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[astral-herald]

Jayce Talis' Joycean Epiphany

Tracking the textual similarities between James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Jayce's character journey, specifically in Arcane season 2, episode 7.

As time goes on, my appreciation for Jayce's arc only grows, and I think episode 7 captures the best of the showrunners' narrative concision and cohesion. Within that perfect storm I noticed a lot of similarities between Jayce and James Joyce's main character, Stephen Dedalus, who spends the 1916 classic shedding attachments to the material world in pursuit of ultimate freedom, including monikers of creed and country and friendship, captured in his famous epiphany.

This isn't a perfect mapping, but comparing Stephen's epiphany to Jayce's meeting with Mage Viktor is pretty enlightening/interesting! More below!

The Joycean Epiphany

Stephen Dedalus' epiphany occurs in the last third (ish) of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and happens as follows: Stephen, consumed with anxiety, loneliness, and confusion about his place in the world, finds himself wandering toward the ocean. He steps knee-deep inside and sees the figment of a woman out of reach, who he describes as a "strange and beautiful seabird" who awakens him to "the wild heart of life." The Bird Woman inspires Stephen to shake off material attachments to nationality and religion, as well as to break off personal relationships in order to arrive at his true self, which he must do in isolation. This is the most egregiously brief synopsis possible...

Jayce's journey in Arcane does, in fact, follow a very normal, non-epiphanic arc in general; I'm not merging Stephen and Jayce together here. Instead I want to call attention to the visual cues and specific plot points that truly give me pause and think/hope they were intentionally building this parallel.

The Irish Coastline, the Undercity Grey

In Portrait, there is great emphasis attached to the sea's physicality as Stephen enters the waters. He's permeated a barrier as the tide wrestles with him:

"In a few moments he was barefoot...and, picking a pointed salteaten stick out of the jetsam among the rock, he clambered down the slope of the breakwater."

Jayce also permeates, with a lot of struggle, pain, and anguish, a physical barrier/obstacles - the Grey, which we see as a thick green miasma throughout the Undercity in this timeline, and the Fissures he's fallen into. Interestingly enough, Jayce also has a pointed stick that's figuratively eaten by the Anomaly. Not salt, by any means, but each character takes up a damaged implement at the onset of their journey.

The Epiphanic Figures

In Portrait, Stephen is drawn into the water towards the woman who inspires his epiphany: "A girl stood before him in midstream, alone and still, gazing out to sea."

Within the Grey, Jayce encounters Viktor as the mage, staring at him with his face obscured. When he turns and leaves, he prompts Jayce into action, thus spurring the epiphany, the necessary movement through the Grey.

Upon his approach, Stephen describes his epiphanic woman: Her long fair hair was girlish, and touched with the wonder of mortal beauty, her face..."

"...and when she felt his presence and the worship of his eyes her eyes turned to him in quiet sufferance of his gaze, without shame or wantonness."

In Portrait, Stephen never reaches his Bird Woman; she remains out of reach, just like his ultimate freedom will remain until he commits to his quest for self-discovery. Similarly, Jayce and Mage Viktor never touch, despite Viktor and Jayce's established physical intimacy.

The Quest

Stephen spends the remainder of Portrait systematically shedding what he feels are restraints to his true self. If you haven't read Portrait, there is a lot, a lot, a LOT of syncretic philosophies wedged inside, Platonic, Aristotelean, Aurelian, etc., to showcase Stephen coming into his own intellectually and emotionally. But the way he describes this quest, when speaking to his best friend, Cranly, is key when comparing him to Jayce:

"You made me confess the fears that I have. But I will tell you also what I do not fear. I do not fear to be alone or to be spurned for another or to leave whatever I have to leave. And I am not afraid to make a mistake, even a great mistake, a lifelong mistake and perhaps as long as eternity too."

Jayce, inspired by his own Bird Woman, the Mage, sets out on his quest of ultimate solitude, wherein he traumatically relives his past mistakes.

