Stephen’s Meeting Prostitute and his Guilty Feeling

According to Catholicism values, what Stephen does by having a sexual intercourse with a prostitute is considered as a sinful action. As believed in religion, any sin will result a consequence in the doer’s life. In Catholicism, it is believed that after humans’ life on earth, there will be another forever lasting life in another world. Father Arnall in his preaching describes it through the concept of heaven and hell. Heaven is the picture of a happy and perfect life for those who live following God’s will. Hence, hell is created with a permanent suffering for the people living a sinful life. Before entering heaven and hell, human must face the judgement day that the Catholic believes as the day of God’s coming to the world. Out of that day, every human must finally die and is judged whether to continue living in heaven or hell. The time when Stephen is reminded about that preaching is not long after he has a sexual activity with a prostitute. He just does a sin. It requires him a punishment from God. Therefore, reminded by Father Arnall’s preaching, Stephen starts to think about the consequence of his latest action. He realizes that his intercourse with the prostitute is a sin. As the result, Stephen feels guilty. Every word of it was for him. Against his sin, foul and secret, the whole wrath of God was aimed. The preacher’s knife had probed deeply into his disclosed conscience and he felt now that his soul was festering in sin. Yes, the preacher was right 1992: 88. Stephen’s next action shows how influencing that preaching is. He decides to do a confession. In Catholicism, confession is done in front of a priest. Someone must confess all of his sins and later receive the forgiveness from God that is represented by the priest’s blessing. Stephen does not do it in school’s chapel. He would confess all, every sin of deed and thought, sincerely; but not there among his school companions. Far away from there in some dark place he would murmur out his own shame; and he besought God humbly not to be offended with him if he did not dare to confess in the college chapel… 1992: 97. He does not dare to face the reality that his school’s priest will finally know his sin. Before finally come to confess, Stephen face a great fear inside his mind. He only dare to pray individually at first. Why was he kneeling there like a child saying his evening prayers? To be alone with his soul, to examine his conscience, to meet his sins face to face, to recall their times and manners and circumstances, to weep over them. He could not weep. He could not summon them to his memory. He felt only an ache of soul and body, his whole being, memory, will, understanding, flesh, benumbed and weary 1992: 104-105. Stephen seems to be very depressed by his guilty feeling. All he can think of is just the sin. He tries to examine himself in order to find other sins, to admit that he is absolutely a sinner. Unfortunately, this individual prayer cannot calm Stephen’s mind down. A voice in his mind tells him to do more. When evening had fallen he left the house, and the first touch of the damp dark air and the noise of the door as it closed behind him made ache again his conscience, lulled by prayer and tears. Confess Confess It was not enough to lull the conscience with a tear and a prayer. He had to kneel before the minister of the Holy Ghost and tell over his hidden sins truly and repentantly 1992: 106-107. Due to the urging of his own mind, Stephen eventually comes to a church to do a confession. He does it in the Church Street chapel. He is really in fear at that time. It is shown through description below. He made the sign of cross and prayed of the priest to bless him for he had sinned. Then, bowing his head, he repeated the Confiteor in fright. At the words my most grievous fault he ceased, breathless. —How long is it since your last confession, my child? —A long time, father. … —Six months? —Eight months, father. He had begun. The priest asked: —And what do you remember since that time? He began to confess his sins: masses missed, prayers not said, lies. —Anything else, my child? Sins of anger, envy of others, gluttony, vanity, disobedience. —Anything else, my child? There was no help. He murmured: —I…committed sins of impurity, father. The priest did not turn his head. —With yourself, my child? —And…with others. —With women, my child? —Yes, father. —Were they married women, my child? He did not know. His sins trickled from his lips, one by one, trickled in shameful drops from his soul, festering and oozing like a sore, a squalid stream of vice. The last sins oozed forth, sluggish, filthy. There was no more to tell 1992: 110-111. Stephen eventually confesses all of his sins. He is so afraid that he is going to die anytime and God will not forgive his mistakes. The reaction emerged after the confession is a grateful and glad expression. Stephen seems to feel much better. Blinded by his tears and by the light of God’s mercifulness he bent his head and heard the grave words of absolution spoken and saw the priest’s hand raised above him in token of forgiveness. … He knelt to say his penance, playing in a corner of the dark nave; and his prayers ascended to heaven from his purified heart like perfume streaming upwards from a heart of white rose 1992: 111. The impact given by the confession makes