Essay, Research Paper: Religion In James Joyce's A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man

(nonfiction - James Joyce)

Religion in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Religion and Its Effect on Stephen Dedalus

Religion is an important and recurring theme in James Joyce's A
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Through his experiences with
religion, Stephen Dedalus both matures and progressively becomes more
individualistic as he grows. Though reared in a Catholic school, several
key events lead Stephen to throw off the yoke of conformity and choose
his own life, the life of an artist.
Religion is central to the life of Stephen Dedalus the child. He was
reared in a strict, if not harmonious, Catholic family. The severity of
his parents, trying to raise him to be a good Catholic man, is evidenced
by statements such as, "Pull out his eyes/ Apologise/ Apologise/ Pull
out his eyes." This strict conformity shapes Stephen's life early in
boarding school. Even as he is following the precepts of his Catholic
school, however, a disillusionment becomes evident in his thoughts. The
priests, originally above criticism or doubt in Stephen's mind, become
symbols of intolerance. Chief to these thoughts is Father Dolan, whose
statements such as, "Lazy little schemer. I see schemer in your face,"
exemplify the type of attitude Stephen begins to associate with his
Catholic teachers. By the end of Chapter One, Stephen's individualism
and lack of tolerance for disrespect become evident when he complains to
the rector about the actions of Father Dolan. His confused attitude is
clearly displayed by the end of the chapter when he says, "He was happy
and free: but he would not be anyway proud with Father Dolan. He would
be very kind and obedient: and he wished that he could do something kind
for him to show him that he was not proud." Stephen still has respect
for his priests, but he has lost his blind sense of acceptance.
As Stephen grows, he slowly but inexorably distances himself from
religion. His life becomes one concerned with pleasing his friends and
family. However, as he matures he begins to feel lost and hopeless,
stating, "He saw clearly too his own futile isolation. He had not gone
one step nearer the lives he had sought to approach nor bridged the
restless shame and rancor that divided him from mother and brother and
sister." It is this very sense of isolation and loneliness that leads to
Stephen's encounter with the prostitute, where, "He wanted to sin with
another of his kind, to force another being to sin with him and to exult
with her in sin." He wants to be loved, but the nearest thing he can
find is prostitution. In the aftermath of this encounter and the
numerous subsequent encounters, a feeling of guilt and even more
pronounced loneliness begins to invade Stephen's being. Chapter Three
represents the turning point of the novel, for here Stephen turns his
life around. After the sermon on sin and hell, Stephen examines his soul
and sees the shape it is in, wondering, "Why was he kneeling there like
a child saying his evening prayers? To be alone with his soul, to
examine his conscience, to meet his sins face to face, to recall their
times and manners and circumstances, to weep over them." Religion pushes
its way suddenly and unexpectedly back into Stephen's life. After his
confession at the end of Chapter Three, he begins to lead a life nearly
as devout as that of his Jesuit teachers and mentors. Even as he leads
this life, however, shades of his former self are obliquely evident
through statements such as, "This idea had a perilous attraction for his
mind now that he felt his soul beset once again by the insistent voices
of the flesh which began to murmur to him again during his prayers and
meditations." Here it is evident that, even as his life becomes more and
more devout, he can never lead the perfect and sinless life of the
Jesuit. The offer of a position as a priest is met by memories of his
childhood at Clongowes and thoughts such as, "He wondered how he would
pass the first night in the novitiate and with what dismay he would wake
the first morning in the dormitory." Stephen realizes that the clerical
collar would be too tight for him to wear. A walk on the beach confirms
this thought in Stephen's mind through the statement, "Heavenly God!
cried Stephen's soul in an outburst of profane joy." The sight of a
woman and the knowledge that, as a priest, he could not even talk to
her, finally convinces Stephen to abandon religion. His running escape
from the woman also symbolizes his run from religion and restriction, a
run to freedom, to the life of an artist.
The life of an artist is one of individuality and solitude, both of
which Stephen exhibits in the final chapter. Religion is the last thing
on Stephen's mind as he formulates his theses on art, aesthetic beauty,
ideal pity and ideal terror. While these theses are important to the
continuity of the novel, religion does not resurface until much later.
Near the end of the novel, Cranly sees the folly of the life Stephen is
trying to make for himself. He is surrounding himself with beautiful
thoughts and images, but these images will not hold him later in life.
Realizing such, Cranly gently tries to push religion back into Stephen's
life, stating, "Do you not fear that those words may be spoken to you on
the day of judgment?" This question, however, is met by the rebuke,
"What is offered me on the other hand?...An eternity of bliss in the
company of the dean of studies?" Stephen's bitterly sarcastic
denunciation of the religious life represents a final break from all
religion. The end of Stephen's life in Ireland rings hollow, for this
exchange shows the emptiness he has to show for it. In response to the
question of whether he loves his mother, Stephen says, "I don't know
what your words mean." This statement shows the lack of love in
Stephen's life that results from the absence of religion, for without
religion there can be no true feeling or outlet for these feelings.
While Stephen eventually turns away from religion, it is an important
facet in his development as an artist. Religion, originally one of the
"nets" by which he flies, leads to the loss of his naivete and later to
his disillusionment with a conformist society as a whole. Stephen's
thoughts are too independent and liberal for his contemporaries, and
thus it is inevitable that he will cast away his nets, reject society,
and become an artist. Religion disturbs, shapes, and finally changes
Stephen for good. While religion leads to an artistic and lonely life,
Stephen can never totally break from his family or need for
companionship. At the close of the novel he says, "Old father, old
artificer, stand by me now and ever in good stead," belying the fact
that no matter how independent Stephen becomes, no man can be an island.