Citation

Scheurer M. Philip Roth Studies 2016; 12(2): 25-46.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

This article explores the relationship between Philip Roth's The Humbling and Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. Upon closer examination, Axler's suicide in Roth's novel, purportedly a reenactment of Konstantin Treplev's suicide in Chekhov's comedy, proves to be an impossible feat. To approach an understanding of the lacuna Roth has thus left in his text, Roth's and Chekhov's observations on life, art, love, and age, as well as their "undramatic" representations of the artist's struggle and his suicide, are compared. This comparison suggests the possibility of reading Axler's suicide as a starting point for reflecting on Roth's poetics and the limits of literature and theater. © 2016, Purdue University Press. All rights reserved.

Language: en