A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
(James Joyce)

Portrait of the Artist as a Young man follow young Stephen Dedalus on his journey from childhood to adulthood. The story begins with a stream of consciousness narrative of Stephen’s toddler life, mere bits and pieces of memory.

As Stephen gets older, he is sent to boarding school at Clongowes, a Jesuit college based in the Catholic faith. Stephen is homesick and feels alienated from the other boys at school. He has one friend, Fleming, and even they aren’t that close.

During the summer, Stephen spends time with his Uncle Charles. He is still young, but is getting to the age where he can pick up on the tensions around him. He realizes when he isn’t sent back to Clongowes in the spring that his family is having money trouble, and soon they are forced to move to Dublin.

After a period of free time, Stephen begins attending a prestigious school, also based in Catholicism, called Belvedere. He begins to become interested in theatre and art and having tumultuous feelings brought about by puberty. He has his first sexual experience with a Dublin prostitute during a visit to the brothels, and, although at first he finds it liberating, he soon begins spiraling in guilt over his thoughts and actions.

During a week-long retreat, the teachers at Belvedere give sermon after sermon on the topics of judgment, sin and hell. The sermons teach that the world is divided in holiness and sin; if you sin, you go to hell to suffer for all eternity, and if you are pious then your soul can be saved. Deeply disturbed by the sermons, Stephen throws himself into a life of devotion, constantly praying, confessing, and suppressing his physical senses in an effort to avoid temptation.

His newfound adherence to the rules of religion does not go unnoticed, and soon a priest asks Stephen if he has a vocation to join the brotherhood. Briefly, Stephen imagines himself as a priest, but then, after leaving the meeting, repels the idea. He realizes that he is doomed to sin, to fall, because of his love of all things beautiful. He cannot live a passionless life cooped up in a church, even if it means risking his eternal soul to break free.

Stephen’s family is forced to move again, for financial reasons, and Stephen decides to attend University. He walks down by the beach, ignoring his old friends from Belvedere, and musing over his destiny. At this point, he knows he cannot join the priesthood, but doesn’t know exactly not she is a figment of his imagination; however, her beauty stirs his soul and causes him to have an epiphany. He must not be constrained by his family, religion, or society. He must be free to pursue a life of beauty, intellectualism, and passion. In other words, he must become a true artist.

At the University, Stephen becomes friends with a group of fellow intellectuals. They engage in many arguments about politics, philosophy, and religion. Stephen becomes obsessed with another girl his age and thinks about her constantly.

He realizes, however, that his ideas are independent of his friends. He is also worried about his mother, who is upset that he is openly questioning the faith. He decides that the only way he is going to fulfill his destiny is to leave Ireland behind. The novel ends with Stephen packing his bags, looking forward to the future and his life as a true artist.