A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
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- Create Date：2021-12-09 05:51:55
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：James Joyce
- ISBN：1784874612
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Summary
The portrayal of Stephen Dedalus's Dublin childhood and youth， his quest for identity through art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family， religion and Ireland itself， is also an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce and a universal testament to the artist's 'eternal imagination'。 Both an insight into Joyce's life and childhood， and a unique work of modernist fiction， A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of sexual awakening， religious rebellion and the essential search for voice and meaning that every nascent artist must face in order to fully come into themselves。
Reviews
Geoff
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My Recommendation: If you like stream of consciousness， random shifts in perspective and timeline， have at it。 If those two things are not your cup of tea then pass。 I will not be reading James Joyce again in the future no matter how many beautiful passages I stumbled into， there weren't enough to make me want to voluntarily subject myself to this again。 I fell asleep trying to read this SO MANY TIMES！ And I'm not talking fell asleep in bed， I'm talking on my lunch break at my desk in the office My Recommendation: If you like stream of consciousness， random shifts in perspective and timeline， have at it。 If those two things are not your cup of tea then pass。 I will not be reading James Joyce again in the future no matter how many beautiful passages I stumbled into， there weren't enough to make me want to voluntarily subject myself to this again。 I fell asleep trying to read this SO MANY TIMES！ And I'm not talking fell asleep in bed， I'm talking on my lunch break at my desk in the office， standing up in line at the post office， and even at one-point walking around the house specifically trying NOT to fall asleep just to get through Chapter 3！My Response: Ugh—I should've given up while I was ahead， or used the same app I used to slog my way through Ulysses。 This was the longest 215 pages of my life。I actually broke down for the last chapter and found an audiobook version from my local library to listen to at 1。25x speed while sorting data and stuff at work。 So， at the very least I can say I enjoyed the Irish accents for that portion of it and the Whaley last name shout out about 75% of the way through :-DContinue reading on my book blog at geoffwhaley。com。 。。。more
Karo
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Well， at least I can say that I've read it。 Generally not my cuppa tea though。 Well， at least I can say that I've read it。 Generally not my cuppa tea though。 。。。more
Austėja
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i really love the writing style， but the story just wasn't the one for me。 really reminded me of the lithuanian classic 'altoriu seseliai'， just less good （lol）。 i really love the writing style， but the story just wasn't the one for me。 really reminded me of the lithuanian classic 'altoriu seseliai'， just less good （lol）。 。。。more
Laura
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vale sí buen libro buen autor pero qué quieres que te diga el rollazo que me ha soltado sobre religión y nacionalismo irlandés。。。 un poco sobrevalorado en mi opinión
Sami
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Short but dense， this semi-autobiographical novel is filled with stunning prose that alternately transported me and bored me。 This is a book I will need to come back to， preferably in a classroom or research context， in order to appreciate it fully。 The book follows Stephen Dedalus through adolescence， though to be honest， I got pretty lost between his young childhood and his mid-teen years。 The middle chapters of the book were like a fever dream， and the uncertainty about what happened or what Short but dense， this semi-autobiographical novel is filled with stunning prose that alternately transported me and bored me。 This is a book I will need to come back to， preferably in a classroom or research context， in order to appreciate it fully。 The book follows Stephen Dedalus through adolescence， though to be honest， I got pretty lost between his young childhood and his mid-teen years。 The middle chapters of the book were like a fever dream， and the uncertainty about what happened or what might have happened was distinctly uncomfortable， and often frustrating。 The explorations of sin and what it means to be pure are powerful and infuriating。 。。。more
jordyn
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appreciation: 4/5enjoyment: 2/5 （and who am i kidding i’m rating on enjoyment）my favorite bit in the book is this beautiful line at the end of chapter 4: “he felt above him the vast indifferent dome and the calm processes of the heavenly bodies; and the earth beneath him， the earth that had borne him， had taken him to her breast”
Ron Peters
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I can’t remember how many decades ago I picked this book up， tried the first page， and said “Forget it！”Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Modernist now？ Not me！ I’m for the most part glad that I finally read this novel/memoir。This is Joyce-lite in the same way that As I Lay Dying is the easy entry into Faulkner。This is a growing-up story like many others （ultimately justificatory， the case for the defense）， and an early experiment at modernism， and an easier-to-read precursor to Ulysses。The middle thi I can’t remember how many decades ago I picked this book up， tried the first page， and said “Forget it！”Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Modernist now？ Not me！ I’m for the most part glad that I finally read this novel/memoir。This is Joyce-lite in the same way that As I Lay Dying is the easy entry into Faulkner。This is a growing-up story like many others （ultimately justificatory， the case for the defense）， and an early experiment at modernism， and an easier-to-read precursor to Ulysses。The middle third that deals with Catholic self-torture did little for me as literature， and the long passages on aesthetic theory bored me to tears。Though a lot of the story did little to elevate me， I also must agree with the many who find that the writing itself is very good。 That famous second-to-last sentence is excellent。 。。。more
