A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the first novel by James Joyce, portrays the religious and intellectual awakening of Stephen Dedalus, a fictional alter ego of the author. Stephen questions the Catholic and Irish conventions under which he has grown up, and traces his quest for identity through art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and culture. The novel is an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce, a novel of sexual awakening, and of the search for voice and meaning that every young artist must face in order to thrive. The narrative’s use of free indirect speech allows the listener a glimpse into Stephen's developing consciousness.Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks