Women have been a central part of the book since the start. With Stephen’s attraction to his neighbor, to meeting Emma, to the Virgin Mary as well as his own mother, women have played a key role in shaping Stephen’s path in the book. But what is interesting is the fact that in the end of Chapter 5, we see an end to the influences that women have on Stephen. He no longer cares about his heartbroken mother’s feelings, the Virgin Mary no longer guides him (in fact he has pretty much lost faith in religion), he is no longer seduced by the prostitutes, and he is willing to leave Emma (the same girl who he spent so much time contemplating about and writing poems about). It is almost as if Stephen starts a new life by the end of Portrait.
I would also like to address the change in narrative style in Portrait. I found the last section that we had to read quite interesting in terms of structure: Stephen’s first person diary entries. I’m glad that wasn’t the format of the entire book, because I would have truly been bored to hell and by brains would have boiled. In his entries, Stephen is a lot more liberal, addressing grave issues such as the encounter with Emma and Cranly as minute and almost insignificant. One thing these entries do reaffirm, however, is the fact that Stephen is still trying to find his voice, something which we have seen him do throughout the novel.
To the good part now-- I’ll be quite frank. I haven’t enjoyed our first novel. At all. This is the primary reason that I have been relatively silent in class discussions as well as on my blog. I don’t have a disgust for the book but I simply didn’t enjoy it. That doesn’t mean this book is bad, but it just isn’t my style. I prefer books where there is a mystery, more specifically, where the story is heavily plot based (i.e. I can’t stop reading it, because I want to find out what’s going to happen next). And until I get that feeling in a book, I just don’t like it. What’s interesting is that my life has many parallels to that of Stephen’s, especially the early childhood phase. Yet, the slow pace of the book and the sudden upbeats were not enough to stir me up. I look forward to Catcher in the Rye because I’ve heard a lot about the book, but never actually read it.Friday, January 30th
I like the distinction you’ve made that although he may have found a new life through the abandonment of old female influences, he is still trying to uncover his own voice. This ties into the idea that coming of age is a lengthy almost lifetime long process. I must agree Portrait just didn’t sit right with me either. The structure changes were interesting but just didn’t do enough to hook me in. I hope you enjoy Catcher, I read it sophomore year and it definitely has a faster pace and narrative style.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this book just isn't for me. I find books like this that aren't as easy to get through rather challenging to read. The style and language really didn't appeal to me and it was simply 2deep4me.
ReplyDeleteI think even though the female characters in Portrait have been crucial for Stephen's development, their portrayal is still unbearably one-dimensional. Part of this is probably because the narrative voice is firmly rooted in Stephen's consciousness, but I think they could still have a little more depth.
ReplyDeleteTo say that the female characters would benefit from more depth is partly a criticism of Joyce (although, as I mentioned yesterday, he delves very deeply into Molly Bloom's consciousness at the end of _Ulysses_, and she emerges as one of the most fully developed characters in that novel as a result). But the women in Stephen's life in fact are NOT three-dimensional, at least in terms of his perception, so in a sense Joyce is "accurate" here, not as a reflection of the women/girls' *actual* three-dimensionality, but as a reflection of the limitations of Stephen's perception.
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