But now, with Mage Viktor's wisdom and an understanding of what's to come, Jayce finally becomes a powerful and independent force. He doesn't rely on his betters or outside approval. He attacks Mel for her past treatment of himself and Viktor as tools/investments for her will. He will leave behind the comfort and privilege of his old life. In order to do what needs to be done to save Piltover, Jayce is willing to make those mistakes, to sustain on his own, etc., when he was never willing to do so before.

"Alone, Quite Alone"

Nobody asked, but my favorite scene in Portrait is the last dialogue between Stephen and Cranly, whom Stephen frequently describes as his closest friend, and whose opposition to Stephen's departure he considers the most. Try as he might to be sympathetic, Cranly struggles to understand why Stephen can't relent and warns him of what will happen to Stephen if he takes on his quest: "And to not have any one person...who would be more than a friend, more even than the noblest and truest friend a man ever had."

Cranly tells Stephen that "you need not look upon yourself as driven away...or as a heretic or an outlaw." He invites him to stay, to return.

And Stephen is grieved by this: "A voice spoke softly to Stephen's lonely heart, bidding him go and telling him that his friendship was coming to an end..."

"...Yes; he would go. He could not strive against another. He knew his part."

In killing Viktor as the Herald, Jayce has fully accepted loneliness and the necessary suffering it incurs on others. Guided by Mage Viktor, his own Bird Woman epiphany, he plays his part in the fate set before him.

In this moment, the Herald Viktor is Jayce's Cranly: "Stephen watched [Cranly's] face for some moments in silence. A cold sadness was there..."

"...He had spoken of himself, of his own loneliness which he feared."

*To note, Stephen's epiphanic realization amounts to isolation for his own benefit, whereas Jayce endures isolation and commits these "mistakes" (killing Viktor) for the greater good - very important difference!

Regaining Cranly

This same idea comes across every time I post about Arcane season 2: subversive endings. And while my opinion of the season has been on the downturn, I will never cheapen the shock and awe of the Mage Viktor reveal, and I will always find new ways to break it down and appreciate it.

In Portrait, Stephen leaves Ireland, his religion, and his loved ones behind. Stephen asks Cranly to clarify what he means by his talk of loneliness: "'Of whom are you speaking?' Cranly did not answer." In the essential modernist way, Stephen seeks out the independent soul amidst the masses.

Jayce, meanwhile, uses his newfound autonomy and sense of self for the greater good. He followed his epiphanic figure as Stephen did, and abandoned his Cranly, for a higher goal than self actualization.

And that's where this comparison just about falls apart.

Because Jayce and Viktor are "inextricably bound," the fundamental crux of the epiphany - its independence - isn't possible. Jayce guides his Cranly away from "his own loneliness which he feared." He invites Viktor to partake in his epiphany and they complete the quest together.

the end <3

I'm excited about this comparison! And I know I'm offering a very cursory read of Portrait here. I actually wrote about it for my latest conference CFP so it's fresh on the mind. And a lot of these comparisons can be chalked up to Joyce's just General Narrative Influence, that he refined this exact mode of quest -> self discovery -> loneliness, but we're here to have fun, not to submit to a journal lol.

[eywaseclipse]

Don’t get mad at me, but I see far more potential for an unrequited love, slow burn, grumpy reluctant Tsu’tey mini series rather than the one shot requested. If anyone has other ideas I’m open to that as well

[astraystayyh]

it’s officially been a year since ive posted on this account 🥹🥹🥹🥹 thank you for showing me so much love and kindness in these past months, i am so immensely happy to be able to share my little fics with you here :,))) wahhh it seriously feels like ive been here all my life im feeling emotional ;;;;

&&& to celebrate!!!! im opening drabbles requests for a short time hehe any member ofc and no smut as always!! it can also be a bonus scene of a fic you liked, head cannons too (just not long fics because i wanna answer as much as i can)

i cant guarantee ill do alll requests but ill try my best! ill tell u when requests are closed again and which ones ill be answering!!! lets have funnnn 💕💕💕 thank you for your support my angels <333

[atiianeishaunted]

chat i know its like hella oldschool but !!!!!! what if i open up a lil askblog for sonder so i can provide , context on the au. in a fun way ,,,

also related i might get an ao3 acc so i can post the actual story(ies?) there,, if thatd be of any interest ,,,,,, im multitalented heh.. what can i say /j [i genuinely didnt expect the sonder thing to blow up as quick as it did] [actively QUAKING] also would ao3 be the right place thinking emoji???

