The epigraph of A portrait of the Artist As A young Man:

This Latin epigraph is taken over from Ovids Metamorphoses, VIII, 188 means And he
applies his mind to obscure arts.
The epigraph sums up the theme of the novel. The mythic Daedalus escaped himself
from the labyrinth of crete forming wax wings. Stephen Dedalus, too, is out to
emancipate himself from labyrinth like Ireland with which he is disgusted. Evidently he
will escape himself from there not by was wings but by viewless wings of imagination.
So the aim of the mythic Dadalus and Stephen Dedalus are alike.

Significance of the name Stephen Dedalus:

The name Stephen Dedalus conjoins the first Christian martyr St. Stephen, stoned to
death outside Jerusalem in 34 A.D. and the great pagan artificer artist hero, Dedalus.
Like St. Stephen, the hero of the novel is or at least sees himself as, a martyr, a person
whose potential spiritual dedication is thwarted by Ireland. His surname, however
reminds us of the cunning artificer Daedalus who built for himself wings of wax and
escaped from the labyrinth of Crete. Stephen will also emancipate himself from the
prison which Ireland has become to him. And he will do this not literally by going abroad
but also spiritually soaring on the wings of art into the air (which is the medium of
intellect and inspiration). While the reference of St. Stephen relates the martyr like
condition of Stephen, that of the fabulous craftsman expresses his desire to release
himself from the choking atmosphere of Ireland.

Stephen identifies with the classical hero whose name he bears, but he is more like the
son Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and came crashing down into the sea, than the
father Daedalus, whose cunning enabled him to forge the wings that permitted his
escape from Minoss prison.

Stephens mother:

Stephens mother is a dim presence in the novel, but an important one for what she
reveals about her son: his lack of basic kindness and his cruelty born of a sense of his
own superiority. She also figures prominently in the beginning of the book; however,
this, too, is a relationship that will fade, as Stephen grows older. The Catholic beliefs to
which she faithfully adheres become a barrier between mother and son after Stephen
vehemently rejects that faith. His education further distances him from her, making her
mistrustful of him. However, while Stephens father is portrayed in increasingly negative
terms, his mother remains a sympathetic figure, whose attempts to keep the peace
during the Christmas dinner battle between Simon, Dante, and Mr. Casey are suggestive
of her lifelong struggle with a difficult husband in trying circumstances.

Dante a spoiled nun; Parnell a bad man:

Mrs. Riordon, the governess who looked after the children of Mr. Dedalus.
As is the case with his parents, the fond portrait of Dante with which the novel begins is
sharply revised later on.
Although Parnell was an unquestioned hero towards the beginning of his career, towards
the end his affair with a married woman Katharine Oshea led him to be abandoned by a
considerable section of the Irish population. The priests, who had been long smarting
under his verbal attack on them, took this opportunity to peach against him and thus
caused his ruin and death.

Stephen has heard his father says that Dante had initially desired to be a un had given
up her religious ambition when she became heir to a large property after the death of
her brother.

Stephen believed that Dante knew a lot of things. She had taught him where the
Mozambique chanel was and what was the longest river in America and what was the
name of the highest mountain in the moon.