THE PORTRAIT OF THE AMERICAN “ANTI-HERO” IN PHILIP ROTH‟S NOVELS
THE PORTRAIT OF THE AMERICAN “ANTI-HERO” IN PHILIP ROTH‟S NOVELS

Summary/Abstract: Roth‘s world, as presented in his novels, is portrayed through the relationship between opposite sexes and a complicated gender relations. On the surface, his world seems to be overwhelmingly masculine. The relationships seem to be determined by the man, but in closer observation, the woman‘s dominance is very clear. This dominance begins in the family by the dominance of the woman over the man. The man, who as a child has been protected and overpowered by the mother, is unable to act in other situations, by himself. He leaves weak women and strives to find the strong ones. When he finds one, he resumes his role as a son, not an autonomous man. Thus, Roth‘s protagonist fails to commit himself to the realities of the world outside, to other people, and to the relationships he establishes. This failure of commitment is the result of an intensive lack of self-knowledge. This lack of awareness and recognition of self is a consequence of the female‘s dominance over the male in Roth‘s work, for though Roth‘s is an overwhelmingly masculine world, women control it.

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