Abstract

This chapter examines the ‘adomical’ motif of the ‘Phoenix’. This motif is secretly associated with the theme of Sin in the beginning of the Portrait of the Artist. The chapter first studies Finnegans Wake, which contains a combination of different levels of meaning and usually paradoxical interferences. It then looks at the role of the phoenix and Phoenix Park in the life of Joyce's Earwicker family. Finally, the chapter considers the Augustinian theme of felix culpa and the Wakean signifier.