Chapter Four

Helpful information for following images and themes can be found  at Pink Monkey's Story Summary  (Barron's Book Notes).

Study Questions for Chapter Four:

1. Stephen is in a state of otherworldly ecstasy following his absolution from sin in the previous section, but he listens to the Belvedere school Director's advice about possible entry into the priesthood. How does the Director describe the benefits of becoming a Jesuit priest? And why does Stephen decide very promptly that the priesthood is not for him?

2. How does Stephen view his family and friends after making his fateful decision to reject the path of priesthood? How does he now see the difference between them and himself?

3. Stephen muses on the course he must now pursue. What new significance does his name, "Dedalus," now take on for him, and why?

4. Stephen undergoes an epiphany of sorts. Characterize this important moment of revelation--what does Stephen see? What does he intuit about his own powers, and about the world around him, from this vision?

Following are helpful definitions for some troubling phrases and vocabulary in Chapter Four:

ejaculations: brief outcries or prayers 

supererogation: acts beyond the requirements of duty to establish a "reservoir of merit" 

chaplets: The cycle of prayers called a rosary is divided into thirds, each called a chaplet, and subdivided into decades. 

Paraclete: term for the Holy Ghost 

twigging: brushing with a short broom 

foxpapered: having pages that are "foxed," or discolored 

canticles: the "Song of Songs" or "Song of Solomon" in Protestant Bibles 

Inter ubera mea commorabitur: "He shall lie between by breasts," from "Song of Solomon." 

dominican: order founded by Saint Dominic 

franciscan: order founded by St. Francis of Assisi 

les jupes: French for "skirts" 

muff: a bungler, novice, or outsider 

a vocation: a "calling" for the priesthood 

thurible: censer, in which incense is burned 

chasuble: long outer vestment worn by a priest celebrating the mass 

tunicle of subdeacon: vestment with wide sleeves worn by the person who prepares the sacred vessels during the celebration 

humeral veil: veil covering the shoulders 

paten: plate on which the eucharistic bread is placed 

dalmatic: wide-sleeved vestment worn during celebration of High Mass by the deacon, the person ranked second to the celebrant himself 

Ite, missa est: "Go, the mass is completed" 

novena: a series of spiritual exercises lasting nine days 

novitiate: time of probation for aspiring priests 

S.J.: Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order) 

thingmote: place where Danes held council of law when they ruled Dublin in medieval times 

Stephanos: Greek for crown, wreath, or garland 

stuff in the kisser: punch in the mouth 

Bous Stephanoumenos! Bous Stephaneforos!: Greek variants for "ox bearing wreaths" (i.e., being led for sacrifice). 

artificer: inventor or craftsman (i.e., Daedalus) 

the stoneblock: term for a group of rocks on the side of Bull Wall suitable for diving 

cerements: burial clothes