| In James Joyce's life, women were never absent, and indeed often show up in his literary works. Joyce's depiction of women is characterized by a high degree of literary self-consciousness. From the very beginning, in his first work Dubliners, Joyce had already showed his concern on women's life in Irish patriarchal society. His most famous female character, Molly Bloom in Ulysses, has aroused a lot of controversial comments. In light of Joyce's detailed portrayal of female characters, recent studies have applied feminist and gender criticism to his works. Very frequently, the critics attack Joyce's representations of women and criticize the misogyny expressed in his works. They maintained that women in Joyce are either Virgin Mary or vicious whore and that women are limited to their physicality and only serve the male protagonists' need.Mainly based on textual analysis, this thesis attempts to reinterpret Joyce's representation of women in his work, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Central to the experiences of Stephen's life are, of course, the people with whom he interacts, and of primary importance among these people are women, who as the story progresses, prove to be a driving force behind Stephen's art This paper mainly focuses on women's influence on Stephen's artistic and aesthetic initiation and growth, search for personal definition, and his final decision to be a free artist. Maurice once said "he (Stephen) must go to women in order to create --- just as a man can father children only through women."Chapter one gives a brief introduction of A Portrait as an autobiography and a work of art, as well as a biographical account about women's influence on Joyce himself. In Joyce's life, women were of primary importance for his growth, among whom are Mrs. Joyce, his harassed, fertile, competent and self-sacrificing mother, andNora Barnacle, the love of his life. The historical background of this autographical sketch is also available in this chapter.Chapter two lies evidence of the different roles women will play in his early youth. Stephen's relationship with the opposite sex begins to develop early in his life. Mrs. Dedalus and Dante become the first to give Stephen some experience of the world outside himself when they teach him language and teach him about geographical features in other countries and on the moon. Dante and Mrs. Dedalus, having planted art seeds in Stephen's mind, are the first females to inspire him to create.Chapter three focuses on Stephen's interest in sexuality toward those different females at various age stages. As the story progresses, Joyce adds such female characters as Eileen, Mercedes, Emma Clergy, etc. Young Stephen's first romantic interest in the opposite sex comes in the form of his playmate, Eileen, whom he plans to marry when they are older. This assertion, although childishly innocent, is nonetheless the first suggestion that sexual and romantic relationships with women will be important to Stephen as he matures. The recognition of women as sexual beings manifests itself again after reading The Count of Monte Christo. Stephen begins to have sexually-driven fantasies about its female protagonist, Mercedes. While alone on a tram with Emma, he feels compelled to kiss her, but fails to do so. Angry with himself, he attempts to create with poetry what he is unable to achieve in real life. As his reaction to the incident on the tram suggests Stephen cannot create art without the inspiration of a real-life incident Clearly, he would have preferred that his moment with Emma to have been fruitful rather than ending in frustration. In a sense, he is emasculate, lacking both the strength and boldness to initiate a sexual encounter. Eventually, the frustration becomes too much for him, and he seeks the services of a prostitute. At last, through the prostitute's active contribution, Stephen receives the sexual experience he so desires, and confirms his premonition that women can transfer experience to him through sex.Chapter four tells us Stephen's aesthetic philosophy, while his early attempts at developing an aesthetic are based on classical and catholic sources. As a young boy, Stephen's romantic and artistic imagination is captured by the girl Emma who refuses him and inspires the beginning of his artistic creation. Stephen sees a wading girl not long after he has refused the priesthood, and at a time when he is unsure of what to do now that he has relinquished his religious devotion. It is after this meeting that Stephen has a moment of epiphany and realizes mat he will be an artist He resolves to live his life to the fullest, and vows not to be constrained by the boundaries of his family, his nation nor his religion.Chapter five explains Stephen's long hard search for personal definition and his final decision to become a free artist With time passing by, he becomes more and more determined to free himself from all limiting pressure. The idea of exile takes shape in his mind when he sees the wading girl on the beach, who inspires him to his ultimate dedication to artThe theme of womanhood is a constant thread running through .4 Portrait With women being Stephen's main creative sources, throughout his childhood, women continue to contribute to Stephen's development as an artist, though he remains passive in his relations with them. Stephen's obvious fascination with women is demonstrated as different women seem to appear in his life and perform different functions depending on his needs at each particular stage in his life.As was also vividly clear throughout his own life, James Joyce leads Stephen to the critical point of deciding to pursue art using women as the transformative element necessary for him, as was indeed for Joyce himself, to fulfill his artistic destiny. As Stephen grows up, like Joyce himself too, he grapples with his nationality, religion, family and morality, and finally decides to reject all socially imposed bonds and instead live freely as an artist... |
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