
those elements which he deemed common and insignificant
patterns of his father, family, and associates. This is a

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Chapter Summaries 17

fell out of the scene." This act of choosing to preserve only the Here and elsewhere Stephen is both emotionally engaged in
most essential elements of a scene sets him apart from others. his surroundings and detached enough that he can gain some
While his peers might seek distraction in a party or a walk artistic value from them. He reasserts his independence from
through the city, Stephen sees daily life as conscious work of a his father and the past, his soul no longer capable of "simple
sort; he sifts through the piles of details for clues and joys." His maturity is put to the test when he receives a huge
memorable words or scenes. cash prize. Rather than spending the earnings conservatively,
he spends them on finery and quickly exhausts them. He
The second foray Joyce makes into stream of consciousness, follows up this failure with a visit to a prostitute. Stephen is not
or the recreation of an individual's thought pattern, jumps so much at a turning point in his life as at a juncture where
around in time. Stephen remembers various incidences that warring impulses guide him in two very different directions:
are, to him, somehow connected. Joyce leaves the connections dissolution or the artist's life? Rather than choosing a direction,
unexplained. though, he will remain conflicted until near the novel's end.

In addition this part of the novel shows a heightened clash

between the role Stephen is called upon to play in the world
versus the role he is choosing for himself. His heart lies apart Chapter 3
from the dull goings-on in the auditorium, and while Joyce
leaves the character's true passions ambiguous at this point,
they will crystallize over the course of the book. Similarly, his Summary
interactions with his classmates suggest they see him as a
dissembler; one of the peers calls him a "sly dog" twice after
seeing Stephen's love interest speaking with Simon outside the Obsession with Prostitutes
auditorium; earlier, he has teased Stephen, saying he "doesn't
smoke and he doesn't go to bazaars and he doesn't flirt and he Stephen now must go through a time of great self-reckoning.
doesn't damn anything or damn all." What had previously been mere temptation toward indulgence
with prostitutes has come to fruition, and Stephen has begun a
Stephen's artistic nature is hinted at with his seemingly random fairly regular program of visits to Dublin's red-light district.
connection of his heretical essay, an earlier argument about Once again readers see his self-consciousness at work. While
Byron's poetry, and his fantasies about the girl from the party he cannot resist the temptation to sleep with prostitutes, he
two years ago, who has now come to the play. The connection also knows that, as a Catholic, he is condemning himself each
shows Stephen as a great compiler of life. Readers never see time he does it. And yet this predicament doesn't necessarily
Stephen deliver his lines here; the lines are beside the point. At bother him; he feels a "cold lucid indifference" toward his own
this juncture in the novel, readers are merely meant to notice satisfaction of his desires. His betrayal of the faith does not
he is performing and he discovers during the rendition of the even trouble him when he is teaching scriptures to younger
lines that art can be life. students.

That Stephen is witnessing the sale of his family property is

significant; the transaction represents yet another stage in A Reckoning
Stephen's progression toward rootlessness—and ultimately
exile. Where Simon sees fond memories in Cork, in and around The rector begins to give a lecture pertaining both to an
the university, Stephen sees a whirlpool of nightmares—or at upcoming retreat and to the life of St. Xavier. The prospect of
least imagined scenarios over which he has no control. listening to the speech causes Stephen to shrink with fear,
either because he dreads facing his own sin or because he
Throughout the trip Stephen is portrayed as something of a
dreads leaving Dublin and its pleasures for too long, or both.
custodian to his father, from the moment when he wakes up
ahead of Simon on the train to Cork and sees him sprawled Stephen endures two lengthy descriptions of the torments and
drunkenly across a seat to the moment when he masks his misery that await sinners in hell, delivered by Father Arnall, the
father's rattling of the china at the breakfast following their pub priest from Clongowes who was kind enough to let him off
crawl.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Chapter Summaries 18

from working when his glasses were broken. At the conclusion the spiritual realm as described by Father Arnall.
of these vivid sermons, meant to terrify the young men who are
listening, Stephen can barely walk. As soon as he regains his
composure, but not before he has a nightmarish vision of what Chapter 4
hell might be like—a vast, barren plain populated by half-goat,
half-human figures—he confesses. He seeks out a church
more anonymous than his school to make this confession and
Summary
then completes his penance. The next morning the world
seems reborn and clean and pure.

