Question

James Joyce used many classical allusions in his novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Many characters are named after characters from Greek mythology. With this information in mind, complete the following paragraph. The main character of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is named after , who was a renowned craftsman. This Greek figure was exiled with his son Icarus on an island. He constructed from wax, feathers, and strings. He built two pairs: one for him and one for his son. He warned his son not to fly too high or too low. Icarus did not listen and fell to his death.

Answer 1

The main character of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is named after Daedalus. The complete name of the character and also coined as Joyce’s fictional alter ego is Stephen Dedalus.  

Joyce named the character as such because of the similarities of his characteristics to the original Daedalus of the Greek myth. Both characters value moral vagueness and individualism.

Answer 2

The correct answer is Daedalus. This association with the renowned craftsman is the source of a very important symbolism in the novel. Just like Daedalus, Stephen Dedalus is trapped in his reality and desperately wants to escape, to fly away from it. Stephen feels restrained by the traditions, religion, nationality and nationalism. He is a young idealist who tries to forge his own identity, which is a painful and risky process. Daedalus from the myth also wanted to escape, which is why he made those wax wings for him and his son.