Epiphany in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

James Joyce is celebrated as one of the great literary pioneers of the twentieth century. He was one of the first writers to make extensive and convincing use of stream of consciousness. It is a stylistic form where the writer presents the characters inner thoughts and perceptions instead of depicting them from an objective, external perspective. Epiphany is one of the major techniques used by Joyce to represent the characters’ thoughts and perceptions. The word ‘Epiphany’ means ‘manifestation, showing forth’. It is a religious terms that refers to the three men of wisdom who saw more than a baby. This baby was actually the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 

Joyce was raised a Catholic and he used many religious ideas in his novels but they had no connection with religion. In the context of this novel,   epiphany can be defined as a moment in which a character makes a sudden, profound realization. This can happened due to external event or a sudden rush of thoughts in one’s mind. The new idea arise thus change the character’s perception about the world.

In the first chapter we see the baffling impressions of young Stephen Dedalus. There is a conflict between his implicit faith in the authority of his elders and his feeling of insecurity. During Christmas, he listens to a heated argument between his father, John Casey and Dante, their governess on Catholic church and Charles Parnell. When the poet talks about Clongowes Wood College, we see this conflict again. The ‘smuggling’ incident, the stealing wine from the school’s sacristy and the Prefect “Pandying” him for no reason. There is a difference between what the young Stephen expects and what happens in real life.

In the second chapter, there are some more interesting examples of epiphanies. Stephen was very happy when he complained to Father Conmee. He thought that justice triumphed when Father Conmee told him that he would look into the matter. To his shock, he found out that Father Conmee never took the matter seriously. He and Simon were laughing over this matter. In Belvedere College, Stephen again faced this conflict. For expressing his ideas, Mr Tate, the English master, found “Heresy” in his essay. His friends- Heron, Boland and Nash thrashed him with cane and cabbage stamp for defending Byron, the “Heretic.” Stephen’s desire for beauty and purity and the reality of the world resulted in his escape to brothel. He knew he was sinned when he had sex with a whore but he enjoys it.

The best example of Epiphany in this novel is seen in the last part of Chapter 4 when Stephen comes to the beach after decides not to become a priest. Before leaving for university, he goes to the beach. There he sees a young girl wading at the beach, which strikes him with the sudden realization that an appreciation for beauty can be truly good.

This technique of Joyce makes the novel a bit difficult to reading but also gives its unique nature. If the reader becomes patient and read the entire novel then he or she would find that the seemingly jumbled perceptions of stream of consciousness can crystallize into a coherent and sophisticated portrayal of a character's experience.