A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Stephen daydreams in class. He thinks about the “stew” (115) he wants for dinner and feels his stomach rumble. As his thoughts wander, he thinks about his nighttime walks around the city. He imagines the string of female sex workers who will proposition him, but he is worried that he has become maimed “by the excess” and that each of his visits increases his risk of “eternal damnation” (116). Still, he sees no point in praying, as he knows his soul wishes to sin. Though he believes that God exists, and that God has the power to take his life and condemn him, he nonetheless refuses to offer false prayers just to save himself. These thoughts distract Stephen from his math equations, and he cannot focus. Eventually, he is broken out of his reverie by a student providing an incorrect answer to the teacher’s question. Stephen dislikes the student, as well as the worshipers he sees on Sundays.

Stephen is given an award for his religious devotion. He looks at the scroll that now hangs on his wall and thinks about the Virgin Mary. Repeating a Latin poem dedicated to Mary, he insists to himself that he can follow “the doctrines of the church” (119) and continue to pay for sex.