From the beginning of the book, Stephen was established as an outsider. The author very clearly paints Stephen as merely an observer, and not an active part of the scene. It is evident with how little he speaks out and engages in dialogue, usually content with listening, and how he rarely speaks up for himself in the beginning of the book. This is highlighted in the scene in which the group of boys are playing rugby. Even in Stephen's one moment of triumph in his early childhood stage, after he successfully spoke to the teacher about his unfair punishment and went to celebrate with the fellows, the fellows leave him behind to celebrate on their own, and when they cheer, it is not for him. He doesn't completely share in their happiness and he is not included.
I actually find it rather sad but understandable how the little boy who never really made any friends was so drawn to literature. In books, we can find characters we relate to and experience adventures we never can in real life. Books give us an escape from life and allow us to become engaged. Stephen, the loner child, began to connect with characters who were also outsiders and loners. Therefore, his favorite literature (Byron, Count of Monte Cristo) ended up being what society considered "heretical", as it dealt with dark romantic heroes and dark storylines dealing with revenge and horrible wrath. Stephen began to see himself as the dark romantic hero, often projecting onto the hero of Count of Monte Cristo, and sees himself with no choice but to embrace sin. The scene in which he writes his first poem romanticizes the scene with the girl he met on the tram and completely changes the actual events. It is clear to me that he changes "himself" in the scene to rather be one of the romantic heroes he reads about. He then goes to look in the mirror. I definitely interpreted the mirror scene as him searching for a change within himself after writing his first poem -- change to become the romantic hero he wants to so badly. Since he was a young, lonely boy, Stephen's projected himself onto the heroes of the novel, who have dashing adventures, wooed beautiful ladies, had fascinating stories and were outsiders, just like him.
You make a good point. It makes me think of Matilda in the movie, so lonely and turning to books. Gosh it is depressing that Stephen has lived such a lonely life. Now that I think of it the book is kind of unclear as to why Stephen does not have good friends. At first he was just an outcast because of his age and wealth, but maybe he got so used to being a loner that he never wanted to make friends after that, and isolated himself. I think this would be a very good thing to discuss in class! Great observational post.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad! I completely agree, though, and I think his loneliness also helps explain his narcissistic attitude. He felt different and excluded when he was young, so rather than wondering whether there was something wrong with him, he adopted his misunderstood, tortured artist mindset. Others were superficial and ultimately inferior, and therefore he could relish his isolation and accept it as part of his identity, not feel sad about it. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good post that puts Stephen's state(s) of mind in perspective. We are often quick to make fun of his "dramatic" accounts of events that happen to him, but as readers we can often forget that he endured a lot of bullying back at Clongowes (remember when he was thrown into that sewer? poor kid.) When we look at his history of loneliness, it makes sense that he focuses on finding a mutual lover/confidant during his adolescence, and that he turns to poetry as an art that allows his emotions to become tangible, as a way of coping.
ReplyDeleteI felt so bad for Stephen when he was always on the outside at Clongowes. He seemed like such a nice kid and I could never figure out why everyone bullied him. A lot of the books I read when I was younger often had a character who was different or never fit in. Just like Stephen, they also turned to reading. I feel like maybe Stephen's religious upbringing causes him to interpret the books he reads in a different way than other children.
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