Stephen Hero - A Part of the First Draft of a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

By James Joyce

Discover the earliest incarnation of one of literature’s most iconic minds in Stephen Hero, the fascinating first draft of James Joyce’s modernist masterpiece, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

In Stephen Hero, readers witness the intellectual and spiritual formation of Stephen Dedalus, Joyce’s brilliant and brooding alter ego, as he struggles to forge his identity against the backdrop of Irish nationalism, Catholic doctrine, and personal rebellion. First published in 1935, this unfinished manuscript offers an unparalleled window into the creative evolution of Joyce’s craft.

Though ultimately reworked into A Portrait, this earlier version preserves scenes and insights not found in the later novel, making it essential reading for Joyce enthusiasts and scholars alike.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Apr 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781473393011

James Joyce

James Joyce (1882–1941) was an Irish poet, novelist, and short story author and one of the most innovative artists of the twentieth century. His best-known works include Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artistas a Young Man, Finnegans Wake, and Ulysses, which is widely considered to be the greatest novel in the English language. 

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[sadiebabie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When I first started reading this book I really enjoyed it, I lost myself in the flow of the writing. However, towards the middle my interest was lost, not so due to the heavy prose about sinners & hell, although I did think it was overdone, it was more the long soliloquies about things such as the meaning of beauty or the works of classic writers & philosophers. They just seemed self indulgent & didn't bring anything to the story. What I enjoyed most about it was that its one of my favourite types of story - a coming of age tale. I do prefer more modern versions of this type though, mainly because I like to relate to the character & its hard to do that when there is such a gap in the times. I think this is a book you'd gain more from if you knew about the politics and Irish culture of that time. And a knowledge of religion would have helped too, as I'll readily claim ignorance to the different Christian denominations. Overall, long-winded but good.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Zwakke start, als een standaardcollegeroman, maar vanaf hoofdstuk 2 erg intrigerend door de breuk in constructie en stijl. Het hoofdpersonage is erg antipathiek en gecomplexeerd. Sterk autobiografisch. De donderpreekscene is subliem. Prachtige alternatieve Bildungsroman

[evertrap · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Totally worthless.

[porius_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

et ignotas animum dimittit in artesOvid, metamorphoses, viii, 18

[p_s_patrick · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A portrait differs from an autobiography in that it is a subjective impression of the character from a certain point of view, and distorted to some degree through the use of a specific style. Whereas biography is more objective.Though the work is predominantly autobiographical in its source material, it is more a self portrait in its presentation, dressed up as a novel on the childhood and young adulthood of "Stephen Daedalus" who later takes a role in Joyce's Ulysses. Two things make this book interesting: the style in which it is written, and the subject matter. Though far more accessible and plainly-written than either Ulysses, or the even more formiddable Finnegan's wake, there are embryonic hints here of his characteristic style that would develop more fully in his later works.Joyce had an atypical childhood both from the modern viewpoint, and to a lesser degree for his time. He was initially educated in a Jesuit college in Ireland, before moving to another one due to his father's financial difficulties.This education seemed to encourage his propensity toward a religious disposition, which he showed for many of his earlier years, before a lapse into temptation and "pleasures of the flesh". Toward the end of the book he goes on to think about aesthetic theory, inspiring discussion with his peers at university. This would be a good introduction to reading Joyce, both because it gives the reader an understanding of Joyce's experiences, and because it is less challenging than his later works.

[terris-7 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

All I can say is: Thank goodness that's over!! I'm sure I really didn't understand it, but it doesn't make me even halfway interested in trying to understand it. At least I know what it's about, and I can mark it off the list!1 like

[benuathanasia · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a collection of philosophical arguments and theological sermons framed by the titular artist's school life. All in whole, interesting and introspective in parts, but completely forgettable.

[maxernst11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Zwakke start, als een standaardcollegeroman, maar vanaf hoofdstuk 2 erg intrigerend door de breuk in constructie en stijl. Het hoofdpersonage is erg antipathiek en gecomplexeerd. Sterk autobiografisch. De donderpreekscene is subliem. Prachtige alternatieve Bildungsroman

[ericfitz08 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My all time, hands down, favorite book. The classic coming of age tale of Stephen Dedalus in late 19th, early 20th century Dublin is the golden stadard of wordsmanship. A Portrait is challenging but rewarding with pleanty of depth but more accessible than some of Joyce's later works.

[abbeyhar · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

dude, i don't know. it's a classic. maybe listening to it on audiobook right as the semester starts wasn't the best idea.

[jvioland_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This work shows Joyce's talent. It is well written, easy to follow and portrays characters that the reader can easily like. Man, did Joyce ever change when ego set in.

