A PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN – JAMES JOYCE

JAMES JOYCE (1882-1941)

 He is an early 20th century Irish novelist and poet.
 Joyce is one of the pioneers of ‘stream of consciousness’ technique in the novel, moments
of ‘epiphany’ for characters and events, and the poetic rendering of his prose
 He is one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th
century also.
 Joyce was a polyglot.
 In 1914 he published his first book, Dubliners, a collection of 15 short stories.
 In 1916,he published his second book ‘A Portrait of the artist as a young man’. The
publication history was not pleasing to Joyce. No English publisher wanted to publish it.
JAMES JOYCE (1882-1941)
 Born in Dublin into a middle-class Catholic family
 Mother-devoutly Catholic, father ‘anti-clerical’
 1881-91 – Joyce attended the Jesuit school Clongowes Wood College
 1893- 1898 – Bevedere College
 1999-1902 – University Dublin College
 1902 – left Ireland for Paris
 1904 - Left for the continent permanently for his self-imposed exile to pursue a writing
career abroad
 However, Ireland and his own urban, Catholic background and experience was the central
subject of his writing
 saw both the Irish Literary and Gaelic Revivals as restrictive and in the service of a narrow-
gauge nationalism, instead influenced by the wider European literary tradition
His works
 “Dubliners” – to reveal the ‘paralysis’ at the heart of Irish society, each of the 15 stories
dealing with a different aspect of Dublin life
 Ulysses (1922) and Finnegan’s Wake (1939) – known for their stylistic, narrative and
linguistic innovations which links him with Modernism
 ‘Portrait..’ stands on the cusp between the naturalism of Dubliners and the formal
experimentations of the later work
 The experimental nature of the work that breaks from strict conventions of novelistic
realism
 More faithful to the impressionistic rendering of the significant events in Stephen’s
development – other characters defined only in terms of protagonist’s perceptions of and
relation to them
JAMES JOYCE (1882-1941)
 1904 - a rejection of his essay by the Irish Journal Dana leads to the birth of the novel
Stephen Hero revised over the period between 1907 to 1914.
 1911 – frustrated over his lack of financial and publishing success, throws the manuscript
into the fire.
 Initially serialized in the London journal the Egoist, the book form of the novel with the
changed title first published by an American publisher in 1916.
 Comparison between Portrait to its earlier incarnation, Stephen Hero
 Lenghthier – 900 pages with 25 chapters
 Fully realized characters to shadowy versions of them in Portrait
A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man – in a
nutshell
 The novel traces the development of a young man from early infancy to young adulthood.
 Divided into 5 long chapters for density and intensity. Each chapter covers a particular
period of the boy’s life.
 First chapter- Stephen’s early childhood from infancy to his time at Clongowes (Jesuit
school)
 Second chapter – his burgeoning sexuality and inquiring self. His entrance to Belvedere,
his acting as a farcical pedagogue in a school play, his defense of Byron against the boys.
His visit to a prostitute..
 Third chapter – principally dominated by a long sermon at a Retreat about Hell – forcing
penitence from the boy – Stephen’s confession
A Portrait of an Artist as a young Man – in a
nutshell
 Fourth chapter – gradual decline of this religious intensity and the gradual rise of the
importance of art.
 Are you going to choose priesthood? Going to university instead.
 Ends with a moment of epiphany (tableau vivant scene) Stephen walking on the beach,
seeing a girl who he figures in tropes and metaphorically produces a bird-girl – his name
Dedalus. He embraces art and turns away from his religious impulse.
 Fifth chapter – Stephen in university, Stephen famously saying he will not serve – either
his home, fatherland or the church. His conversation with three friends, about art, religion
and mother love. Writes a villanelle. Last part is a diary entry written by Stephen (for the
first time, he gets his own voice) – makes his declaration that he his going off, flying,
‘forging a consciousness that his race is lacking’
Setting – Social & Political landscape
 The period that he grew up in (also the period of the novel – 1880’s to the turn of the
century) is superficially a period of stasis - the great political excitements of the 1880s
revolved around the promise of Home rule.
 The great nationalist Irish leader Charles Parnell has just died in disgrace.
 It’s a time of anglicization, modernization, stability. British Parliament and the Catholic
Church seem to be in control.
 But everything is going to change. Cultural Upheavel is about to change the world. And
that coming change is indicated towards the end of the novel.
 Period of sunset in Victorian Ireland.
 Joyce born to a Roman Catholic family, Catholic church is a very powerful authority in the
land. Immense social and implicitly political power. Catholic establishment working along
with the British Imperialism in running Ireland
Setting – Social & Political landscape
 There is a countering movement against the anglicization of Irish society & politics. There
is the beginnings of cultural nationalist revolution (1890’s)
 Rise of independent nationalist movement, cultural nationalism, regaining the national
language, declaring for independence rather than autonomy within the Empire (promised
by Home Rule)
 Writing from abroad (Trieste) about home and his immediate country’s past.
How these contexts shape the novel
 The novel is profoundly engaged with the cultural, social & political events of late 19 th and
early 20th century Ireland.
 Stephen’s individual conscience is inextricably linked with the Irish nation
 Ireland’s search for national identity – Stephen’s own painful road to maturity…
History, society & culture – context in detail
 Ireland – successive waves of invasion from the 9th cent.. By the Normans(12th cent) & the
Tudors (16th cent)
 Military subjugation of Ireland in the reign of Elizabethan I
 Roman Catholicism – symbol of those Irish factions resistant to British colonialism.
 Military force and penal laws against Catholics ensured hegemony of new Protestant
English settlers.. Could not own land, disenfranchised and couldn’t participate in
government
 United Irishmen Uprising (1798)
 Passing of the Act of Union (1800) – the Irish parliament was dissolved and the United
Kingdom of Britain & Ireland was formed..
Political &then a cultural movement– context in detail

