The final and longest chapter of the novel begins as Stephen sifts absently through pawn tickets that have provided money for the Dedalus family to buy bare necessities. His mother chides him that he'll be late for class, and later she voices her fears that a university education will change him. Meanwhile, his father curses him for laziness. Feigning lightheartedness, Stephen bids them good-bye and is off to the world of the university.
In the next scene, we see that Stephen is not a model scholar. During an English literature lecture, for example, he is bored with the tedium of routine literary application. His mind wanders, making it impossible for him to concentrate. He attempts to escape the confinement of the uninspiring lecture by thinking about words—their arrangement, their Latin derivatives, and their use in poetry—and he wonders if he’ll ever escape routine study and be able to "forge out an esthetic philosophy" of his own.
At present, Stephen's theory of aesthetics is still in the formative stage, as is his personality and his character. However, during this chapter, we will see elements of his past life falling away gradually as Stephen interacts with his friends and university teachers who bring out new aspects of his evolving "young artist" self. By comparing Stephen with each of the characters he meets and speaks with, we can see how his intellect, his attitudes, and his aesthetic philosophy begin to take on new depths. For example, when MacCann approaches Stephen on the way to class, he calls Stephen "antisocial"; unlike his "democrat[ic]" classmate, Stephen is unconcerned about "equality among all classes and sexes."
The next student we meet is Davin, a simple but intense "peasant student," who addresses Stephen by the familiar name of "Stevie." Although Stephen is fond of Davin and values his passion and his athletic ability, he feels that Davin's loyalty to "the sorrowful legend of Ireland" makes him something of a "dullwitted loyal serf" (to England) and to the dying cause of Irish nationalism. Davin's provincial speech and attitudes are a marked contrast to the new, experimental eloquence of Stephen’s thoughts and expressions. This contrast is best illustrated in Davin's recollection of his encounter with a young peasant woman. Although his experience loosely parallels Stephen’s encounter with the girl standing in the stream (both women beckoned the men "without guile"), Stephen's poetic account elevates his experience to the level of art. In contrast, Davin's narrative, filled with crude Irish idioms, reduces his encounter to a shameful reality which is ultimately reflected in the eyes of a brash flower girl who greets them on the street in "her ragged dress . . . damp coarse hair and hoydenish face."
As Stephen goes toward the lecture hall, he meets the Dean of Studies, who engages him in a discussion of aesthetics and the responsibility of the artist. Speaking to the dean metaphorically about the nature of artistic enlightenment, Stephen attributes his own thoughts on the matter to the ideas of Aristotle and Aquinas. The dean’s limited, literal understanding of Stephen's theoretical discourse frustrates Stephen and ultimately makes him pity the "faithful servingman" who fulfills his occupation without possessing true knowledge.
Stephen’s discussion with the dean concludes when the physics professor enters and attempts to teach a group of willful, inconsiderate students. Joyce's emphasis on the ineffectiveness of Ireland's educational system is the impetus of this scene.
Afterward, Stephen takes part in a spirited discussion among a group of his fellow students. Later, he meets Cranly, a friend who, like the others, wants to discuss MacCann’s petition for disarmament and the promotion of world peace. Stephen becomes irritated at Cranly’s questioning and his insistence that Stephen sign the petition.
Stephen uses this situation as an opportunity to exert his independent thinking on the matter, and while doing so, he impresses Temple, an emotional, melodramatic fellow student. Temple follows Stephen around like an eager disciple, fervently supporting Stephen’s decision not to sign the petition. His fawning attachment to Stephen so aggravates Cranly that Cranly tells Stephen, ". . . curse him! . . . Don’t talk to him at all . . . you might as well be talking . . . to a flaming chamberpot as talking to Temple!'
Soon, Cranly and Stephen are joined by two other students, Lynch and Davin, who provide Stephen with another opportunity to enunciate his developing aesthetic philosophy. Later, during a hurling match, Davin shows concern for Stephen’s growing isolation and his self-exalting pride; Davin urges him to embrace his Irish heritage: "Try to be one of us," he says. Stephen immediately rejects the suggestion and denounces Davin’s dauntless patriotism and vows to "fly by those nets" of "nationality, language, and religion" which threaten to confine him.
