A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce | Chapter 4

Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Chapter 4 of James Joyce's novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.


Relying on a stream-of-consciousness narrative rich with sensory detail, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man describes Stephen Dedalus’s journey from conflicted boy to nascent artist. The character is based loosely on the author’s own development as a writer.

Beginning in rural Ireland, it depicts the religious conflicts of the era through the eyes of young Dedalus, who attends a religious school and is subjected to its restrictive mores.

However, his experiences with sex and other secular pursuits eventually persuade him that an ecclesiastical life is not for him. He is far too fascinated by other pleasures and resolves to devote his life to art instead.

Irish author and playwright James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was first published in 1914-15. Based on his own youth and coming of age, Joyce uses his experiences with school, the church, and leaving Ireland for Paris as a young man to bring vibrant authenticity to the novel.

The novel A portrait of the Artist as a Young Man has many important symbols, including colors, as opposing colors, particularly red and green, represent opposites or opposing views; Daedalus, as references to birds, wings, and flying develop the symbolic link between art and flying; and the wading girl, representing a muse, a goddess who inspires artists to create. Important motifs include father figures and quotations.


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[annacinque]

very useful analysis and summary! Thank you ✨

[Pro.Gamer]

I wish you talked about the end of the chp where Stephen and Lynch talk about art and the two types of emotions