A Study On Jewish Female Characters Created By Singer, Malamud, Roth And Bellow

Literary works in a specified period are always closely related with the social, cultural, political and historical background of the specified period. Jewish American literature is no exception. Jewish people thought that they were sufferers and social outcasts. Nobody had ever given them a place. They were people without their own country. As a result, they wandered and settled down in many countries, especially in the United States. The full arrival of competent mature Jewish literature occurred by the end of World WarⅡ. Since then many talented Jewish writers have been in the spotlight of American literature. The status of Jewish literature as an important part of American literature has been firmly established.Among the numerous eminent Jewish American writers are Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth and Saul Bellow. Scholars from home and abroad have made profound researches on the four Jewish writers, exploring issues such as sufferings, identity, alienation and displacement of the Jewish Americans. Despite the uniqueness of these four writers, a common interest of their writing lies in their strikingly exclusive choice of male as the protagonist and female characters, especially Jewish female characters in their writings, are presented as male's auxiliary and subordinate. Therefore, scarce study has been made directly on uncovering their characterization of Jewish female characters as the mainstream, their gradual progress and development, especially against the background of Women's Movement.This Study intends to fill the void, focusing on Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bernard Malamud, Saul Bellow and Philip Roth, highlighting their inherent continuity and logic in the creation of the Jewish female characters in their works with a distinctive influence from different stages of Women's Movement. A gradual development of Jewish female characters and an upward changing process of them can be seen in these four writers' works, which witnesses a transition in Jewish women's identity from an ideal Jewish woman to a fettered pursuer for an ideal life to a Jewish American Princess and finally to a master of her own fate.The study consists of seven chapters. Chapter One provides an introduction to the critical review of studies on Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth and Saul Bellow and their portrait of female characters, which paved the way for a full and systematical understanding of the development and progress of the Jewish female characters in works of these four Jewish American male writers.Chapter Two provides background information about Jewish history, the situation of women throughout history, especially the situation of Jewish women in Jewish tradition, which leads to the understanding of the Jewish women's double marginality due to their race and sex.Chapter Three is devoted to the analysis of Shosha in Singer's Shosha (1979). The image of an ideal Jewish woman indicates the difficulties Jewish women have to overcome in the days to come and Singer's contradictory attitude towards Jewish women.Chapter Four analyzes Malamud's Helen in The Assistant (1957). The image of Helen, to some extent, has gotten rid of the influence of Jewish tradition. But with ambition for good education repressed, Helen is a fettered pursuer for an ideal life.Chapter Five analyzes Brenda in Roth's Goodbye, Columbus·(1959). She is believed to be a Jewish American Princess. Although she has a satisfying educational background, Brenda is dominated in sex by the male protagonist. Influenced by feminist sexual revolution, Brenda represents the temporary setback Jewish women have come across on their way to authentic autonomy.Chapter Six explores Saul Bellow's portrait of Madeleine in Herzog (1964). Inspired by Women's Movement in the sixties, Bellow molded Madeleine into a master of her own fate. She pursues an ideal love, an independent personality and a worthwhile profession, which is a truly positive sign of the influence from Women's Movement.In the last chapter, a conclusion is provided about the efforts the four Jewish male writers have made to present the Jewish female characters and the significance of the study of Jewish female characters in the writing of Jewish American male writers.