Big Question with respect to Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man

My question is very interesting when pertaining to Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. When around other people and much moreso toward the beginning of the novel, Stephen certainly does what society considers to be most physically convenient (sleeping with prostitutes, etc...). There are even hints throughout the book that he is trying to force his path instead of allowing it to find him such as during his search for his calling and his struggle with the church. But ultimately, I find that Stephen rejects those societal standards and chooses to chart his own path through life. Obviously, this is not taking the easy road out, but instead he is willing to struggle and fight for his dreams and his writing. Although Portrait of the Artist doesn't exactly fit with my question, this is what I gathered from Stephen's maturation process. Does anyone have any comments? I'd love to hear feedback because this question doesn't fit exactly with this novel!