The Re-Enactment of the Word as Words in the Art of James Joyce

The literary works of James Joyce are unique expressions/portraits of the artist as creator. This need to objectify himself through his "creations" is informed by two distinct creator models: the Biblical creator of Genesis and the Gnostic demiurge/craftsman. These two models correspond to the conscious/unconscious dynamics underlying the process of creative activity. In the course of his literary career, Joyce moves away from the Biblical/Christian/Catholic model of the creator archetype as an omniscient entity and gradually embraces the model of the semi-omniscient, semi-conscious, Gnostic demiurge as an authentic creative force. This paradigmatic shift, from omniscient, conscious creator/artist to semi-omniscient, semi-conscious demiurge/craftsman, provides a possible explanation of the radical stylistic and thematic diversity characterizing Joyce's narrative works from Stephen Hero to Finnegans Wake.