A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Chapters 4 - 5
After the confession, Stephen tries to take control of his lustful thoughts and fixates on saving himself through prayer. Stephen spends a great deal of his time praying, going so far as to use his rosary beads that are tucked into his pocket as he is going about his daily chores. He begins to mortify his senses to gain better control over them and to prevent them from leading him toward temptations. He mortifies his senses by causing himself discomfort through each sense and struggles particularly with the sense of smell until he discovers an odor that makes him want to vomit. Stephen avoids making eye contact with women to keep them away from his thoughts and begins to feel that he is resisting the devil himself through these mortifications. Stephen comes to realize that his newfound spiritual piety does not quite allow him to associate with his surroundings positively, he rather finds himself more susceptible to anger and irritation. However, Stephen is perceived quite positively due to his outward piety by his teachers, and he is invited to speak to the rector of his school to discuss a kind of robe that is under consideration to be banned.
During Stephen’s discussion with the Rector, Stephen is yet again tempted by lustful thoughts when his teacher likens the robe to a dress. As the discussion progresses, the Rector begins to talk of Stephen’s exceedingly exemplary character and demeanor. He tells Stephen that very few students can be seen to receive a calling for the powerful position of the priesthood. He talks grandly of the vocation of priests and urges Stephen to consider the matter. At first, Stephen is greatly thrilled by the prospect of achieving priesthood, which would not only address his family’s financial problems but also Stephen to occupy a position of power and meaning. However, he quickly comes to realize that the vocation did not hold any true temptation for him. He could imagine the spartan way of life that the priesthood demands since he had tried to live in that world himself. As he is returning home, he passes by a statue of the Virgin Marry, but it no longer appears to him as powerful as it once did. He learns from his brothers and sisters that his family is being evicted from their residence due to further losses in the family’s financial condition. He pities his siblings for never having known a life outside of poverty and deprivation. Stephen has fixed all of his plans on going to university and he impatiently awaits the news of his admission. He decides to go to the beach and encounters some priests, whom he actively avoids. Some of his peers pass him by as they go into the water, and they playfully call him “Stephanos,” triggering Stephen’s thoughts to think about Greek and the mythical Daedalus with whom he shares a name. He sees a beautiful woman in the water, and she is hiking her skirt with her hands to keep it from being wet. Stephen is mesmerized by her beauty, but he does not experience any guilt from his admiration of her beauty.
Stephen joins university even as his family sinks further into poverty and they are forced to pawn off their possessions just to put food on the table. Stephen’s relationship has also deteriorated significantly, to the point that they don’t usually remain in the same room with one another for too long. Stephen makes his way to university but he does not hurry and doesn’t care even when he realizes that he has missed some of his lessons. He thinks about the friends that he has come to find in university, some of whom have genuine affection for him. Stephen runs into his English dean on the university grounds and engages him in conversation aesthetics, but he is surprised by the dean’s seemingly poor understanding of Stephen’s vocabulary. He concludes that the words he was using must have been Irish, and this sets him off on thoughts of how English is a foreign language to him. Stephen runs into his other friends, some of them criticize Stephen for being anti-social, and for missing his lectures on Irish.
Their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of a young woman, who the other students refer to as Stephen’s beloved. Later onwards, Stephen has a dream in which he and she have sex. He wakes up after the dream quite content and begins to compose a poem for her. He fantasizes about giving her the poem in front of an adversary suitor and imagines her reactions. He thinks that if she were to read it in front of her brothers, then they might appreciate the form that he had used for the poem. Stephen realizes that all of this is fictitious since Emma, had probably never had any inkling about his true emotions for her. He has composed several poems for her but he can’t quite muster the courage to give her all of these poems.
Stephen thinks about other poets and his calling. He is close to the resolution of leaving university, but he takes that final action after he has a conversation with his close friend Cranly. Stephen has a conversation with his friend after he notes that Emma responds to Cranly’s greeting but ignores his presence. He takes Cranly aside and tells him that he has recently been arguing with his mother who wants Stephen to attend the church service for Easter. Stephen no longer believes in religion and does not wish to play a farce by attending a religious ceremony in which he does not believe. Cranly argues that the question of his faith was not central to the argument that he was having with his mother. He believes that Stephen should be able to set aside his feelings about the church to give his mother some solace. Cranly attempts to test Stephen’s faith by criticizing Jesus with harsh words, but he fails to elicit an emotional reaction from his friend.
Stephen confesses that he has been thinking of leaving behind the university and the country to truly pursue his calling as an artist. Cranly assures him of his support in whatever manner he can provide, and Stephen finds that he feels a lot more confident about his direction in life after the discussion. The final passages of the book are excerpts from Stephen’s journal as he leaves behind his university education and begins to work on his poetry. In one of his entries, Stephen’s father asks him to join a rowing club, while in another entry, Stephen describes an interaction with Emma. He runs into her in the market after he has already left behind the university, and talks to her of his plans to become a poet. She encourages him to pursue his dreams and expresses her hope that he will achieve them. The book ends with Stephen praying to the mythical Daedalus to look after him.
Analysis
In chapter four, Stephen’s religious pursuits take on a new fervor as he attempts to convince himself of his belief and faith in God. These beliefs and habits fade quickly from his mind once he perceives that the life of a priest would be hollow for him. The statute of the Virgin Marry which had once moved him so tenderly, no longer has the same effect on him, mere moments after this realization. The narrative champions the idea that Stephen is a deeply imaginative individual, who is destined to be an artist and as such he cannot be happy in a life that requires him to mortify his senses. Stephen moves towards comprehension of his character at the end of chapter 4, when his thoughts turn to the mythical Daedalus and he thinks about donning wings just like his namesake. Stephen longs for freedom and liberation from the paths that he has been shown by his parents. Stephen does not care for the secular world of his father, which is overflowing with Irish nationalism, or the religious world of his mother. Yet he isn’t certain about his path, and so chooses to pursue academia.
We return to Stephen in the final chapter just as he is on the cusp of fully understanding the life that he wishes to create for himself. Stephen has become disillusioned from the route of academia and no longer cares about attending his lectures. He is no longer the shy and quiet child of his youth without friends, but a confident young man with a set of honest friends. For the first time in the narrative, Stephen includes his poems in the novel, and it indicates his growing belief in his artistic potential. He communicates frankly with his peers about his ideas on Irish nationality, religion as well as aesthetics. Ultimately, Stephen decides that he needs to have complete freedom and liberation from all institutions, and these include his family, his country, his religion, and his education. In the final section of Chapter 5, the narrative shifts from the third person free indirect to first person as Stephen takes his life into his own hands, and thereby achieves artistic maturation.
