An Ethical Analysis Of Enemies,A Love Story

Enemies,A Love Story is a masterpiece by the outstanding American Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer(1904-1991),who obtained the Nobel Prize for literature in 1978.It is the first time that Singer has made America as the setting of his novel.Enemies,A Love Story shows some Holocaust survivors' life and romantic entanglement in America.Based on ethical literary criticism,this thesis studies the ethical structure of this novel.This thesis also employs feminist ethics of care to study the ethical care between main characters,and further explores Singer's ethical position.Professor Nie Zhenzhao believes,the ethical structure is constituted by ethical lines and ethical knots.Apart from the major ethical line,a literary work often has some minor ethical lines.The protagonist Herman's ethical predicament is the major ethical line in the novel,which is mainly embodied in two ethical knots.One is Herman's ethical selection between adhering to monogamy and being a lecher with three wives;the other is Herman's ethical dilemma between having children and being childless.Because Herman cannot get rid of his ethical predicament,he ultimately leaves everybody.Three women's entangled relationship with Herman constitutes one minor ethical line in the novel.According to feminist ethics of care,women's care for others can be classified into self-preservation,self-sacrifice and balanced care.Masha tends to be selfish.She seduces Herman to satisfy her sexual desires and extorts emotional and financial support from Herman in order to ensure her own survival.Yadwiga sacrifices herself for Herman's sake.She jeopardizes her own life to protect Herman in the Holocaust,serves him wholeheartedly and converts to Judaism for Herman after the Holocaust.Tamara achieves a balance between caring herself and caring Herman.Tamara understands Herman,offers him financial suggestion and acts as Herman's moral guide,while she strives to realize her own self-worth.Ethical care among three women is the other minor ethical line in the novel.Masha tends to be selfish,holds hostility towards Yadwiga and Tamara,and she puts her own interests at the first place.Yadwiga is willing to sacrifice her own interests for Tamara.She sympathizes with Tamara,proposes to leave Herman and offers herself to be Tamara's servant.Tamara includes both Yadwiga's interests and her own interests into her care.Tamara supports Yadwiga emotionally and financially,while she manages to make her own achievement.In Enemies,A Love Story,Singer advocates that Jews should adhere to Jewish ethics,and he expresses his sympathy for Holocaust survivors and his denouncement towards the Nazis.Singer praises those supportive and kind-hearted non-Jews and he advocates friendship and love between Jews and non-Jews.Singer criticizes some women's selfishness in the relationship with others,and thinks highly of women who make contribution to others while they also realize their own self-worth.