Stories can offer support in finding a position and orientation in the world, and thereby provide a foundation for one’s identity. In this thesis, the uses of literature and fiction shall be examined with special regard to the questions of what further insights this may reveal about us as humans and about the psychological functions of narrative for the construction of an identity. It will be asked how and to what end our psyche and mind become unfolded in fiction and consequently, what this in turn reveals about the condition of being human.
Drawing on different theoretical strands from the field of Literary Anthropology, the first chapter will be dealing with the work of Arnold Gehlen as a basis for later, in-depth textual analysis. His ideas are helpful for the explanation of how humans have evolved from mere instinct-driven animals to complex, self-reflexive creatures that have created a culture that uses symbols and the power of imagination in order to make sense of themselves and as a basis for action and productive orientation towards the future. This also paves the way for an examination of Wolfgang Iser’s work, which will be consulted in order to find out how literature may come to resemble the primary medium reflecting and embodying human development as well as the unfolding and development of the self.
Fiction and its aesthetic possibilities will be presented as a prominent way of exploring, understanding and expressing human needs. In the main part of this thesis, these findings will be applied to and discussed on the basis of James Joyce’s 1916 novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. This is especially illuminating, because the novel deals with the topics of imagination, the functions of literature and the (self-) determination of identity on a content-level. Moreover, its self-reflexivity on a formal and aesthetic level refers back to the theoretical works of Gehlen and Iser, since by doing so the potential and/or limitations of Literary Anthropology may be embodied, highlighting some contradictions inherent to fiction.
To conclude these discussions, a brief digression on the significance of narrative to personal identity as well as on the act of staging an identity will follow at the end of this paper.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Humans and Fiction
2. Arnold Gehlen’s Philosophical Anthropology
3. Wolfgang Iser: Literature as a Medium and Mirror of Human Self-Unfolding
4. James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
4.1 History and Politics
4.2 Religion
4.3 Family and Friends
4.4 Literature and Art
4.5 The Artist’s Identity
4.6 Language
4.7 Forms of Play
4.8 Educational Path: Life versus Art
4.9 Inherent Contradictions of Fiction
5. Self-Staging: Identity and Narration
6. Conclusion: Fiction and Identity
Objectives & Research Themes
This thesis examines the psychological functions of literature and fiction in the construction of narrative identity, applying the theoretical frameworks of Arnold Gehlen and Wolfgang Iser to James Joyce’s novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to explore how art facilitates self-understanding and self-assertion.
- The transition from biological instinct to self-reflexive cultural action.
- Literature as a medium for mirroring and unfolding the self.
- The interplay between the real, the fictive, and the imaginary in human development.
- Narrative self-staging and the struggle for autonomy against social and religious constraints.
- The role of imagination as a tool for creating meaning and personal identity.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1 History and Politics
One discourse level of reality that serves both as a background for a large part of the novel and as an incentive for Joyce’s writing in general is the world of (Irish) history and politics. At the beginning of the Portrait, this realm is predominantly associated with the world of adults, which is most poignantly expressed in the famous Christmas dinner scene. Being allowed to sit for the first time in his life at the adults’ table for dinner, Stephen comes to witness a heated, polarized discussion concerning the involvement of the Catholic Church in Irish politics and especially the nation’s dealing with their former political leader Charles Stewart Parnell. Though at the time young Stephen is unable to comprehend the meaning and wider context of the individual disputants’ viewpoints, the dinner scene for him turns out to be above all else the destruction of family harmony through politics: “Stephen, raising his terrorstricken face, saw that his father’s eyes were full of tears.” It is only later on in adolescence that he will slowly form his own judgements on Irish history and the many agents involved in it, but it certainly leaves him with an awareness of how closely the political and the private are connected and may even determine anyone’s private life: “O, he’ll remember all this when he grows up, said Dante hotly – the language he heard against God and religion and priests in his own home.” Some of the opinions voiced in the Christmas dinner scene will nonetheless channel into his conception of Irish history.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Humans and Fiction: This chapter introduces the core concept of fiction as a fundamental human activity for making sense of the self and the world, outlining the theoretical basis provided by Gehlen and Iser.
