- nicensadjectiveChapter 1 →
A baby-talk form of 'nice,' used here to mimic the simplified, affectionate language an adult uses when speaking to a very small child.
“this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo”
- velvetnounChapter 1 →
A soft, thick fabric with a short, dense pile on one side, used here as the covering of a hairbrush kept as a political keepsake.
“Dante had ripped the green velvet back off the brush that was for Parnell one day with her scissors”
- rippedverbChapter 1 →
Tore off forcefully and angrily, suggesting a deliberate act of political rejection rather than accidental damage.
“Dante had ripped the green velvet back off the brush that was for Parnell one day with her scissors”
- unheededadjectiveChapter 2 →
Not noticed or paid attention to by anyone around him; ignored by the world, which here gives Stephen a feeling of freedom rather than loneliness.
“He was alone. He was unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart of life.”
- surrenderingverbChapter 2 →
Giving himself over completely and without resistance to another person's power or influence, here meaning he stops fighting his own feelings and lets the experience take over.
“He closed his eyes, surrendering himself to her, body and mind, conscious of nothing in the world but the dark pressure of her softly parting lips.”
- barrenadjectiveChapter 2 →
Empty, lifeless, and incapable of producing anything; used here to describe a self that has lost its capacity for feeling or joy.
“he was drifting amid life like the barren shell of the moon”
- driftingverbChapter 2 →
Moving without direction or purpose, carried along passively by circumstances rather than making deliberate choices.
“he was drifting amid life like the barren shell of the moon”
- mortallyadverbChapter 3 →
In Catholic teaching, in a way that kills the soul's relationship with God; a mortal sin is a grave offense serious enough to result in eternal damnation if not confessed.
“He had sinned mortally not once but many times”
- eternal damnationphraseChapter 3 →
In Catholic belief, the punishment of being condemned to hell forever after death, with no possibility of escape or forgiveness.
“he stood in danger of eternal damnation for the first sin alone”
- noisomeadjectiveChapter 3 →
Having an extremely unpleasant, disgusting smell; used here to describe one of the physical torments the damned must endure in hell.
“the nose with noisome odours, the ears with yells and howls and execrations”
- execrationsnounChapter 3 →
Violent curses and expressions of hatred or loathing, here describing the screaming and cursing that fills the air in hell.
“the ears with yells and howls and execrations”
- facultynounChapter 3 →
A natural power or ability of the mind or soul, such as reason, memory, or will, that can be affected or overwhelmed by an experience.
“Every sense of the flesh is tortured and every faculty of the soul therewith”
- pardonedverbChapter 3 →
Officially forgiven for a sin or wrongdoing, here meaning God has granted full absolution through the sacrament of confession.
“He had confessed and God had pardoned him. His soul was made fair and holy once more”
- thuriblenounChapter 4 →
A metal container on a chain, swung by a priest during Catholic ceremonies, in which incense is burned to produce fragrant smoke as an act of worship.
“He would never swing the thurible before the tabernacle as priest.”
- tabernaclenounChapter 4 →
A locked, ornate box fixed to the altar in a Catholic church where the consecrated bread (the Eucharist) is kept and venerated.
“He would never swing the thurible before the tabernacle as priest.”
- elusiveadjectiveChapter 4 →
Tending to escape or avoid being caught or fixed; here it means Stephen's nature is one that slips away from being confined within any institution or set of rules.
“His destiny was to be elusive of social or religious orders.”
- midstreamnounChapter 4 →
The middle of a flowing body of water; here it places the girl standing alone in the current of a tidal stream, neither fully on land nor in the sea.
“A girl stood before him in midstream, alone and still, gazing out to sea.”
- recreateverbChapter 4 →
To make something exist again in a new form; here it means the artist's task of transforming raw lived experience into new artistic life.
“To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life!”
- unrestnounChapter 5 →
A feeling of inner disturbance, discomfort, or anxiety; here it describes the alienation Stephen feels when using the English language that does not truly belong to him.
“I cannot speak or write these words without unrest of spirit”
- fatherlandnounChapter 5 →
The country of one's birth or ancestry, regarded as a homeland one owes loyalty to; Stephen uses it to name one of the three allegiances he is refusing.
“I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it call itself my home, my fatherland, or my church”
- forgeverbChapter 5 →
To create or shape something through great effort and heat, as a blacksmith shapes metal; here it means Stephen intends to create something entirely new through the power of his art.
“to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race”
- smithynounChapter 5 →
A blacksmith's workshop where metal is heated and hammered into shape; used here as a metaphor for the soul as a place of hard, transformative creative work.
“to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race”
- uncreatedadjectiveChapter 5 →
Not yet brought into existence; here it means the shared moral and artistic identity of the Irish people has not yet been given form, and Stephen sees it as his task to create it.
“to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race”
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManNovel by James Joyce