[dubb0-g0ldfe11]

Hello! I created my first character on Character. AI! I did warden Ingo and I hope you like it! Please leave me some feedback! Preview under cut!

[doomspiral]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self-love ❤

To keep it "fair" I'm answering the anon, but thank you so so much @ifindus and @proosh !!!

Century Lost To Memory (T) 7.5k Ghost story about Feliks learning to mourn and accept the loss of his ex-boyfriend, while Gil Beetlejuice's his way through the narrative.

Reprisal (E) 5k Ivan is not a stalker! He just stalks Tolys after a world meeting and after begging on hands and knees, bites off more than he can chew.

Long Time Coming (M) 1.5k Tolys has done nothing wrong ever in his entire life, and Ivan is missing.

So Sang The Nightjar (E) 3k Gilbert finds Tolys bed-rotting like a true Lana-girlie and makes him take a shower if he wants a more pleasant evening.

My Savior! (M) 1k Alfred takes home a sad wet East German man to care for and deprogram, if only Gilbert would just cooperate.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

someone, commenting on my fic: I wanted you to write a (non canon) ship moment in this chapter

me: *looking at my tags that say nothing about shipping, at its "gen" ao3 label, at the fic that has had absolutely no shipping in it so far* what on earth made you believe I was writing a story with shipping in it

[itstheheebiejeebies]

Got chapter 7 done of my mota time loop fic, now to get ch8 done so I can post them. But since there's only going to be 11 chapters I'm practically 3/4 of the way done with it!

[a-resplendent-mushroom]

would any of you be interested if i recorded myself playing piano? i know we all love the improv recordings when they're posted, and i don't want to infringe on anyone's territory. . .

[shinraelectricpowercom]

i know that metrics aren't a good thing to base one's artistic self-worth on, which is why i don't do that, but i DO look at my metrics and go "why aren't more people telling me they enjoyed my work :("

[scarwasright]

idk if this is a weird thing to put in your askbox but last night i had a dream that your fic updated and somebody made a whole animatic of the new chapter, lust was in a big house with a bunch of other ishbalan women and wrath was also scurrying around in there for some reason??? scar also showed up but the vibe between him and lust was Tense. idk it was rly weird and im still half asleep so i thought id throw this out into the ether, hope u enjoy the knowledge that the scarlust fans have legit dreams abt ur fic lol

anon if I had all the time in the world I would be making animatics of chapters myself lmao but the writing is time consuming ENOUGH I feel like a goldfish trying to climb trees and fly

"Tense" is definitely correct :]

[saltnpepperbunny]

I also want to comment but I just always get nervous about the lack of anon. Totally get the reasons one might have for having it turned off, but I'd say that's probably the number #2 reason you don't get as much feedback (other than the #1 reason it unfortunately being what the culture is right now)

Because that all said, I've enjoyed every single one of your comics and stories 👉👈

It's not even worth it though having anon on is like having a neon blinking "come cyberbully me" sign.

Also thank you!

[astraystayyh]

POSTING IN A BITTTT 💕💕💘💞💕

[four-for-fidelity]

client: umm, excuse me! ☝🤓 this is a sentence fragment. PLEASE be more professional!!!

me: ma'am this is marketing

[insaneillusionist]

A little clearer-headed now, guys, feel free to talk to me about honestly anything. I’m not in a place where I can start conversations in a healthy manner, but I’m hoping to get there. Talking to people helps though, and I do like you guys, and I enjoy having conversations. DMs are open for just about anything.

[americanrecord]

i think i might end up needing like one more beta reader ... if anybody is interested ...message meeee or reply to this or secret third option idk