A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

by James JoyceChapter 3 Presentation

By: Mackenzie GomesJoey Prete

Max SchoenbergerMichele MoscatelliDrew Lussenden

Alex VisserMonica Eslamian

Austin Baker

Chapter 3 Summary

o Stephen is unable to concentrate on math questions in his class because he focuses more on what he'd like to eat and to return to the brothels. Stephen recalls a phrase by saint James causing to think of all the sins he's committed and how it had sprouted from his first sin of lust. Later that day a rector came to announce a three day retreat from Wednesday through Friday.

o Father Arnall starts off by reading a verse from the book of Ecclesiastes. As he speaks Stephen recalls moments from Clongowes including his time in the infirmary. Then Father Arnall explains the purpose of the retreat. Walking home, Stephen thinks about the meal he just ate and feels himself becoming a beast.

Chapter 3 Summary (Continued)

o The following day Stephen could only think about the judgement on on his soul after death while walking to school. He passed through a square and heard a young girl's laugh, reminding him of Emma. He is ashamed of corrupting her innocence and feels farther away from God. Then he sees Virgin Mary reaching down and joining him and Emma in loving union. As he hears the rain on the chapel he senses another biblical flood.

o At the service, Father Arnall speaks about all the times mankind have displeased God. He moves on to the physical pains and punishments in hell being very detailed. Afterwards, Stephen walks back to his room fearing the possibility of dying at any moment and he envisions his soul in hell.

Chapter 3 Summary (Continued)

o During Stephen's English class a messenger announces that confessions are being heard. Though he thinks about saving himself from damnation, he decides not to go. The final day, Father Arnall talks of the spiritual torments in hell. At the end he has all the students pray with him. Stephen returns to his room trying to ignore the voices of the devil's minions, his subconscious. He visualizes his own personal hell and he knows now in order to prevent it he must confess.

o In the evening, Stephen goes into the city. He asks an old lady with an oil lamp about any chapels nearby. She gives him directions and he notices upon arrival other people confessing their sins. Fighting the urge to flee from his troubles and hide he enters the confessional. After confessing all his sins the priest made him promise not to sin with another again and forgave him for his sins. Stephen felt he was given another life.

Indications of a Turning Point or Climax for Stephen

After the second lecture of the sermon Stephen realizes that there is still time for him to repent and that he is not already doomed to an eternity in hell.

"There was still time. ... O Virgin Undefiled, save him f

rom the gulf of death!""...he would repent in his heart and be

forgiven; and then those above ... would see what he would do to make up for the past..."

"O he would indeed to be free and sinless again."

Indications of a Turning Point or Climax for Stephen

During Chapter 3 Stephen’s focus changes from the physical to the non-physical. During the first two chapters (chapter 1 especially) Stephen focuses mostly on physical sensations, such as cold water, being pandied, or sleeping with hookers. After the sermon Stephen develops a serious fear of going to hell. This leads him to become much more spiritual and focused on salvation. His spirituality, however, does not last and Stephen eventually commits himself to art.

Indications of a Turning Point or Climax for Stephen (Continued)

An example of this change from physical to non-physical is the encounters Stephen has with women at the end of chapters 2 and 4. When Stephen sleeps with a prostitute at the end of chapter 2 he mainly focuses on her body, specifically her lips. When he sees the woman at the end of chapter 4, although still noting her beauty, the feelings he has are not sexual but instead trigger the epiphany Stephen has at the end of chapter 4.

The Function of Chapter 3 in Joyce's Chiasmic StructureChapter 3 is the center of the novel

and acts as a “mirror” between the two halves. The Stephen that goes into chapter 3 is not the same Stephen, so to say, that comes out of chapter 3. Chapter 3 begins with Stephen as a sinner and worried about his future and salvation, but, although certainly afraid of God, is still not firmly religious. Stephen comes out of chapter 3, after confessing, as being strict with his religious practices, not giving in to his sinful temptations, and as the most religious we'll see him during the novel.

The Function of Chapter 3 in Joyce's Chiasmic Structure (Continued)

In regards to the mirror aspect of chapter 3, chapters 1 and 5, and 2 and 4 are both similar and opposite in some respects. During chapter 2 Stephen is confused about his sexual urges, and the chapter ends with him sleeping with a prostitute. During chapter 4 Stephen is confused about whether the priesthood is right for him, and the chapter ends with him seeing a girl on the beach and appreciating her beauty esthetically instead of sexually. Chapter 5 Stephen, being a confident young man, is practically the opposite of the insecure Stephen we see at the beginning of the novel. Chapters 1 and 5 both end with Stephen requesting something from a father figure, or male.

