Coming of Ages

Something about Stephen's character was bothering me. Not because his views on women are questionable, or that his poetry is okay at best. Stephen was bothering me because he seemed familiar. He reminded me of someone I couldn't place. That is, until ten minutes ago. Enter Tom Riddle. Let me preface this analogy by clarifying my goal here. I'm not trying to aggressively roast Stephen-lovers. I don't think Stephen Dedalus will become the next Lord Voldemort (although he does have a thing for the Dark Arts, no?). This is an honest-to-god parallel that I believe has some merit. If you keep reading, I hope you'll understand, if not agree with, my observations regarding the similarities between Stephen Dedalus and Tom Riddle. I'll start with the obvious. Both boys are major loners in school. Neither Stephen nor Tom has any interest in being part of a group. They aren't part of cliques, they don't hang out with friends after classes, they reject the fr...

I'm having some trouble sympathizing with Stephen's character. I'm very wary of his angsty romantic fantasies, and honestly, they're making me pretty uncomfortable!! For example, the tram scene immediately made alarms go off in my head. Stephen's thought progression reminded me of the "other side" of #MeToo testimonies that document women's experiences being sexually harassed on public transportation. Here are some lines from the tram scene that I found particularly troubling: "He heard what her eyes said to him...he had heard their tale before" "He saw her urge her vanities" "She too wants me to catch hold of her" "She came with me to the tram" "NOBODY IS LOOKING" (capitalized for emphasis!!!) I find Stephen's romantic fantasies worryingly predatory. In the lines presented above, Stephen seems very sure that he knows what this girl wants. According to Stephen,...