Analysis Of James Joyce s Portrait Of The Artist As A...

In 19th and 20th century Ireland, the Catholic Church dominated the lives of many Irish citizens. The Church played a role in every aspect of their lives including their personal lives, their political lives, their education, and their work. Often people followed the Church for fear of what would happen if they didn t follow. While for many, this control by the Catholic Church provided structure and stability in their lives, for others it was a source of major struggle and inner conflict. James Joyce found the Catholic Church’s power to be both overwhelming and repressive. In his Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, we see his inner struggle portrayed through the main character Stephen Dedalus. Like Joyce, Stephen struggles throughout†¦show more content†¦James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is commonly considered a reflection of Joyce’s own life and struggles that he faced with and against the Catholic Church. As Stephen Dedalus does in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce fluctuated between agreeing with and rejecting the Church. He was raised by Catholic parents and attended Catholic schools throughout his life. As is common for children before they’re able to make their own choices and think for themselves, Joyce merely followed the religious example that his family and society had set for him. So why did Joyce ultimately reject the Catholic Church? As researched by Jeffrey Hibbert, â€Å"The weakening of the Church’s temporal powers was met by tightening its political control over local churches and its ideological control over dogma. Between the 1830s and the 1890s, the Church grew increasingly conservative and intolerant of liberalism, democracy and modernity (199).† The church wasn t allowing Joyce to express his creativity and become who he wanted to be. It was becoming increasingly controlling and limited his creative abilities. Joyce’s attitude towards the Catho lic Church were structured by the â€Å" 3 A’s: alienation, anger, and apathy (Lernout 8).† In a letter to his wife that was written in 1904, â€Å"Joyce claimed to have left the Church six years earlier, at which time he would have been about 14 years old. In the