An Important but Difficult Book of The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

By Kayla W

Number two on the Modern Library 100 best novels of the English language, topped only by the same author with Ulysses, is The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce. Written partially as an autobiography, the story is as it is labeled- a man through his adolescence in Ireland that grows to maturity and discovers his calling in art. The reason for its influence, however, was its pioneering in a developing maturity in its writing style, following the maturity of the main character himself.

Sustained by the allusion to the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, Stephen Dedalus' story starts when he is a toddler, where simple childish language is used to describe his connection to art, and beginning to struggle with the societal forces restricting him and his creativity. Progressing through his childhood, epiphanies involving how the world and justice and the religion of its time conflicting with his personal self causes intense struggles unique to both coming of age stories, and of critiques of Irish society.

Beautiful prose, imagery, and many nuanced political messages are interspersed through a beast of a piece of literature. Though it is a short novel, it can be hard to read and decipher, and ultimately hard to get through. Some sections are easier to digest than others, however the horrific chapter long sermon about hell  is the absolute worst of them all- being both rough to read and actually adding little to the story. However, the climax of action and revelation shortly after it brings that much more satisfaction.

Despite the difficulties, it's not hard to see why the novel was so radically influential in its time- both because of its intensely skilled development of style to match the character's progression, and from strength of its themes about politics and art due to the omnipresence of the mythical Daedalus. Though The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is not particularly fun or easy or all that invigorating- it is a portrait of history, and in agreement with the Modern Library, it is a monumental creation of literature: both now, and to the past, and an earnestly important book to read.

The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce, originally published by B. W. Huebsch, Inc., New York, 1916 edition, 185 pages.