The Priesthood—or Not?

Analysis Stephen is in the midst of training for the priesthood, having
fully adopted it as his life's calling. He finds some solace in the
This chapter shows what happens when Stephen's two
restricted life he's living by imagining the vast relief he is
warring impulses—earthly pleasure and religious
generating for those in Purgatory. He has banished all thoughts
devotion—clash directly, and the fact that Stephen is not more
of physical desire from his mind, setting aside the degree to
concerned about this clash is significant. He views the disparity
which his past desires make repentance necessary on his part.
between the way he spends his days and the way he spends
his nights with indifference, which suggests both that he is not The most difficult task for Stephen is joining in with common
destined for life as a priest and also that he is capable of life. He has become so perceptive that he feels guilty about his
removing himself from his circumstance in the manner of an inability to overcome the barriers between himself and others.
artist, mining experience for details which may serve a purpose As the chapter progresses, Stephen deals more directly with
later. his past temptations, trying to scourge each sense, and finally
viewing temptations as signs that "the citadel of the soul had
When the rector is reeling off questions in the catechism,
not fallen and that the devil raged to make it fall." If he is aware
Stephen considers them merely as "curious," as if he viewed
he is being tempted, that means he is aware of the need to
them more as novelties, in and of themselves, than as points
control his temptation, and he will do so.
for study. Stephen is beginning to view his world aesthetically,
in terms of beauty and art, rather than in the more sin and Regardless of whatever Stephen's confidence in his faith might
redemption fashion of his early years in Jesuit schools, and be, he is still wavering here as he asks, "I have amended my life,
what this means is that moral concerns that might have arisen have I not?" The "have I not" is highly significant; while Stephen
in the past no longer apply with the same force. is striving to eliminate temptation from his life, he doubts
himself and his actions. Clearly Stephen has come to an
Stephen is wrestling with options for himself. Throughout the
important decision about his efficacy.
process his imagination remains vibrant, as when he imagines
hell or when he imagines marrying one of his ever-distant
amours. The artistic part of his personality is intact, but it Rejecting the Priesthood
struggles against his more intellectual impulses toward the
safety of the priesthood. He grapples with the enormity of the This section marks a crucial revelation for Stephen: he will
commitment involved and the challenges of conscience one never join the priesthood. The revelation comes as a result of a
might face as a member of the clergy. conversation with one of his teachers, in which the teacher
admires the work that he's doing and indicates that he would
The word conscience comes up repeatedly in the chapter,
have a fine future in the clergy. Upon actually pondering that
foreshadowing the moment at the book's end when Stephen
future, Stephen realizes he has no real desire for it. He returns
will deem himself the maker of his race's "conscience." While
home to visit his family, who once again are facing eviction,
the pangs of conscience he suffers here have to do with his
only to rush out in the afternoon. He paces while he waits for
salacious behavior, they also show how easily Stephen's
his father to return from discussing Stephen's acceptance into
capacity to feel can be awoken, as he imagines all aspects of
university.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Chapter Summaries 19

