Childhood Epiphanies: A Look into James Joyce's Portrait

A bildungsroman is a novel that focuses on various aspects of the development of a character from childhood to adulthood. James Joyce’s semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man follows the main character Stephen Dedalus as he matures in early twentieth century Ireland.

Irish-born Stephen Dedalus begins his life at home with his parents, who send him to Conglowes, a boarding school. There, he gets his first taste of social life, though he becomes the weakling that everyone likes to pick on. Early on, Stephen feels that he differs from his classmates. Preferring to stay away from the crowd and think about his past, he questions everything. Stephen leaves there and goes to another school, Belvedere. 

Here, the changes from his boyhood stand out clearly. He loses his faith in religion, resorting to pleasures of the flesh. Though he eventually repents his sins, Stephen falls out of grace again. He worries over the financial troubles and disintegration of his family. He eventually goes to university, where he makes several friends who contribute to his evolving thoughts on politics and the arts. Though he finally meets Emma, his crush, he decides to leave Ireland to embark on unwritten paths.

Because A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a bildungsroman, it focuses on the various factors that influence the development of the main character. Joyce, known for his use of epiphany in his works, entwines Stephen's coming of age with various epiphanies. Stephen's continuing education plays a vital role in shaping the other areas of his development. Art, Irish politics, and patriotism influence him to analyze his past. The most crucial influence, however, is the transformation of the influence of religion on Stephen as the novel progresses. James Joyce uses the role of the epiphany to accentuate the purpose of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as a bildungsroman.