On page 179, Stephen crosses a bridge on his way to the beach. It is a really quick scene and can seem pointless at first glance, but it actually has a lot of significance. At the beginning of the section, Stephen is pacing back and forth between a publichouse and a Chapel, showing that he has not fully made up his mind about leaving the church. He decides to go the the Bull, a seawall that runs into Dublin Bay. On his way, he passes onto a thin and shaky bridge. I think that it is pretty clear that the bridge represents his crossing over into being an artist, but he isn’t completely sure about it and the bridge is still shaky.
To add to his uncertainty, as he is crossing, a group of christian brothers are crossing back the other way towards the church. This makes Stephen deeply ashamed to the point that he can't even look at them: “The uncouth faces passed him two by two… and as he strove to look at them with ease and indifference, a faint stain of personal shame and commiseration fose to his own face. Angry with himself he tried to hide his face…” (Joyce 179). As Stephen is walking one way on the bridge, the christian brothers are walking the other way, confirming the symbolism that Stephen is leaving the church. Joyce is being really obvious and almost over the top with the symbolism in this entire scene, but I think that it definitely works, especially for a character as extreme as Stephen Dedalus. If I had to pick one point in the book as Stephen’s “coming-of-age,” it would probably be this scene because this is the point at which Stephen literally leaves the church and becomes an artist.
I definitely agree with you. This scene reflects exactly Stephen choosing between the church and other things. Although for me personally I didn't view this scene as Stephen's coming of age, I thought more when he runs at the beach because he finds out his calling in life.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure this is Stephen's exact coming of age point? I guess this is just personal opinion but I would have put it as either the moment when he realizes what he thinks is love isn't and says about the girl, I think I like her, or the moment he leaves Ireland and sacrifices everything for his art. Regardless I thought this was well written and think you put across good points.
ReplyDeleteBefore this scene, Stephen is definitely a lot more grounded in the physical world but immediately after crossing the bridge, he has a sort of "vision" or vocation to art. I think this further emphasizes your point on the bridge being his threshold for crossing into becoming an artist.
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