Hobart Mariner
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A perfect book exposing the artistic development of a young man's mind and heart within the confines of his family's poverty， the strictures of a Jesuit education， and the narrow Irish provincialism and nationalism of the day。 Beginning as a young schoolboy suffering the tyranny of religious instruction， we follow Stephen through a brief sexual awakening， which leads to incredibly painful scenes of religious remorse， a sudden liberation into artistic pursuit， and finally a sundering between hims A perfect book exposing the artistic development of a young man's mind and heart within the confines of his family's poverty， the strictures of a Jesuit education， and the narrow Irish provincialism and nationalism of the day。 Beginning as a young schoolboy suffering the tyranny of religious instruction， we follow Stephen through a brief sexual awakening， which leads to incredibly painful scenes of religious remorse， a sudden liberation into artistic pursuit， and finally a sundering between himself and Ireland， his family， and the church。 Joyce's manner of representing young Stephen Daedalus's feelings and memories is incredibly powerful: "He felt his cheeks aflame and his throat throbbing with song。 There was a lust of wandering in his feet that burned to set out for the ends of the earth。 On！ On！ his heart seemed to cry。 Evening would deepen above the sea， night fall upon the plains， dawn glimmer before the wanderer and show him strange fields and hills and faces。 Where？"I read this after Ulysses which makes it into the most perfect prequel ever， strongly recommend going in that order， （although maybe it's more logical and more in the author's own intended course to read Portrait first。） 。。。more
samet
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joyce abim should have kept this on draft diebilirim sadece
Mychal
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The prose is some of the most beautiful I’ve ever read。 I went to an all boys Catholic school for high school and religion never really sat well with me。 Freeing myself from the religious indoctrination was key to allowing myself to find my identity。 I became an atheist not long after I graduated。 As you might imagine， this book really resonates with me。
Ryan Hunziker
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The man was a wordsmith。 So many beautiful lines in this book。I want my tombstone to say "You can still die when the sun is shining。"。 The man was a wordsmith。 So many beautiful lines in this book。I want my tombstone to say "You can still die when the sun is shining。"。 。。。more
MohammadJavad Hamzeloo
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I listened to this Librivox recording of A Portrait。 It was an amazing rendition of a dreamy prose。 Of course， I had to listen to most chapters twice in order to take in as much as ensured me that I was keeping up。 And much of it I've left untapped， no doubt。I wonder if I would hold the book in this high a regard if it wasn't for the intimate parallels between Stephen's youth and mine: childhood memories， life on the move， religious indoctrination， political tumult， maturation， personal revo I listened to this Librivox recording of A Portrait。 It was an amazing rendition of a dreamy prose。 Of course， I had to listen to most chapters twice in order to take in as much as ensured me that I was keeping up。 And much of it I've left untapped， no doubt。I wonder if I would hold the book in this high a regard if it wasn't for the intimate parallels between Stephen's youth and mine: childhood memories， life on the move， religious indoctrination， political tumult， maturation， personal revolt。 And the dissimilarities between our journeys made his all the more stimulating。"It is a curious thing， do you know， Cranly said dispassionately， how your mind is supersaturated with the religion in which you say you disbelieve。" 。。。more
Maureen Heather
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Entertaining， funny and very short novel like real story of a young James Joyce。
Floodingbrook
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Reread this year after completing Ulysses， Dubliners， and Finnegans Wake in the last year。 In my second reading of Portrait， I was certainly better able to grasp each of the five chapters than when I first read it， 20 years ago。Still， there remain some aspects of Portrait that I have trouble connecting with and identifying as universally impactful to the coming-of-age saga， though I "get" his becoming-an-artist。 If Dubliners structures 4 aspects of Dublin society （childhood， adolescence， maturit Reread this year after completing Ulysses， Dubliners， and Finnegans Wake in the last year。 In my second reading of Portrait， I was certainly better able to grasp each of the five chapters than when I first read it， 20 years ago。Still， there remain some aspects of Portrait that I have trouble connecting with and identifying as universally impactful to the coming-of-age saga， though I "get" his becoming-an-artist。 If Dubliners structures 4 aspects of Dublin society （childhood， adolescence， maturity， public life） then Portrait only passes through the first two。 Stephen rightly picks up in Ulysses still as an adolescent forging and floundering his way in society。 Leopold Bloom， "in" the other hand （LOL）， illustrates the aspect of maturity， in a deep and meaningful way， so much more than Simon。 HCE then builds out the continuum of growth Joyce posits as a datum stitching the fabric of time and space of the greater Dublin metropolis。 Within this greater world， Portrait makes sense to me。 Stephen frees himself to become the artist that James Joyce in fact becomes。 。。。more
