Stephen is a representation of the “ Blessed virgin,” and he is consumed by the guilt of what he has done.The workings of the church have been so engraved into his mind that a simple sexual act has him seeking to purify his soul (Joyce. 168) However, even though he vows to be a patron saint his sexual feelings cannot be kept at bay, because they are normal feelings that a young man like him would have. After Stephen becomes more aware and has accepted his own moral imperfections he begins to question whether or not he wants to be a part of the church. After meeting with a Jesuit director it is clear that life's pleasures cannot be explored or experienced under the watch of the church, and so Stephen severs ties in order to pursue his life the way that he wants. In order to escape from the teachings the culture, the values and the politics of Dublin, Stephen chooses to severe ties. To escape from the restrictions from society he has to disassociate himself from the things that he new, which, is something many of James Joyce's characters could not do. To depart from the suffocating nature he decides to leave Ireland in order to find the real him instead of what has been ingrained in his …show more content…
A collective paralysis encompasses Dublin, the characters in Dubliners are physically and emotionally trapped, and even though they may want to leave Dublin for a life free from the Irish subjugation. The narrator from “ Araby,” Eveline, Mrs.Sinico, all try to break the tether that holds them but they all fail. Stephen Dedalus is a special case his name itself is juxtaposed to the mythological figure Daedalus who builds himself a pair of wings so that he can escape from the Island of Crete, and like this creature Stephen is able to escape from Ireland in order to find his own