The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit.
James JoyceRead
I think a child should be allowed to take his father's or mother's name at will on coming of age. Paternity is a legal fiction.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Joyce suggests that a child should have the freedom to choose their parental identity as they come of age, emphasizing the arbitrary nature of paternity.
In this quote, James Joyce presents a thought-provoking perspective on the nature of identity and parentage. He argues that the designation of a child's identity through their parents' names is not absolute, but rather a societal construct that should be subject to personal choice. By expressing that 'paternity is a legal fiction,' Joyce critiques the rigid definitions imposed by society and invites a more fluid understanding of familial connections, allowing individuals the autonomy to define themselves. This reflects broader themes of identity, autonomy, and the complexities of familial relationships.
Themes
IdentityPaternityFreedomAutonomyFamily
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a discussion on identity and family dynamics.
More from James Joyce
All quotes βIf he had smiled why would he have smiled? To reflect that each one who enters imagines himself to be the first to enter whereas he is always the last term of a preceding series even if the first term of a succeeding one, each imagining himself to be first, last, only and alone whereas he is neither first nor last nor only nor alone in a series originating in and repeated to infinity.
James JoyceRead
Gentle lady, do not sing Sad songs about the end of love; Lay aside sadness and sing How love that passes is enough. Sing about the long deep sleep Of lovers that are dead, and how In the grave all love shall sleep: Love is aweary now.
James JoyceRead
I am tomorrow, or some future day, what I establish today. I am today what I established yesterday or some previous day.
James JoyceRead
The movements which work revolutions in the world are born out of the dreams and visions in a peasant's heart on the hillside.
James JoyceRead
She respected her husband in the same way as she respected the General Post Office, as something large, secure and fixed: and though she knew the small number of his talents she appreciated his abstract value as a male.
James JoyceRead
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