Coming of
age is a tricky thing to understand. How do you really determine or quantify
maturity? How can we even use a normative metric for something that varies so
widely for everyone? Nonetheless, as we reach the end of the novel, there is
one question we all must ask ourselves: has Stephen really grown up, and if so
how much?
The first,
and most obvious of all measures would be Stephen’s intellectual growth. Early
on in the novel, Stephen’s intellectual prowess manifests itself in the
succinct, simplistic statement “when you think about things, you can understand
them.” In a few short words, Stephen unlocks the secret of self-reflection that
continues to elude so many people in the world regardless of age or education.
Showing such a mature characteristic makes it clear that Stephen has always
been a cut above everyone else intellectually. By the time he reaches
adolescence, his rhetoric finally begins to catch up with his thoughts. For
example, for a teenager to say/think something like “the world for all its
solid substance and complexity no longer existed for his soul save as a theorem
of divine power and love and universality” shows not only a superior level of
intellectual thought, but also astronomical linguistic ability, the telltale
sign of a budding writer. As such, I think its fair to say that he has grown
intellectually. His moral growth seems equally self-evident. He overcomes his
youthful weakness for prostitutes to become an upstanding citizen for all
intents and purposes.
The real
question is whether his social development can rival his mental expansion. On
the surface, the third section of part 5 starts with one of his longest
conversations of the entire novel. Even though the other participants seem to
rib on him, it seems at least somewhat playful and at the very least Stephen
has come a long way from overthinking trick questions in the playground. This
is where his affinity for birds is very telling. Stephen poses the question
himself, “symbol of departure or of lonliness?” Not only do birds soar above
everyone else like Stephen does in conversations with others, but Stephen only
refers to individual birds, never flocks of birds pointing to their solitude.
This is especially telling considering he could easily refer to flocks just as
he could easily make more of an effort to be part of the community rather than
peripherally involved.
All in all,
it is hard to say that Stephen did not grow. He went from an entirely insular
child that could not talk to other kids without looking at it as a math problem
with a right answer to a jerk at the very worst. There’s something in that.
I think it's important to note that Stephen has also grown sexually. We discussed earlier Stephen's apparent madonna-whore complex and how it shapes his opinion on women. In Chapter 2 Stephen views women a means to mature and attain masculinity, yet he also seems to see them as pure beings comparable to the Virgin Mary or perhaps angels. Either way, Stephen fails to relate to women on a personal or emotional level, as illustrated when he ignores Emma's advances on the tram, and it drives him into the lowest point in his life, relying on prostitutes to vent his feelings.
ReplyDeleteThis, however, has clearly changed by Chapter 5. Stephen definitely finds a healthier way to express his sexuality through poetry, i. e. his villanelle (and I guess the implied masturbation is still a better option than paying prostitutes). Through his poem he is able to take both his reverence and lust for Emma and mend them together into art. Stephen also reflects on his experience on the tram and feels sorry for Emma, wishing he had acted, proving that he has become capable of seeing a woman as a fellow human being. Thus his strange complex has been conquered, marking one of Stephen's most crucial developments in the novel.
I think we can also say that he's grown as an artist. In this chapter he writes a poem, finally putting together something artistic. But he also finds his own voice, as we see his journals.
ReplyDeleteThe journals are interesting. A lot of the time it seems that Stephen is writing in sentence fragments. Possibly implying that Stephen's authorial/artistic voice is not completely fleshed out. He has room to grow, but progress is being made. Or maybe this is Stephen's actual voice. In which case it's mediocre (at least in my opinion).
In a way they read like a stage directions (or exposition) of a play. When describing his father meeting Davin, Stephen writes: "Just then my father came up. Introduction. Father polite and observant" (222).
Jaime discusses Stephen’s maturity through the novel. His analysis I agree with, but it is also important to note how Stephen’s friends and acquaintances have grown around him. Stephen is no longer bullied but rather he seems to have gained the respect of his peers. He is still isolated, because he stands apart from them, but they all seem to respect his talent and intelligence. Stephen has grown, but so have his peers.
