Religion and Its Effects on Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man"

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…ts, reject society, and become an artist. Religion disturbs, shapes, and finally changes Stephen for good. While religion leads to an artistic and lonely life, Stephen can never totally break from his family or need for companionship. At the close of the novel he says, 'Old father, old artificer, stand by me now and ever in good stead,' belying the fact that no matter how independent Stephen becomes, no man can be an island.