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
encounters, he is compulsorily rendered to be unsuccessful in his search for a comprehensively defined identity, or sense of freedom. Philip Roth starts employing meta-fíctional techniques because he intends to interpret not only the dimensions 'beyond' reality, or 'beyond' 'art-experiences' but also the ones, which occasionally shape, control and distort the creative process. The definitions of freedom the Rothian protagonists reach in The Breast , My Life as a Man and The Professor of Desire are only partially valid. These definitions ignore exactly the aspect, which the protagonist is desperately in need of, or at least acknowledges as a definite priority. This priority is authority over his well-defined self, resulting from adequate understanding and interpretation of the effects of objective and subjective chronology, personal and authorial drives, aesthetic commitment and ultimately, his right to free choice. David Kepesh and Peter Tarnopol try to explain their existence on the basis of art-experiences, which they constantly misinterpret and rarely, if ever are able to master. Nathan Zuckerman is a relevant exception in this respect but as we are going to see his status restricts his possibilities. David Kepesh's and Peter Tarnopol's faith in the power of words results in them verbalising all the secrets of their private lives in the hope that this can help them overcome their traumas, much in the fashion of earlier Rothian characters. Tricky Dixon, the anti-hero of Our Gang is an extremely negative character and Philip Roth's intentions are clearly of a different nature in that novel. Alexander Portnoy 'complains' and fails to handle his own problems. Still he seems to come out 'victoriously' through his textual manipulations and through his attempts to claim authority over Spielvogel's diagnosis. David Kepesh, the professor of desire lectures on literature and attempts to interpret his disoriented sexual greed through literary experiences rather than examine reality or understand the nature and power of art. The Professor of Desire exemplifies Philip Roth's taste for manipulation. I 'restore' the logical and chronological sequence of the novels that present the fate of the professor of comparative literature, firstly discussing some aspects of the protagonist's search for freedom in The Professor of Desire. 112
