“Portrait of an artist in his youth” by Joyce in brief
Stephen Dedal remembers how in childhood his father told him a fairy tale about the boy Bu-bu and the cow Mu-mu, how his mother played a piano dance to him on the piano, and he danced. In school in the preparatory class, Stephen is one of the best students. The children are surprised by his strange name, the third-grader Wells often teases him, and one day even pushes a lavatory at the point for the fact that Stephen did not want to exchange his little snuffbox for his dice, which he won forty times in grandmas. Stephen counts the days before the Christmas holidays when he goes home. He remembers how his family argued about Parnell – Dad and Mr. Casey considered him a hero, Denti condemned, and Mom and Uncle Charles were not on any side. This was called politics. Stephen does not quite understand what politics is, and does not know where the universe ends, so he feels small and weak. The Jesuit College of Klongouz, where Stephen studies, is a privileged institution, and Stephen
Several boys escaped from college, but they were caught. Students discuss the news. No one knows for sure why they ran away, there are a lot of rumors about it. Stephen tries to imagine what the boys did to them to run. He broke his glasses and can not write, for which the inspector called him a lazy little loafer and painfully lapped
Stephen realizes that his father is in trouble. He is taken from Klongouz. The family moved from Blackbrock to Dublin. Children’s evening is held in Haroldkross. After the evening, Stephen goes to the horse with a girl he likes, and dreams to touch her, but does not dare. The next day he writes poetry and dedicates it to her. One day, his father reports that he met with the rector of the Klongouz College, and he promised to arrange Stephen at the Jesuit College Belvedere, Stephen remembers the school play in Belvedere for the Day of the Spirit. It was two years after the children’s evening in Harold Cross. He imagined all day how he would meet that girl again. Stephen’s friends are making fun of him, but they can not get him off balance. Stephen does not trust frenzied feelings, they seem unnatural to him. He feels happy, Only when there is one or among his ghostly friends. After the performance, Stephen sees his home, but does not meet the one he likes, which he so hoped to see. He rushes headlong into the mountains. The wounded pride, the trampled hope and the deceived desire envelop him with his dope, but gradually he calms down and goes back. Stephen goes with his father to Cork, where his father’s youth passed. The father is ruined, his property will be sold at auction, Stephen sees it as a rough assault on the world of his dreams. Stephen feels almost older than his father: he does not feel in himself the joy of friendly communication, nor the strength of health, nor the beating of life, which was once so fully felt by the father and his friends. His childhood was over, and he lost the ability to enjoy simple human joys. After the performance, Stephen sees his home, but does not meet the one he likes, which he so hoped to see. He rushes headlong into the mountains. The wounded pride, the trampled hope and the deceived desire envelop him with his dope, but gradually he calms down and goes back. Stephen goes with his father to Cork, where his father’s youth passed. The father is ruined, his property will be sold at auction, Stephen sees it as a rough assault on the world of his dreams. Stephen feels almost older than his father: he does not feel in himself the joy of friendly communication, nor the strength of health, nor the beating of life, which was once so fully felt by the father and his friends. His childhood was over, and he lost the ability to enjoy simple human joys. After the performance, Stephen sees his home, but does not meet the one he likes, which he so hoped to see. He rushes headlong into the mountains. The wounded pride, the trampled hope and the deceived desire envelop him with his dope, but gradually he calms down and goes back. Stephen goes with his father to Cork, where his father’s youth passed. The father is ruined, his property will be sold at auction, Stephen sees it as a rough assault on the world of his dreams. Stephen feels almost older than his father: he does not feel in himself the joy of friendly communication, nor the strength of health, nor the beating of life, which was once so fully felt by the father and his friends. His childhood was over, and he lost the ability to enjoy simple human joys. He rushes headlong into the mountains. The wounded pride, the trampled hope and the deceived desire envelop him with his dope, but gradually he calms down and goes back. Stephen goes with his father to Cork, where his father’s youth passed. The father is ruined, his property will be sold at auction, Stephen sees it as a rough assault on the world of his dreams. Stephen feels almost older than his father: he does not feel in himself the joy of friendly communication, nor the strength of health, nor the beating of life, which was once so fully felt by the father and his friends. His childhood was over, and he lost the ability to enjoy simple human joys. He rushes headlong into the mountains. The wounded pride, the trampled hope and the deceived desire envelop him with his dope, but gradually he calms down and goes back. Stephen goes with his father to Cork, where his father’s youth passed. The father is ruined, his property will be sold at auction, Stephen sees it as a rough assault on the world of his dreams. Stephen feels almost older than his father: he does not feel in himself the joy of friendly communication, nor the strength of health, nor the beating of life, which was once so fully felt by the father and his friends. His childhood was over, and he lost the ability to enjoy simple human joys. his property will be sold at auction, Stephen sees this as a rude assault on the world of his dreams. Stephen feels almost older than his father: he does not feel in himself the joy of friendly communication, nor the strength of health, nor the beating of life, which was once so fully felt by the father and his friends. His childhood was over, and he lost the ability to enjoy simple human joys. his property will be sold at auction, Stephen sees this as a rude assault on the world of his dreams. Stephen feels almost older than his father: he does not feel in himself the joy of friendly communication, nor the strength of health, nor the beating of life, which was once so fully felt by the father and his friends. His childhood was over, and he lost the ability to enjoy simple human joys.
