Stephen Dedalus' Theory of Aesthetics

In the novel ‘The Portrait of Artist as a Young Man’ Stephen Dedalus introduces his theory of aesthetics. He gives his ideas about art and beauty. He gives his arguments about his perception of art and beauty. He defines some of terms which were not discussed before by Aristotle or by Thomas Aquinas.

But if we look at the origin of his theory, we come to know that this theory of aesthetics is influenced, to some extent, by Thomas Aquinas. Stephen has also described some of terms and ideas according to his own perceptions because he disagrees with Aquinas about some points. He takes his theory of as ‘applied Aquinas’. For many critics it is because of his too much understanding of Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle. As for some critics he has mastered the philosophy of Aquinas and Aristotle and he was able to view and observe the world with their eyes. Stephen has formulated his theory by blending thoughts and philosophies of Aquinas and of Aristotle. So, there are some traces of their philosophy in Stephen’s theory.

In the novel, the writer has described the whole details of Stephen’s life. He writes about him from his childhood to the age when he finally selects a career for himself. Evolution of an artist which is discussed in the novel shows a struggle where an artist is in confusions about fulfillment of sexual, religious and aesthetic desires. The emergence of aesthetic desires happened after the fulfillment of first two. In the beginning he is stuck in sexual and religious desires. But when he doesn’t find satisfactions after the first two then a conflict between his thoughts starts which leads him to his theory of good and beautiful and of static and kinetic effects.

The aesthetic theory presented by Stephen in ‘The Portrait of Artist as a Young Man’ is a manifesto of Joyce’s own conception of art. The three main principles of Stephen’s theory are derived from two statements of Thomas Aquinas. The first one is “That is beautiful which gives pleasure to the eye”. The second is “That is good toward which the appetite is moved”. These statements are the basis of Stephen’s theory of aesthetics. Next, I will try to know what are the principles and ideas of Stephen’s theory of aesthetics. I will also analyze them to understand his theory.

“Art is ‘stasis’ brought about by the formal rhythms of beauty”.

This is the first point of Stephen’s theory and is based on the first principle of Aquinas. Stephen further divides this point into three postulates.

1. The tragic emotions, pity and terror, arouse and arrest the mind in a condition of ‘stasis’ rather than ‘kinesis’.
2. Comedy is proper and perfect when it arouses the static emotion of joy rather than the kinetic emotion of desires or loathing.
3. The aesthetic ‘stasis’, an ideal pity, terror or joy is awakened or induced by the formal rhythm of beauty.

To understand this postulate, the Latin terms, ‘stasis’ and ‘kinesis’ should be defined. To Stephen ‘stasis’ is the satisfaction of an aesthetic sense. It only gives you an aesthetic pleasure without producing any kind of desire, or loathing. On the other hand, ‘kinesis’, i.e., kinetic produces a feeling of desire or loathing in the beholder.

Stephen defines sexual and religious desires as kinetic. It can be observed in his relationships and interactions with different kinds of women in the novel. He takes them as kinetic because these desires urge a person to get fulfillment from outside. While pity and fear, the tragic emotions, are called static by Stephen because these emotions do not urge us to possess or loath something. Instead, these emotions arrest the mind and give the beholder a kind of aesthetic pleasure.

Stephen comedy as perfect and artistic until it is static, i.e., if it does not produce desire or loathing. Rather it should produce joy which is ‘stasis’, a state of mind. To Stephen the end of all art, tragic or comic is the apprehension of beauty. The ideal ‘stasis’ is awakened only when an object possess the rhythms of beauty or proportion. This proportion is desirable in itself and does not produce the feeling of desire or loathing for something else.

“Art or beauty, divorced from good and evil is akin to truth; therefore, if truth can best be approached through intellection, beauty or art is best approached through the three stages of apprehension”.

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This is second principle of Stephen’s theory and is also further divided into three parts.

