Conflicting Desires in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

In the story, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, written by
James Joyce, the main character Stephen Dedalus has many encounters with
women. Women and sexuality are major influences on Stephen's adolescent
life. Another major factor that has an influence on Stephen's life is the
Church. Women and sexuality conflict with the Church and its beliefs, and
that is one of Stephen's major problems thus far. Stephen is having a very
big identity crisis, from being a God fearing Catholic to a very hormonal
teenager.
As Stephen sits at the "adults" dinner table for the first time,
his father,…