Nathan Merritt
July 19, 2006
Family values and conflicts can be said to mirror those of the greater population. Over every dinner stories and opinions are shared freely, and these offer an unparalled view into the entire society. Joyce knows this, and uses an argument over Christmas dinner to detail and explain the tumult of a changing country. Not content with merely chronicling, he also, through a stream of consciousness writing style, relates complicated political, religious and social ideals from the viewpoint of an unexperienced child. The meal becomes a compressed version of Stephen's own philisophical journey between religious extremism and moral depravity.
Joyce chooses Stephen's first Christmas dinner with his family to outline the many schools of thought then prevalent in Ireland. Stephen observes his younger siblings peeking out, unable to participate, and realizes that he is coming of age. The strong tradition of seperating children from adults is contrasted with an unorthodoxly fierce debate on the division between church and state. Two frequent guests in the house, Mr. Casey and Dante argue over the role a priest should play towards his parishoners.
Dante, a longtime carekeeper of Stephen's, takes the position of the religious extreme. She argues that priests are the "Lord's annointed", and that they are a "honour to their country" (Joyce p43). She holds that their word is the law, and they should be respected and heeded without question. Stephen notices her fervor the most, of the three participants Dante is the only one described as angry. It is no matter, she says, that priests offer stark political opinions because they are "doing their duty in warning the people" (Joyce p42). Her argument is important to the novel as a whole because it is extremely similar to a viewpoint briefly taken on by Stephen. His change is character is made more obvious if one uses this childhood memory as a measuring stick.
Mr. Casey and Mr. Daedalus both argue with Dante that priests are best served to "confine their attention to religion" (Joyce p42). They do not differ from Dante in describing themselves; Mr. Casey himself defensively exclaims that he is "as catholic as his father was" (Joyce p44). Both sides of the argument agree that the church is due respect, their difference is in how absolute and blind followers should be to other viewpoints. Again, this foreshadows a personal debate that Stephen later goes through. Mr. Casey and subsequently his views appeal more to the childish Stephen, who "looked with affection" towards him and a voice that was "good to listen to" (Joyce p46). Mr. Casey's story too is one of morals. He does not hesitate to violate the literal letter of the code of chivalry and spit into a woman's eye, but only after she abused another companion of his. The fuzzy border between fervor towards and disregard of the old traditions is made ever more noticable.
Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a tale of growing up and finding one's place and beliefs in the world. Stephen's eventual decision to balance religion with astheticism and devotion to his craft come only after intense personal debate and experimentation in both extremes. Appropriately, these extremes are present in Stephen's own family throughout his childhood. Joyce suggests that no matter what example is set, everyone must learn lessons on their own.
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc. 1991.