The Misogyny of the Artist as a Young Man
The Misogyny of the Artist as a Young Man In most novels there are always certain aspects of the protagonist's life that serve as the basis from which the character is motivated to create or to encounter particular events. Often times these motivations are the key that the protagonist needs in order to realize their meaning in life and where their destinations lie. James Joyce cleverly uses the presence and appeal of women in his novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to allow his protagonist, Stephen Dedalus, to become cognizant of his role in life, but not without first being subjected to manipulation and confusion. Stephen's stringent childhood of strict Irish Catholicism and all-male boarding schools combined with an already intuitive yet misguided aesthetic mind, confront and conflict with the women who obliviously shape his emotional development. Since Stephen was destined to be an artist, as a child he is already hypersensitive emotionally and can be easily influenced. Stephen's earliest memories are when the first woman is presented to him, his mother Along with his mother is his nanny Dante who are both symbolic as they ignite the development of Stephen's conscience (Ben-Merre 14). Both women are tradit
Underlying the entire time in a confused mass is Stephen's sexual desires. During Stephen's awakening he comes across a climatic affirmation of his new decision to be an artist. ional and dogmatic in the ways of putting the divine and church before all things. This copulation alone symbolically confronts several issues that Stephen had with women. Stephen, being an uncomfortable, awkward child and young man examining his purpose in the world, was able to understand how the presence of the female showed him how socially inept he is with woman and how his religion and family molded him that way. New York: Greenwood Press, 1999. All the women that Stephen knew before hand cause him shame because he either had to apologize for or somehow explain why he was attracted to women, all the while giving him the impression that it was immoral to like women. So during this ironically sacramental act Stephen feels as if he is being redeemed by all women and that he can somehow be at peace with them. He then creates his own definition of art as being,".
Common topics in this essay:
Irish Catholicism,
Eileen Protestant,
Clongowe's Stephen,
Virgin Mary,
Stephen Dedalus,
Stephen Underlying,
Dedalus Dante,
Stephen Cliff,
Heavenly God,
Misogyny Artist,
portrait artist,
james joyce,
14 women,
irish catholicism,
stephen dedalus,
women served,
joyce's portrait artist,
joyce's portrait,
15 stephen,
dedalus dante,
stephen's exposure,
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Acceptance Essays
