The dynamics of change: Introducing Robert Kegan's theory of psychological development to reading the works of James Joyce

An analysis of James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses demonstrates the multiplicity of relationships that occur between Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and the environment. In The Evolving Self, Robert Kegan suggests that such relationships reflect a person's understanding of the self in relation to the world. This study uses Kegan's theory to examine the details of Stephen and Bloom's social experiences and thus identifies their psychological constructions of the world. Although Stephen tends to be entangled in relationships with others and Bloom is isolated from others, they still benefit from their encounter near the end of Ulysses. Whereas, their psychological understandings are limiting, Stephen and Bloom provide each other with an opportunity to reach his ideal self, while escaping his own psychological captivity. As an alternative explication of the Stephen/Bloom encounter, this thesis shifts the focus from a religious communion to a social interaction.