Matt
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Joyce says literature is the highest and most spiritual art。 “What did it avail to pray when he knew that his soul lusted after its own destruction？”A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man， possibly the most annoying title to type out， like Swann’s way， wards away the monsters of youth timidly， in character and in style。 While Proust instatiates himself as the progenitor of this timidity， Joyce evolves it， breaking the molds of fear and resurfacing above the depths of adolescence。 This book is a Joyce says literature is the highest and most spiritual art。 “What did it avail to pray when he knew that his soul lusted after its own destruction？”A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man， possibly the most annoying title to type out， like Swann’s way， wards away the monsters of youth timidly， in character and in style。 While Proust instatiates himself as the progenitor of this timidity， Joyce evolves it， breaking the molds of fear and resurfacing above the depths of adolescence。 This book is about vocation， hell， anger， words， poetry， guilt， sin， and virtue。 The shifting of scenes is done beautifully， as if the character were in bed recounting the memories of the day before going to sleep， inshading and outshading dialogue， religious quotes， descriptions of hell （there are a couple fleshy pages of that）， and daydreams of the protagonists missed lover。 This cleanly decorated platter of canon corrupts only the perfect reader。 One who misuses religion and texts to stifle all freedom。 Is the anger that releases through religious suppression more purified？ Does it provoke and flirt with inspiration？ How does an ethic， like catholicism， restrain our abilities to express ourselves？ This book is entirely the travels of a young artist through the pitfalls and triumphs of youth。“Frequent and violent temptations were a proof that the citadel of the soul had not fallen and that the devil raged to make it fall。”Aristotle， in Poetics， said tragedy is the work which evokes pity and terror。 Joyce defines these terms for the first time， saying “Pity is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the human sufferer。 Terror is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the secret cause。” I say that pity is passion’s angst， and terror is pride’s abomination。 Art that isn’t tragedy， is fueled by anger and lust。 Real art transcends these ugly realities by mirroring the life of the individual with the imagination。 Don’t project， inject。“Art， said Stephen， is the human disposition of sensible or intelligible matter for an esthetic end。”“The esthetic image in the dramatic form is life purified in and reprojected from the human imagination。” 。。。more
Jack Gill
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“The past is consumed in the present and the present is living only because it brings forth the future”。I just bloody love Joyce。 His writing always feels so alive and， while not always the most accessible on first read， is always exciting。 This was his first novel; a semi-autobiographical journey through the adolescent years of Stephen Dedalus。 From his young frightened years in school， hearing religious conversations between his father and friends， to his more debaucherous and defiant years as “The past is consumed in the present and the present is living only because it brings forth the future”。I just bloody love Joyce。 His writing always feels so alive and， while not always the most accessible on first read， is always exciting。 This was his first novel; a semi-autobiographical journey through the adolescent years of Stephen Dedalus。 From his young frightened years in school， hearing religious conversations between his father and friends， to his more debaucherous and defiant years as a teenager， as he begins to distance himself from the Catholic Church and develop his ideas on art， beauty， and aesthetics。Like the myths that Joyce so heavily pays homage to， this novel deals with epic themes of morality， sexuality and religion， yet in the way that the Irish Novelist knows best; through the corporeal experiences of one human character。 If Ulysses was Joyce innovating Homer’s The Odyssey through the mundane journey of Leopold Bloom， then A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man is more akin to Ovid’s Metamorphosis， as the reader witnesses over five chapters Stephen’s transformation into an independent， freethinking young man。 Joyce is not only a writer’s writer， but also an artist’s writer， a filmmaker’s writer and so forth。 There’s many great scenes in this novel where Joyce takes the reader from a human subject or interaction to an inanimate object， his words shifting attention like a camera tracking or cutting between scenes。 His appreciation for the cinema and his ability to incorporate its features into his writing was a technique that would come to full fruition in Ulysses， but seeing the seeds of this skill sown here made for a really exciting read。 Having read Ulysses before this novel， perhaps my only qualm with Portrait is that it doesn’t dive deep enough into the pool of literary experimentalism that Joyce would later become a pioneer。 As both a bildungsroman and an experiment in modernist writing techniques， A Portrait is both the reader’s invitation and initiation into the world of James Joyce; to explore his dense Irish references， delve into the psyche of his protagonists and to， ultimately， prepare for his following work。 The Latin passages are still lost on me。 。。。more
Mariana
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this books inspire me so much
Max Chapin
，
This little Irishman can write his ass off
Margaret
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This book was just not for me。 （Neither was Ulysses， so I think I should not try any more James Joyce books。）
Pedro Luis Camuñas García-Miguel
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Interesante manifiesto de las ideas artísticas y políticas de Joyce