The Function of Chapter 3 in Joyce's Chiasmic Structure (Continued)In the middle of chapter 3 is the quote: “The

preacher took a chainless watch from a pocket within his soutane and, having considered its dial for a moment in silence, placed it silently before him on the table.” Perhaps it is time that is the center of the chapter since, in addition to several references to time throughout the chapter, after the second lecture of the sermon Stephen begins to realize (especially towards the end of the chapter) that there is still time and that his life is not yet over, and therefore there is still time to repent, whereas before this Stephen felt hopeless.

"And life lay all before him."

What Are the Seven Deadly Sins?

1. Lust- sexual desire2. Envy- wishing you had something you don't 3. Gluttony-excessive consumption of something

4. Wrath-wanting to hurt someone5. Sloth-giving in to the desire to do

nothing 6.Pride- thinking you are better than you

are7. Greed- wishing you had more

Seven Deadly Sins Cont...

Stephen thinks that his first sin of getting with a prostitute has led him to committing the other 6 deadly sins as well. This sin would be considered lust. Another example of a sin he violated was that of "envy" when he is kneeling next to the people at church who he refers to as "humble followers of Jesus (147)." He wishes he could say this about himself and is therefore envious of their devotion to God.

How Did Stephen Commit the Seven Deadly Sins?What Stephen says on page 114 exemplifies

exactly why he feels as if he has committed each sin."From the evil seed of lust all other deadly sins had sprung forth: pride in himself and the contempt of others, covetousness in using money for the purchase of unlawful pleasure, envy of those whose vices he could not reach to and calumnious murmuring against the pious, gluttonous enjoyment of food, the dull glowering anger amid which he brooded upon his longing, the swamp of spiritual and bodily sloth in which his whole being had sunk."

Seven Deadly Sins Cont...

Stephen begins to see the connection between each of the seven sins. After committing one sin it becomes easier to submit to the others. And once you start, it becomes harder to control yourself. Over time, if one doesn't change their ways, the sins begin to pile up on each other until it feels too unbearable. Stephen begins to feel such a burden and is tormented by it throughout the chapter.

Seven Deadly Sins Cont...

Because of his violation of so many sins, Stephen believes he is going to hell and has horrible dreams about this future experience. His guilt leads him to confess to the priest; when confessing he mentions "sins of anger, envy of others, gluttony, vanity, disobedience (150)," and a few more of the deadly sins as the priest continues to ask him if there is "anything else?"

Methods that Stephen Uses to Try to Avoid Guilt and/or Punishment

In Chapter 3,Stephen experiences and overwhelming amount of guilt for the sins he has committed, all of which he believes, have branched from his sexual escapades with a prostitute. His guilt becomes even more profound after he attends the Sermon led by Father about destination and hell, which only worries Stephen further, because he feels he is destined for hell.

Methods that Stephen Uses to Try to Avoid Guilt and/or Punishment (continued)

Later, when Stephen is back in his room, he awakes from a nightmare about hell. In response to his guilt, Stephen prays. "His eyes were dimmed with tears and, looking humbly up to heaven, he wept for the innocence he had lost." (Page 145).

Methods that Stephen Uses to Try to Avoid Guilt and/or Punishment (continued)

Stephen now awake and prayed, goes outside. He finds the nearest confessional and confesses his sins to the priest. He confesses to his sexual relations and if offered forgiveness. Overall, Stephen seeks forgiveness for his sins, and in an effort to not be sent to hell he begins to pray and atone for his sins, ultimately taking his religion much more seriously thus ridding himself of feelings of guilt and avoiding punishment.

Who is Thomas Aquinas and how does he relate to the text?

During Stephen’s conversation with the dean, he mentions his fondness of St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas is a medieval catholic theologian who created the three universal qualities of beauty that Stephen relates to when explaining his own theories. Stephen talks about the three things needed for beauty: wholeness, harmony, and radiance.

Thomas Aquinas Explanation

Wholeness is the way in which a person’s mind views an object, harmony is the way the mind takes an object and separates it into individual components, and radiance is the supreme quality in which an object is seen for what it is; unique. These three aspects are what artists see and use when analyzing their own work. Stephen bases his theory and steps regarding beauty on his own esthetic theory as well as the work of Thomas Aquinas.

Stephen's fall from grace, repentance, and redemption

Throughout the book there is a common cycle of Stephen's actions; starting with him committing a sin, regretting it, and then seeking and asking for redemption. This cycle is most demonstrated in this chapter.

