![]() ![]() This essay argues that The Facts never quite realizes the potential of such intersubjectivity, as the novelist persists in purging those who undermine his personal boundaries even by the end of the autobiography. Roth, however, eventually accepts the influence of the maternal on his life, realizing that it is precisely the violation of the singular self that facilitates compassion. Both men desire to be hard, masculine, and self-sufficient. Like his father in Patrimony, Roth initially resists succumbing to the feminine. In The Facts, his wife and mother repeatedly encroach upon the author’s singularity. In both texts, Roth’s significant “others” make demands on him, threatening his “supremely independent” identity. ![]() ![]() Matrimony: Re-Conceiving the Mother in Philip Roth’s Life Writing Matrimony: Re-Conceiving the Mother in Philip Roth’s Life WritingĪbstract: While Philip Roth has written many “autobiographical” novels, this essay focuses on The Facts (1988) and Patrimony (1991), the novelist’s two explicit works of life writing. ![]()
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