Portnoy’s Complaint (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Philip Roth
- First Published: 1969
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: Mid-twentieth century
- Setting: Newark, New Jersey
- Principal Characters: Alexander Portnoy, Sophie Portnoy, Jack Portnoy, Mary Jane Reed, Kay Campbell, Sarah Abbott Maulsby, Naomi
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Sex or sexuality, 1940’s, Guilt, 1930’s, Obsession, New Jersey, Jews and Gentiles, Psychoanalysis or psychoanalysts, Bar Mitzvahs
- Locales: Manhattan, NY, Europe, Newark, NJ, Israel
The Story:
Alexander Portnoy had a very difficult childhood and young manhood growing up in a lower-middle-class Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey. Part of his problem was his emotionally overcharged home environment; another part was the conflict between his desire to be a dutiful son and his wish to enjoy life to the utmost as a fully assimilated American. As a result he became highly neurotic and sought therapy from a psychiatrist, Dr. Spielvogel, to whom he recounts the various experiences that form the novel.
Portnoy’s mother, Sophie, was an overbearing woman...
[The entire page is 1969 words long]
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