"By his monstrous way of life he seemed to have put himself beyond the limits of reality. Nothing moved him or spoke to him from the real world unless he heard in it an echo of the infuriated cries within him" (Joyce, 93).
Stephen thinks this before going on the interminable retreat of words lead by Fr. Arnell. I am interested by the fact that he puts this line of raw emotion beyond words before the rambling, 20-odd page retreat on death, judgment, heaven and hell. (It is also amazing how immediate each consequence is in that logical order.) Stephen cannot articulate these dark desires that drive him towards the brothels and darky alleys of Dublin, yet he knows that he is in mortal sin and suffering under the weight of the needs of his body set against the demands of his religion. This mind/body split is a hallmark of the modernist period, and Joyce calls to mind the impossibility of reconciling the two and living a full, healthy life.
This reminds me of Lawrence's communion of the flesh to lead humanity into the future. Joyce seems to take the outcast, going-to-hell-anyway-so-might-as-well-enjoy-it aspect of this split. The tragically ironic part is that he seems to not enjoy it though compelled to do it. Stephen is unable to escape his Catholic training even if he has rejected the faith and Church teaching that brought him up.
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2 comments:
You are so right, JJ. Stephen is such a sad chararacter--tortured in so many ways. Without religion, he is alone and tortured--with it, also. Paula
Being tortured by and with religion means you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. I guess that force me to flee from my home country too. What happens when you run from what is inside and can never escape though?
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