Purification Rite And Its Root In Puritanism In The Human Stain

The Human Stain (2000) is the last book of the American Trilogy written by Philip Roth. Compared with the previous two, namely American Pastoral (1997) and I Marry a Communist (1998), this novel scrutinizes human nature in a more incisive way. Against the backdrop of America’s90s, light-skinned mulatto professor Coleman Silk passes for a Jew, yet he is wrongly accused as a racist by his colleagues. This main plot is intertwined with subplots like janitor Faunia’s and French young scholar Delphine’s stories. They altogether give us a glimpse of American national ethos and offer indictments of the false freedom, equality and liberalism advocated in the90s. However, the novel goes beyond reproducing American history. It shows characters’ obsession with the "purification rite" and that it evokes the most recognizable Puritan tracts. Puritan anxiety over salvation becomes the national drive for purity in the contemporary era. Then this novel makes a demystifying examination of Puritan rhetoric and ideology. Finally it exposes the blurring of purity and stain and characters’ vain attempts of purifying themselves. In this light, this novel is not just a personal tragedy by casting protagonist Coleman as an Oedipus-like figure. It is not confined to racial minorities or the American90s. Behind the political, social and ethical incidents are people’s perennial impulse for purity and its detrimental impact.The main body of the thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter discusses Coleman, Delphine and Zuckerman respectively concerning their secrets and self-imposed purification rites. Protagonist Coleman conceals his black heritage (racial stain) in pursuit of a Utopia free of racial politics; ambitious scholar Delphine represses sexual instincts for a gaze-free intellectual realm; narrator Zuckerman turns his back on hustle and bustle of the secular world and leads a reclusive life. The second chapter focuses on collective purification rites. They are in nature political or moral persecutions conducted under the name of purifying the community or the society as a whole. Specific references in the novel are American public’s condemnation for Clinton’s love affair and Athena College’ charge against Coleman. The last chapter reveals that a complete renouncement of human stain is impossible. Roth suggests that human beings need to accept their own and the society’s imperfections. To be human is to be stained. This thesis contends that the pursuit of purity is futile at best, detrimental at worst. It yields more evils if the idea of purity is manipulated by those vying for greater power.Furthermore, Roth suggests that American preoccupation with purity stems from Puritan beliefs. Although it has lost the dominant position, the values and beliefs bred by Puritanism persist in American society. In the twentieth century, Puritanism appears as a psychological construct, a cultural institution and a habit of mind. Like their Puritan fathers, Americans reject corruption, indulgence and other sins. However, Roth constantly warns that "purification rite" may be just religious or political persecutions in nature.