 Fight for Catholic Emancipation, achieved in 1829 ( Daniel O’Connell – liberator) – shift
to agitating for the repeal of the Union – The Great Famine of 1845-49..
 Politics then shifted to land reform (Michael Davitt in 1879) and the issue of Home rule for
Ireland (Parnell).. Parnell`s death & disgrace..
 In the 1890s, two movements emerged – the Irish Literary Revival (ILR) & the Gaelic
Revival (GR)- defined national identity and culture..attempt to forge a link with the Irish
ancient, pagan, Celtic pre-colonial past..
 Increasingly militant Catholic nationalism that overshadowed the Anglo-Irish Protestants
and the Protestant Ascendancy.. Believed that Ireland’s authentic cultural nationalist
identity was unquestionably Gaelic & Catholic in origin..(Gaelic League- 1893)
Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-91)
 Parnell was the powerful & popular Irish politician (leader) of his time. Fought for the Irish
Home Rule movement from 1877
 Leader of the Irish National Party, his power compelled British PM Gladstone to move
towards granting some measure of limited independence (or ‘Home Rule’ to Ireland.
 His political career ended in 1890 (with it, hopes for Home Rule) when he was named in
the divorce case of Katherine O’Shea, as this led to his denouncement by the Irish Catholic
clergy and abandonment by his own political party.. The parliamentary campaign for Home
Rule collapsed and Parnell dies a broken man shortly after 1891..
 He is a polarizing figure whose death influences many characters in the novel
 Parnell represents the burden of Irish nationality that Stephen comes to believe is
preventing him from realizing himself as an artist.
Bildungsroman – coming of age story

 The novel is also termed Bildungsroman as it nicely depicts the development of a young
boy from childhood to manhood.
 Another terms used for the novel are ‘aesthetic autobiography’ or ‘kunstlerroman’ –
focusing on the spiritual and emotional formation of the artist
 The boy is confuse either to stay at home or to achive his dream to be an artist by leaving
home.
 No doubt, Daedalus has a close connection with the family, religion as well as country, yet
he disassociates from them to fulfill his dream to be an artist.
Greek Allusions/Myths

 The novel recalls many Greek symbols and allusions.

