Quote. Portrait

This is one of my favorite quotes from the novel:

"So he had passed beyond the challenge of the sentries who had stood as guardians of his boyhood and had sought to keep him among them that he might be subject to them and serve their ends" (178)

This is Steven's moment of revelation; the moment where he embraces who he is. His true coming of age, if you will. The reflection of his past and his realization of how those in his past have sheltered him is one of truthful sincerity. I liked this quote for much of the same reason I enjoyed the book as a whole. As the book progresses Steven becomes a man, and this quote is a defining moment for him.

I think Joyce's diction in this passage is important to look at to determine Steven's feelings about figures in his past, figures he depended on in his youth. Steven refers to them as sentries. A sentry can be defined as a guard at a gate or other point of passage. I believe the sentries Steven refers to are not only his parents, who at this time in the novel he feels himself distanced from, but also professors, priests, and students that Steven has admired up until this point in his life. Steven's childhood was designed around fitting into the mold of convention. Steven's father even says to him at one point, "When you kick out for yourself, Steven.... remember, whatever you do, to mix with gentlemen"(97). Even from a young age Steven's parents have tried to guide him in a socially acceptable path. By mixing with gentlemen, Steven's father hopes him to give up individuality for acceptance. This is something that Steven cannot do and we see this through his relationship with his peers. He is never a part of a group and cannot establish a true closeness with any one of his fellow students. However, as a young boy, he wanted to be accepted and like, as to follow and obey social convention. After Steven's revelation here he comes to see that he does not and cannot fit in. Passing a Jesuit house, he cannot see himself ever wanting to live in that sort of environment. Steven does not want to be a servant to anyone else, only to himself. He doesn’t want to be limited by a social order and by realizing his own intrinsic drive Steven knows that others in his life have only been holding back the artist within him.