Each thought, each encounter serves to launch Stephen into himself to be.
fully embracing his artistic nature. Impatient, he heads for the
beach, passing a group of Christian brothers, who elicit from
Stephen a somewhat painful reminder of all the reasons why Chapter 5
he chose not to join the clergy. He shifts from pangs of guilt to
his personal fulfillment through his artistry with words. He
encounters classmates horsing around in the sea, and notes
Summary
his differences from them, and is somewhat flattered by their
nicknames. A chance meeting of a young girl wading in a
stream lifts his soul into rapture at all the world still holds for
University Life
him. He walks far out to the edge of the tide, enfolding into his
being all that the earth provides and completing his departure As the chapter opens Stephen leads the listless and somewhat
from the cold spirituality of the priesthood. At sunset he falls unstructured life of a student, and the lifestyle seems to suit
asleep. him better than the rigors of clergy training. He breakfasts at
home, amid pawn tickets and squalor, where his mother chides
him for not bathing and his father curses him. Arriving late to
Analysis the university, he finds he has missed two classes and falls into
a conversation about aesthetics with the dean of studies. The
The chapter shows the passion and imagination with which
dean proposes an aesthetic of usefulness, functionality, as if to
Stephen throws himself into any endeavor, even if that
imply that Stephen could do well to study it. The dean supports
endeavor may not turn out to be successful—as in his striving
this by encouraging Stephen to complete his degree before he
for the priesthood. Stephen is aware of his imagination, a skill
turns completely to art. Again Stephen is reminded of the
that will serve him well as an artist. He punishes himself for
shortcomings of the clergy. He has escaped from the snare of
being as aware as he is by taking action to dull, restrict, or
family, and now escapes from the snare of religion. He proves
brutalize his senses.
his distance from world concerns and nationality when he both
refuses to sign a pledge for world peace and spurns Davin's
Stephen tests what guilt can do for his learning, craftsmanship,
entreaties to try to be more Irish, like everyone else.
and perspective. As in the previous chapter, he can reach
heights with his religious inquiry that go beyond what even the
Then Joyce provides a glimpse of Stephen's new life at the
Jesuits who teach him can understand. Therefore, after
university, and exposes his thinking of what it means for wildly
confessing his sins, he has a new perspective from which to
differing groups to agree on beauty. He dodges Cranly's surly
see the world.
negativism about life and entreaties to comply with his Easter
duty, even if it is hypocritical, and rebuffs Davin's argument that
Beginning with the sordid tragedy of his home life, and ending
he should claim himself as a true Irishman and join in the
with Stephen's acceptance of his artistic calling, the last part
movement against the British. Instead he wanders with Lynch,
of the chapter is the turning point of the novel. Stephen's
discussing his theories about what might be agreed upon to be
acceptance into university life means the world to him. He can
the constant in beauty.
continue his development in an environment more supportive
of his temperament, even though his father seems to be
making a mess of things, once again.
Emma
He quickly leaves behind the clergy walking back from the sea,
Stephen awakes after a euphoric dream where he understands
and easily distances himself from his peers. Stephen's
life from the perspective of the seraphim, or the highest order
encounter with the girl at the ocean would seem to be a brief
of angels. This transporting vision connects heavenly love with
moment. However, it serves as a marker for Stephen. No more
the love he has for Emma. He hurriedly writes down bits of a
will he find mother, home, nor clerical life to hold any power
villanelle dedicated to her, capturing what seems to have come
over him. Transported by the realization he makes this
to him in his dream, and then he has a furious inner dialogue
afternoon, he has been remade into the artist he now knows

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Chapter Summaries 20

about whether he was right to act coldly toward her when he a friend who is willing to approve of Stephen's complex
did. He has been in love with her, to varying degrees, for 10 argumentation as they walk through Dublin.
years, and reflects that her flirtation with Father Moran is
shallow compared to what he has to offer as "a priest of This level of thinking ends with yet another bird image of the

