In James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, we follow Stephen Dedalus through the experiences in his life that ultimately transform him into an artist. Among these experiences, the most notable are the women he meets and the way in which his view of women in general evolves over time. It begins with his first attempts at poetry inspired by his mother and the Dedalus children's governess, Dante. Then evolves through his infatuation with Emma and later with a girl he sees standing in the waves on a beach. Throughout A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephen's evolving view of women serves as a catalyst that transforms him from a simple-minded, idealistic child to the artist he will become. late. Stephen's first attempt at poetry acted as a coping mechanism during his fear of punishment. He had let slip during dinner that he was going to marry his neighbor Eileen, who was Protestant, when she grew up. His Catholic family disapproved, but it was his mother and Dante who had the strongest reaction, saying eagles would claw out his eyes if he didn't apologize. While Stephen hid under the table, he came up with a simple rhyme: “Put out his eyes,/Apologize,/Apologize,/Put out his eyes,//Excuse yourself,/Pop out his eyes eyes,/Spit out his eyes,/Apologize. » (2) This play on words is as simple as his views on women at this point in his life. So far, her experiences have been limited to her mother, the governess (or mentor), and "the girl next door", different story archetypes that often appear in fairy tales and which serve primarily as a means of motivate the hero to move forward, or as a means of motivation. a starting push into the world or a final prize. By searching for the young girl, the man becomes the hero of his story. These ideas form the basis of what will become middle of paper......tist. At every major turning point in Stephen's life, a woman is there, physically or symbolically, to introduce him to the new stage of life. These changes also lead to a new evolution in the way he perceives the women around him. From the bringers of discipline found in Dante and his mother, to the sexual liberation he finds in prostitutes, the purity he seeks in Emma and the Virgin Mary, to achieving his ultimate transformation through the woman on the beach. His experience with women advances his character and transforms him into the artist he was meant to be, helping him grow from boy to man. It was the women in his life who started him on the path to becoming an artist and his opinions and experiences that made him the artist seen in the end. Indeed, without the women he met, Stephen would never have become an artist..