"The Fantasy of Purity Is Appalling": (De)constructing Identity in The Human Stain

ABSTRACT:Criticism on Philip Roth's The Human Stain (2000) has often suggested that the novel be viewed as a celebration of the asocial individualism of the protagonist, Coleman Silk. "(De)constructing Identity in The Human Stain" claims that although certain perspectives in the novel—those of Coleman, his sister Ernestine, and Nathan Zuckerman—disclose their investment in Coleman's project of self-determination, these viewpoints are undermined by the text in important ways. Indeed, this essay argues that the novel accommodates a position that is antithetical to Coleman's belief that he can transcend his own history, reading Roth's novel in light of Alasdair MacIntyre's insistence that one's life must be understood in the context of a narrative over which one has limited control.