Fate and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce does not present fate or destiny as a prominent theme. However, I believe that fate does seem to play a role in Stephen's life. In the book Stephen must decide whether to follow the path of priesthood, or take the opportunities that life as an artist would present him. Inside, Stephen is truly an artist and has been since he was a little boy. He has always been interested by the arrangement of words, and the way they can convey his feelings. He is introverted, and appears to spend most of the novel in his own world, and realizing that indeed life as a catholic priest would be too structured, killing the artist inside of him. It seems that Stephen was always meant to be an artist because of who he was as a person. Perhaps Father Arnall's sermon, E.C., Eileen and other occurances helped Stephen to realize that he would be happiest only by abandoning his faith and pursuing his artistic talents. It was Stephen's destiny to become and artist.