Stephen feels pure. He thinks that all of his sins are finally forgiven by God. His life is much better afterwards. The interesting point in this case is that even though Stephen does not study at Clongowes any more, he still remembers some certain things that the school forces on the students. Stephen leads a life outside Clongowes but the moment that comes to his mind is his memory about Clongowes. It indicates how strong the impression given by Clongowes to its students. Examining this case, the symptom that is shown by Stephen is his guilty feeling after having a sexual intercourse with a prostitute. It is indeed considered wrong morally, however Stephen succeeds putting those norms aside when he meets the prostitute. The impact of that action just emerges after he meets a priest that reminds him about his former priest at Clongowes. This strong memory is the thing that limits Stephen’s desire. It becomes so since it changes Stephen’s attitude and opinion toward his action of meeting the prostitute. At the moment he meets her, he seems not to be under any norm. However, after remembering the memory about the preaching, Stephen thinks the other way. He considers his action as something sinful and therefore he needs to set him free from such thing. The Other in this case is Stephen’s memory of Father Arnall’s preaching. Besides, there is another thing that also occupies the position of Other. It is Catholicism value taught at school. At Clongowes and other Catholic schools, Catholicism values are integrated into the lessons and school activities. Therefore, these things are very familiar and common to the students. They are taught to get accustomed to those values so that they can live with it at least during their school period. Although Stephen does not live at Clongowes anymore, the teaching given there seems to remain in his life. It leaves track and therefore influences his way of life. It is proven through the moment of his deep guilty. Stephen is a grown boy. It is very common for him to have certain sexual desire toward girl. However, this biological desire meets the obstacle from social situation around him. Stephen does not have any legalized relationship with woman yet. This problem causes him to find an alternative way to release his desire. He chooses to meet a prostitute. This desire can eventually be released. He faces some problem afterwards, though. Due to the religion values in which he used to live in, he considers his action as a fault. He does a sin by meeting a prostitute. He falls into a very deep guilty feeling that extremely changes his attitude toward religion. He, who is a little ignorant to religion, even tries to seek secure feeling from it. This Other runs its function well enough. In the description about Stephen’s mind while he is having sexual activity with the prostitute, it is shown that Stephen considers the detail of body or action of that woman is ‘dark’. He knows very well that he enjoys his interaction with her, but the thought that it is a wrong thing cannot vanish. Such reaction implies that Stephen’s thought really decreases the jouissance pleasure that Stephen tries to get. As the result, he feels guilty instead of satisfied. This is an important sign that indicates the existence of repression. Stephen cannot fulfill his lack in the form of desire because of the presence of the Other that avoids him to do so. Instead of doing it, Stephen must press his pleasure and do a religious confession to get security. The thing he does is exactly opposing what he truly desires. Again, this is a repression that is done by school through Catholicism values taught to the students.

4. Stephen’s Doubt and Ignorance to Religion

The environment of school must influence its students’ attitude and behavior. Clongowes and Belvedere as a Jesuit school build this influence from the spirit of the order that is integrated into the curriculum of the school. It is an effective way because all students must learn following that curriculum. Jesuit schools must bring the Catholicism values into their system and activities. Both schools where Stephen studies apply them. Consequently, Stephen and the rest of the students have certain background knowledge of religion. They even have to live within it. The story of Stephen’s life in the novel raises a question about the role of religion at school. The interesting thing that causes it is that Stephen is an individual with totally different perception toward religion when he continues studying in university. It is represented in the conversation below. —It is a curious thing, do you know, Cranly said dispassionately, how your mind is supersaturated with the religion in which you say you disbelieve. Did you believe in it when you were at school? I bet you did. —I did, Stephen answered. —And were you happier then? Cranly asked softly, happier than you are now for instance? —Often happy, Stephen said, and often unhappy. I was someone else then. —How someone else? What do you mean by that statement? —I mean, said Stephen, that I was not myself as I am now, as I had to become 1992: 185. P.S. The clauses ‘Cranly said dispassionately’, ‘Stephen answered’, ‘Cranly asked softly’, and ‘Stephen said’ are indirect expressions. Stephen finally expresses verbally his opinion about religion. That conversation shows that he indeed used to believe in religion during school