Apollonian and Dionysian Traits in James Joyce's a Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

James Joyce's Bildungsroman A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is an ode to growing up in a frustratingly restrictive world where one’s church, family, and country dictate the flow of one’s life. Stephen Dedalus’ poetic soul rebels against the norms suffocating him and frustrating his search for his true vocation. By pursuing his inner Apollonian and Dionysian drives—a Nietzschean concept—Stephen attempts to redefine himself in his own terms. Struggling with both his identity and artistic expression, the protagonist of the novel discovers meaning in actions resulting from his Apollonian and Dionysian impulses. The question of whether he will suffer failure in this pursuit, or if he will fly through life’s difficulties, remains up in the air