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Fathers and Religion
James Joyce’s The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the subject of a
great deal of scholarly attention. As it is generally accepted as one of the greatest
works of the Twentieth Century, critics everywhere find the novel a rich feeding
ground for review. Many of these scholars delve into the relationships formed
between Stephen and his multiple father figures. Richard Ellmann speaks to this
subject saying that Stephen’s isolation is an important means to obtaining freedom
and that by allowing Stephen to experience the flaws and limitations of friendship,
he creates a representation of his hero’s broken ties with Ireland. Grant H. Redford
contributes to this by describing the manner in which the themes found in A Portrait
are given significance through the structure of this particular work of art. This point
is further argued by Dorothy Van Ghent who says that the use of stream of
consciousness is a manifestation of the isolation of Stephen’s character.
Marguerite Harkness describes Stephen’s search for a father figure as a
“quest for the father of his choice.” (55) She establishes Simon Dedalus and the
mythological Daedalus as the two poles between which “other fathers populate
Stephen’s world.” (54) Harkness concludes that “patriarchy may be an evil, but for
this young artist and for his creator it appears at worst a necessary evil.” (76)
Despite this, she maintains that it also contains positive promises of freedom and
kinship. Father Arnall is the father figure most explicitly linked to Stephen’s religion
as his sermons lead Stephen to a new, devout spirituality. Cheryl Herr, however,
states that the actual motivation behind this conversion is Stephen’s desire for
power, a prominent topic of the sermons.
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Throughout his journey in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen
Dedalus is influenced by several different father figures including his own father,
Simon Dedalus, in addition to Father Arnall, and Cranly. Each of them first provides
him with a new hope and vigor in life but each is eventually written off and
discarded in some fashion. While all the aforementioned critics address this, they
neglect to mention the effect that this has on the main character’s spirituality.
Stephen Dedalus’ ultimate rejection of the church and disenchantment with
spirituality is a result of the unsatisfactory relationships he has shared with the men
in his life.
As a small child Stephen is completely enamored of his father and takes great
delight in the time that they spend together. The story of the “moocow” is an
example of the tenderness that exists between them. At Stephen's young age he had
a love for his father; he looked up to him and thought only the best of him. When
questioned about his father by a schoolmate, Stephen simply states his true opinion
of his father, saying that he is “a gentleman." When he is somewhat older and has
come home from school for the holiday, Simon Dedalus shows great tenderness to
his son and initially makes a great effort to make Stephen’s first Christmas dinner
special and enjoyable.
Throughout the novel though, Stephen and his father's relationship becomes
progressively unsteady and Stephen becomes increasingly disenchanted with his
father, forming a sort of cynicism towards him. This is a result of several factors
including his father’s inability to effectively provide for his family financially.
Stephen believes his father is in a lot of trouble and before the family moves to
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Dublin he hears his father tell his uncle that he has enemies and in danger of being
involved in a fight. This news puts a great deal of pressure on Stephen and causes
him to pull away from his father, feeling that overhearing this information has made
him a part of the fight. This sense of being let down by the man he looked up to most
is a key factor in the development of Stephen’s spirituality. This realization that the
world is not perfect is the first step the Stephen takes on his religious journey
throughout the novel. Van Ghent postulates that “language is a creator of reality”
and that the very use of stream of consciousness writing is a reflection on the
isolation of Stephen Dedalus’ character. (60)
Because of the situation with his father at home, Stephen is particularly
motivated towards finding a positive male father figure for his life. While in school,
Stephen hears three sermons on hell given by Father Arnall, which inspires in him a
very devout sense of religion. Cheryl Herr asserts that this is largely due to
Stephen’s own sense of ambition. She states, “The concentrated repetition of ‘power’
makes inescapable the fact that in this final bid for his allegiance, the church plays
on Stephen’s most vulnerable spot—his intense desire for a mastery and for a social
validation that will enable his personal talents to find an outlet.” (92)
This is the most important event in Stephen’s early religious life as an
individual because it inspires such a drastic change. From this moment until his loss
of faith, Stephen makes a conscious decision to be a proponent of a very rigid and
very devout religion, and follows it. 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?” He then goes on to realize that "He felt only
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an ache of soul and body, his whole being, memory, will, understanding, flesh,
benumbed and weary.” (Joyce 394) Religion has suddenly and unexpectedly pushed
its way back into Stephen's life and he rushes to confession. This marks the
beginning of a period of Stephen’s life in which he is nearly as devout as his Jesuit
teachers and mentors. It is also important to note that, as Marguerite Harkness
points out, “That faith is only nominally the faith of Simon Dedalus who has, by this
point in the novel, been utterly usurped by more ‘appropriate’ fathers.” (63)
As he grows older though, Stephen eventually becomes skeptical of the faith
that was brought on through Father Arnall’s inspiration and once again Stephen
finds himself without a mentor during a transitional time in his life. That is, until he
meets Cranly at university. While Cranly is Stephen’s best friend, he also represents
another step in his journey to find a new father figure. Cranly acts as an ersatz
secular confessor for Stephen. He confides absolutely everything in his friend, just as
he used to confess to the priests his every action during his days of religious fervor.