period. However, things change after he is no more at school. Through that conversation, Stephen even defines that at school he was not the person he is today. He boldly states the difference of his personality before and after leaving school. Stephen’s religious life is a kind of struggling journey to him. Starting from his school period, he leads the religious routine managed by school under the control of regulation applied at school. However, in the middle of it, he arrives at the moment when he starts to miss some of those activities. It is shown through the conversation happened in his confession. Stephen mentions “masses missed, prayers not said 1992: 110”. He later “comes home” to the life following God’s will after doing the confession due to his intercourse with a prostitute. After going through all of them, the standpoint that Stephen takes toward religion when he studies in university is more like ignorance than disbelief. He also discusses it with his friend, Cranly. —Do you believe in the eucharist? Cranly asked. —I do not, Stephen said. —Do you disbelieve then? —I neither believe in it nor disbelieve in it, Stephen answered. —Many persons have doubts, even religious persons, yet they overcome them or put them aside, Cranly said. Are your doubts on that point too strong? —I do not wish to overcome them, Stephen answered 1992: 184-185. P.S. The clauses ‘Cranly asked’, ‘Stephen said’, ‘Stephen answered’, and ‘Cranly said’ are indirect expressions. The utterance of “I do not wish to overcome them” indicates how Stephen gives very little concern with that issue. He understands that religion is always a complicated discourse whenever it is discussed. However, he does not intend to include himself into those who really try to solve the problematic things in people’s opinion toward religion. Stephen considers it unimportant to him. Religion is taught at school through the lessons and the school rules. Those who are directly involved in teaching religion at school are the priests. Their position as teachers and priests supports them in doing it. Besides that the relationship between teacher and student is a top-down one, the fact that they are priests ensures the students more that their teaching of religion can be strongly considered true. Stephen’s opinion below represents it. During all those years he had never heard from any of his master a flippant word: it was they who had taught him christian doctrine and urged him to live a good life and, when he had fallen into grievous sin, it was they who had led him back to grace 1992: 120. Considering Stephen’s thought and attitude at school, his standpoint in religion issue when he studies in university shows a rather big change in him. This is the symptom that Stephen shows. He doubts and ignores religion and its values. Of course, he does it for a reason. By assuming that symptom is the return of the repressed, it can be identified that Stephen’s doubt and ignorance appears as the effect of a certain repression happened before. In this case, the one that occupies Other position is school rules and religious teaching. Through these things, school is able to teach Catholicism values intensively. This idea is affirmed by the words that Stephen uses in quotation before. He tells that the priests of the school teach him ‘christian doctrine’. During school period, Stephen and many of the students cannot avoid dealing with that doctrine most of the time. Therefore, their desires to do other things are mostly limited. Due to the rules they have to obey, religious activity is a must. Otherwise, they will get compensation in the form of punishment. Such situation is kind of repressing to the students. Besides their limited space to do things they like, they also have to follow what the school teaches them to. For instance, the condition of students’ faith is somehow very personal. Each of them leads different religious life even though they belong to the same religion. However, school obliges them to do the same activities and teach them the same values in order to shape a certain condition of faith of the students’. The personality changing of Stephen’s affirms the position of religion values as the Other during his leading school period. After leaving school, Stephen consequently is quite free from the doctrine taught at school even though his environment may not quit doing it. When he starts his education in a university, Stephen is not strictly bound by such regulation about religious activities. This freedom enables him to choose how to act and to respond religion issue discussed around him. An example of Stephen’s choice is presented in his conversation with Cranly about Stephen’s mother. —Cranly, I had an unpleasant quarrel this evening. —With your people? Cranly asked. —With my mother. —About religion? —Yes, Stephen answered. After a pause Cranly asked: —What age is your mother? —Not old. She wishes me to make my easter duty. —And will you? —I will not, Stephen said. —Why not? —I will not serve, answered Stephen 1992: 184. P.S. The clauses ‘Cranly asked’, ‘Stephen answered’, and ‘Stephen said’ are indirect expressions. Stephen chooses what he wants to do instead of what his mother wants him to do. Stephen is not shy any more to express his thought. This is also a change in his characteristic after leaving school. It is identified through the word ‘quarrel’. It means