A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Simon Dedalus tells a story to his son, Stephen. The children’s story involves a “moocow” (7) meeting a young boy named tuckoo. Stephen loves the story, and he sees himself in the character of tuckoo. From Stephen’s perspective, the world is made up of cold, wet bedsheets and the reassuring aroma of his mother. When Dante, his governess, claps for him, he remembers her applause. His childhood memories also involve his Uncle Charles dancing along with a hornpipe.

As a boy living in County Wicklow, Stephen falls in love with one of his neighbors. Eileen Vance lives in the house next to Stephen’s family, and he believes that he is “going to marry Eileen” (8). However, Stephen does not comprehend the religious issues of such a match. Stephen’s family is Catholic, while Eileen’s family is Protestant. The prospect of a Catholic and Protestant marriage shocks Stephen’s family, and he crawls under the dinner table to avoid their fury. Stephen’s mother tries to coax him out from under the table, assuring the rest of the family that he “will apologize” (8), while Dante loudly describes the violent punishments which await Stephen should he marry a non-Catholic woman. Stephen stays under the table and composes a short poem based on Dante’s violent descriptions.

Stephen attends Clongowes Wood College. He feels like an outsider and stands to the side while the other boys play with a ball in a “whirl of a scrimmage” (10). The other boys bully Stephen, mocking his name. They mock his father’s profession and demand to know about his family’s social status. Classes are based on an English curriculum. In one class, for example, the students wear badges emblazoned with either red or white roses. These red or white roses represent the competing factions in the English War of the Roses. Stephen does not enjoy these classes. He imagines a different kind of class, one where he might be able to wear “a green rose” (13) instead.

Stephen develops a fever. As people ask him why he is sick, Stephen is reluctant to explain. His sickness likely issues from a bullying incident, in which he was shoved into a cesspool by the other boys. The boy who orchestrates the bullying campaign against Stephen is named Wells, who continuously mocks Stephen. Wells asks him whether he kisses his mother, and Stephen does not know “the right answer to the question” (15) because whatever he says, the other boys laugh at him.

When Stephen tries to study, he cannot stop thinking about himself. His thoughts wander, taking in the scope of the universe and big questions about religion and the nature of God. When he studies geography, for instance, he writes out his address at length. He begins with his name, then his family home, then his city. He broadens the scope until he finishes by writing “The Universe” (17). While thinking about religion, he speculates about the way in which “different languages” (18) have different names for God, even though they are referring to the same deity. At the end of the day, Stephen prays to God. His quiet, direct address to God is markedly different from the loud, formulaic prayer issued by the chaplain. In his cold bed, Stephen dreams about a black dog that is supposedly “the ghost of a murderer” (21).

After falling sick from being pushed into the cesspool, Stephen is allowed to skip his classes. He is nursed back to health by Brother Michael, who worries that Stephen’s fever might be life threatening. Stephen thinks about death and imagines his “beautiful and sad” (27) funeral. While he recovers, Stephen thinks about riddles. The riddles are put to him by Athy, a fellow student and patient. Stephen struggles to answer the riddles and wishes that he could recover at home. While still in the hospital, Stephen overhears Brother Michael talking about the death of the Irish politician, Charles Stewart Parnell.

Stephen returns home from school to celebrate Christmas with his family. For the first time, he is allowed to sit with the adults during the Christmas dinner. In attendance are Stephen’s mother and father, his Uncle Charles, Dante, and a family friend named Mr. Casey. Stephen’s father and Casey discuss weapons manufacturing while the “plump turkey” (33) is brought to the table. After Stephen says grace, Mr. Dedalus tells a story about a friend who confronted a priest about the church’s role in Irish politics. Dante is horrified that any Catholic person would speak out against the church. Her comments spark a “political discussion” (35), much to the horror of Stephen’s mother. Dante defends the church and insists that all God-fearing Catholics should do as they are told by priests and the church leaders, even if these orders go against Irish political interests.

At the table, Stephen watches the adults argue. He does not understand why anyone would argue with priests, so he naturally feels that “Dante must be right” (39). However, he remembers his father dismissing such arguments because Dante was once “a spoiled nun” (40). He remembers Eileen, who Dante criticized stridently because of her family’s Protestant faith. Mr. Casey tells an anecdote about an elderly woman who criticized Parnell’s extramarital affair. Mr. Casey was so offended on Parnell’s behalf that he spat “right into her eye” (41). Dante is horrified. Mr. Casey speculates as to whether Ireland might be better without the church; Simon agrees that the Irish are “an unfortunate priestridden race” (42). Dante proclaims the importance of God and religion, then storms away while Mr. Casey mourns the death of Parnell as his “dead king” (44).

Stephen returns to school. He overhears Wells talking with the other boys about several students who ran away after stealing wine from the sacristy. The runaways have now been caught. As Wells tells the story, the other boys are shocked by the outrageous, sacrilegious behavior. According to Athy, however, the runaways were actually accused of being gay. Stephen thinks about this accusation. He compares the boys’ soft hands to the “long thin cool white hands” (48) of his neighbor, Eileen. A student named Fleming is worried that all the boys are “to be punished” (49) due to the misbehavior of the runaways. Fleming wants the boys to stand up for themselves.

When they are called back into the classroom, the boys study Latin. Fleming fails to answer a question and he is beaten with “loud quick smacks” (55). Stephen is excused from working in class because his glasses are broken. However, the prefect in the class does not believe Stephen’s excuse, so beats Stephen as well. Stephen believes that this is “cruel and unfair” (59). When the boys discuss their punishments afterward, however, Stephen does not want to criticize the prefect. When he finally musters the courage to complain to the rector, the rector says he will speak to the prefect. Stephen returns to his classmates, who praise him as a hero and carry him on their shoulders “until he [struggles] to get free” (67).