James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – Novo shvatanje romaneskne

umetnosti

The novel follows the development of Stephen Dedalus from his earliest days, when
he was just a child, to his young adult life and his self-exile (flight). As the main focus of the
novel is the coming of age of an individual (Stephen), we can define it as a Bildungsroman.
Moreover, (to be precise) it focuses on his spiritual and emotional formation as an artist,
thus making it a Kunstlerroman. As Stephen grows, so does his awareness and
understanding about the world around him. Joyce's intent was to capture the subjective
experience through language, rather than to present the actual experience by prose
narrative. This is done by subtle changes in the narrative and stylistic techniques using:

1. Language
2. Myth
3. Epiphanies

Language

The style of the work progresses through each of its five chapters, with the
complexity of language gradually increasing. Throughout the work, language and prose are
used to describe indirectly the state of mind of the protagonist, and the subjective effect of
the events of his life. Here Joyce employs his free indirect speech, using no quotation marks
to indicate what is being said by whom. Using free indirect speech Stephen’s words are
more directly conveyed than in direct speech, however this makes it hard for us to
distinguish his own thoughts from his many quotations in the work.
The first chapter largely represents Stephen’s responses to the sensory stimulations
of the outside world, entangled in a mess of his thoughts and images. For example: the
warmth and then the chill when he wets the bed; the ‘nicer smell of his mother than of his
father’ and the ‘queer smell of the oil sheet’. Moreover, he connects negative feelings to
certain things, such as water after being ill due to him being pushed into a cold ditch. Here
Stephen takes his first step in distinguishing himself from the rest, and slowly sets the
foundation of his identity. Another example of his attempt to situate himself in the world is
when he writes down his name and then continues through Ireland, Europe, and the World
with finally ending at the Universe.
Language is the key to his understanding of the world and his position in it. By his
mastery of language, he can better relate himself to others in his environment. He uses
literature to gain this knowledge. First he is fed with simple nursery rhymes then with Latin
phrases, Newman, Byron, Shelley, Aristotle and Aquinas. In the end he combines their
language with a form of his own and transcends from a passive observer into the ‘author’ of
the book by making a small diary at the very end. Here we can take the best view possible
with the language he uses and his own artistic accomplishment.
In his teenage days Stephen became obsessed with religion, and now he thinks in a
more clear and adult manner. Paragraphs are more logically ordered than in the opening
sections of the novel, and thoughts progress logically. Maturing, Stephen's mind is now
more coherent and he is more aware of his surroundings. As he progresses so does the
language he uses. However, he still keeps his blind faith in the church, and his passionate
guilt after the Hellfire sermon stops him from thinking rationally. It is only in the final
chapter, when Stephen goes to university that he seems truly rational and matures
emotionally, intellectually as well as artistically. Here there is an episode when the talks with
the dean, and the dean tells him to be careful when he fills his funnel, however Stephen was
confused as he did not understand the word. Stephen called the funnel ‘tundish’ and said to
himself that English would always be an ‘acquired language’ for him and that ‘his soul would
fret in the shadow of his language’.
Music is also an important motif; even the language itself is melodious to Stephen as
he likes the very sound of it. It is an emotional trigger that shifts his moods or makes him
remember past memories. Music paves a way into his deepest recesses of his mind; for
example, when he heard the music coming from the theatre. It is closely connected to the
language. Stephen often cites songs, like ‘To the Moon’ of Shelley, and even writes his own.

Myth

The allusion to the Greek myth of Daedalus and his son Icarus makes an important
underlying structure that supports the novel. The novel actually opens with a sentence of
Ovid saying: “Et ignotas dimittit in artes,” (And he applies his mind to obscure arts), referring
to Daedalus which Stephen names the ‘old artificer’ at the end of his journal. So in some
way this myth sets the framework of the novel and is its central image. It keeps reoccurring
over and over again throughout the novel which basically makes it a leitmotif. For Stephen
his name is like a prophecy telling him that he will also one day take that flight.

Epiphanies

The word epiphany derives from the Greek word epiphaneia which means
manifestation. It is an experience of sudden and striking realization. In the novel epiphany is
a spiritual manifestation, with each epiphany Stephen has a breakthrough and takes on
some new meaning in life.
The best example would be his major epiphany he had while he was walking down
the beach. Firstly, he saw a group of boys yelling his name in Greek. This made him think of
his namesake and the prophecy his name carries. Moments after that, he witnessed a girl
(that reminded him of a bird) bathing in the water. They stared at each other for a time and
then he turned away. Strangely, he was not attracted to the girl physically, but in a different
(spiritual) way. She was the physical manifestation of his dream, his vision of becoming an
artist. He was in ecstasy and he felt empowered. It was this sudden burst of inspiration that
made him choose the path he now treaded.
This feeling of epiphany gave new meaning to his life, which had been on the decline
due to his father’s bad business skills. Also it put an end to his spiritual crisis when he used
to have a rigorous and disciplined life dedicated to religion. He thought: “To live, to err, to
fall, to triumph, to recreate life of life!” Stephen had finally mustered the courage to free
himself of the chains that bound him (family, religion, Nation). He was determined to pursue
his artistic life in which he had to be detached from the rest of the world, alone (usually
when he gazed at the birds he wondered whether they were free or lonely?). Stephen knew
that only through this spiritual sacrifice, of dedicating his life to art, could he truly be free.
He had to escape from that island, like Daedalus had. This would be the start of his grand
flight. Again, as the novel began, he ends with a reference to the ‘old artificer’ and telling
him to “stand him now and ever in good stead!”