Joyce’s Interpretation of Independence

James Joyce’s novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man defines the idea of independence through the life experience of the protagonist Stephen Dedalus. Stephen’s path to adulthood shows the reader that, in order to be truly independent, a person’s ideas and actions should not be governed by external sources, but rather, by the beliefs and morals of the individual. Joyce relates this idea to the reader by first showing the constraint that Stephen feels by relying solely on sources of authority to govern his behavior. Once Stephen has shed the yoke of religious, societal, and parental government, his behavior degenerates into a state of hedonism. Joyce reveals that, even though Stephen is acting and thinking in a manner opposite to the ideals of the aforementioned influences, he is still not truly independent because his behavior is merely a reaction to these influences, subjected to an external locus of control, rather than autonomous decision making. Stephen has an epiphany and realizes the error in both of these extremes. It is through this epiphany that Joyce identifies the importance of individual beliefs to independence.

As a child, Stephen’s ideas and actions, like most young children, are initially governed by figures of authority. Stephen recalls mentioning that he would like to marry his neighbor Eileen Vance. This innocuous statement is typical of a young boy, yet it is met with an immediate reprimand from Stephen’s governess “Dante” who claims that unless Stephen apologizes for his claim “eagles will come and pull out his eyes” (Joyce, 2012, Ch. 1). The reasoning behind Dante’s rebuke is that Eileen is a Protestant and Stephen is a Catholic. This marks the first instance where Stephen’s desires are stymied by external forces. This trend of external influences governing Stephen’s behavior and causing him unhappiness continues while Stephen attends Catholic school at Clongowes Wood College. Stephen is pushed into a pool of cold water by a classmate and becomes ill. Rather than getting the retribution, he deserves by reporting the bully, Stephen suffers in silence because of his father’s advice to “never peach on a fellow” (Joyce, 2012, Ch. 1). Joyce shows the reader the dangers of allowing other people and institutions to govern your behavior through these two interactions during Stephen’s childhood. In the former instance, Stephen must deny his feelings for a girl because of religious pressure from his caretaker, and in the latter instance, Stephen suffers while his bully goes unpunished because of an idea imposed on him by his father.

Finally, Stephen breaks this trend after being unfairly punished by one of the priests at Clongowes. Bolstered by support from his classmates, Stephen decides that Father Dolan was wrong for punishing him and reports Dolan to the rector of the school. This marks the first independent action that Stephen has taken. Stephen had been told by his family and governess that the priests were always right, however, Stephen decides for himself that Father Dolan was inherently wrong and seeks justice. Upon hearing of Stephen’s bravery, his classmates claim that he is a hero and hoist him above their heads and cheer. Joyce has shown the positive effects of being independent in one’s thoughts and actions. However, Stephen misinterprets the praise he receives and decides that he was glorified for rebelling and this causes him to degenerate into a life of hedonism.

Stephen steadily loses touch with all the influences from his past. It is clear that Stephen no longer blindly accepts what authority figures tell him and this has robbed him of his former religious fervor. Stephen also loses admiration for his father, a fact that is evinced by their interaction on the train home from Stephen’s new school, Belvedere College. Stephen’s father tells stories from his past, and Stephen “listened without sympathy to his father's evocation of Cork and of scenes of his youth, a tale broken by sighs or draughts from his pocket flask whenever the image of some dead friend appeared in it or whenever the evoker remembered suddenly the purpose of his actual visit. Stephen heard but could feel no pity” (Joyce, 2012, Ch. 2). Though Stephen is acting and thinking in a manner opposite to the norms imposed on him by authoritative external sources, he is not truly independent. The authority of the church and his family are still the catalyst for his rebellion, and therefore his actions and ideas are still dependent upon these authorities. It is clear that Stephen’s actions do not adhere to his personal moral code because he is frequently appalled by his behavior. Stephen believes his actions are wrong, but his rebellion will not allow him to seek forgiveness. After frequent visits to prostitutes, Stephen craves absolution but, “A certain pride, a certain awe, withheld him from offering to God even one prayer at night, though he knew it was in God's power to take away his life while he slept and hurl his soul hellward ere he could beg for mercy” (Joyce, 2012, Ch. 2). Again, Stephen is unhappy because his ideas and actions are not governed by his personal beliefs and morals, but by external sources.

A fiery sermon about damnation shocks Stephen into the realization that his actions have gone against his personal code of morals. This realization almost forces Stephen back into a life of complete dependency on the church to govern his behavior. Stephen is close to joining the priesthood and living a life of servitude until he has an epiphany. While he was wading in the shallows of the sea he saw a young woman in the water and “Her image had passed into his soul for ever and no word had broken the holy silence of his ecstasy. Her eyes had called him and his soul had leaped at the call. To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life!” (Joyce, 2012, Ch. 4). At this moment, Stephen decides that he will become a writer and live for beauty and art rather than living a life of servitude in the priesthood. Stephen’s new life of independence is embodied by a statement he makes to a classmate in a fit of passion, “I will tell you what I will do and what I will not do. 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” (Joyce, 2012, Ch. 5). Stephen has finally attained true independence because he is governing his behavior by his personal set of morals and free will rather than relying on the church, his parents, or society to make decisions for him.

In conclusion, Joyce’s novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man shows that allowing external forces to govern your behavior inevitably leads to unhappiness. Stephen’s life of servitude and then rebellion is marked by a complete dependence on authority to drive his ideas and actions. It is only when Stephen realizes that he must live in a manner befitting his own code of morals that he can pursue his dream of being a writer and creating beauty. Though Stephen’s ideas and actions are surely influenced by external sources, they are not being solely governed by them. Individual beliefs must the driving force behind a person’s behavior to achieve true independence and happiness.

Reference

Joyce, J. (2012). A portrait of the artist as a young man [Kindle version]. Retrieved from www.amazon.com