In the days following Stephen’s first sexual experience (Joyce refers to it as Stephen's "first violent sin"), he discovers that he craves food; his sexual appetite has seemingly whetted his appetite for meat and carrots and potatoes. His studies suddenly become either wholly unimportant—or else they take on new, shaming importance; for example, while completing a mathematical equation, Stephen is reminded that his sinful nature is increasingly multiplying.
Often Stephen feels slothful—lethargic, apathetic, and unable to pray. He feels that "a wave of vitality [has passed] out of him," taking with it his resistance to temptation. Although he knows that he is in danger of "eternal damnation," a "cold indifference" has seized him and prevents repentance and reparation.
Stephen feels contaminated by every kind of sin, but he continues to serve as the prefect of the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The statue of the Virgin, the symbol of the "refuge of sinners," does not humiliate Stephen; he finds pity and comfort in the words of the litanies that he says in her honor.
Stephen also continues his catechism classes, but now he begins to contemplate the technicalities of religious doctrine that pertain to his "violent sin." He analyzes the origin and the result of his present sinful status, and he realizes that his sin of lust has rapidly spread into the other "deadly sin" categories—anger, covetousness, pride, envy, gluttony, and sloth. Then, at the very moment when Stephen is convinced that he has a consummately sinful nature, and when he is questioning the spiritual reality of the sacrament of the eucharist, he hears the rector announce the beginning of a three-day spiritual retreat which will be held at Belvedere in honor of the school's patron saint, Francis Xavier. The announcement of the retreat "wither[s] up" Stephen’s heart.
On the first day of the retreat, Stephen sits on the front bench of the chapel as Father Arnall begins his sermon on the "last things" that happen to people—"death, judgment, hell and heaven." The gravity of this Judgment Day sermon, taken from Ecclesiasticus 7:36, penetrates Stephen’s heart, making him vividly imagine the judgment that he would receive for the sin of lust—if he were to die suddenly. Father Arnall emphasizes that one should examine one's conscience and repent one's sins while one still has the chance. Stephen earnestly considers his pitiful state and the enormity of his offense against the omnipotent personality of God. His guilt increases, making him feel as though every word of the sermon is spoken personally to him.
Later, Stephen's thoughts turn to Emma (the girl about whom he fantasizes), the "packet of pictures" he hid, and the "foul long letters" which he left in a place where he was certain that some unknown girl would find them and read them. He shamefully entreats the Blessed Virgin, who is less stern toward the sinner than God the Father, to understand his mistakes and have mercy on him—despite his terrible sins.
On the second day of the retreat, the sermon begins with these fearsome words from Isaiah 5:14: "Hell has enlarged its soul and opened its mouth without any limits." In other words, Hell has not yet gorged itself. Hell is still hungry—hungry for Stephen.
Stephen hears how God's once-beloved angel Lucifer, because of his pride, was hurled into the everlasting darkness of Hell by a vengeful God. Lucifer's sin was his refusal to serve God (non serviam). In order to fill the seats left vacant by Lucifer and his cohorts, God created Adam and Eve, but even they failed to obey His commands. Thus began the "inheritance" of mankind's sinful nature.
The retreat master reminds the boys that they were redeemed from Original Sin (their inherited sinful nature) by the death of Jesus Christ, who suffered crucifixion for the remission of the sins of the world. However, this reminder of God's supreme sacrifice of His son fails to comfort Stephen; instead, it causes him to grow increasingly remorseful as the speaker depicts ever more vividly the dark, burning punishments of Hell.
These graphic descriptions of Hell—its stench and its torments—are extremely painful for Stephen because the retreat master continually dwells on how the sinner will suffer through the senses—what the sinner will hear, what he will smell, what he will see, and the pain he will feel. Remember that despite Stephen’s cold, rather contemptuous intellectuality, he has, since the beginning of this novel—ever since the moocow incident—perceived the world around him primarily in terms of his sensory awareness of it. Here, during Father Arnall's sermons, Stephen's deepest fears become frighteningly real. As he listens to the retreat master describe the crowded confinement of Hell, he can almost feel the bodies of the damned; as he imagines the smoky darkness of Hell, his eyes struggle to see; as he imagines the shrieking cacophony of Hell, his ears throb with pain; and as he imaginatively inhales the reeking inferno into which he will be cast for eternity because of his sins, the smell is overpowering.
But, Arnall emphasizes, the physical torture in Hell is only a part of eternal damnation; the psychological punishment will be as terrible as the physical punishment. He stresses that people who are consigned to Hell will have to endure the piercing, painful howls of the other damned sinners, as well as the jeers of the demons—all the while knowing that escape is impossible. Once a person is in Hell, there is no escape: he is there for eternity.
With his "legs shaking and the scalp of his head trembling as though it had been touched by ghostly fingers," Stephen leaves the chapel, horrified and guilty, fiercely aware of his need to be saved. Although he knows that he must make an immediate confession, he asks God to forgive his reluctance to do so in the college chapel because his shame is too great.
Later, after Father Arnall has discussed the physical existence of Hell in the first sermon and the physical and psychological torments in the second sermon, he begins his third sermon. Using Psalms 30:23 as an introduction, he describes the spiritual pain in Hell, focusing particularly on the poena damni, the pain of loss when one is removed from God's sight. Using bold, concrete imagery, he describes the cruel worm's (Satan's) "triple sting," the pain of conscience which causes the sinner to (1) remember his past pleasures with disgust, (2) see the "hideous malice" of the sin as God Himself sees it, and (3) realize that he deliberately chose not to repent and, therefore, must suffer damnation for eternity. The retreat master concludes by leading the congregation in an act of contrition.
Overwhelmed by the searing impact of the sermon, Stephen humbly returns to his room; he examines his conscience, and, one by one, he calculates the magnitude of his sins. Later, as he climbs into bed, his imagination conjures up cruel, grotesque creatures, crowding around him in filthy, foul-smelling surroundings, swishing their long tails.
Shaken, Stephen flings back the blankets, absolutely convinced that God has given him this ominous vision in order to enable him to see "the hell [which was being] reserved for his sins."
Stephen vomits profusely "in agony," prays to the Blessed Virgin for help, and begins wandering through the "slimy" streets of Dublin in search of a remote church where some unknown priest can hear his confession. At a chapel on Church Street, he finds an old, kindly Capuchin cleric who listens lackadaisically, gives him his penance, and tells him platitudinously to ask the Blessed Virgin for help in overcoming temptation.
Relieved and elated, Stephen leaves the chapel in a state of grace. Next morning, he takes Holy Communion during Mass and vows to begin a new life of purity and sanctity.
