Stephen's Self-Awareness

During class discussion last week, a thought occurred to me about Stephen Dedalus' character in terms of what we read on the page: How self-aware are the statements that are made? In other words, at what level of self-identification are Stephen's thoughts represented in Joyce's writings? In looser terms, what context (within the character of Stephen) do we have for interpreting the writing?

Three examples popped out as candidates for my question. The first is the children's party (p. 71). The narration describes Stephen:

But when he had sung his song and withdrawn into a snug corner of the room he began to taste the joy of his loneliness.

Is he in fact an enigmatic loner, or does he want to be one, merely the odd kid in the corner?

The second is Stephen's first poem and the accompanying mirror-staring (p. 74). Joyce writes:

After this the letters L. D. S. were written at the foot of the page, and, having hidden the book, he went into his mother's bedroom and gazed at his face for a long time in the mirror of her dressing-table. 

Does this represent narcissism in Stephen (as a literal interpretation could support) or is his mind elsewhere, engaging something more innocuous like daydreaming or introspection?

The final instance where I posit self-awareness is Stephen's first prostitute encounter at the conclusion of chapter two (p. 108).

With a sudden movement she bowed his head and joined her lips to his and he read the meaning of her movements in her frank uplifted eyes. It was too much for him.

Is Stephen truly enraptured or does he attach significance to this event artificially, especially in contrast with the beginning of chapter three?

Most of the rest of the book (at least from what we've read) appears to be fairly literal with Stephen's thoughts, so perhaps these isolated cases are me projecting a more modern style of writing onto the text.

Going of Age

I have let the question concerning the true meaning of coming of age simmer for the past three weeks, and I am ready to report the results of my introspective homework.

I would define coming of age not as a point to be reached, but as a general set of changes that tend to happen around a certain time in an individual's life. These changes reflect an increased sense of independence and self-definition in someone. On a personal level, someone coming of age will experience more agency in their thoughts and actions, coupled with the feeling that "things will never be the same."

Highly structured definitions aside, an often-repeated idea I see from reading the blogs is the nebulous nature of coming of age. Not only is the concept left open-ended, but everyone has a set of milestones that stand out to them in their own mind. There is no universal coming of age. In addition, defining and measuring coming of age matters the most to the person in question, internally. Outwardly, society progresses us fairly smoothly and uniformly.

I intend to revisit this topic later on, at the conclusion of the course. The next four months will surely offer more insight on the subject both in the course literature and from life in general as a second semester senior.

P.S. A note on the blog title: I just wanted to come up with something witty, unlike "Evan's Spring 2013 Coming-of-Age Novel Blog." A quick search reveals that similar web entities exist with titles like "Fast-Forward / Rewind" but my title has a key difference: instead of using the slash to indicate a distinction, my title is a portmanteau of the two actions, seemingly in different directions, as some sort of symbolism or literary what-have-you.

P.P.S. I am a bit anxious about writing for this blog, for reasons outlined in my post Writing is Hard from my Non-Fiction Writing blog. Literature explication has always been a struggle for me.