Telling Unconsciously (James Joyce Critical Essay, I did my best on my first long composition><)

In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the author James Joyce uses symbols, unique structures of sentencing and the character Stephen’s unconscious thinking to reveal Stephen’s hidden feelings. Joyce ultimately achieves his goal that he depicts Stephen’s inner conflicts and feelings as Stephen grows.

James uses symbols to imply hidden facts and the unique of sentencing to emphasize the importance of the meaning he created. He allows Stephen to unconsciously expressing his true but unacceptable feelings. Stephen usually alienates himself from others and thinks to himself. In his thoughts, he reveals that he has secretly liked his mother, fears and dislikes his father, and forgoes his religion for wantonness.

Stephen reveals his hidden love for his mother by separating himself from the others in the playground of his college to think of his mother. He thinks that his mother is a “Nice mother!” (Joyce, 22) and recalls her kissing him before she sends him to school, “She had put up her veil double to her nose to kiss him [Stephen]” (Joyce, 22). The put up of the veil actually symbolizes the breakage of the barrier between Stephen and his mother, and the kiss symbolizes the love from his mother. At this moment, Stephen gets closer to his mother and enjoys the love from his mother. Stephen also recalls that his mother was going to cry and that her nose and eyes were “red” (Joyce, 22). The color “red” symbolizes passion, and it implies Stephen’s passion for his mother.

Stephen later recalls his mother again and alone. It was after he was beaten by Wells that he thinks “it would be nice to be at home. Mother was sitting at the fire…She had her feet on the fender and her jewelly slippers were so hot and they had such a lovely warm smell!” (Joyce, 23-24). Stephen is unconscious revealing his secret love for his mother. He cannot repress his love for her, and is now missing her. He wants to be comforted by her and to enjoy her adorable smell. The word “fire” and “hot” actually symbolizes mother’s love, which Stephen now aspires. He is also fascinated by his mother feet and jewelly slippers. Stephen indeed unconsciously finds his mother to be attractive because of her feet and jewelly slippers. According to Freud, “a woman must bear a phallic symbol in order to be attractive”(Freud, 282) to her sons. In a boy’s growth, since he would be shocked when he discovers that his mother does not have a penis, thus he would find other unique things on his mother to replace the penis. Also, the boy would hope to castrate himself, because he finds his mother is different than him. Stephen reveals that he follows fetishism while liking his mother. Joyce, using Stephen’s thoughts and symbols to point out the fact that Stephen is obsessed with his mother.
Stephen’s obsession for his mother is later challenged by Wells’ teasing. Wells asks Stephen if he “kisses his mother every night before he goes to bed” (Joyce, 26). Stephen answers both positively and negatively, but “still Wells laughed” (Joyce 27). Stephen is confused by his laugh and wonders about that right answer. He has been unconscious that developing feelings for his mother is immoral but is now beginning to realize its immorality. Thus, he “did not dare to raise his eyes to Wells’ face” (Joyce, 27). Stephen is feeling shame, and unconsciously puts his shame on his eye lid. According to Wasson, eyes have phallic value through out the novel, generally being either aggressive and piercing or defeated and downcast. Here, Stephen is being “defeated”. Joyce uses Wells to symbolize Stephen’s father. Confronting to Wells that he kisses mother, Stephen is actually admitting to his father about his sin. In another words, he is admitting to his father that he wants to possess his wife and replace him. Wells’ laugh at Stephen’s stupidity is then representing the contempt and despising his father has toward Stephen. Stephen’s father would not be threatened that his wife would betray him and likes Stephen the way he likes her. The way Wells asks Stephen is “do you kiss your mother” (Joyce, 26) not “does your mother kiss you”. Stephen’s father is confident that his wife would not commit immorality as Stephen did. He simply despises Stephen at his silliness. When Stephen doesn’t know how to answer Wells’ question, “but Wells know how to answer for he was in third of grammar” (Joyce, 27), it infers that older people, such as Stephen’s father would defeat Stephen.

Joyce also uses the beating from Wells to symbolize the punishment Stephen’s father inflicts for him. Wells “shouldered him [Stephen] into the square ditch” (Joyce, 27) because “he would not swop his little snuffbox for Wells’ seasoned hacking chestnut” (Joyce, 27). The “little snuffbox” symbolizes Stephen’s mother. Stephen attempts to possess his mother all the way that his father cannot touch her. However, the more powerful one, his father, ultimately wins. Since Stephen’s father would “pull out his [Stephen’s] eyes” (Joyce, 21) if he does not give in or “apologise” (Joyce, 21). Joyce puts the song that contains these two verses in the beginning of the book. He emphasizes the importance of that the myth of Oedipus in the story that it is the central focus. As the myth of Oedipus, Stephen unrestrainedly likes his mother, betrays his father, but at the end spiritually blinds himself when he emasculates himself. Stephen emasculates himself when he confesses to God.

