A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Mil Folhas Collection 40

Part of the triptych which also includes Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man addresses the spiritual formation of the Irish adolescent Stephen Dedalus and his rebellion against the rigid Catholic upbringing to which he is subjected. If in Ulysses discovery is made primarily through time, here it is space that represents the field of exploration. Dublin emerges as a labyrinthine city whose streets, bridges, promenades, and doorways symbolise the meanderings of a misunderstood and hurt young man's subconscious, in search of his freedom. Intelligent, ironic, and full of sensibility, this was James Joyce's first published novel, in 1916, announcing an originality that would forever mark the history of literature.