Joyce's novels refer to sex constantly and therefore Joyce's imagery has plenty of sexual connotations. An example of imagery related to sex is found in some dichotomies alluding to the senses in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Here, as Valerie Pursel points out, sex is given a negative value when it is presented in the dichotomies "wet/ dry" and "hot/ cold". In the novel wet things relate to natural responses, such as the flood of adolescent sexual feelings which causes Stephen guilt and shame ; and dry thins relate to learned behaviour. With regard to the dichotomy "hot/cold", "hot" is symbolic of the intensity of physical affection (and, in some cases, sin) and cold is symbolic of order and chastity.

(Section 4 in "Joyce's Use of Imagery in Different Topics")

As we can observe in the novel, the different manifestations of the senses are condemned by the Church as they are considered the source of carnal sins. This idea, which appears in Stephen's mind in the voice of the Church, torments him constantly as he wants to be a good Catholic and he sins quite frequently.

On page 163, we find and example in which Stephen, repented for his sins, decides to mortify his senses with a hard discipline for each sense; for instance, in order to mortify his sight he does the following: "(...) to walk in the street with downcast eyes (...). His eyes shunned every encounter with the eyes of women (...)".

However, this mortification of the five senses which the protagonist carry out, is not successful, as the temptation of that perverse action in which all the senses take part does not disappear. At the end of the novel Stephen will not suffer any more with his senses as he will refuse Catholicism.

(Section 3 in "The Senses in the Artist's World")