James Joyce — Quote from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
“I will not serve that in which I no longer believe, whether it calls itself my home, my fatherland, or my church: and I will try to express myself in some mode of life or art as freely as I can.”
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916)
Concepts: rebellion, freedom, authenticity
Resonant Quotes
- “What is a rebel? A man who says no, but whose refusal does not imply a renunc...” — Albert Camus, The Rebel Joyce's declaration embodies Camus's definition perfectly—saying no to inherited authorities while affirming the posi...
- “What is a rebel? A man who says no, but whose refusal does not imply a renunc...” — Albert Camus, The Rebel Joyce's statement perfectly embodies Camus's fuller definition—refusing false service while affirming the positive cr...
- “One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” — Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra Both articulate the necessity of creative destruction and self-imposed alienation for authentic artistic creation—Nie...
- “Do it or do not do it — you will regret both.” — Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or Joyce's decisive rejection of false authorities meets Kierkegaard's insight into the irreducible anxiety of choice it...
- “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, t...” — Audre Lorde, The Cancer Journals Both quotes capture the paradox that authentic power emerges precisely through the courage to reject false authoritie...
- “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free tha...” — Albert Camus, The Rebel Joyce's refusal to serve what he no longer believes and Camus's freedom as rebellion both assert that authentic life ...
- “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, t...” — Audre Lorde, The Cancer Journals Both reveal how authentic creative expression requires courage to break from oppressive systems, transforming individ...
- “Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt th...” — Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own Both assert the inviolability of intellectual and creative freedom against institutional control, with Joyce's physic...