Resumo de A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man

Published in 1914-15, this novel by James Joyce is the story of Stephen Daedalus, the son of an impoverished father and a highly devout Catholic mother who attends Clongowes Wood, Belvedere, and University Colleges, just like James himself did, jostling and figuring out the answers of questions dealing with nationality and faith in his journey to become an artist.

The story begins with Stephen Daedalus shown as growing up in Ireland at the end of the 19th century and then gradually deciding to leave and discard all his social, familial, and religious constraints to lead a life fully dedicated and devoted to learning the art of writing. He attends the strictly catholic boarding school and feels lonely at first, but adjusts tot he school life pretty well later on. the death of the Irish political leader, Charles Stewart Parnell brings about some discord in his family and becomes the hot topic of discussion at the family dinner table when Stephen visits home from school.

His life is changed when on a visit to his uncle Charles he comes to learn about the tight financial situation of his family owing to his father's ineptness. He comes to know from his uncle that he will be not be able to go back to the boarding school and instead their family moves to Dublin. There he starts attending a day school, Belvedere where he excels as a writer and an actor. It is during this time that he has a sexual encounter with a prostitute after which he is haunted by the guilt of this immoral act of his.For some time during this state of abandonement, he indulges in all things considered as vices according to strict catholic standards, like gluttony, visiting prostitutes, masturbation, etc.

On one of his three day religious retreats, he hears a trio about hell, judgement, and sins. This affects him very severely and he begins attending mass every day, and becomes a picture perfect of religious and pious life. So obvious is his christian and religious piety that the director of his school suggests to him to take up priesthood. But Stephen realizes in the end that his love and admiration for sensual beauty cannot be extinguished by christian and pious feelings.

When one day he is struck by the beauty of a young girl enjoying the tides of the water in the beach, and it is that moment he decides that love and desire of beauty should not be a reason for shame and guilt. And it is during this moment of realization that he decides to live his life to the fullest and not get affected by family, nation, or religion. He moves on to the University, makes friends, one of them being Cranly, and starts formulating his theories of art. He aims to create a separate identity of his own that is not cowed down by the expectations of family and friends. In order to escape all pressures that limit his creativity and free development of ideas, he leaves Ireland. Like his namesake, the fictional Daedalus, Stephen also hopes to get himself wings so that he can fly above all obstacles and achieve a life as an artist.

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