[cecrow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This novel took me three times as long to read as it might have. A third of my time I spent reading it, a third reading about it, and another third lost in daydreaming and memories as time after time Joyce hit something from my experience so squarely on the nose that it sent me reeling.It didn't begin at all well. A title that reads like a subtitle, an opening line about a moocow, a stream-of-consciousness narrative with glimpses of scenes in fits and starts ... I feared the whole novel would be like this, until I understood it was a child's apprehension of the world. Confusion swiftly gave way to respect. James Joyce had a great talent for recapturing not only the events of childhood but also the much more difficult to remember perceptions, how a young boy takes in and processes what he learns about the world. I would never have recalled it quite this way, and yet it echoes with truth. The boy ages and the same truth shines from the page with each passing year and event, as how he perceives and what he perceives alter with time. He discovers the world is not black-and-white, that not all arguments have tidy resolutions, that the opposite sex is only human too, that religion cannot provide definitive answers, that destiny calls from within. He's still got his blind spots, though: he's stubborn about letting the world in, about taking responsibility for anyone or caring about his roots, and he's far too full of himself and his accumulated learning. But what's an artist without a surfeit of pride?I took the title to be self-referential to Joyce, but it's meant more generically; this is the development of a fictional artist's mind from childhood to self-identity as such, although with biographical elements borrowed from Joyce's own life. Surprisingly accessible (if not so much as "Dubliners"), the only sticking part for me were the big long diatribes about hell and damnation which don't really get examined but pull no punches as an example of what was being knocked into Catholic Irish boys' heads, and maybe still are in some dark corners of the world. I'm bound to deeply admire this book, one I'm stunned by for how well it got inside my head and toured me through episodes from my own life, like a tourist guide who remembers me better than I do.

[engpunk77 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Required reading, college. I have no interest in stream of consciousness writing. It drives me mad.

[joeydag · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

high school required

[jacobflaws · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent wording and so well written it is scary.

[thatotter-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I feel like I don't really get Joyce and why he's so admired.

[booksfordinner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The classic Bildungsroman. Of course, I hate to use the term Bildungsroman cause you sound like a pompous ass. However, since I am in fact a pompous ass, it works out ok.

[cacuzza · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the most personal books in my reading: incarcerated as I was at the time in a Jesuit prep school, and not Roman Catholic, quite the lode.

[fearless2012 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It seems to dwell a little bit on the whole church scene. And the other thing is that it's better to say only the interesting things.Also too much damn politics. All that, and that it's really too boring to criticize properly. (7/10)

[hagelstein_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The story follows Stephan Dedalus as he grows up in Ireland and eventually breaks away from Irish society. He abandons religion, Irish politics and much of what he?s been taught and what his family holds dear. As a teenager he?s tormented by Catholic guilt, especially concerning his sexual urges. He?s both fascinated and plagued by the thought of women. Stephen eventually goes his own way, to the point of leaving the country.Joyce?s writing style is dense and wordy. Attention must be paid to every word. It can be a chore at times, but the Stephen?s story is fascinating.

[ctpress_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life?This is Joyce?s semi-autobiographical account of his formation into an artist - from childhood to adolescence. It?s the story of a young man, Stephen, who tries to grow out of the bondance and restraint of Irish nationalism, politics and Catholic faith - and into the freedom of the artistic senses which he embraces.It?s formed as a series of small episodes or ?epiphanies? - with several flashbacks - it is quite hard to follow as a story - as it is more a dreamlike, state of conscience Joyce is describing. There are episodes of great beauty in this novel, great horrors of the mind, great sadness and despair and great ?liberation" of the mind in the end. One can understand his need to free himself of the version of Catholic faith that is presented here - the hellfire-and-brimstone preaching of Father Arnall, the fear of death and hell, the total rejection of Stephen's bodily senses in his extreme self-mortification and asceticism. It doesn?t produce the freedom he aches for.The last part of the book is a philosophical formulation of Joyces own aesthetic theories - and I kind of lost the interest after his anguished and dramatic clash with the Catholic Church. This quote from Stephen's diary at the end of the novel kind of describes where we are - rather pompous, methinks. ?Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the unreated conscience of my race"

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A debut novel by Irish author, James Joyce, it is considered to be a K?nstlerroman (artist growth to maturity) in a modernist style and is told in third person and free indirect speech. The subject matter addresses intellectual, religio-philosophical growth of Stephen Dedalus who eventually rebels against Catholic and Irish conventions. In this novel, the author uses the techniques that he more fully uses in Ulysses and Finnigans Wake. Stephen attends a Jesuit run school where he is bullied by the other students. His father's debts interrupt his education but then he attends college on scholarship. Stephen?s name and character represents James Joyce the author and Daedalus from Greek mythology. Overall the story was okay. It was quick, I didn?t mind the style but it didn?t make me anymore eager to tackle Ulysses and Finnigans Wake. The narrator spoke with an Irish accent and did a good job with the reading of the story.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

John Lee does a marvelous narration of this semi-autobiographical novel.