eternal imagination." young woman he admires from 10 years ago, Emma Clery,
whom he met at the birthday party. He castigates himself for
judging her penchant for chatting with the instructors, and
Cranly and Beyond instead questions if instead her life is as simple as a "rosary of
hours."
Later he meets with Cranly and reveals, to Cranly's chagrin,
that he will not do as his mother asks and fulfill his Easter duty As the novel begins to draw to a close, Stephen's maturity and
(making his confession and communion); he will not pursue the development as an artist become stronger and more clearly
priesthood, and he plans to leave Ireland. Cranly feels these defined. He has developed habits of an artist, such as the
decisions negate all the time and effort Stephen has spent up urgent need to write down lines he has dreamed so they don't
to this point, and he speaks fairly gravely and seriously to vanish. While he chides himself slightly for nursing a 10-year
Stephen about what the consequences of his choice will romantic obsession, he also engages with his own obsession in
be—isolation and exile. Stephen welcomes these things. a way that indicates he takes it very seriously, and views it as a
font of inspiration for his own writing. Stephen, in fact, views
Stephen records a series of diary entries describing his last everything at this point as potential material. This includes a
days in Dublin before both his physical departure from the city flock of birds, whose symbolic implications he ruminates over
and his departure from family, nation, and religion. He at length.
continues thinking about his discussion with Cranly, now
comparing Cranly's parents to the biblical Zechariah, who When he takes his leave of Cranly, he acknowledges he is
fathered John the Baptist at an advanced age. Stephen pieces taking a risk that may damn him through eternity. Both have a
together his responses to friendship, his country, his dreams, sense of loss during this discussion, but Stephen takes a more
and his longest love. He meets Emma on Grafton Street and universal view than Cranly does. His conversation with Cranly
announces his change of goals, which brings completion to could easily be viewed as his conversation with the entire
that part of his youth. Finally, as his mother is helping him pack, human race. In his new artistic life he understands that he
she expresses hope that he will find answers to his quest for works against the current of those individuals who have not
artistic completion, "what the heart is and what it feels." After chosen such a lifestyle and view it as frivolous.
this exchange, readers receive Stephen's grand statement of
The tone here is detached; the form Joyce has chosen here
purpose, and his call to Daedalus to bring him strength.
reflects Stephen's transformation from an observant and
deep-thinking child into an artist who transforms his world
through his imagination. On a practical level the artist needs to
Analysis assume this remove; otherwise, his unique perspective would
be affected. Readers can also see here a shift from the third-
Stephen's interests continue to build on the foundation of what
person omniscient viewpoint of the rest of the novel to a
has been established earlier in the novel. He is more confident
relaxed, confident first-person narration. At the same time the
in his thinking but shirks from drawing attention to himself,
tone suggests detachment, it also suggests closeness,
unlike Cranly. When he heads toward school from home, he
immediacy. Readers might feel as if they could get to know this
shrugs off the desperate straits his family is in and turns his
Stephen better than the one who occupied earlier pages.
mind to those things currently engaging him. He has left behind
the clever comeback of a schoolboy, and instead continues to As the novel ends, the theme of escape continues. For
pick up the thread of what now matters to him: What is art for Stephen he must leave it all. He is more focused, if no less
someone who has shed his native Gaelic for the conqueror's burdened by vice. The sense Joyce gives is that Stephen
language of English? He explains to Davin that he sees his task responds to an aesthetic call to action. The image of
to "try to fly by those nets [of nationality, language and flight—through birds on the library steps—lifts him as he looks
religion]." In Lynch he finds a dull-witted but flattering listener, to his future.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Quotes 21

times in the darkness of his soul

g Quotes
sought no outlet."
"Stephen knelt down quickly — Narrator, Chapter 2
pressing his beaten hands to his
sides. To think of them beaten and This is a description of Stephen's artistic impulses. As a
younger person he experiences them as a form of longing. He
swollen with pain all in a moment does not necessarily have the discipline to channel them into
work.
made him feel so sorry for them as
if they were not his own but
someone else's that he felt sorry "He wanted to meet in the real
for." world the unsubstantial image
which his soul so constantly
— Narrator, Chapter 1
beheld."
Stephen's response to his suffering provides detail about his
— Narrator, Chapter 2
artistic sensibility. Rather than feeling his own pain as it occurs,
Stephen imagines what another's suffering might be like—an
early indication of his ability to distance himself for the sake of Stephen's imagination is strong; in his mind he has already met
observation. the object of his affections many times. His desire to meet this
person in real life shows he is developing and maturing, aware
that love cannot live only in the imagination.

"In the soft grey silence he could

hear the bump of the balls: and ... "The growth and knowledge of
the cricket bats: pick, pack, pock, two years of boyhood stood
puck: like drops of water in a between then and now, forbidding
fountain falling softly in the such an outlet: and all day the
brimming bowl." stream of gloomy tenderness

— Narrator, Chapter 1
within him had started forth and
returned upon itself ... wearying
Two images merge here: one of sport and one of religion. him."
Stephen's mind merges the sound of others playing football
with the sound of water falling, perhaps into the baptismal
— Narrator, Chapter 2
bowl, as if playing sports were a similar sort of introduction into
widespread faith.
At this point Stephen wishes for a more mature sort of love.
His prior romantic feelings have been unrequited crushes. Now

"The ambition which he felt astir at any sense that he might not realize his passions makes him

