Post-"Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" thoughts on James Joyce --
1) I now realize I need to re-read "Dubliners" and "Portrait" with some sort of guide.
2) And definitely get a guide for "Ulysses", which is where all this mandatory Joyce reading is heading.
3) I am okay with never reading past page 7 of "Finnegan's Wake".
I don't have anything insightful or profound to say about "Portrait" except to say that the middle sermon section WILL KILL YOU. So many naps. And once you get past that, just wait for the end aesthetic argument. The intro to my copy of the book (one Hugh Kenner) discusses how "Portrait" follows in writing the maturing of Stephen Dedalus (aka Joyce), with sections either mimicking his consciousness or as models of writing he would admire at a particular age. The sermon then being his time of piousness and the philosophical argument when he's attending the university and agnostic. There's a ton of other crafty information hidden away in the text and structure, like how odd-numbered chapters deal with father figures and even-numbered chapters with women, but this stuff is totally missed during a first naive reading (see thought #1 above). On the ole' "experimental fiction and bildungsroman" scale, I will say that "Portait" > "The Bell Jar" and it's not even a fair comparison. Reading Joyce always makes me feel like I'm missing half the pieces needed to comprehend the whole story (because I am), which is a nice humbling experience.
This book also left me wondering: did Joyce really sleep with that many women before he was 16?! I always pictured him as this nerdy guy ... Pre-sermon section, things are pretty dark.
The cover of my copy of Portrait of the Artist was a painting of a stern, intelligent and slightly awkward looking young man, who, the sales girl remarked, looked like me. It was not a painting of Joyce, but of someone else, who, I guess, was considered fitting.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this, I added to the notion that I also felt myself an aspiring writer and I not only associated Stephen with Joyce, but also with myself. Because of this I actually fell into some insecurity with the consideration of his visiting prostitutes at a young age and the contrast with me - what did this say about my life and potential to succeed? Haha.
I think Joyce is well known for his vulgar lustfullness.
If I were to read it again I wonder what I'd think.