Stephen’s Big Breakthrough
During
class the last few weeks, we have talked a lot about Stephen’s epiphanies at
the end of each chapter. It seems that as each chapter ends, Stephen has some
sort of breakthrough in his life. At the end of the first chapter, Stephen is
finally celebrated by the fellows. All throughout the chapter he was on the
outside and bullied by his peers but at the end he is finally one of them for a
few seconds. In the second chapter, Stephen sleeps with a prostitute, a huge step
in his personal life and probably a coming-of-age moment for him. At the end of
the third chapter, Stephen finally goes to confession. Ever since he slept with
the prostitute, he can think of nothing else and he feels guilty all the time.
He is consumed by his sins. Stephen finally confesses at the end of Chapter 3
and he returns to a rigid religious life.
I thought most of these end of chapter climaxes were pretty life changing for Stephen. Therefore, I was surprised when I found out that the end of Chapter 4 is thought of as the major climax in the book. I didn’t know what could be more climactic than Stephen sleeping with a prostitute or finally confessing his sins. However, after examining the symbolism at the end of Chapter 4, it is clear that Stephen has a huge epiphany.
In Chapter 4, Stephen is offered a position in the church. He decides not to take it because he does not want to be a priest in a line of many. He is not ready to sign away his freedom. Stephen decided to enroll in college instead so his father goes to enroll him and Stephen takes a walk. On his walk, Stephen crosses a bridge and a group of monks are walking in the other direction. As he walks Stephen past the monks, Stephen feels shame: “(…) as he strove to look at them with ease and indifference, a faint stain of personal shame and commiseration rose to his own face. Angry with himself he tried to hide his face from their eyes by gazing down sideways into the shallow swirling water under the bridge (…).” It seems that Stephen may be rethinking his decision of turning down the position at the church. But then, “He passed from the trembling bridge on to firm land again.” His passage from the bridge to land and the way he walked right past the monks in the opposite direction symbolizes Stephen walking away from the church in a more secular direction. He could follow the monks back across the bridge but instead he crosses to forge his own path. Religion has been an extraordinarily important part of Stephen’s life in earlier chapters. This climax seems particularly important for Stephen because he is walking away from his religious path and finally pursuing his artistic side. He is defying what everyone in his life has taught him and doing what he wants.
I thought most of these end of chapter climaxes were pretty life changing for Stephen. Therefore, I was surprised when I found out that the end of Chapter 4 is thought of as the major climax in the book. I didn’t know what could be more climactic than Stephen sleeping with a prostitute or finally confessing his sins. However, after examining the symbolism at the end of Chapter 4, it is clear that Stephen has a huge epiphany.
In Chapter 4, Stephen is offered a position in the church. He decides not to take it because he does not want to be a priest in a line of many. He is not ready to sign away his freedom. Stephen decided to enroll in college instead so his father goes to enroll him and Stephen takes a walk. On his walk, Stephen crosses a bridge and a group of monks are walking in the other direction. As he walks Stephen past the monks, Stephen feels shame: “(…) as he strove to look at them with ease and indifference, a faint stain of personal shame and commiseration rose to his own face. Angry with himself he tried to hide his face from their eyes by gazing down sideways into the shallow swirling water under the bridge (…).” It seems that Stephen may be rethinking his decision of turning down the position at the church. But then, “He passed from the trembling bridge on to firm land again.” His passage from the bridge to land and the way he walked right past the monks in the opposite direction symbolizes Stephen walking away from the church in a more secular direction. He could follow the monks back across the bridge but instead he crosses to forge his own path. Religion has been an extraordinarily important part of Stephen’s life in earlier chapters. This climax seems particularly important for Stephen because he is walking away from his religious path and finally pursuing his artistic side. He is defying what everyone in his life has taught him and doing what he wants.
It's really interesting to see the progression of Stephen's coming of age. It seems that each of his epiphanies is a bigger step building towards his final decision to separate from the Church. As you said him walking the opposite direction of the monks in chapter 4 symbolizes his decision to forge his own path. This attitude can be seen as early as his epiphanic moment in chapter 1 in his first act of defiance against the church by reporting the prefect, and it gradually builds throughout the book until this moment.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read the end of chapter four, I didn't understand why it was called the "real" epiphany by the critics. However, this analysis - and our discussion of it in class - made it much more clear to me, and I definitely think it's a much bigger epiphany than any of the other ones Stephen had. However, even this one is sort of undermined by Joyce -- in the next chapter Stephen isn't an artist yet, merely talking a lot about art but rarely ever actually writing. He hasn't completely defied - yet. However, this epiphany is a crucial step for his decision at the end of the novel.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this epiphany's magnitude is harder to register because of its buildup. Stephen's epiphany at the end of Chapter 2 comes from his desire for "love that will mature him". However, Stephen's epiphany at the end of chapter 4 is the culmination of his self-discovery. After trying all these methods to make him feel whole, from prostitutes to priesthood, Stephen walks away from them in favor of expressing himself in his own way.
ReplyDeleteThe whole beach epiphany scene is so full of symbolism. Stephen crossing a bridge clearly shows that he's passing from one way of life to another, and he's walking away from his hometown and his family in search of something exciting and beautiful. Maybe the heavy use of symbolism shows that Stephen is already developing as an artist and becoming more attuned to the world around him. He's starting to see everything he does through a poetic lens.
ReplyDeleteI'm right with you. Before I came to class, I was confused about how this beach scene was particularly climactic or meaningful. However, once Mr. Mitchell started to unpack the symbolism (I'd never thought to analyze Stephen's lack of eye contact with the monks!) it started to make sense. I agree that this is the moment where Stephen commits to being an artist, and the reader no longer sees the catholic church in his future.
ReplyDelete