The novel describes the emotional and mental development of the main protagonist, Stephen Dedalus, from childhood to independent artist.He eventually leaves the church, university, his parents and his country in order to find his true self. During his time at Jesuit schools and university, he struggles to find his own identity and break free of the culture of his childhood. Stephen grows up in the deeply nationalistic and religious culture of Ireland.A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is James Joyce’s first novel and a milestone of modern literary history.With A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce created a masterpiece: high art that still is full of life. Joyce’s debut novel foreshadows what was to follow in its wake: stylistically and intellectually demanding literature that would define the era of Modernism.

It is no accident that the main character’s name, Dedalus, is reminiscent of the Dedalus of Greek mythology, who escapes from prison with his self-made wings – though for Stephen, freedom from the confines of his Irish upbringing comes through visits to brothels, philosophical debates and solitary walks along the beach. Joyce follows the development of his alter ego with painstaking precision, from the state of naive childhood to self-confident and independent artist. Many an author has written about their coming of age, but there is hardly anyone who approached this task as uncompromisingly as James Joyce in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Artist as a young man