A Christian Debates the Massage Parlor Whore about Literature and Mythology…and loses….

Jolly Beggar wrote: “well, the odd syntax is not masonic or in any other way esoteric in nature. it's the opening couple of pages from james joyce "portrait of the artist as a young man" (for anyone that might have been wondering- 'stephen dedalus is his real name... ) nice work, marcy, in amalgamating icarus' little red hen story and my blog on the names we choose to live by.”

Marcythewhore advises Jolly Beggar to do a little more Joyce-ian studies: My, my, Jolly Person You, but you do try to confuse the issue, don’t you? That’s called ‘Obfuscation.’ Joyce patterned his Stephen little character after the story of Daedalus and Icarus in his ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.’ A simple little maxim about flying too close to the sun sun sun sun. Little Red Hen story? Masons? Pyramids with eyes and all that. My, my…..marcythewhore

“One significant use of symbolism in "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is the myth of Icarus and Daedalus. Like Icarus and Daedalus , Stephen is wandering and seeking his identity. Because he is on a path to self-discovery, Joyce has Stephen walk the path of many roads. For instance, Stephen is wandering the streets when he happens upon his first sexual encounter. We are told that he "wandered into a maze of narrow and dirty streets" (100). Stephen also wanders "swiftly throughout he dark streets" (139) when he is struggling with his sin. He "walked on and on through illicit streets, fearing to stand still for a moment lest it might seem that he held back from what awaited him" (140). After his confession, we are told the "muddy streets were grey" as a purified Stephen made his way home. Stephen must balance his desire to leave his country with his own abilities. To avoid making a bad decision such as Icarus did, Stephen decides to spend more time at the university and develops his craft of writing.”

“Daedalus , in Greek mythology, craftsman and inventor. After killing his apprentice Talos in envy, he fled from Greece to Crete. There, he arranged the liaison between Pasiphaë and the Cretan Bull that resulted in the Minotaur. At the order of King Minos, he built the Minotaur's labyrinth. When Minos refused to let him leave Crete, Daedalus built wings of wax and feathers for himself and his son Icarus. Together they flew away, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and fell to his death when the wax melted. Daedalus escaped to Sicily.”