In Stephen’s unconscious mind, he fears his father as he fears God. Stephen feels “helpless”, “listless” and his soul “plunging ever deeper in its dull fear” (Joyce, 107) after hearing Father Arnall’s lecturing about God. Stephen is greatly intimidated by God. He scares that God would throw him into hell because the time “to sin and to enjoy” (Joyce, 108) is over and now it’s “God’s turn: He was not to be hoodwinked or deceived” (Joyce, 108). Stephen indeed unconsciously fears that it’s his father’s turn to override. He’s afraid that he may punish him by castrating him or spiritually “pulling out his eyes” (Joyce 21), because “the loss of eyes is an image of castration” (Brivic, 281). According the Freud’s dream theory, Stephen knows that he is impure, sinned and his father who’s similar to God is “too great and stern” (Joyce, 111) and his mother who’s similar to Virgin Mary is “too pure and holy” (Joyce, 111).

When Stephen realizes that there is “No help!” (Joyce, 108) that his body and soul “was dying” (Joyce, 108), he knows that he has to confess. He first prays in heart as “O my God!/O my God!/I am heartily sorry/I am heartily sorry/...and I detests my sins/ and I detests my sins/…of all my love/of all my love /and I firmly purpose/and I firmly purpose/…to amend my life/to amend my life (Joyce, 126). Joyce repeated each sentence of Stephen’s prayer. He successfully deepens Stephen’s feeling of guilt and wishing of forgiveness. He also allows Stephen to beg for forgiveness the first time in the book. Stephen’s “heartily sorry” and devoting “all my [his] love” signifies his guilt for having offended God- his father. His “firmly purpose” and begging for “amend” in life shows his acknowledgement on his defeat.
Later, Stephen dreams of the “six creatures that were moving in the field” (Joyce, 128). They are “goatish” and “malice” looking, who circle “closer and closer to enclose and enclose” (Joyce 128) Stephen. Stephen immediately “flung the blankets from him to madly free his face”, (Joyce, 128) and walks to the window for air. According to Freud’s dream theory, Stephen’s dream reflects what he fears – the hell. In order to overcome his fear, Stephen has to wake himself and “free his face”- he has to confess. Joyce again uses Stephen’s fear toward God and hell to point out what Stephen ultimately fears - the paternal figure.

Stephen cannot endure anymore. He needs to confess. He insanely runs in the street looking for the direction to church. When he finally arrives in the church, he was “shameful” (Joyce, 132) and “he face was burning” (Joyce, 132). Then, the priest questions him: “How long is it since your last confession, my child” (Joyce, 133), the addressing to Stephen as “my child” reveals that the priest symbolizes Stephen’s father. Then Stephen answered “A long time ago, father” (Joyce, 133), “father” reveal that Stephen is confronting to his father. And “There was no help” (Joyce, 133) for Stephen to hide his wrong doings from his father, he finally murmured that “I…committed sins of impurity, father” (Joyce, 133), “impurity” implies Stephen’s sin as to like his mother. Stephen now has admitted the “terrible sin” (Joyce, 133), and “there was no more to tell” (Joyce, 133). Stephen is “overcome” (Joyce, 133). He “knelt” (Joyce, 134) before God to “say his penance” (Joyce, 134). Stephen destroys his image when he has to kneel to confess. Joyce points out that Stephen is exposed as shameful when he confesses or spiritually apologizes to his father, because the “submissive attitude he [Stephen] adopts toward God the father is felt as a reduction to femininity” (Brivic, 287).

