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Shem the Penman

Shem is the artistic twin son of HCE and ALP—a writer, exile, and bohemian who is Joyce's satirical self-portrait. He represents introversion, creativity, heresy, and the transformative power of art.

Quick Reference​

AttributeDetail
RoleSon, artist, writer, exile
Sigil⊏ (open to the left—introvert)
TwinShaun the Postman
Key ChapterI.7 ("Shem the Penman")
Key Phrase"Shem is short for Shemus"

Names and Manifestations​

Shem appears under many names, always in opposition to Shaun:

As ShemAs Shaun
ShemShaun
The PenmanThe Post
GluggChuff
DolphKev
The GracehoperThe Ondt
MerciusJustius
NickMick
JerryKevin
ButtTaff

Shem as Joyce​

Shem is unmistakably Joyce himself:

ShemJoyce
The "usylessly unreadle Blue Book of Eccles"Ulysses (set on Eccles Street)
Self-exile from IrelandJoyce left Ireland in 1904
Heavy drinkingJoyce's alcoholism
Poor eyesightJoyce's near-blindness
Artistic povertyJoyce's financial struggles
Cowardice during warJoyce avoided WWI/Easter Rising

That Joyce paints such a negative self-portrait shows his commitment to including uncomfortable truths.

The Penman​

Shem is the writer:

"Shem was a sham and a low sham" (p. 170)

While Shaun can only deliver what others write (as the Post), Shem can create—he is the Penman. But his creativity is mocked as:

  • Forgery
  • Shamming
  • Transgression
  • Exile's delusion

The Writing Process (pp. 185–186)​

In a famous grotesque passage, Shem:

  1. Makes ink from his own bodily waste
  2. Writes on his own skin
  3. Transforms excrement into art

This can be read as:

  • Literal grotesquerie (shocking the bourgeois)
  • Artistic metaphor (transforming waste into beauty)
  • Autobiographical (writing from/about the body)
  • Religious (the word made flesh)

Chapter I.7​

Chapter I.7 ("Shem the Penman") is Shaun's character assassination of his brother:

Structure​

  • Shaun as narrator attacks Shem
  • Shem's weaknesses catalogued
  • The house Shem built (from disgusting materials)
  • The writing process described
  • Dialogue between Justius (Shaun) and Mercius (Shem)
  • ALP intervenes to defend her son

Key Passage​

"O, the lowness of him was beneath all up to that sunk to!" (p. 171)

The attack is meant to be both devastating and funny.

Shem vs. Shaun​

The twins represent fundamental oppositions:

ShemShaun
IntrovertExtrovert
ArtistPostman
CreatorDeliverer
HereticOrthodox
ExilePatriot
BohemianBourgeois
TheoryPractice
TimeSpace
HearingSight
TreeStone
FeminineMasculine

Psychological Reading​

  • Shem: The id, base impulses, creativity
  • Shaun: The superego, social rules, conformity

Their Conflict​

The brothers battle throughout the Wake, often over Issy. Their conflict encapsulates all the battles of history—Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Set and Horus.

Mythological Parallels​

FigureRole
CainThe outcast brother
JacobThe trickster twin
SetThe dark brother
RemusThe brother who loses
Satan/NickThe rebel

The Ondt and the Gracehoper​

In Shaun's fable (III.1, pp. 414–419):

  • The Ondt (Ant/Shaun): Industrious, respectable, cold
  • The Gracehoper (Grasshopper/Shem): Artistic, frivolous, warm

The fable inverts Aesop—the Gracehoper's song suggests the artist's freedom may be preferable to the businessman's security.

Shem and His Mother​

ALP defends Shem:

  • At the end of I.7, her voice breaks through Shaun's attack
  • The letter she writes may be in Shem's handwriting
  • As the river, she flows through him

Shem is the "artistic" child—closer to the mother, more emotional, more fluid.

Key Passages​

The Opening (I.7, p. 169)​

"Shem is short for Shemus as Jem is joky for Jacob."

The House (I.7, pp. 176–177)​

The grotesque house Shem builds from body waste.

The Writing (I.7, pp. 185–186)​

Making ink from excrement, writing on skin.

The Gracehoper's Song (III.1, pp. 418–419)​

His response to Shaun's prudent Ondt.

Joyce and Stanislaus​

The Shem/Shaun conflict reflects Joyce's relationship with his brother Stanislaus:

  • Stanislaus was more practical, more orthodox
  • Stanislaus criticized Ulysses
  • When he read the first Wake fragments, Stanislaus wrote: "It is unspeakably wearisome"
  • Joyce was the exile; Stanislaus stayed

Reading Shem​

Tips​

  1. Enjoy the satire — The attack is meant to be funny
  2. Look for Joyce — Autobiographical details abound
  3. Note ALP's intervention — She defends her son
  4. Track the oppositions — Every Shem appearance implies Shaun

Further Reading​

  • Adaline Glasheen, Third Census of Finnegans Wake — Shem entries
  • FWEET — Search Shem appearances

See Also​