The Relationships Behind Portrait :: Art, James Joyce

In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, Stephen Dedalus, reacts towards his parents the same as many typical modern-day adolescents and adolescents of the early 1900s. Stephen's attitude and feelings towards his parents change throughout the course of this book. His feelings change in a pattern similar to one of typical adolescents. Adolescent attitudes have not changed much throughout the years. Adolescents change physically and emotionally during the early years of their life. The activities the adolescents do may have changed but the intentions behind those acts have not. Stephen has a different relationship with family members other than his parents like his Uncle Charles and his Aunt Dante. Many adolescents have a different relationship with family members other than their parents. In the article, Joyce and His First Self-Portrait by James T. Farrell, Farrell states â€Å"no clear and full picture of Stephen's relationship with his mother is described.†(3) I believe this statement could be true and false. It could be true on the grounds of no definite feelings described in the book from Stephen. There is also no change of feelings throughout the course of Stephen's adolescence that are mentioned. Only three events in the book mentions a relationship between Stephen and his mother. The first instance is when Stephen is teased by Wells and the other older boys about the subject of kissing his mother. Wells asks Stephen, â€Å"do you kiss your mother before you go to bed?† This opens up the topic over whether he should kiss his mother or should he not. The other boys laugh at Stephen's confusion while he ponders this thought. (Joyce,6) During the Christmas dinner, there is no direct reference to a relationship between Stephen and his mother. During this scene, Stephen see different sides of all the adults at the dinner. Stephen's mother tries to create a peaceful Christmas dinner. She is unable to do this because Stephen's father, aunt, and uncle get into a heated political debate. Stephen witnesses his mother get irritated over the constant arguing. She tries to stop the argument but fails to do so. Stephen's feelings are not recognized in the passage. He merely just observes this scene. (Joyce, 21-22) At the end of the book, it does not mention a relationship between the two but an argument they have. Stephen tells Cranly he argued with his mother about going to church on Easter Sunday.