No Subject

[Unregistered]

...<br><br>Sex (within a marriage) is actually one of the sacraments in the Catholic Church. The reason Catholics have so many kids is because the use of birth control is prohibited.

[Unregistered]

If reading 'A Portrait' was your only justfication for converting to or reaffirming Catholicism, then I'm afraid you've misinterpreted Joyce. You're right, though, 'Catholicism sound[s] so maedival [sic]' in 'A Portrait', but that's why Stephen renounced it in the first place; it's an outdated doctrine. <br><br>As per your question, the Bible says to 'be fruitful and multiply' right? Traditionally, many women could not receive catechism if they had not had at least one child. Leopold Bloom in 'Ulysses' is guilty of the same sin: he has refused to have fertile sex with his wife Molly for a total of roughly ten years, which is the metaphorical parallel to 'The Odyssey' where Odysseus was away from Penelope for nearly 20.

[LMF]

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is Joyce's recounting of the key moments in the development of his artistic interpretation (at the level that he encountered them). A recurrent theme is his struggle with the heavy-handed Catholicism of 1950s Ireland. In the end, it is the cult of the religion that impresses him and is absorbed into his artistic modus operandi. The creed he is forced to reject, on account of it interferring with his need to freely experience and examine aspects of life deemed immoral by the Church. The language and weight of Catholicism might seem attractive when compared with lighter and more practical Protestantism. I'd like to point out that taking Catholicism seriously (as anyone would be wont to do as a convert) would involve accepting the idealogical and practical restrictions that are inherent (but possibly invisible to a non-Catholic). All I'm saying is: no quaint imagery and flourish without real and affecting differences. Cheers.

[Unregistered]

after reading this book i have resolved to become a catholic. it makes catholicism sound so maedival and fun. i wish that they still had whipping in school. <br>i do have one question i have been pondering on for sometime about the book. if sex was so bad, why's stephen's family have so many children? maybe the opus dei can explain. but, i doubt they would be reading this book