On page 75 Stephen realizes the meaning behind a Saint James sentence stating once one deadly sin is committed, you become guilty of all which he confessing in the quote stated in the earlier slide on the 7 deadly sins.

Stephen's fall from grace, repentance, and redemption cont...

From the quote, it is clear that Stephen has identified with his wrong doings but when it came time to revisit them, he no desire to remember anything.

"He could not summon them to his memory. He felt only an ache of soul and body, his whole being, memory, will, understanding, flesh, benumbed and weary" (97).

This quote is one example of Stephen's regret he holds towards his previous actions.

Stephen's fall from grace, repentance, and redemption cont...

The final stage on Stephen's cycle is his redemption. After his vision of hell Stephen is driven to go to confession and tell everything he has done.

He starts: "Sorry! Sorry! O Sorry!," and upon finishing he feels his "soul was made fair and holy once more, holy and happy."

Stephen's fall from grace, repentance, and redemption cont...

The significance of Stephen's redemption is that, in a way, he took the easy way out. Rather than staying with his priest he goes into the city and finds a local church and confesses to an older priest. Though Stephen feels like he has been given a new life, he made a commitment to the church that he has never really had before which signifies his naive understanding of the religion, but also signals a change.

Dante’s Inferno and Stephen Dedalus

Dante and Stephen both took trips descending into “Hell”. Each trip was three days in length. Dante descended into real Hell, whereas Stephens Hell was the three trip he took with his school. Each had to venture to the deepest sections of Hell to be able to return pure. At the beginning of the chapter Stephen had conceded to being a sinner and felt no return to holiness was possible. “What did it avail to pray when he knew that his soul lusted after its own destruction?” he had committed all the sins of incontinence (lust, gluttony, avarice, prodigal, and being wrathful and sullen) He lusted after whores and ate too much. He had contempt for his fellow man, believing he was superior. His pride in himself developed into hubris.

Dante’s Inferno and Stephen Dedalus cont.

The descent into Hell for Stephen begins when Father Arnall describes Hell in great detail evoking much fear into Stephen. “The fire in Hell is boundless”, and is filled with the stench of rotting bodies. This newfound fear begins to torture Stephens conscience "His flesh shrank together as if it felt the approach of the ravenous tongues of flames." The torture is occurring inside Stephen; this drives him to accept god as the almighty from which he can reach paradise just like Dante. He is granted “Another life! A life of grace and virtue and happiness!”

Sensory descriptions

The way Stephen uses description in chapter 3 helps to convey his views and feelings. The words “dull” and “pale” are repeated many times throughout section. His perception of what is around him currently is never colorful. He finds the world around him boring and is miserable. “The light laughter of a girl reached his burning ear” depicts his struggle between lust and holiness. As the voice of the father spoke his “voice fell like sweet rain upon his quaking parching heart.” Now that Stephen has been purified his outlook of the world around him is not with contempt but with revelry.

The Biblical story of Jonah

Stephen goes to a three-day retreat where he hears sermons about Hell, he imagines what Hell would sound, smell, taste, and feel like. During these three days, Stephen views himself in his own personal version of Hell, undergoing physical, spiritual, and mental anguish. This chapter parallels the story of Jonah in the Bible, who was stuck within the belly of a whale for three days until he repented of his disobedience and was then freed. Stephen is trapped in Hell until he repents of his sins after three days of suffering, and through confession he begins to fly free from condemnation.

The descent of Christ into Hell

After Stephen's three day retreat to his own personal Hell, he confesses his sins and in a sense is rebirthed. In the Bible, when Christ was crucified, he took on the sins of humans and went to Hell for it. After three says he was resurrected and reborn.

Quiz

1. What was the old lady holding when Stephen asked for directions at the end of the chapter? a) a watchb) an oil lampc) a bibled) a journal

2. True/False: Stephen Confessed with Father Arnall.

3. What was the biggest emphasis on in the chapter? a) timeb) heaven c) womend) childhood

4. Which of the deadly sins did Stephen commit first?

5.

Which of the 7 deadly sins does this picture portray?

6. What ultimately drives Stephen to go confess?

a) a talk with a prostitute b) a dream of Hellc) a car d) a meeting with Father Arnall

7. Fill in the blank: "The preacher took a ___________ ______ from a pocket within his soutane..."

8. What are Thomas Aqunias' three universal qualities?

9. According to the chapter how many days was Stephen in Hell?

10. What was Stephen's biggest realization in the chapter?

Key

1. b2. False 3. a4. lust5. gluttony 6. b7. chainless watch8. wholeness, harmony, and radiance9. 310. he still had time to repent