Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2000. [Vol. 6.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 26)

Studies - Tibor Tóth: The Golden Cradle: Philip Roth's Revision of the Golden Bough Tradition

Some critics consider that this novel is a kind of answer, a thumbed nose shown to the critics who misinterpreted The Breast. Actually The Professor of Desire offers the case history of the hero of an earlier Philip Roth novel, The Breast. There he was transformed into a huge mammary gland because of his inability to bridge the gap between wild imagination, savage lust, and the intentions of textual authority over his fate. Sanford Pinsker amplifies this notion by pointing out that David Kepesh is the victim of archetypal human conflicts. "Young David is caught between temptation and restraint, between the impulses of exhibitionism and the aftermaths of shame" (Sanford 124-125). David Kepesh claims that at twenty he must stop impersonating others and become himself, or at least begin to impersonate the self he ought to be, but this he cannot do. The reason for his inability is closely connected to his approach to great artists. He impersonates artists and fictional characters and mystifies his mistaken Hungarian Royale interpretation of male superiority instead of reflecting on them as possible 'art' or life experiences and as a result the dangers of overidentification increase with every new attempt to assert his right to free choice. Yet Philip Roth is unusually clear about the fictionally biographical sources of David Kepesh's alienation in the Hungarian Royale syndrome. While still a child David is attracted by perplexing models of 'superior' male identity, which he does not discuss with his father and would not even think of consulting his mother about. The people associated with the Hungarian Royale admire Herbie's perfect body. Herbie is considered to be a great entertainer considerably admired by women and the male members occasionally secretly savour his obscenities in the hotel. David for some time behaves like a new Candide who admires the ideal male image Herbie seems to stand for. As time passes David understands that his duty is to 'get somewhere' and strengthens his intellect instead of his muscles but the influence of the 'idol's' obscenities obstructs all his attempts to become a conscientious intellectual and even to chart the road to freedom. His extensive reading, the intellectual urge to adjust reality to alternatives for interpretation offered by high art only emphasise his addiction to this kind of desire. The dependence he develops through 113