How do the characters understand the beauty?

Beauty, Sensitivity, and Imagination

"What begins as sensitivity and imagination in the child Stephen eventually evolves into a near-obsessive contemplation of beauty and the mechanics of art. Even as a child, young Stephen is a extraordinarily imaginative and sensitive boy. Eventually, these strong but unarticulated feelings take shape as a passion for the arts. In Chapter 5, Stephen has developed a theory of aesthetics that is quite sophisticated for a university student; he thinks carefully and thoroughly about beauty and the power of art, and knows that he can do nothing else but pursue the life of a poet and writer."

Stephen believes that in order to appreciate and create true beauty, he must escape the imposed beliefs of the Catholic religion; he see beauty as the real "truth."