«A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man» represents the transitional stage between the realism of Joyce's «Dubliners» and the symbolism of «Ulysses» and is essential to the understanding of the later work. The novel is a highly autobiographical account of the adolescence and youth of Stephen Dedalus, who reappears in Ulysses, and who comes to realize that before he can become a true artist, he must rid himself of the stultifying effects of the religion, politics and essential bigotry of his background in late 19th century Ireland.