[srboone · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rich and deeply-felt charaterization in Stephen Dedalus make this a winner. Joyce's complex prose style is more accessable than in Ullyses (which I have tried many times to read, but couldn't), though it does have its stretches that I had to reread.

[salmondaze · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

While the book is definitely not part of Joyce's "untouchable four" prose fiction masterpieces it is undoubtedly a lot of fun in its own right. Instead of the soaring descriptive passages found in Dubliners and A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man you get vast swaths of dialogue batted back and forth between Stephen and various other cohorts. This suits Joyce just fine since dialogue is one of his many gifts. Sadly the book in this publication remains incomplete so I took off a half star. It does thicken Stephen's character and explains decisions Joyce made in his personal life (if you read the excellent Ellmann biography) that otherwise could remain a mystery. This is definitely not a starting point to enter the works of Joyce, but it is notably superior to Chamber Music, Exiles, and Pomes Penyeach. All of the mentioned works in this review are well worth the read, however, even if some of it is for fans.

[ashcval · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don't usually bother to write bad reviews, but this book takes the cake for me. Reading that whole sermon about hell was already hell in and of itself, and that's only one of many things wrong with this book. Why must you torment me, Joyce? I only wanted to read a novel of yours, for heaven's sake. I'm surprised I had it in me to even finish it.

[aaronmaples · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very enjoyable for its influential literary style. As someone reading from quite a different generation, the story wasn't enough to keep it afloat on its own but more than makes up for it in punctuation. Moved through it fairly quickly, so would be worthy of a second read to reveal more depth- it is certainly there.

[yeremenko_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like this book better than Ulysses but both are a chore to read. Joyce truly is a masterful writer ad the dialogue, internal and conventional, in this novel is exceptionally well done. It takes a while for the narrative to piece together, maybe too long, but give it time.The true measure of Joyce is more in his influence, novels were never quite the same, than in the lasting value of the work themselves.The first chapter may be one of the great illustrations of just how much can be accomplished with voice and rhythm.

[aethercowboy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

James Joyce. Really, what more needs to be said about something bearing his name?If you haven?t ever read Joyce, I imagine I should probably go on. In A Portait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce sets off on a novel that defines Joyce in the literary annals. The novel, a semiautobiographical account of Joyce?s own upbringing, starts with the Artist (called Stephen Dedalus) as a young child, and progresses through his young adulthood. As he ages, not only does he glimpse the world through older and clearer lenses, but also the writing style and vocabulary reflects his advancement in learning.Reading the book provides the participant two things (among others): First is the interesting way through which Joyce crafts his narrative to age with the protagonist, and second is the interesting story it tells.I recommend this, especially if you are considering scaling Ulysses or Finnegans Wake. Portrait will give you a glimpse of what to expect as you?re dangling from one dangerous precipice or another.

[jwhenderson_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I first read this novel during my participation in the Four-year Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults at the University of Chicago. I have since read and reread this classic work by James Joyce. It is a portrait in words of the coming-of-age of a young boy in Ireland. As a portrait its words resonate with the ideas of Aristotle and the faith of Roman Catholicism and the spirit of music. Music, especially singing, appears repeatedly throughout A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Stephen's appreciation of music is closely tied to his love for the sounds of language. I remember being told by a close friend that Father Arnall?s sermon on Hell was the same sermon she heard while a youth in a catholic neighborhood in Chicago more than fifty years later. Stephen is attracted to the church for a brief period but ultimately rejects austere Catholicism because he feels that it does not permit him the full experience of being human. From the opening lines, ?Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo?, Stephen grows in awareness and towards his artistic destiny through the words that delineate the world around him. Joyce's use of stream of consciousness makes A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man a story of the development of Stephen's mind through words as he grows through experience. Stephen's development gives us insight into the development of a literary genius. Stephen's experiences hint at the influences that transformed Joyce himself into the great writer he is considered today. Stephen's obsession with language; his strained relations with religion, family, and culture; and his dedication to forging an aesthetic of his own mirror the ways in which Joyce related to the various tensions in his life during his formative years. In the final moment when he goes "to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience" of his race he raises a banner that seems emblematic of the life of the author of this inspiring novel.