Jay Sizemore
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I enjoyed this more than Ulysses。 Much more straight forward and easy to get my mind around。 But still seems less than fully realized to me， as the motivations of the choices made didn't seem very rationalized within the story。 I also felt that too much attention was placed on the Catholic belief segments， making it almost feel like religious propaganda， even tho the character eventually decides it isn't for him。 I enjoyed this more than Ulysses。 Much more straight forward and easy to get my mind around。 But still seems less than fully realized to me， as the motivations of the choices made didn't seem very rationalized within the story。 I also felt that too much attention was placed on the Catholic belief segments， making it almost feel like religious propaganda， even tho the character eventually decides it isn't for him。 。。。more
Chris Lavallee
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Not a fan。 The premise seemed good and relatable to me， but I had a hard time with the writing style。 It read more like a narrative philosophy book than a novel。
Ann
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I read this for a Book Group。 Have to confess that I'll never be a Joycean， but did enjoy the fluidity of Joyce's language at times。 The novel abounds in religious， literary， and mythical allusion， starting with the name of the protagonist， Stephen Dedalus。 I read this for a Book Group。 Have to confess that I'll never be a Joycean， but did enjoy the fluidity of Joyce's language at times。 The novel abounds in religious， literary， and mythical allusion， starting with the name of the protagonist， Stephen Dedalus。 。。。more
Shishir Chaudhary
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Stephen Dedalus， a mirror image of James Joyce's memories， is exposed to religion very early in his childhood。 We， through his eyes and ears， see a debate break out at the dining table。 We follow him， see him getting bullied， make friends for life， get attracted to girls， and eventually get absorbed in the world， heavily influenced by his catholic schooling。 So， somewhere in the middle of the book， he thinks "It would be beautiful to die if God so willed"。It is an almost cathartic experience Stephen Dedalus， a mirror image of James Joyce's memories， is exposed to religion very early in his childhood。 We， through his eyes and ears， see a debate break out at the dining table。 We follow him， see him getting bullied， make friends for life， get attracted to girls， and eventually get absorbed in the world， heavily influenced by his catholic schooling。 So， somewhere in the middle of the book， he thinks "It would be beautiful to die if God so willed"。It is an almost cathartic experience to witness him change from there to one who states from his Zoology lessons "Reproduction is the beginning of death"。 Or well， let's start from the beginning， when the legendary moocow met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo， our Stevie， the Dedalus， Stephen。 Childhood， including the late teenage years， are the most golden period of one's life because you learn， you absorb， you form， you fall， you rise， you go astray， you come back， and eventually you grow and create your own self， ready to enter adulthood。 Therefore， Stephen also gets religious， abandons religion， thinks， loves， ignores， fears， loathes， and finally gets ready to take on the world。The power of Joyce's writing is in the sentences brimming with meanings which unfold， layer after layer， once you stare at them for a moment。 It's magical; it's difficult but highly rewarding and hypnotic （I had read the first sentences a decade ago and abandoned， only to pick the same copy up now in my thirties）。 It made me remember my childhood， catholic education， the sticks and the beatings， the prayers， the blasphemies uttered， the loafing around in the Church's courtyard， and a cohesive formation of a worldview that is inclusive。I loved this book。 I hope you love it too。 。。。more
Niti Pandey
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Who the fuck allowed this book to be published？
Alessandra
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Et ignotas animum dimittit in artes。
Kathrine
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Like at fist I really liked it。 But the further I got， the less I could relate to the main character。 It was because of the bordel and also all that religious talks about sin and too short womens’ skirts。I guess if I was a hetero boy， I would’ve been able to relate more。 But anyways， it was struggle to finish it。 Def not a book for me
busé
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read for: 20th century english novelbazen bazen bazen joyce'un migreni olanlara acı çektirmek için yazar olduğunu düşünüyorum read for: 20th century english novelbazen bazen bazen joyce'un migreni olanlara acı çektirmek için yazar olduğunu düşünüyorum 。。。more
Kammy Lane
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”I will not serve that in which I no longer believe whether it call itself my home， my fatherland or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can， using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use- silence， exile， and cunning。 （…） I do not fear to be alone or to be spurned for another or to leave whatever I have to leave。 And I am not afraid to make a mistake， even a great mistake， a lifelong mistake and perhaps as long ”I will not serve that in which I no longer believe whether it call itself my home， my fatherland or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can and as wholly as I can， using for my defence the only arms I allow myself to use- silence， exile， and cunning。 （…） I do not fear to be alone or to be spurned for another or to leave whatever I have to leave。 And I am not afraid to make a mistake， even a great mistake， a lifelong mistake and perhaps as long as eternity too。” Ugh man these lines！ hit home。 。。。more
Magda
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