Stephen is a scholarship student and the first student in Belvedere. Having received a scholarship and a prize for written work, he leads the whole family to dinner in a restaurant, then spends money without expense for entertainment and pleasure, but money quickly ends and the family returns to the usual way of life. Stephen is sixteen years old. The carnal desires completely subjugate Steven’s imagination. He craves closeness with a woman. One day he accidentally wanders into a quarter where there are a lot of brothels, and spends the night with a prostitute. Devotion has left Stephen: his sin is so great that he can not be redeemed by hypocritical worship of the All-Seeing and Omniscient. Stephen becomes the head of the brotherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary in college: “The sin that turned the face of the Lord from him involuntarily brought him closer to the intercessor of all sinners.” If he was sometimes embraced by the desire to rise from his place of honor, repent to all and leave the church, then one glance at the faces around him was enough to suppress this impulse. The rector announces that spiritual exercises will commence in memory of St. Francis Xavier, the patron of the college, which will last three days, after which all the students of the college will go to confession. Listening to the sermon, Stephen increasingly feels his viciousness, more and more ashamed of his depravity. He repents in the soul and is eager to atone for his shameful past. He must confess his sins, but he does not dare to do it in the school church. He is ashamed to tell his confessor about his sins. In a dream, he is tormented by nightmares, pursued by infernal visions. Stephen goes to wander through the dark streets, at some point he asks where the nearest church is and hurries to go there. He prays, confesses to the old priest and vows to renounce forever the sin of fornication. Stephen leaves the church, feeling that “invisible grace envelops and fills all his body with ease.” He begins a new life.
Stephen’s daily life consists of various feats of piety. He seeks to atone for the sinful past by unceasing self-torture. The rector calls him to him and asks if Stephen feels a true vocation in himself. He invites him to join the order. It is a great honor, it is given to few. He must think. Saying goodbye to the rector, Stephen sees on his face a bleak reflection of a dying day and slowly takes away his “hand, which has just timidly recognized their spiritual union.” In his memory there are gloomy pictures of the life of the college. In the order, a gray, measured life awaits him. He decides to refuse. His destiny is to avoid all social and religious bonds.
Stephen looks at the sea, at the girl in front of him in the stream, and the feeling of earthly joy overflows him.
Stephen is a university student. His family lives in poverty, his father drinks. Stephen reads Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, as well as Newman, Ibsen, Guido Cavalcanti, Elizabethans. He often misses classes, wanders through the streets, in his head the verses are composed by themselves. His thoughts shift from yellowing ivy to yellow ivory, to the Latin grammar where he first met the word ebur, to Roman history… “He was bitterly aware that he would forever remain only a timid guest at the festival of world culture.” After being late for classes, Stephen in the classroom converses with the priest, who kindles the fireplace. Stephen suddenly feels keenly that English, native to the priest, for him, Stephen, is just acquired, close and alien at once. At the university, signatures are collected under the call of Nicholas II to establish “eternal peace.” Stevens refuses to sign. His friends Cranly and Daveen sign the document, condemning Stephen for being away from everything. Stephen wants to avoid networks of nationality, religion, language. He reflects on compassion, fear. He tries to explain to his comrades his views on art. In his opinion, “art is a person’s ability to rationally or sensually perceive an object with an aesthetic purpose.” Stephen discusses the origin of the aesthetic image in the imagination of the artist. He is close to the term Luigi Galvani – the fascination of the heart. At night, half asleep Stephen composes love poems, writes them down so as not to forget. His favorite girl is a member of the Gaelic League, which advocates the revival of the Irish language. Seeing her flirting with the priest, Stephen stops attending classes in the league. But now it seems to him, that he is unfair to her. Ten years ago, he was already devoting her poetry after a joint ride on a horse. Now he thinks about her again, but he does not send these new poems either. Stephen recalls the scandal that erupted at the premiere of Yates’s play Countess Kathleen, the vicious cries of Irish nationalists who accused the author of distorting the national character. Stephen finally departs from religion, but Cranly notes that, despite this, he is thoroughly imbued with religion. Stephen does not want to partake of the Passover and because of this quarrels with his pious mother. Cranly persuades him not to deliver the mother unnecessary sorrows and do what she wants, but Steven does not agree. Steven wants to leave. “Where?” asks Cranly. “Where it will be possible”, – Stephen answers. He will not serve what he no longer believes in, even if it’s his family, his homeland or the church. He will try to express himself in one form or another of life or art as completely and freely as he can, defending himself only with those weapons he considers possible for himself – silence, expulsion and cunning. He is not afraid to remain alone or be rejected for someone else’s sake. And he is not afraid to make a mistake, even a great mistake.
Accidentally in the crowd, Steven meets a girl he likes. She asks if Stephen writes poetry. “About whom?” Stephen asks. The girl is embarrassed, Stephen becomes sorry for her, and he feels like a scoundrel. Therefore, he quickly translates the conversation into another topic and talks about his plans. They say goodbye. A few days later Stephen leaves.
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