So, Stephen. Are you 13? 9? 16? ...does it matter? (eh not really, in my opinion).
In my wonderful-but-brief time of 7th period Coming of Age, we spent a whole class period talking about the "coming-of-age age" and if numbers really mattered in the process of maturing. The numbers 13, 16, 18, and 21 seemed to pop up frequently: becoming a teenager, getting your driver's license, becoming a legal adult, and being able to legally drink. Wow, what important milestones in your journey to adulthood! I mean, you obviously can't really be an adult if you don't have your driver's license and can't exercise your adult-y freedom? Certainly you're not able to "come of age" if you haven't had alcohol... right?
I think it's obvious that to many, these numbers don't mean anything really. I woke up on my 13th birthday, didn't feel any different. My 16th birthday, I got my license, but that didn't exactly make me feel like I'd "come of age" or become an adult. And I've a feeling it'll be the same way on my 18th and 21st birthdays. I think it was Grant mentioned that's it's all relative to yourself. You may seem "less mature" or "developed" (or more, it goes both ways) compared to your peers, but in relation to yourself a year ago, you've grown enormously. Or maybe, depending on situation, someone had to "grow up early" because of a tragedy or some other factor beyond their control.
So now, back to Stephen. While he's a Clongowes Wood College, his age is kind of murky. But let's just say he's in elementary school/maybe a young middle-schooler. (I mean I've already established that I don't think age really matters). Then you skip ahead maybe 60 pages (give or take maybe 30 pages), and BAM, Stephen could be 13! or 17! who knows. It's a pretty chunky time line if you ask me. But... his development in relation to age doesn't really seem that important to me. Yeah, it's interesting to be nosey and snicker at the image of an inexperienced 14 year old Stephen at a brothel, but as we've been reading and picking up on his feelings (or lack of), we can see more of how he's matured and is "coming of age" in relation to himself.
So. Stephen has a pretty chunky choppy timeline and it's not clear what age he is really. But I kind of think that his age doesn't really matter. He's obviously changing and maturing in his own way and time. So good for you, Stephen Dedalus.
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(Former blog for Hero's Journey 2016)
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great post!
ReplyDeleteStephen's age is something i've thought about a lot the last couple days. The passage of time is very much not a constant in this book, and i've been wondering about the why behind that. I think in some ways Joyce is de-emphasizing that coming of age and growing up is reliant on how old you are. We Stephen grow from his perspectives on life, the experiences he has, and the language he uses. We get his age sometimes, but it seems less important.
I like the insight into why age was de-emphasized in the book. However, we do get a few mentions of his age, such as when he confesses to the priest.
ReplyDeleteI think that the rarely mentioning of his name also reflects the message that coming-of-age isn't necessarily expressed through age, but rather mental maturity. I had no idea that 14-15 year old Stephen was having sex with a prostitute until we discussed it in class. The way he thinks is also kind of confusing, because his thoughts are so sophisticated.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you regarding not knowing his age. I feel like not knowing Stephen's age makes Joyce's coming of age story a little more interesting. We're left with the uncertainty of whether what Stephen does is "ethical" or socially acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Stephen's story is much more effective when we don't know his age. Instead of focusing on how a 13 year old or 18 year old boy "should" act, we get to think more about how Stephen has changed compared to himself. I think this is important because coming of age doesn't depend on how old you are. Rather, it depends on the experiences you've had and how you've changed because of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the idea of an actual age doesn't matter, but I think the passage of time does. Throughout the novel, there are two times when Stephen "Grows up", or at least we can identify changes in his character. Those times are directly after a climax or epiphany moment, and after a long passage of time when he has settled into daily life. I think those times when he falls back into his daily life for a period of weeks or years could be just as important as the epiphanies because he is changing little by little. So, I think his actual age might not matter, but the passage of time could help him to grow into his new "age" on each step of the journey.
ReplyDeleteI think that age is deemphasized in the book because, like you said, there are many defining moments that seem like they could be a single time when you come of age, but you don't really feel of age after them. In the same way, Stephen's coming of age is a process. There is not a single time of age when it happened, it was a process that took years and many different experiences. So, by not emphasizing Stephen's age Joyce shows us that what is really important is the experiences that changed Stephen.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that his actual age isn't very relevant, but I still think Joyce gives us some age parameters for a reason. For example, we know Stephen isn't very old when he has the scene staring at himself in the mirror when he has his "I am an artist" moment. This is somewhat humorous because we know he hasn't grown up very much at this age even though he talks like he's very wise.
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ReplyDeleteGoing back and reading this post reminds me how convoluted this paradigm really is. It is interesting to go back after the end of the book and think wow he has changed a lot, not because of his age as a number - but because of these experiences. Good post :)
ReplyDeleteI really like your post, Leah! We have a similar idea of what coming of age really means, and I really like how you mention that it's relative to yourself. I also think it's clever that Stephen's age isn't emphasized in this story because it gives us room to focus on Stephen's development (without the distraction of age, like 14-year-old Stephen's encounter with the prostitute).
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought it was weird that Joyce scarcely mentioned Stephen's age, but as the book went on it made more sense. Stephen doesn't care about things like age -- societal events like birthdays don't leave much of an impression on him. When he goes to that other kid's birthday party, he doesn't even seem to register the event. Since Stephen is so different from other kids his age, being "nine" or "sixteen" doesn't mean the same thing for him as it does for them.
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