Although he does not understand Stephen's desire and need for absolute freedom,
Cranly is a good friend to him. As they become closer and he begins to take on the
mentor role, Cranly gradually begins to encourage Stephen to conform to the wishes
of his family and put forth more of an effort to fit in with his peers—advice that
Stephen rails against. Richard Ellman states, “It may be that Cranly’s judgements of
Stephen are well-founded, but we are never allowed to regard them so. They at once
make Stephen suspicious of Cranly’s attitude towards him.” (Ellmann 92) Later in
the novel, the reader is shown again the difference between their characters when
Cranly is baffled by Stephen’s desire to be exiled and questions him, “Alone, quite
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alone. You have no fear of that. And you know what that word means?” (Joyce 519)
Stephen ultimately takes no heed of this warning though and instead moves on from
Cranly, separating himself from him and finding his own individuality and
aspirations for life.
This lack of an important father figure at every stage in his life is
instrumental in Stephen’s fall from religion. Throughout the different influences and
upheavals of his experiences, he explores separate extremes of being involved in
religion—both as an extreme example of sin in debauchery and as an extreme
example of the perfect model of catholic morality. The consequences of having so
many unsuccessful father figures are Stephen’s complete loss of faith in his religion,
Catholicism. Every male figure in his life has failed him in some form. Simon Dedalus
was unable to fulfill his duties as father, Father Arnell’s teachings are ultimately
discarded, and Cranly becomes more of a rival than a mentor.
Due to these situations, Stephen has a completely misshapen view of
fatherhood and also a lack of experience in the area of love. This makes it impossible
for Stephen to truly grasp the concept of a loving father who holds his best interests
at heart. Without a loving earthly father, he has no basis for feeling love from his
heavenly father. As Stephen grows, he slowly but inexorably distances himself from
religion. The rift between Stephen and his own earthly father figures eventually
directly mirrors the rift between Stephen and his heavenly father. His lack of
religion and turn from his own previously devout faith is a result of this.
Some may say that Stephen’s relationships with his father figures are
completely unrelated to his religious formation—or ultimate lack of such. This is,
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however, an incorrect statement. The men who hold significant positions in a
person’s young, formative years always influence the direction of his path and there
are two ways for this to manifest itself in life. For many, this involves a slow and
subtle acquisition of the father figure’s belief system. Stephen demonstrates this at
an early age through his obedience not only to Simon Dedalus himself, but also to
the priests at his school.
However, as Stephen grows older he begins to react to authority’s influence
in the opposite manner. He begins to exhibit signs of pushing against the known and
expected. He falls into a life of debauchery, which is a departure from his former life
of obedience to the rules and authority. Stephen then throws off this lifestyle by
embracing one of extreme morality and piety, which is in turn cast off by his
rejection of religion all together. Therefore, although not each father figure is
directly linked to Stephen’s spirituality throughout the entire play, they each initiate
a reaction that furthers his development in this particular area.
The final pages of the novel find Stephen Dedalus lacking any form of
direction or instruction making the decision to leave Ireland. The ultimate
realization of Stephen’s aspirations to being an artist is found in his desire for exile.
Grant H. Redford discusses this, saying, “Once he has defined what the artist can and
must do, once he has demonstrated to himself that his principles have validity in
action … he is ready for the more vital severing, the cutting off of himself from the
Church and his family and his friend Cranly.” (112)
It is at this stage in his life that Stephen embraces the final father figure
represented in the novel—that of the mythical Daedalus. This hero is an inspiration
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for Stephen’s future life and the path that he ultimately decides to take. The world
he finds himself in is gloomily oppressive and he has lost hope in it. Stephen feels
that he cannot create art in such an environment. Daedalus’ relation to flight as a
means of escape is an excellent mirror for Stephen’s own desire for such and his
ultimate exodus from Ireland.
By clearly alluding to this familiar mythological reference, Joyce provides
both hope and a warning for his hero. Stephen must discover a balance for himself.
The desire to flee Ireland must not be so overpowering that he forgets the danger of
overestimating his own value. To do this would be a disaster on the same level as
Icarus' foolish flight too close to the sun. Fully aware of this danger, Stephen
attempts to counteract it by biding his time at the university. He spends a great deal
of time developing his theories fully before attempting to leave Ireland and write
seriously.
Stephen’s spiritual growth and evolution throughout the novel is a direct
result of the manner in which he is affected by the father figures present in the
different stages of his life. Simon Dedalus was an important figure for the innocent,
child-like Stephen. Father Arnall inspires a new, devoutly religious Stephen, and
Cranly acts as mentor for an older, more cerebral Stephen. Each makes his mark on
Stephen’s spirituality, driving him in both directions, both closer and further from
religion. However, they are each in turn cast off by him and ultimately replaced by
his namesake, Daedalus, a character unconnected to religion, Ireland, and the reality
that Stephen has come to know.
Word Count: 2113
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