A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Toneite

Abstract

This essay attempts to recast A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as a "republican" Bildungsroman by reading it in the context of the "Tone cult" engineered by the Fenians, who sought to win over young nationalists to their movement by disseminating various propaganda materials authored by and featuring the charismatic United Irishman, Theobald Wolfe Tone. I contend that Joyce's primary aim in A Portrait is to examine the effects of the "Tone cult" on the political formation of young nationalists by chronicling the various ways in which the "Tone cult" impinges upon the consciousness of Stephen who, like Joyce in his youth, is presented as an avid Toneite. Stephen's responses to the "Tone cult," however, are varied and subtle; his mind never fails to register any ideological inconsistencies or shortcomings on the part of fellow Toneites, which cause him to turn against them, culminating in his decision to leave Ireland to pursue his own Toneite Bildung abroad. Being both a participant and critic, Stephen thus becomes an ideal tool for Joyce to analyze the "Tone cult." Yet, this should not lead one to identify Stephen's position with that of Joyce. The ironic structure of the novel, in fact, intimates that Joyce saw Stephen's own Toneite Bildung as another "net" that entraps him and stymies his growth as an Irish republican.