From his first encounter with religion, to his eventual indifference to the Eucharist, a central Catholic doctrine, Stephen continually regards Catholicism, even in his own practice, as alien. Through the ceaseless pressure of conformity from the authoritative figures, Catholic priests and family, he personally encounters, Stephen realizes that traditional Irish culture challenges his desire to live unrestricted from predetermined dogma. The strangeness of the Catholic faith and familial structure entrenched firmly in Irish culture dismay Stephen, yet his temporary capitulations to these forces do not assuage his estrangement; rather, only Stephen’s self imposed exile elevates his artistic development. While the Traditional Irish institutions
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From an early age, Stephen often spent time with his Uncle Charles, a devout Catholic, during his uncle's religious practices. As Uncle Charles took Stephen into the local chapel and prayed, Stephen “often wondered what his uncle prayed for so seriously" (64). Joyce's inclusion of the word "often" suggests that, though Stephen's age precluded him from understanding the religious practices fully, he saw Catholic practices not as essential, but frivolous. This early questioning matures into a deeper insecurity about Catholicism's promise of salvation, especially as Stephen sees his father’s insincere faith. Many Irish Catholics considered Jesuit schools better than other orders of Catholics because of their emphasis on scholarship, but Simon Dedalus chooses the Jesuits because “Those are the fellows that can get you a position” (75). As Stephen still had not formulated his aesthetic theory, he still succumbed to the influence of others. Simon said this even though Stephen could hear him, suggesting that Stephen internalized his father’s value of religion. In his talk with Cranly in chapter V, Stephen speaks of a quarrel with his mother about religion, specifically the Eucharist, and declares “I neither believe in it nor disbelieve in it [the Eucharist]” (260). From Stephen’s earliest memories, he considers himself closer to his mother than his father, yet he echoes his father as he does not consider the required communion necessary, illustrating the development of Stephen’s thought because of his indifference to the central Catholic doctrine, a doctrine absorbed from his birth. Stephen decries the practices of the church as
From an early age, Stephen often spent time with his Uncle Charles, a devout Catholic, during his uncle's religious practices. As Uncle Charles took Stephen into the local chapel and prayed, Stephen “often wondered what his uncle prayed for so seriously" (64). Joyce's inclusion of the word "often" suggests that, though Stephen's age precluded him from understanding the religious practices fully, he saw Catholic practices not as essential, but frivolous. This early questioning matures into a deeper insecurity about Catholicism's promise of salvation, especially as Stephen sees his father’s insincere faith. Many Irish Catholics considered Jesuit schools better than other orders of Catholics because of their emphasis on scholarship, but Simon Dedalus chooses the Jesuits because “Those are the fellows that can get you a position” (75). As Stephen still had not formulated his aesthetic theory, he still succumbed to the influence of others. Simon said this even though Stephen could hear him, suggesting that Stephen internalized his father’s value of religion. In his talk with Cranly in chapter V, Stephen speaks of a quarrel with his mother about religion, specifically the Eucharist, and declares “I neither believe in it nor disbelieve in it [the Eucharist]” (260). From Stephen’s earliest memories, he considers himself closer to his mother than his father, yet he echoes his father as he does not consider the required communion necessary, illustrating the development of Stephen’s thought because of his indifference to the central Catholic doctrine, a doctrine absorbed from his birth. Stephen decries the practices of the church as