# Stephen Dedalus — Ulysses character guide > Stephen Dedalus in Ulysses by James Joyce. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Stephen, Dedalus, Simon Dedalus, Stephen MacKenna, Stephen Stringendo, young Stephen, Kinch, Stephen Cardinal, Stephen Stick **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Snapshot A grieving young scholar who won't pray for his dying mother, Stephen haunts the tower and the schoolroom, armed with Aristotle and a guilt he can't argue away. ## Who they are Stephen shares a Martello tower with the mocking Buck Mulligan and an Englishman he distrusts, playing the cold intellectual while his mother's death gnaws at him. He teaches history to boys who barely listen and trades barbs with Dublin's literary set, refusing to bend for anyone's approval. His restless, wounded mind sets the novel's tone: a son in search of a father, and a conscience in search of peace. ## Relationships ### [Buck Mulligan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/buck_mulligan) _friendship_ Buck Mulligan is Stephen's irreverent, mocking friend and housemate who both entertains and antagonizes him with his cynical wit. ### [Leopold Bloom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/leopold_bloom) _friendship_ Bloom acts as a paternal, compassionate figure to Stephen, offering him kindness and guidance throughout their night together. ### [Zoe Higgins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/zoe_higgins) _social_ Stephen encounters Zoe, a prostitute, in Nighttown; their interaction is fleeting and transactional within the brothel setting. ### [Molly Bloom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/molly_bloom) _psychological_ Molly is intrigued by Stephen as a young intellectual, and her thoughts about him mix maternal curiosity with romantic fantasy. ### [Haines](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/haines) _social_ Haines is an English student staying with Stephen and Mulligan, whose well-meaning but patronizing attitude creates tension. ### [Mr Deasy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/mr_deasy) _professional_ Mr. Deasy is Stephen's employer at the school, a pedantic and anti-Semitic headmaster who lectures Stephen on history and money. ### [Lynch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/lynch) _friendship_ Lynch is a fellow medical student and friend of Stephen, sharing his intellectual cynicism and accompanying him through Nighttown. ### [Richie Goulding](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/richie_goulding) _family_ Richie Goulding is Stephen's maternal uncle, a kind but impoverished man whom Stephen visits and feels a distant familial connection to. ### [Buck Mulligan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/buck_mulligan) _friendship_ Buck Mulligan is Stephen's irreverent, mocking friend and housemate who both entertains and antagonizes him with his cynical wit. ### [Zoe Higgins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/zoe_higgins) _social_ Stephen encounters Zoe, a prostitute, in Nighttown; their interaction is fleeting and transactional within the brothel setting. ### [Leopold Bloom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/leopold_bloom) _friendship_ Bloom acts as a paternal, compassionate figure to Stephen, offering him kindness and guidance throughout their night together. ### [Richie Goulding](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/richie_goulding) _family_ Richie Goulding is Stephen's maternal uncle, a kind but impoverished man whom Stephen visits and feels a distant familial connection to. ## In the story ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/i) Brooding and guilt-ridden over his mother's death, refuses to pray at her bedside, and feels alienated from Mulligan and Haines. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/i) Grieving his mother's death, brooding over Mulligan's taunts, and reflecting on his refusal to pray at her bedside. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/ii) Teaches a history class, reflects on his own childhood and the nature of history, and receives payment from Mr. Deasy. ### [Proteus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/iii) Protagonist of the chapter; walks on Sandymount Strand, engages in deep philosophical meditation, recalls family interactions, and reflects on his past and artistic aspirations. ### [Proteus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/iii) Stephen's father; his voice is recalled in Stephen's thoughts, commenting on family and Stephen's artistic brother. ### [Aeolus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/vii) Arrives at the newspaper office with Mr Deasy's letter; listens to the discussion and Taylor's speech. ### [Aeolus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/vii) Mocks the bombastic prose and leaves with Ned Lambert for a drink. ### [Lestrygonians](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/viii) Quoted by Bloom in a remark about Parnell. ### [Scylla and Charybdis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/ix) Presents his theory on Shakespeare and Hamlet, linking the playwright's life to his works. ### [Wandering Rocks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/x) Stephen watches a lapidary at work, browses a bookcart, and encounters his sister Dilly, feeling a sense of guilt and despair. ### [Wandering Rocks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/x) Simon Dedalus meets Father Cowley, then finds his daughter Dilly and gives her money, while joking about his own poverty. ### [Chapter XI: Sirens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xi) Simon Dedalus sings and praises Ben Dollard's performance. ### [Oxen of the Sun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xiv) Engages in philosophical and theological debate, speaks of calling ghosts across Lethe, and is reminded of his mother's death and his artistic promise. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xv) Stephen is shown asleep or unconscious, murmuring fragments of poetry, while Bloom watches over him. ### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xvi) Stephen is tired and crosstempered, having not eaten properly for two days. He dismisses Bloom's attempts at conversation and later gives Corley advice about a job at Mr Deasy's school. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xvii) Walks with Bloom, discusses various topics, urinates in the garden, and departs after entering Bloom's home. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xvii) Mentioned as being in bed among the company that traveled from Sandymount to Glasnevin. ### [Penelope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/chapters/xviii) Young man Bloom brought home; Molly considers him staying and imagines teaching him Spanish. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters/stephen_dedalus - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ulysses_se/characters