Theme Analysis: Catholic Extremism
Throughout this novel the main character, Stephen Dedalus, struggles with his faith. The school that he he goes to is a Catholic school, of which is conmpletely run based upon Catholic beliefs and ideology. It is this very thing that he struggles with not only throughout his time at school, but throughout life as well.
Stephen's first viewpoint of his religion is one of fear and uncertainty. This is characterized through statements such as: "He had to undress and then kneel and say his own prayers and be in bed before the gas was lowered so that he might not go to hell when he died." He was fearful of the simple prospect of not getting in bed in time in fear of going, to hell. If that is not absurd then I do not know what is. Stephen has been so consumed in religious doxology and principles that he lives in a constant state of fear for his very life. And this fear only intensifies as his time at school lingers on.
Stephen's fear of death and the potential of going to hell is greatly increased when he falls into what he has learned to be "mortal sin." He sexual obsessions have afflicted him with so much guilt that he sees the world in a very different way. He describes everything as dark and dingy and dirty. For example the simple sight of coats hanging he pictures humans being tortured strung up in a cage. This is proof that the pressure to be good put on him by his Catholic upbringing has consumed his mind with guilt over sin which in retrospect is normal for men his age to go through, maybe not as extreme as him, but all guys go through it. After hearing the sermon on hell, in which it ws described as a "boundless fire", a place where "flesh is tortured", and filled with "frightful torment", Stephen is absolutely mortified. The sin that has consumed his life is one that is MORTAL, one that will send him to this place where "The blood seethes and boils in the veins, the brains are bursting, the bowels a redhot mass of buring pulp, the tender eyes flaming like molten balls."
Stephen is now at the point where his only option is to confess his sin in order to avoid his fate of going to an eternal hell. Now he is truly sad and convicted over his sin, not guilty, but convicted for what he did wrong. he confesses his sin and recieved forgiveness from the church and he is renewed and is his words is given "Another life! A life of grace and virtue and happiness!" This now opens another phase of his relationship with his religion.
So, from the beginning of the novel, through chapter 3, every single facet of Stephen's life has been bent and shaped by his religious convictions. After his confession he finally learns to embrace his religion rather then let it control his life and drive him into fear and guilt. he becomes extremely religious and devoted to the church and nearly becomes a priest. From this point on his religious life fades away somewhat to the point where he decides to simply not be very religious anymore.
So Stephen went from being guilty beyond belief over his sin, disgusted with it, and scared to death of going to hell, to content with life without such serious religious conviction. In the end he chooses rather to look at the world through the eyes of an artist, one who sees everything for its beauty, rather then the sin they may be in it of which he would have focused on if he remained religious.
Passage Analysis
"What birds were they? He stood on the steps of the library to look at
them, leaning wearily on his ashplant. They flew round and round the
jutting shoulder of a house in Molesworth Street. The air of the late
March evening made clear their flight, their dark quivering bodies
flying clearly against the sky as against a limp-hung cloth of smoky
tenuous blue. He watched their flight; bird after bird: a dark flash, a swerve, a
flutter of wings. He tried to count them before all their darting
quivering bodies passed: six, ten, eleven: and wondered were they odd
or even in number. Twelve, thirteen: for two came wheeling down from the
upper sky. They were flying high and low but ever round and round in
straight and curving lines and ever flying from left to right, circling
about a temple of air.He listened to the cries: like the squeak of mice behind the wainscot: a shrill twofold note. But the notes were long and shrill and whirring,
unlike the cry of vermin, falling a third or a fourth and trilled as
the flying beaks clove the air. Their cry was shrill and clear and fine
and falling like threads of silken light unwound from whirring spools."
In this passage Stephen contimplates for a long time the movements and of the birds circling overhead. This prolonged study of the bird parallels Stephen's life at the time. The birds cause him to think that the birds are a sign of a flight of his own. In this passage he cannot seem to identify the species of the birds, which is similar to his own life in that he in unsure of his own nature. He simply knows that the birds are slying and that he will be doing the same too. Stephens last name, Dedalus, is an allusion to the Greek myth which involved humans building wings to fly. So his last name is in direct coorelation with flight. The birds also offer Stephen relief, the cries are harsh but the ""inhuman clamour soothed his ears in which his mother's sobs and reproaches murmured insistently." But Stephen is unsure of whether the birds are good or evil. This is similar to his life in that he is unsure that his decisions to leave his family, friends, the university as well as other decisions are just or not. The birds cause Stephen to take a serious step back and question his life decisions.
Personal Reflection
This novel, however difficult to read and at times understand completely, I believe truly encompasses human nature as a whole. The stream of conciousness style of the novel gives the reader an inside look into the initmate mind of Stephen. I have never read a book that had such intricate detail over the simple thoughts and emotions of a human being. This in depth detail made Stephen a very relatable character. Many of the temptations, thoughts, ideas and struggles that Stephen endures I can relate with because I have gone through similar things as him. Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel and liked the style of it.