ReplyDeleteAbout the "jerk at the very worst": after today's discussion about Stephen's probably cruel "Of whom are you speaking?" (219), we also have to ask if Stephen has at any point valued the society of others. Is Cranly or Lynch more (or will he allow them to be more) than just an audience for his philosophical musings if he rejects friendship so easily? I agree that he has grown intellectually, but he may be stagnant with regards to social development. Maybe Joyce is trying to show or criticize himself as a young man, before he had the regulating influence of his partner and later wife Nora, and before he has learned the humility of patient and laborious literary artistry. I think we have to see the end of the novel as Stephen being fully within the stage of a "young man". He has not yet been tested by trying to create a full and serious work of art, even if he can appreciate philosophy and give long talks on it.
ReplyDeleteIn one way, we can analyze Stephen’s social maturation by the progression of his relationships with girls. On one hand, by comparing his incident on the tram and his brief moment with the bird girl, we can say that he hasn’t matured all that much from his early teenage years. In both relationships, he doesn’t take any action. He watches the girl and his heart and his emotions are like a harp in the hands of his crush. Stephen adores both girls, but never makes an active step towards getting to know them. However, one can also argue that Stephen has matured and that he has used the moment he shared with the bird girl for poetic inspiration. He transforms his romantic passions into an aesthetic creation. Furthermore, he undergoes an epiphany realizing that it’s impossible to be perfect and that mistakes are natural: “
ReplyDeleteTo live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life! [She threw] open before him in an instant of ecstasy the gates of all the ways of error and glory.”
I think Stephen has matured and is ready to recognize his life's calling as an artist. I focused on his deep self-understanding as a sign of this maturation in my blog post, but I think another interesting way to approach Stephen's maturation is by looking at his relationships with women. Initially, he relied heavily upon the female figures in his life in one way or another. He relied on his mother like any growing child does, he relied on the prostitute to allow him to discover his own sexuality and to hold him in her arms, and he relied on the Virgin Mary in his faith ad attempts to attain redemption. At this point Stephen has move beyond all these needs. He is leaving his mother behind, no longer succumbs to lustful temptations, and is leaving the Virgin Mary behind is abandoning the church. Perhaps Stephen is isolating himself more than is necessary, but his ability to leave all this that he used to rely upon behind demonstrates that he has matured as a character.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat agree with Jaime that Stephen has grown up in some areas as he pointed out above, but in a lot of other areas I feel he has not really changed a character flaw of his. My main problem is that Stephen still has not corrected his need to go 110% in everything he does. Though put all your effort into something is usually a good thing, in Stephen's case it seems to be more detrimental than good. His overreaction to his confession was a good example at the beginning of the story of him going overboard. By the end of the story the trait is still there with his leaving everything behind to lead a secluded life in order to write when it is not necessary and possibly not the best option either. Because of this I would say that Stephen has grown up, but he also has a long way still to go.
ReplyDeleteTo respond to what Barrett argues, I think that the journal entries are definitely very telling. As a whole, between the improvements in the rhetoric throughout the story as well as the way that we see Stephen randomly break into verse in the middle of thought in the fifth part shows a noticeable improvement in artistic ability. Interestingly, keeping detailed journals, as we mentioned in class, is not only typical of most great artists, but many use those same artists draw upon their journals for their writing, like DFW. In that way, the mere fact that he has a journal points towards artistic growth.
ReplyDeleteCiaran, I do not know if Stephen's extreme attitudes is that much of a flaw. Again, like many artists then and now, Stephen's extremism is indicative of his artistic tendencies. I also reject the idea that he is going to live a secluded life in Paris. Yes, he is definitely leaving his entire world behind to go to Paris, but he is leaving to join a community of artists and forward thinkers in Paris, not to be a singular figure.