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Quotes 22

highly frustrated. Stephen is beginning to detach himself from the cycle of sin,
guilt, and repression that previously haunted him in his religious
pursuits when the urge to sleep with prostitutes contradicted
"Pride and hope and desire like his Catholic morality. This detachment ultimately will lead to his
denial of the Catholic faith and the priesthood.
crushed herbs in his heart sent up
vapors of maddening incense
"He was destined to learn his own
before the eyes of his mind. He
wisdom apart from others or to
strode down the hill amid the
learn the wisdom of others himself
tumult of sudden-risen vapors of
wandering among the snares of
wounded pride and fallen hope
the world."
and baffled desire."
— Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 4
— Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 2

Stephen realizes his mind, soul, and life always will be shaped
Joyce memorably captures Stephen's passion and self-
independently of others. He always will be the driving force
absorption here. Stephen is feeling deeply wounded over his
behind his own development; thus he will always be a little
potentially spurned love. At the moment his hurt pride is all he
different from others.
can focus on; his senses and other instincts are completely
clouded by it.

"Or was it that, being as weak of

"His mind seemed older than sight as he was shy of mind, he
theirs: it shone coldly on their drew less pleasure from the
strifes and happiness and regrets reflection of the glowing sensible
like a moon upon a younger earth." world through the prism of a
language ... than from the
— Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 2
contemplation of an inner world of
Stephen typically feels set apart from others, either because individual emotions mirrored
they cast him out socially or because his thoughts are on a
perfectly in a lucid supple periodic
separate plane. In this instance Stephen feels more mature
than his peers, dismissing their concerns as childish and not prose?"
worthy of his attention.
— Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 4

"A cold lucid indifference reigned As Stephen thinks about creating artistic works, he finds he is
in his soul." less interested in making the world seem beautiful with vivid,
animated language than he is in reflecting it accurately. He
wants to write prose that reflects an inner structure as it
— Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 3

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Quotes 23

reveals itself to him, delaying the full impact until the "periodic
or beyond or above his handiwork,
prose," or end.
invisible, refined out of existence,
indifferent, paring his fingernails."
"Where was his boyhood now?
Where was the soul that had hung — Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 5

back from her destiny, to brood

Stephen presents his vision of an aesthetic in which the
alone upon the shame of her artwork results from tremendous craft but seems effortless
wounds and in her house of and bears no mark of the artist's personality. This is not the
same as saying the work is cold or without character; Joyce
squalor and subterfuge to queen it believes modernist work has to rise above confessional or
merely narrative impulses.
in faded cerements and in wreaths
that withered at the touch?"
"He had told himself bitterly as he
— Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 4
walked through the streets that
Stephen looks back at his earlier self, at his earlier beliefs, and she was a figure of the
wonders where his religious aspirations have gone. Viewed womanhood of her country, a bat-
from his new mature perspective, they seem to him utterly
without vitality. like soul waking to the
consciousness of itself in
"When the soul of a man is born in darkness and secrecy and
this country there are nets flung at loneliness."
it to hold it back from flight. You — Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 5
talk to me of nationality, language,
religion. I shall try to fly by those Stephen expresses his rage over unrequited affection, but he
inadvertently expresses his complex and conflicting attitude
nets." toward women as well. Stephen considers the subject of his
outburst representative of female identity in Ireland.
— Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 5

Stephen believes Irish citizens have no freedom of any kind. "Welcome, O life, I go to encounter
Irish society, with its intertwining of church and state, seems to for the millionth time the reality of
him designed to hold people back, and Stephen is expressing
his determination to preserve his personal freedom. experience and to forge in the
smithy of my soul the uncreated
"The artist, like the God of conscience of my race."
creation, remains within or behind

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Symbols 24

— Stephen Dedalus, Chapter 5 in a dark tower. Daedalus built wings from feathers and wax for
himself and Icarus so they could fly out of prison.

Stephen sets a twofold mission for himself. Not only will he After some careful planning, the father and son took flight.
immerse himself in the world around him and make its details Soon afterward Icarus, against his father's direct warning and
and impressions the subject of his work, but he also will create, flaunting the gods' powers, flew too close to the sun and died
through the heat of his imagination, a new perspective for the after the sun melted his wax wings. Embedded in Stephen's
Irish. character is the risk he will end much like Icarus through his
flaunting of religion, family, and nationalism.

