Can we excuse geniuses?

In James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, there is no contradicting that Stephen is intelligent. He is described to be a genius with his exceptional intellect and natural abilities. But does being a genius excuse him for his lack social skills and the way he treats his family?

For his whole life, Stephen’s family sacrificed so much to make Stephen educated. Even from their transition from riches to rags Stephen went to the best schools, and always had what he needed. Stephen most probably was the only one out of his (don’t even know number) siblings to get the opportunities he did. But Stephen never thinks about this. Not once throughout the book does he acknowledge how much his family has done for him, perhaps he never even noticed. He goes on with his life thinking only about himself and his advancement to becoming a writer. I don’t know about the traditions of old Ireland, but in many countries children, especially the oldest son tries to help support the family. I’m not even sure if it crossed Stephen’s mind that his family was in trouble, let alone helping them out. But all of this is brushed over because we mainly look at his journey in becoming a writer (because we are listening through Stephen’s thoughts only). I just don’t understand how Stephen can go about his own world without thinking twice about his family.

To focus on his own development, Stephen needed to separate himself from his family, kind of like how superheroes have to detach themselves from their family so they can fight crime without their family getting in the way (but instead to invent new and creative ways of writing). But still I don’t see this as a way to isolate your family, especially when they have done so much for you. Or maybe I don’t understand it because I’m not a genius.