1. Beauty is separated from good and evil excite the kinetic emotions of desire or loathing.
2. Beauty is related to truth because both are static.
3. Just as the first step in the direction of truth is to comprehend the act of intellection, the first step in the direction of beauty is to understand the process of aesthetic comprehension; the stages of apprehension and the qualities of beauty are akin.

This is the most debated principle of aesthetic theory. Here, we see that Joyce is presenting ‘art for art’s sake’. It upholds that beauty is akin to truth only and it has nothing to do with good or evil. Good and evil produce desire and loathing and thus are ‘kinetic’. Truth is accepted by the intellect as the most suitable outcome while beauty is seen by the imagination, as the most suitable sense-perception. As both are desirable in themselves and do not produce the desire or loathing for something else. Therefore, they should not be the subject of art, because the end of art is beauty and beauty cannot be kinetic. How is aesthetic process related to stages of apprehension of truth? To Aristotle we reach a truth by the process of intellection. We proceed from one argument to another and finally reach at the truth. Same is the case with beauty. There are three stages of apprehension of beauty discussed in the third principle.

“The three qualities of beauty which correspond to the three stages of apprehension are, in term of Aquinas, integritas, consonantia, and claritas”.

1. Integritas in wholeness - one thing.
2. Consonantia is harmony - a thing.
3. Claritas is radiance- that thing.

To explain these three terms, Stephen has taken the example of a basket. In looking at a basket, the mind first separates the basket from its surroundings and thus sees it as ‘one thing’. This is called ‘integritas’ or ‘wholeness’, that is when mind separates an object from the whole universe of space and time and consider it as ‘one thing’, distant from others.

‘Consonantia’ is due proportion or ‘harmony’. Having recognized the basket as one thing, now the mind notices its formal lines, the rhythms of its structure, and feels that it is ‘a thing’. Stephen wants to assert that mind after recognizing the basket as one thing, tries to understand its relation with its parts. Now the mind takes it as a thing it as a thing in itself, as relation of parts to whole.

‘Claritas’ is radiance or ‘wholeness’ of a thing. Here Joyce digressed from Aquinas and interpreted it according to his own secular doctrines. He says that when mind recognizes the basket as one thing and then as ‘a thing’, it suddenly perceives its true essence. The essence which actually does not lie in the object but it is the outcome of aesthetic apprehension. This essence gives the mind the feeling of aesthetic pleasure.

Stephen’s aesthetic theory, further divides arts in three parts:

• The lyrical: in the lyrical art the image is presented in immediate relation to the artist himself, i.e., personal art.
• The epic: the image is presented in immediate relation to the artist and to other, i.e., half personal.
• The dramatic. The image is presented in immediate relation to others. The artist’s personality does not reflect in the work, i.e., objective.

Now if critically evaluate the aesthetic theory of Stephen we can see that Dr. Dillion, claims that Joyce is preaching arts for ‘art’s sake’. He is separating arts from life. But a work of art cannot be created distinctly away from life. Joyce neglected the fact that there are some other factors besides good and evil which are important in the relation of art and life.

Then, Stephen has interpreted Aquinas without considering his metaphysics and thus made his theory somewhat vague. ‘Claritas’ is a metaphysical term denoting the divine image in every object while Stephen calls it the essence of beauty. This interpretation has put Stephen in a vulnerable situation.

Stephen does not realize the complexity and limitlessness of art and tries to confine it in a very narrow sphere. As A.L. Goldberg has said, “he fails to see that art is far more complex than this theory, and more complex because it necessarily engages human sympathies, rejections, feelings, thoughts and judgments”.

In the end, it is clear that Joyce secularized Aquinas to form his aesthetic theory. He took the essence but not the object of the theory and this has caused an ambiguity in its meaning. But on the whole the theory is very sound and can be presented ‘theory for theory sake’. Stephen’s way of presentation is logical and rational and it shows his conception of art and beauty.