Exploration Of Daedalus And Icarus In A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (A Portrait) demonstrates themes of religion, isolation and Irish Independence through paralysis, individual experience and freedom. Amerian (2016) states that this novel “details events which closely correspond with those of Joyce’s life himself” (p. 1036), thus making A Portrait semi-autobiographical. Joyce’s exploration through this semi-autobiographical novel uses the narrative technique, stream of consciousness which creates a closeness with the reader. Joyce’s short stories ‘The Sisters’ and ‘The Dead’ which bookend the collection Dubliners, also illustrate the themes of paralysis, isolation and religion and the effects they have on Irish life and the average Irish person. Though A Portrait expands on these topics through a series of individual experiences faced by the protagonist, Stephen Dedalus. Beginning with childhood, Joyce explores social alienation and ending with adulthood, when Stephen ultimately rejects religion, family and friends and exiles himself. Joyce creates a novel of insight into Irish life through the eyes of an artist, through his devotion to religion and later his rejection of it, through social and cultural interactions and through his role as the artist.

‘The Sisters’ is the first story in Dubliners and introduces themes which are also conveyed in ‘The Dead’ – religion and paralysis – these are common themes Joyce uses throughout many of his stories, including A Portrait.

Paralysis is first expressed in ‘The Sisters’, presented through Father Flynn. Father Flynn represents the paralysis of the Catholic Church and its ability to paralyse others, which is represented through the narrator. At the beginning of the story Father Flynn suffers a fatal stroke, and his devotion is suspected of being problematic. Joyce undermines Father Flynn’s devotion to the Catholic Church through various ways, including the narrator’s friendship with the priest, which comes into question at the beginning of the story. Old Cotter says his relationship with the priest is “bad for children” (Joyce 2014, p. 6) and explains he should be interacting with boys his own age because children’s minds are impressionable. And at the story’s end, it is revealed that the priest was found “in the dark in his confession-box” (p. 19), questioning the priest’s morals. Moreover, at the beginning of the story, the narrator uses the word “simony”, and Spinks (2009) states that this “hints darkly at Flynn’s rumour violation of priestly ethics” (p. 50). These suspicions suggest corruption in the priest and the Catholic Church, and as corruption is closely related to paralysis because it prevents progress, these moments are an extension onto the major theme of paralysis.

Joyce attempts to undermine the Catholic Church, and since most Irish people subscribed to Catholicism at the time, Joyce uses ‘The Sisters’ to illustrate the influence and power it had over Irish society. These labours of faith reveal the restraint many Irish people faced from religion and the Catholic Church, an institution which was central to Irish nationalism. Therefore, it is associated with the paralysis of broader Irish culture and traditions, which Joyce explores in ‘The Dead’.

‘The Dead’ uses the symbolism of ice and snow to capture the theme of paralysed Irish culture. Suggesting that Irish traditions, the Catholic Church and societal standards were stunted – frozen like the ice and snow. Although paralysis is a less central theme than it is in ‘The Sisters’, and the central themes of ‘The Dead’ are isolation and mortality, Joyce continues the exploration of Catholicism and Irish culture, or lack thereof. The protagonist of ‘The Dead’, Gabriel, represents this paralysis in his marriage and through isolation, especially in his lack of interest in his own country and his self-consciousness, which is challenged by two encounters with women in the story. Gabriel’s lack of interest in his own country is evident from the beginning, even being referred to as a “West Briton” (Joyce 2014, p. 293, 297) twice by Miss Ivors.

Though like ‘The Sisters’, Joyce again undermines the Catholic Church, he portrays priests as zombies through his language, “monks never spoke ... and slept in their coffins” (p. 315). This imagery supports Joyce’s belief that Catholicism has paralysed the country and is the reason Ireland fails to progress. Joyce continues with the theme of paralysis and isolation in A Portrait, though expands on the Catholic Church and individual experience. Joyce explores other themes such as the role of an artist and Irish independence. These themes are illustrated through the narrative technique; stream of consciousness, motifs such as prayer, and the symbolism of flight and music.

The narration of A Portrait is third person with a limited perspective and is focalised through Stephen. Joyce uses the narrative technique, stream of consciousness throughout A Portrait, which Simion (2013) states Joyce used because he wrote about individual experience. Simion continued that this narrative technique “consists in rendering the inner life of the characters in a continuous flow of thoughts, impressions, feelings and fantasies” (p. 57). This technique keeps the reader close to Stephen, which fosters a better understanding of him. For example, at the beginning of the story, appropriate language such as “moocow” (Joyce 2017, p. 5) is used to show Stephen’s age. This technique also allows the reader to learn how an artist perceives the world around them, and A Portrait illustrates this through Stephen’s experiences. An example of this is the use of music in A Portrait.

