Stephen's Aesthetic Theory: The Nature of Art or the Art of Nature?

A very slow and calm song that soothes Stephen  

            Reading Chapter IV of The Portrait, I was reminded of our study of the poets of the Romantic era. Throughout much of the novel, the reader has seen Stephen as socially separated – instead of participating in the social life of the college, Stephen constantly observes the lives of his classmates and his female fantasies, even to the point of voyeurism. Stephen has even detached himself from his emotions. Stephen’s actions are always thought out and calm – never impulsive.

            However, I have noticed that in Chapter IV, Stephen started paying more attention to nature. It appears as though he is continuing the Romantic idea of seeing his emotions reflected in the nature around him.  As Stephen returns home – rebellious and a little bit depressed after his rejection of the priestly life – he notes and scorns the habitual disorder and mess of the Dedalus home: “He smiled to think that it was this disorder, the misrule and confusion of his father’s house and the stagnation of vegetable life, which was to win the day in his soul. Then a short laugh broke from his lips” (142). Stephen finds his feelings of dejection reflected in the sky: “The sad quiet glow of the dying day came through the window and the open door, covering over and allaying quietly a sudden instinct of remorse in Stephen’s heart” (142). Nature not only mirrors the “grayness” that Stephen feels, but it “allays the remorse in Stephen’s heart.” 

                        Furthermore, Stephen’s reliance on his senses and on nature is accentuated in the lines of the poem he reads – Oft in the Stilly Night. The speaker of the poem relates to the light he sees. It evokes memories and emotions from the speaker’s childhood: “Fond memory brings the light / Of other days around me; / The smiles, the tears, / Of boyhood's years.” The speaker of the poem, and thereby Stephen, also personifies sleep as a power of nature.

            In Chapter IV, we finally see Stephen as appreciating his emotions as he connects with and is comforted by the nature around him. Will this Romantic ideal of a close relationship with nature stick with Stephen? How does this affect his aesthetic theory?