James Joyce

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Illustrated James Joyce

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the first novel of Irish writer James Joyce. A Kunstler roman written in a modernist style, it traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young Stephen Daedalus, Joyce's fictional alter ego, whose surname alludes to Daedalus, Greek mythology's consummate craftsman. The main character of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Growing up, Stephen goes through long phases of hedonism and deep religiosity. He eventually adopts a philosophy of aestheticism, greatly valuing beauty and art. Stephen is essentially Joyce's alter ego, and many of the events of Stephen's life mirror events from Joyce's youth. His surname is taken from the ancient Greek mythical figure Daedalus, who also engaged in a struggle for autonomy.