The image of Daedalus and Icarus, recalls, as well, the

l Symbols symbolism of birds. In the novel birds act as Daedalus's wings,
representing flights of the imagination and his upcoming flight
into exile. Stephen sees birds when he is musing on a
complicated idea or question. Birds provide a distraction for
Colors him and also symbolize the inner movement of his thoughts; he
is flying away from his task because—although he doesn't
realize it yet—he finds the work abhorrent. One of the most
Opposing colors, particularly maroon and green, represent prolonged meditations on birds as harbingers of exile occurs in
opposites or opposing views. One of the earliest examples of Chapter 5, just before Stephen is about to tell his classmate
color opposition occurs at Clongowes when Stephen is very Cranly he has decided not to pursue the priesthood; he
young. As he sits in class as part of a team named after the suggests here that the birds might also represent "departure"
War of the Roses, he struggles to solve a math problem to or "solitariness." Stephen calls on Daedalus for strength as he
please his teacher. However, his mind wanders to thoughts of stands on the brink of leaving Ireland for good to develop his
roses standing out against green grass. After he abandons any artistic life.
thought of doing his math problem, he muses there can be no
such thing as a green rose. Stephen shares his first name with the first Christian martyr,
St. Stephen, who was stoned to death after being falsely
Joyce also makes use of the contrast between white and black accused of blasphemy (speaking negatively about God). The
or light and dark as a current that runs through the book. There name suggests Joyce's character suffers as a result of his
are multiple examples of black or darkness as negative: strong faith and is willing to die for it. This is certainly true of
brothels and the shadows Stephen sees with his broken Stephen when he initially commits himself to the Catholic
glasses, for example. In contrast, white or light is positive, such Church and its teachings. Later, the meaning shifts, as he
as Eileen's ivory hands. dedicates himself to art, which leads him to leave behind all
that created him: family, Ireland, and his faith.

Stephen Dedalus
Wading Girl
Stephen's last name recalls the ancient Greek myth of
Daedalus, a story of aspiration. Daedalus was a great builder Toward the end of the book, Stephen bolts from his family's
and thinker. One of his most famous creations was a labyrinth, house and strides through the streets of Dublin, finally finding
created for King Minos of Crete to imprison the monstrous himself at the ocean. There he sees a girl standing in the
Minotaur. The labyrinth was so complicated Daedalus himself waves, "as delicate as a crane." The girl is wholly perfect for
had trouble finding his way within it. King Minos was infuriated this moment; her appearance marks Stephen's commitment to
after the hero Theseus solved the labyrinth and killed the art. She is a muse who contains within her being all of
Minotaur; the king subsequently locked Daedalus and his son Stephen's dreams. Stephen's feeling when he looks at her is

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Themes 25

the same feeling artists have when they are inspired: elation
combined with a desire to make a great work. So the wading Inner Conflict
girl symbolizes for him the artistic ideal, the hunger within every
artist to create a perfect representation of an artistic vision.
Looming throughout the first half of the novel is the question of
Stephen's vocation. Should he pursue the priesthood—a choice
society would view as wise—or will he follow his spirit's calling
Writing and become a writer? His master at the Jesuit school believes
Stephen is well suited for the priesthood. Throughout the
novel, Stephen certainly demonstrates an understanding of
Throughout the novel, the act of writing is linked to rebellion guilt, as when he has a nightmarish vision of the afterlife as an
and Stephen's awareness of his unique vision. One of the very unbearably hot, dank plain populated by half-human, half-goat
first instances of this occurs in the first chapter, when readers figures. However, just as often, he lets his mind wander and
learn Stephen has written an elaboration on his name and writes poems or records impressions for them. Stephen's inner
address in one of his textbooks, beginning with his name and conflict plays out in the exaggerated way he imagines
ending with "The Universe" as his location. Though playful the punishment for his sins; in the torture he feels when his
gesture indicates an impulse to see his place in the world as superiors in academic institutions speak of rigorous virtue—as
inclusive—an impulse that will become more prevalent as when Father Arnall speaks about Sebastian; and in the drive he
Stephen gets older. uses to push himself forward after he makes his final decision.
His impassioned walk to the sea near the novel's end is as
much an attempt at escape as a reaction to profound
restlessness.
m Themes

