A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man tells the story of Stephen Dedalus, a boy who grew up in Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century, as he gradually decides to free himself of all his social, family and religious bonds to live a life dedicated to art. of writing. As a boy, Stephen's Catholic faith and Irish nationality influenced him heavily. He goes to a strict religious college called Clongowes Wood College. At first, Stephen is alone and homesick at school, but as time goes by he finds his place among the other kids. He enjoys his home visits, although family tensions are high after the death of Irish political leader Charles Stewart Parnell. This sensitive topic becomes the subject of a furious and politically charged discussion during the family's Christmas dinner.
Stephen's father, Simon, is inept with money and the family is sinking deeper and deeper into debt. After a summer spent with his uncle Charles, Stephen learns that the family cannot afford to send him back to Clongowes and that they will move to Dublin instead. Stephen begins attending a prestigious day school called Belvedere, where he grows up to excel as a writer and as an actor in student theater. His first sexual experience, with a young Dublin prostitute, sets off a storm of guilt and shame in Stephen as he tries to reconcile his physical desires with the strict Catholic morality of his environment. For a while he ignores his religious upbringing himself, throwing himself with profligate abandon into a variety of sins: masturbation, gluttony, and other visits to prostitutes, among others. Then, during a three-day religious retreat, Stephen listens to a trio of fiery sermons on sin, judgment and hell. Deeply shaken, the young man decides to dedicate himself again to a life of Christian piety.
Stephen begins attending mass every day, becoming a model of Catholic piety, abstinence and self-denial. His religious devotion is so pronounced that the director of his school asks him to consider entering the priesthood. After briefly considering the offer, Stephen realizes that the austerity of the priestly life is completely incompatible with his love of sensual beauty. That day, Stephen learns from his sister that the family will move, once again for financial reasons. Eagerly awaiting news of him accepting him at university, Stephen goes for a walk on the beach, where he watches a young girl wade into the tide. He is struck by her beauty and realizes, in a moment of epiphany, that love and the desire for beauty must not be a source of shame. Stephen decides to live his life to the fullest and vows not to be bound by the boundaries of his family, his nation and his religion.
Stephen moves to college, where he develops a number of strong friendships, and is particularly attached to a young man named Cranly. In a series of conversations with his peers, Stephen works to formulate his theories on art. Although he depends on his friends as listeners, he is also determined to create an independent existence, freed from the expectations of friends and family. He becomes more and more determined to free himself from all the limiting pressures and eventually decides to leave Ireland to escape them. Like his namesake, the mythical Daedalus, Stephen hopes to build wings on which he can fly above all obstacles and achieve a life as an artist.
