A portrait of the hero as a young man: Stephen Dedalus and the mythogenesis of the artist

Abstract

After centuries under British domination, Ireland experienced a strong demand for the restoration and consolidation of its own political and cultural identity in late nineteenth and early twentieth century. James Joyce tried to fulfill the Irish need for identity (re)construction and blended mythology and realism in his works and, by doing so, he made an attempt to provide self-awareness to his people. This thesis investigates in what sense the journey of formation of an artist, developed in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, metaphorically parallels the journey of the classic hero in order to investigate Joyce's choices regarding mythological archetypes and its influence on and purpose in his work. This analysis relies on the research of four fields: Irish historical context, James Joyce's biography, mythological features, and relevant features of Joyce's novel in the realms of structure and construction of meaning. By sharing the features of a hero, the protagonist of Joyce's first novel elevates the condition of the artist to the role of savior, redeemer-a hero to his community for revealing the path to enlightenment through literature. Therefore, Joyce reveals that the path to self-awareness is a universal search, making of his works a reflection unrestricted by time, place, and culture.