What role does Stephen's burgeoning sexuality play in his development as a character?

What begins as sensitivity and imagination in the child Stephen eventually evolves into a near-obsessive contemplation of beauty, sex, 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.