Spiritual Homelessness
Inspiration

Having or lacking a home is an important theme throughout the

Throughout the novel, Stephen Dedalus seeks artistic novel. Home means several things to Stephen. In the literal
inspiration wherever he can find it: in brothels, gutters, the sense his family has no steady home. Because of Simon's
natural world, his classroom, friendships, and the depths of his financial irresponsibility, the family must continually pack up
own nightmares. He doesn't always realize he is looking for and move from place to place. Similarly, Stephen must change
inspiration; he finds himself driven toward certain impressions, schools and academic situations. In a broader, more symbolic
or ways of viewing the world and doesn't necessarily think of sense, Stephen is without a path, so he cannot feel at home in
them as linked to artistic pursuits. For instance, when he is the world. A path—the priesthood—has offered itself to him,
outside at recess in Clongowes, he longs to be lying in front of but Stephen does not feel entirely comfortable following it, so
a huge, warm fire, where he can continue his close he chooses instead to leave it, as a first step toward his own
observations, indicating that he is aware that his nature is exile. He wanders literally through the back alleys of Dublin and
different from his peers. Only as he achieves maturity does he spiritually through the twists and turns of his own intentions.
shift from a focus on religious inspiration toward an aesthetic The novel's ending can be seen as his acceptance of exile, as a
one, using his observations of language and life to create art. sort of homecoming, then, regardless of whatever insecurity an
artist's life might offer. Because Stephen feels confident in his
decision, he is more completely at rest.

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Study Guide Motifs 26

b Motifs e Suggested Reading

Beja, Morris. James Joyce: A Literary Life. N.p.: Ohio State UP,

Father Figures 1992. Print.

Ellmann, Richard. James Joyce. New York: Oxford UP, 1983.

Viewed from one perspective, the novel is full of father figures. Print.
Simon Dedalus, Stephen's biological father, becomes a
deteriorating image of family. He and Stephen are close, but Levin, Harry. James Joyce: A Critical Introduction. New York:
Stephen clearly recognizes his father's flaws: Simon's drinking, New Directions, 1960. Print.
long-windedness, social flattery, and fiscal irresponsibility.
Stephen's masters and teachers at his various schools also Potts, Willard. Joyce and the Two Irelands. Austin: U of Texas,
serve as sources of familial warmth, either disciplining Stephen 2010. Print.
or indicating possible life paths to him, as when the rector at
Wollaeger, Mark A. James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a
Stephen's Jesuit school suggests strongly that he join the
Young Man: A Casebook. New York: Oxford UP, 2003. Print.
priesthood.

Quotations
Joyce uses literary quotations throughout the novel.
Sometimes they are a reference to Stephen's early sincere
prayers, and later they poke fun at the seriousness of
university work. They also serve as a reminder that Stephen
Dedalus's truest love is for the written word, even though he
begins a life in the priesthood.

One of the earliest quotations in the book is a set of lines from

Stephen's spelling book at Clongowes, beginning "Wolsey died
in Leicester Abbey"; Stephen recognizes the words are "like
poetry" because his artistic sensibility is struck by their beauty
despite their purpose to teach spelling. Later, when he is at the
Jesuit school and is reading a Latin passage out loud, he "[lulls]
his conscience to its music," as often the meaning of words is
far less important to him than their sound.

Joyce juxtaposes popular music of the time with the scholarly

quotations. Traditional Irish song manifests the draw of
nationality for Stephen, as the words stir love in his heart. Near
the very end of the book, Joyce includes a William Blake
quotation about the death of a character named William Bond.
Stephen cries inwardly, "Alas, poor William!" in sympathy for
William Bond and in empathy with William Blake; he also
alludes to the famous cry, "Alas, poor Yorick," from
Shakespeare's Hamlet—a cry Hamlet utters while staring at a
dead man's skull. Words from across time stir Stephen's soul
as he gathers them in preparation for his exile as an artist.

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