8/3/2019 Close Reading -- Jlf

1/2

Joseph Fleenor

ENG 340

Brewer

CLOSE READING: Portrait of the Artist #2

The last words of Davins story sang in his memory and the figure of the woman

in the story stood forth, reflected in other figures of peasant women whom he

had seen standing in the doorways at Clane as the college cars drove by, as a

type of her race and his own, a batlike soul waking to the consciousness of itself

in darkness and secrecy and loneliness and, through the eyes and voice and

gesture of a woman without guile, calling the stranger to her bed (Joyce 183)

One of the most interesting images called forth in this passage is the part where the

narrator describes his soul as batlike. The use of the word batlike is a rather curious

reference and implies that his soul is something dark and evil, which further solidifies the

following words darkness, secrecy, and loneliness. The author makes the statement that only

through the attention of a female can Stephen Dedalus truly come alive and attempt to escape

the solitude of darkness; however, this is intriguing because Stephen clearly has problems with

female intimacy, commitment, and interpersonal relationships.

The second aspect of this passage that sticks out to me is the class distinctions that the

narrator makes. Davins story is about a lower-class woman who invites a stranger to her bed.

Upon hearing this, Stephen immediately associates her with other peasant women he has seen.

This association reveals that he seems to connect peasant women with inferiority and being of

low moral standards. The only interaction he has with women, other than his mother, is in

passing, idealization from afar, or sexual interactions with prostitutes. Thus, to cope with the

lack of the ability to meaningfully connect, his idealization of women evolves into

objectification and subordination. Interestingly though, Stephens soul is connected with

women rather than men which seems to imply that there is the possibility of a sexual-identity

8/3/2019 Close Reading -- Jlf

2/2

Joseph Fleenor

ENG 340

Brewer

crisis as the protagonist has the body of a male, a reasonably masculine gender, and a soul with

the identification of a female. Nowhere throughout the course of the novel does it mention

Stephen having any type of romantic involvement with someone of the female sex; however,

he does seems to get intimate with other men like Cranly, which is highlighted by the

interchange on page 247 where he is thrilled by the touch of another man and Cranly discusses

his longing for something more than a friendship.

Another important aspect of this passage is the whole concept of alienation. Whether

Stephen is alienated from his social class by the education his father encouraged, just like the

case of Gabriel Conroy, or by the insecurity in his sexuality, this portion of the text further

emphasizes his solitude within society. His soul is constantly hidden away, sleeping, in darkness

and isolation. There is no warmth to be found and Stephens loneliness just continues to

mount. This is important to realize and understand because it explains why he often roams the

city at night by himself, avoids personal relationships with others, and finds validity in art. His

struggle with personal identity and understanding of himself allows him to seek comfort in that

which he is able to create, not in what fate his placed him within: religion, class, society, family,

etc.