Joyce incorporates song into A Portrait to demonstrate Stephen as an artist from a young age. Music is expressed from the very first page of A Portrait, which Joyce often uses to express feelings, emotion and change. Combining musicality with poetry, these are the first signs of Stephen and his emerging role as an artist. Musicality is used in scenes of cultural conflict and “draw attention to clashing institutional forces” (Reilly 1997, p. 30). A notable example is the scene between Stephen and Cranly listening to “the voice of a servant ... singing as she sharpened knives” (Joyce 2017, p. 221). This is a musical scene and Cranly uses the song they hear, “Sweet Rosie O’Grady”, to challenge Stephen’s beliefs. This “perfectly unifies the critique of the institution of the church with a moment of cultural criticism” (Reilly 1997, p. 30).

Another symbol of A Portrait is Stephen Dedalus, Joyce uses the motif of prayer and the themes of religion and individualism to explore him as a symbol. Joyce begins to explore this by illustrating the shame religion promotes and the control it can have over a person. In the second chapter of A Portrait, Stephen has his first sexual experience. And in the next chapter, he is consumed by this “violent sin” (Joyce 2017, p. 93) and suffers through Father Arnall’s sermons which detail Hell and the torment sinners endure. The theme of paralysis is conveyed strongly at this moment and reveals Stephen to be paralysed by his fear of Hell. Moreover, in chapter 4, Stephen’s religious devotion is fostered by this fear and makes him a slave to the Catholic Church. While this is evidently linked to the influence and power Catholicism had over most of the Irish population, Stephen’s rejection of the church and his imagination in the final pages of the chapter presents Stephen as a symbol of Daedalus and Icarus.

At the end of the fourth chapter, Stephen imagines as “a hawklike man flying sunward above the sea” (p. 153). Joyce uses the myth of Daedalus and Icarus to convey several meanings in this chapter. The labyrinth in the myth is represented in through the Catholic Church, and escape from the labyrinth (which would hold him hostage) is Stephen’s rejection of religion. Furthermore, Joyce uses Greek Mythology to imply that Stephen must find a balance between leaving Ireland and his abilities as an artist. This is conveyed through Daedalus’ warning to Icarus, flying too close to the sea or too close to the sun would kill them. This is also Joyce’s warning to Stephen, to not overestimate his abilities. Flight is evidently part of the symbolism here, but it is used throughout A Portrait to represent freedom, escapism and departure and foreshadows Stephen’s ultimate flight into exile.

One of the most prominent themes of A Portrait is religion, though another major theme is isolation and how that closely relates to the role of the artist. Throughout the story, Stephen evidently rejects family, society and religion, and he is often isolating himself from these aspects of Irish life. Though, at the beginning of the story, Stephen experiences social alienation as a young boy. His school mates make fun of his name, with one boy (whom Stephen calls “Nasty Roche”) asking “what kind of name is that?” (p. 6), whom goes on to question Stephen’s social class. He’s even referred to as “an antisocial being” (p. 160). Though ultimately it is Stephen who rejects Irish life, his family, friends and religion, and this is consequentially self-isolating. And although Joyce uses isolation as a required sacrifice for the role of the artist, he evidently seeks exile from Ireland which he believes is stunted, frozen like the ice and snow symbolised in ‘The Dead’.

Joyce uses the imagery of cricket several times throughout A Portrait. McGarrity (2015) wrote that cricket was popular in Ireland in the late 19th century though it “remained a sport both dominated and regulated by the English” (p. 575). McGarrity (2015) continued that Joyce used the sport as a symbol for “both isolation and belonging ... refusal and defiance; a refusal to toe the nationalist line and an act of defiance against the English imperialists” (p. 576). This is one of the images Joyce used to convey English supremacy over Ireland. Thus, Stephen’s role as an artist is to give a voice to the community he is leaving behind.

Joyce’s central theme throughout A Portrait is clearly religion, the paralysing effects of religion, the power and influence of religion and the rejection of religion. Joyce uses various symbols and imagery to demonstrate religion is various tones. Though the story is essentially about a young man and his personal journey as an artist through devotion, faith, rejection, freedom and ultimately exile. Joyce’s use of the stream of consciousness narrative technique provides the audience with a real-life perspective into the life of an Irish man throughout childhood and into adulthood. This perspective gives the audience insight into the artist’s upbringing and awakening, but it also allows the audience to understand the reality of Irish traditions, such as religion and how it can affect an individual’s everyday life and psyche. Though, Joyce is evidently anti-religion, his individual experience is real, and it illustrates a certain reality which others can relate to.