Subversion of Gender Identity in James Joyce’sa Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Abstract

James Joyce,in his textA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,creates a situation about the reversal of gender role by portraying the character Stephen and the prostitute,who stand against the gender roles traditionally assigned to them. It is a sort of protest to the patriarchy wherein males are promoted and prioritized and females are victimized due to the stereotypes associated with both of the sexes. But the very notion is dismantled in the text.Joyce subverts the binary opposition between feminine and masculine bycarvingout a clear picture whereby Stephen though being male demonstrates feminine traits and the prostitute masculine traits.