A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

James Joyce s first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a Künstlerroman which chronicles the emotional and intellectual development of Stephen Dedalus a character partly based on the author himself from his early childhood and his school and university days all the way to his first forays as a young artist. Dedalus s thoughts and epiphanies reveal the tensions, insecurities and feelings of guilt that are the product of living in a country and period so deeply divided along religious and political lines. Pioneering an innovative stream-of-consciousness technique characteristic of early Modernism, and often resorting to mythical, historical and literary allusion which would find fuller expression in Ulysses, Joyce s groundbreaking work shocked the readers of its day and continues to challenge analysis and interpretation.