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The Ghostwriter

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The Ghostwriter Van Damme 1 Karen Van Damme Dr. Leen Maes Master thesis English literature 30 July 2008 The evolution of Nathan Zuckerman in Philip Roth’s The Ghost Writer and Exit Ghost. 0. Introduction I was introduced to Philip Roth and the compelling voice of his fiction during a series of lectures on the topic of Jewish-American authors by Prof. Dr. Versluys in 2006 at Ghent University. The Counterlife (1986) was one of the novels on the reading list, in which I encountered for the first time his famous protagonist, Nathan Zuckerman. Ever since I have read this novel, I have been intrigued by Roth‟s work. My introduction to Jewish-American writing has made a lasting impression through him, which is why the choice was an easy one to make when we were asked to select a topic for this master thesis. I will not be dealing with Philip Roth‟s whole oeuvre, since the man is such a prolific writer and his work is in title to a thorough discussion. I will write about the first and the last novel in his Zuckerman-series, namely The Ghost Writer (1979) and Exit Ghost (2007). Nathan Zuckerman can be seen as Roth‟s alter-ego, an American- Jewish writer with a sharp pen. Since I have, unfortunately, only had the opportunity to read four of the eight Zuckerman-novels, I want to make it absolutely clear that the two novels mentioned here will be the sole basis for my analysis of the story-line and the character named Nathan Zuckerman. Van Damme 2 […] the fact that he himself is such an eloquent and persuasive critic of his own work, and that other criticism of Roth has become something of a minor (or maybe not so minor) industry, makes the task of finding something new and worthwhile to say about his work a challenging one. ( Brauner 2) In his introduction to Philip Roth (2007), David Brauner managed quite well to capture the feeling that overtook me as I had just started my research into the literature about and by the prolific author Philip Roth, and so this quote very adequately reveals the challenge inherent in the task I have set myself. Many critics have gone before me in writing about this Jewish-American novelist and I realize very well that these are big shoes to fill, especially when considering that Roth has written and spoken about his own work on numerous occasions. Since it is impossible to read everything that is written on the subject of Roth and The Ghost Writer, I had to narrow down the material I was going to use for that part of my thesis. I did not have to go through a similar process when discussing Exit Ghost though. Due to the fact that this novel has been published only a year ago, I have been unable to find many secondary sources. However, by comparing the two novels it was possible to relate certain elements in the novel to literature that discusses Roth‟s work more in general. My master thesis will consist of two major parts. There are many references to The Ghost Writer to be found in Exit Ghost which made it very interesting to compare certain aspects that are linked to the character of Nathan Zuckerman specifically and to some of the other characters more in general. I will discuss Jewishness, authorship and postmodern elements in each novel and contrast my findings in the final conclusion. I have decided to put in an introductory chapter also that deals with the possible autobiographical nature of Roth‟s fictional writing, since this will provide further insight into his novels. Van Damme 3 1. Roth and autobiography Before starting my analysis of the two novels, there is one question I should address in order to make clear where I stand when reading and discussing Roth‟s work. There has been some discussion with regard to the question whether Roth can be seen as an autobiographical writer or not. Due to the many similarities in Roth‟s own life to that of Nathan Zuckerman, it is alluring to jump to conclusions. However, there is more to it than meets the eye. In his autobiography The Facts: A Novelist’s Autobiography1 written in 1988, in which the similarities mentioned above can be easily discovered, Roth makes his view on the autobiographical interpretation of his own novels abundantly clear. I am familiar with Roland Barthes‟ idea that the author of a text is dead, metaphorically speaking. Still, in the case of these particular novels I believe that a look at Roth‟s own ideas on authorship can contribute to an understanding of his writing rather than form a limitation, especially because he does not try to simplify the problem or to impose his interpretation on the reader. In fact, what Roth seems to being doing in The Facts is to question several issues related to the process of writing and to the introduction of autobiographical elements into fiction. His vision can be placed next to those of other critics and can form a valuable contribution in my opinion, though we should not grant it a superior position. It is just another way of gaining insight into the meaning of his texts, but this possibility definitely deserves some attention and further exploration. I will first introduce the vision of Alan Cooper as discussed by Margaret Smith in her essay “Autobiography: False Confession?”, and I will discuss her own vision as well. Margaret Smith writes: Alan Cooper, in his Philip Roth and the Jews (1996), refers to The Facts categorically as autobiography, the nature of which would “finally disclose or confirm [that] whole episodes 1 When using quotes from The Facts, I will indicate the page in the following manner : e.g.(Facts 1) Van Damme 4 and some key plots of the sixties‟ and seventies‟ novels were indeed drawn from Roth‟s young adult life, [and] that major characters were fictionalizations of friends, relatives, lovers and his first wife. (Smith 99) According to Cooper, “all Roth‟s narratives could be construed as fiction” (Smith 99) prior to the publication of The Facts. He claims that the publication of The Facts opens up the possibility for speculations about how certain scenarios in Roth‟s fictional work might be seen as “re- enactments of his past life.” (Smith 99) He then goes on to caution us that “they [the facts] have already been assaulted by the imagination” (Smith 99), therefore we can never be sure. In Margaret Smith‟s words: “Hence any attempt to link life and fiction is mere conjecture.” (Smith 99) She goes on to say: “I argue that Roth does not write autobiography as such and that his fiction is not a mere rendition of facts colored by his imagination. On the contrary, Roth contrives to blur the boundaries of both fiction and autobiography as a narrative strategy; indeed, this can be understood as his own personal stance regarding his work.” (Smith 100) In The Facts, Roth introduces a vision similar to that of Cooper and Smith. Roth starts his autobiography with a letter to his alter-ego Nathan Zuckerman, asking him whether he – Roth – should publish The Facts or not. This act in itself already reveals the complexity of the relation that exists between fiction and reality, they seem to have become intertwined. I will come back to this relation when I deal with certain postmodern characteristics of the novels under discussion in this thesis. In his letter, Roth claims that writing his autobiography has been a reversal of the process by which he normally creates his fictional work. “Yet, to my surprise, I now appear to have gone about writing a book absolutely backward, taking what I already imagined and, as it were, desiccating it, so as to restore my experience to the original, prefictionalized factuality.” (Facts 3) He informs Zuckerman – and thereby his readers - how his own life has been the starting point for his novels. But the „facts‟ of his life Van Damme 5 which where the source of his inspiration have been changed in order to make them less ordinary. This was what Alan Cooper was talking about when he said that “they [the facts] have already been assaulted by imagination.” (Smith 99) According to Roth‟s description, his fiction consists of a transformation of certain events and persons taken from his own life. He conceives of his writing as being “a kind of intricate explanation to myself of my world”(Facts 4) Autobiographical elements and fantasy are mixed together into a more interesting blend according to him. So these autobiographical facts are placed in what is often an entirely different context, and certain changes are added to reach more effect. A relevant example is the fact that Philip Roth‟s father has always supported his son‟s writing, even when the Jewish community reacted furious after the publication of “Portnoy‟s Complaint”. In The Ghost Writer this scenario is obviously altered dramatically: Nathan Zuckerman‟s father does not want him to publish his story „Higher Education‟ because he – in line with the Jewish community in general - thinks it is disrespectful towards the Jews. This transformation heightens the dramatic impact of Roth‟s rebellion against his Jewish background drastically, making it more personal and interesting to the reader. “So why claim biographical visibility now, especially as I was educated to believe that the independent reality of the fiction is all there is of importance and that writers should remain in the shadows” (Facts 4) Apparently, Roth also struggles with the question whether or not his autobiography could possibly become an obstacle for reading his fiction.
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