 First is its Epigraph “And he turned his mind to unknown arts” is directly quoted from Ovid’s
character, who constructed a labyrinth to capture the giant.
 Second is the hero Stephen Dedalus, whose name bears the resemblance with Dedalus, the
creator of Labyrinth. Same character again re-mentioned in Ulysses, another famous novel by
James Joyce in 1922.
 Although Stephen has a direct reference of Dedalus, yet he is more like his son Icarus, the third
Greek symbol.
 Icarus was the son of Daedalus, the highly respected and talented Athenian artisan. Both of
them were imprisoned in the labyrinth. To come out Daedalus managed two big wings and
attached them to their shoulders with wax. He taught the art of flying like birds to Icarus, but
told him not to go closure to the Sun as the sunlight would melt the wax. Defying Daedalus’s
warning, adventurous Icarus started flying and had gone very close to the Sun. Wax melted and
Icarus had to embrace death. This was the first flight of man.
Features of modernism in the novel

 Experimental and self-reflexive approach to form & language

 Anti-realist – loss of any belief that a stable ‘real’ world can be unproblematically depicted
in representational language
 Portrait..breaks with strict conventions of novelistic realism in favor of a more
impressionistic rendering of the significant events in the protagonist’s development. Other
characters are defined only in terms of Stephen’s perception of & relation to them – how
interactions with them relate to Stephen’s himself.
 Intense focus on Stephen’s psychological, spiritual & artistic development
 Development shown not only through plot and basic description but also through subtle
changes in the narrative & stylistic techniques through the chapters..
First chapter – language & identity
 Stephen’s earliest childhood memories / experiences as a schoolboy at Clongowes Wood
College / first encounters with the world of Irish politics
 Stephen’s responses to the sensory stimulations of the external world
 Loose associational style linking seemingly unconnected thoughts & images
 Stephen gradually situates himself in relation to the world around him
 Develops an identity largely through a recognition of the differences between himself and
others
 It is through language that Stephen begins to understand his relationship to others – language
is the primary mode of negotiating and shaping the world around him and finding his place
within it..
 Attempts to appropriate the language of his father to make it his own..
First chapter – sensory impressions
 Stephen’s attempts to understand the meaning of words and the connections between words
and things
 The ideas with which he grapples (struggles to make sense) become more complex as he
grows up – meaning of kiss, belt and suck…
 Recurring patterns of images – the senses of cold, wet, damp, slime & water – these
sensations are closely linked in Stephen’s mind
2nd chapter – decline & indulgence
 Stephen begins to impose his own visions on to the world around him – to shape his
environment and intellectualize his experiences..
 Against the family’s steady social & economic decline( other disconcerting changes in his
environment) dismantles Stephen’s naïve faith in the world.
 From the reliable constancy of his boyhood where people and places change for the worse
 Stephen’s flight from the reality of experience
 Stephen’s attempts to introduce a semblance of order by: finding refuge in literature (Mount
of Cristo & Byron) and by using money from a school prize to temporarily forget their state
of poverty –splurging on gifts, loans
3rd chapter – Stephen’s spiritual growth
 begins with Stephen’s gluttonous appetite and nightly visits to brothels
 Announcement of a retreat for the students
 The sermons have a profound effect on Stephen
 He is filled intense feelings of sin and guilt and a desire for confession & redemption
 He struggles to free himself from his sensory indulgences and embrace the spiritual realm
 The language of the sermon is itself erotizicised – torture meted out to sinners is described in
agonizingly gruesome details
 Sermon’s focus on the four last things – death, heaven and hell
3rd chapter – Stephen’s repentance
 Stephen egocentrically reacts to the sermon by feeling an intense sense of his own fallen
state
 “Every word of it was for him. Against his sin, foul and secret, the whole wrath of God was
aimed.’
 Stephen conflates the figures of the Virgin Mary & EC into angelic guides who can lead him
towards spiritual renewal and intercede with God for his salvation.
 The chapter ends with Stephen’s sense of rebirth after confessing his sins.
4th chapter – Spiritual flight and fall
 Stephen’s moment of spiritual elation is described drily with his formal religious
observances and duties
 He suffers the trials and temptations as he practices abstinences and disciplines himself
against his worldly desires
 Moments of doubt and scruples
 True to the novel’s theme, Stephen’s rigorous schedule of devotion and prayer is short-lived,
as he falls back into earthly realities.
 His acts of piety are intellectual and spiritual without substance or feeling
