Symbolism in Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce uses symbolism to help readers understand Stephen Dedalus's character development. From a confused young boy to a confident man, Stephen transforms, and certain symbols allow readers to witness this transition unfold. Joyce also uses symbolism to illuminate the setting in which Stephen lives, which influences many of his choices. Symbols allow readers to identify with the character and grasp his world.

The kiss early in the novel symbolizes Stephen's youth. When his schoolmates ask him whether he kisses his mother goodnight, he realizes there is something different between himself and them. Stephen desires to be esteemed in the schoolyard, and experiences like this one heighten that desire. The question troubles him, and he can feel "his whole body hot and confused" (Joyce 14) because he does not know how to answer it. He does not know whether it is acceptable to kiss one's mother, nor does he know how to satisfy his schoolmates with any response. The kiss represents how much growing up Stephen still has to do.

Wings are a powerful symbol in the story, not least because Stephen's surname derives from Daedalus, the craftsman of Greek mythology who fashioned a pair of wings, primarily from wax. When Stephen watches the water, he sees a "winged form flying above the waves" (169), which prompts him to think of Daedalus. He wonders whether he is witnessing a kind of prophecy of the "end he had been born to serve and had been following through the mists of childhood and boyhood, a symbol of the artist forging anew in his workshop out of the sluggish matter of the earth a new soaring impalpable imperishable being" (169). Here we see Stephen growing and maturing as he begins to interpret his own life through this mythic lens.

Birds may be the most important symbol in the novel because they symbolize the unknown. The mysterious bird-girl stands "midstream, alone and still, gazing out to the sea" (171), and she signifies the two very different worlds of religion and art. Stephen now looks upon his friends in their "pitiable nakedness" (Joyce 168), and their chatter "flattered mild proud sovereignty" (168). Stephen finally reverses the hierarchy of the playground, and his imagination gives him the power to rise above the childlike chatter and recognize his place in the world. The bird-girl forces Stephen to see this, and when it becomes real to him, he is "swooning into some new world, fantastic, dim, uncertain as undersea, traversed by cloudy shapes and beings" (Joyce 172). The bird represents the creative impulse in Stephen that is straining to escape.