Finally, Stephen was granted “another life!” (Joyce, 134). It is the life that's “holy and Happy” (Joyce, 133), “of grace and virtue” (Joyce, 134). Stephen is now relieved, he sees everything beautiful and simple, for instance the “white pudding and eggs and sausages and cups of tea” (Joyce, 134). Stephen also notices the “white flowers” (Joyce, 135) that Stephen describes as “clear and silent as his own soul” (Joyce, 135). Stephen’s new ways of seeing things and looking at his life unconsciously tells that he is excited to live a religious life, because he relies on God, the paternal symbol. Joyce, using symbols and Stephen unconscious telling suggests that Stephen relives because he relies on the paternal figure.
As Stephen grows up, his piety for his religion starts to fade. He begins to pull himself back from God. When the priest in college recommended him to go to a priest school, Stephen refused the offer despite the fact that he might receive respects in a priest school. Stephen realizes that the life of being a priest is unworthy and gloomy, “it was a grave and ordered and passionless life that awaited him” (Joyce 146). The word “grave”, “ordered” and “passionless” are the antonyms of “passionate” and “wantonness” which are the words to describe Stephen when he violates the rule to love his mother. Stephen finally realizes that being a pious and pure is “hard, too hard” (Joyce, 148) and he rather gives his religion up. Stephen even wonders “how he would pass the first night in the novitiate” (Joyce, 146) and how “dismayed” (Joyce, 146) he would become in the priest school. He knows that “his soul would not be there” (Joyce, 146) in the priest school to be a priest. He knows that “the exhortation he had listened to had already fallen into an idle formal tale” (Joyce, 146). Stephen is also depressed that he has wasted all those time to restrain himself from wantonness. He questions that “what, then, had become of that deep rooted shyness of his which had made him loth to eat or drink?” (Joyce, 147) and complains that he has “conceived himself as a being apart in every order” (Joyce 147).

Stephen’s wish for freedom is tempting. He also knows that “he would fall” (Joyce 148), which actually implies that Stephen is going back for earthy materials. While Stephen unconsciously thinks about forgoing his religion, Joyce points out that Stephen no longer relies on or fears God, meaning that he no loner fears his father, the paternal figure. Stephen now breaks morality and commits to pursue a reckless life.

Life without orders is now without “shame or wantonness” (Joyce, 155) to Stephen. As Stephen stares at the girl by the sea, he does not feel shame at all. In fact, the girl symbolizes sin and his mother, her “skirts were kilted boldly about her waist” (Joyce, 155), “boldly” represents the girl’s shame and Stephen’s guts to sin. However, Stephen uses her to “project his new freedom of seeing reality with out idealizing or condemning it” (Brivic, 293). Stephen, in another word, is using the girl to lead himself to the earthy world again, but without hesitation or fear. Stephen feels enlightened. He suddenly realizes that life should be enjoying and creative. At this realization, Stephen cried his soul “Heavenly God,” in “an outburst of profane joy” (Joyce, 155). The word “heavenly” and “profane” indicates Stephen is elated to be free. Stephen now wishes “to live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life” (Joyce, 156). He understands now the “to err” and to “to fall” are the necessary steps in life in order to succeed. He knows that “any position he takes is a stage in a process of reversals” (Brivic, 296). Stephen’s life is a cycle repeating the actions, “live, err, fall and triumph”. And finally, Stephen is existing at “triumph”. He even imagines that the angel is appearing to him “in an instant of ecstasy the gates of all the ways of error and glory.” (Joyce, 156) Stephen is ensuring himself that going for a creative and artistic life is worthy. And he wishes his “triumph” stage would continue “on and on and on and on!” (Joyce, 156)

In A Portrait of the Artist of a Young Man, the author James Joyce successfully points out to the readers the main character Stephen Dedalus’s inner conflicts and feelings as he grows up. Joyce used three major techniques in pointing out the interesting facts: symbols, the unique structuring of sentences and Stephen’s unconsciously telling of how he feels.

Symbols such as the mother’s feet, jewelly slippers, the veil, the kiss and the snuffbox reveal Stephen’s love for his mother. Symbols such as God, the six creatures, Wells, Father Arnall, and the priest who helped Stephen to confess reveal Stephen’s fear toward his father. And the symbol such as the girl at the sea reveals Stephen’s betrayal of his religion and longing for creativity.

Stephen’s unconscious thinking about his mother kissing him and being with her at home shows that fact that Stephen wants her. His unconscious thinking about suffering in hell when listening to Father Arnall’s sermon, and the dream of the six ghostlike creatures signify Stephen’s fear of his father, the paternal figure. Also, Stephen’s unconscious imagination of being afflicted with boredom in the priest school and the realization when seeing the girl by the sea shows us that Stephen yearns for a better and artistic life.

At last, James Joyce’s technique of repeating the sentences that he allows Stephen to repeat his every of his prayer twice escalates the importance of the meanings he created.

James Joyce’s way of hiding many difficult but interesting meanings behind the text is incomparable that it lures many reader to reread his books to find again old perspective of interpret and discover the new perspective of analyzing!