 He observes a ‘spiritual dryness’ his Roman Catholic existence – a life denying force that
instills in him a fear and loathing of sensual experiences
 ‘ Do you have a vocation?’ Stephen rejects the prospect of a religious vocation - “the chill
and order of life repelled him”
4th chapter – Spiritual flight and fall
 Stephen acknowledges that his destiny was to be elusive of social or religious orders….
 The chapter ends with Stephen’s epiphanic experiences of the ‘call of life to his soul’ – a call
to life that is the ‘falll’ into the ways of the world
 Accompanied by the revelation of his artistic vocation
 His accosting a bird-girl , the meaning of his name –
 Epiphany that sparks Stephen’s turning point towards a literary life
Epiphany – spiritual manifestion of things
 Epiphanies mark the defining moments in Stephen’s spiritual and artistic development..
 “a sudden spiritual manifestation whether in the vulgarity of speech, or of gesture, or in a
memorable phase of the mind itself..”
 “”an image sensually apprehended & emotionally vibrant, which communicate
instantaneously the meaning of experiences(existence)”
 In the end of chapter 4, these moments of clarity (enlightenment/ flight) come through his
name being called out and on seeing a girl at the beach. These revelations is the certainty of
his own destiny and artistic calling.
 His name becomes a prophecy and represents the powerful image of the artist soaring above
the earth.
 Witnessing the girl wading in the sea(bird-girl), gives rise to a moment of spiritual clarity
that fills him with a sense of his artistic vocation – the bird-girl becomes the outward
manifestation of the call to life Stephen has just experienced.
Chapter 5- The making of the artist
 Confronted with the squalid physical realities of life at home, he takes refuge in literature,
seeing his city of Dublin through the medium of literary texts
 The chapter follows Stephen as he struggles to articulate the role of the artist and the nature
of art.
 This makes him consciously reject those duties (demanded by family, church and nation) that
would prevent him from realizing his vocation
 Takes on the mantle of Lucifer in his declaration of non-serviam as he wishes to escape from
the demands made upon him by these institutions.
 Stephen’s severing of familial and social ties is inextricably bound up with his theory of
artistic creation and the role of the artist – the need for distance and detachment
 For Stephen, the artist is the rebellious intellect (Lucifer) refusing to serve any master (the
Catholic Church)
Chapter 5
 Stephen’s also takes upon the role opposite to Lucifer (Jesus) - the betrayed victim sacrificed
by those who place worldly interests above any higher concerns.
 Stephen’s theories – his belief in the need for exile in order to realize his artistic vocation, his
sense of loneliness and difference from others – these beliefs are brought together in a view
of art and the artist that emphasizes detachment and social isolation
 He feels the highest form of art is ‘impersonal’ and that the beautiful is that which produces
‘stasis’- feelings neither of desire or loathing – his aesthetic ideal born through his repeated
attempts to negotiate his feelings of desire and loathing..
 Stephen’s movement towards realizing his destiny as an artist is further revealed in the shift
from the third to the first person voice- a crossover from the passive recipient to the active
maker, the ‘artificer’
 DETAILED SUMMARY – Chapter 1
 Stephen's father, Simon Dedalus, tells his young son an old-fashioned children's story. ( once…
 Stephen identifies with the story's character, "baby tuckoo."
 Stephen's impressions of early childhood: the cold bedsheets, the pleasant smell of his mother, the applause he receives from his
governess Dante and his Uncle Charles when he dances to thehornpipe.
 Stephen as child expresses to marry Eileen Vance, a Protestant, who lives next door for which he was threatened by Dante as, ‘eagles
will pull out Stephen's eyes if he does not apologize’
 The story shifts to Stephen's experience at ClongowesWood College.
 Stephen tries to study, but instead meditates on himself, God, and the cosmos. He examines his own address written in his
geography textbook, beginning with himself and listing his school, city, county, country, and so on in ascending order, ending in
"The Universe."
 Later a boy named Wells (ringleader of the school bullies) pushes Stephen into a square ditch,.
 Stephen tells himself that death indeed might be possible, and he imagines his own funeral.
 At the end of the section, Brother Michael announces the death of Parnell, the Irish patriot.
 The scene shifts to the Dedalus home, where Stephen has returned from boarding school for Christmas vacation. ( a Christmas
dinner: The Dedalus family, Dante, Uncle Charles, and a friend of Mr. Dedalus named Mr. Casey which turn into a debate
 Stephen watches the dispute with bewilderment, not understanding why anyone would be against priests.
 Father Dolan after vocation at school punished Stephen and Stephen complained to rector