2. Arnold Gehlen’s Philosophical Anthropology: This section explains human development through Gehlen’s concept of the "deficient being" (Mängelwesen) who uses culture, symbols, and imagination to orientate toward the future.
3. Wolfgang Iser: Literature as a Medium and Mirror of Human Self-Unfolding: This chapter details Iser’s triad of the real, the fictive, and the imaginary, describing literature as a stage for the self-staging of human identity.
4. James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: This central chapter applies the established theoretical framework to analyze the protagonist Stephen Dedalus and his development through various spheres of experience.
4.1 History and Politics: Analyzes how historical and political contexts in Ireland shape Stephen’s perception and his rejection of existing power structures.
4.2 Religion: Examines the influence of religious dogma and schooling on Stephen’s existential fear and his eventual move toward a secular, artistic self-actualization.
4.3 Family and Friends: Discusses Stephen’s estrangement from his family and the conflicting perceptions of his friends, which reinforce his status as an outsider.
4.4 Literature and Art: Outlines Stephen’s aesthetic theory, emphasizing the movement from subjective experience to an objective artistic product.
4.5 The Artist’s Identity: Investigates the messianic and messianic-like role Stephen creates for himself as an artist who seeks to define his own freedom.
4.6 Language: Explores how language serves as the primary medium for Stephen’s growth, culminating in his narrative emancipation through diary-entries.
4.7 Forms of Play: Utilizes Iser’s principles of play (agon, alea, mimicry, ilinx) to decode the dynamics and conflicts within Stephen’s path.
4.8 Educational Path: Life versus Art: Frames the novel as an unconventional Bildungsroman that prioritizes the search for identity over social integration.
4.9 Inherent Contradictions of Fiction: Addresses the duality of fiction as both a pragmatic tool for personal affirmation and an epistemological endeavor.
5. Self-Staging: Identity and Narration: Concludes the analysis by connecting the act of narration with literary psychology and the concept of "self-fashioning."
6. Conclusion: Fiction and Identity: Summarizes the thesis’ findings, asserting that identity is a construction deeply tied to the imaginative capacities of the human psyche.
Keywords
Literary Anthropology, Arnold Gehlen, Wolfgang Iser, James Joyce, Narrative Identity, Self-Staging, Imagination, Fictionality, Philosophical Anthropology, Bildungsroman, Stephen Dedalus, Symbolism, Self-Assertion, Autonomy, Subjectivity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this thesis?
The thesis explores the anthropological functions of literature and fiction, focusing specifically on how individuals utilize narrative processes to construct, stage, and understand their own identity.
What are the primary theoretical foundations?
The work is grounded in the Philosophical Anthropology of Arnold Gehlen and the literary theory of Wolfgang Iser, particularly his triad of the real, the fictive, and the imaginary.
What is the primary research question?
The research investigates how literature acts as a medium for self-unfolding and how the human mind uses imaginative narrative to bridge the gap between internal needs and external reality.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The paper uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining literary analysis, philosophical anthropological theory, and elements of narrative psychology to interpret the text of James Joyce.
What core topics are covered in the main section?
The main section covers how historical context, religion, family, art theory, language, and the play-concept influence the development of the protagonist, Stephen Dedalus.
How can this work be categorized?
It is an analysis of the intersection between literary studies and philosophical anthropology, focusing on the construction of the self within the modern novel.
How does the novel represent the Bildungsroman genre differently?
Unlike the traditional Bildungsroman, which ends in social reconciliation, the thesis argues that A Portrait represents an "Anti-Bildungsroman," as it favors individual self-determination and dissent over integration.
What role does the concept of "self-fashioning" play in this analysis?
Derived from Stephen Greenblatt, the concept is used to show that Stephen Dedalus’s identity is not a static given, but a manipulable, artful process of formation in resistance to social authority.
Why is Stephen Dedalus’s use of language significant?
Language acts as a medium for Stephen’s evolving self-empowerment, shifting from passive assimilation of others' words to active, self-determined narrative expression at the end of the book.
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- Simon Braun (Autor:in), 2019, "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" from the Perspective of Literary Anthropology, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1186877
