Download pdf
Male-centric Soliloquy in a World of Desire: On Body Writing in Herzog from a Perspective of Corporeal Narratology
- 1 Sichuan University
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In Herzog, one of Saul Bellow’s most renowned works, the theme of the body plays a central and significant role, serving as a powerful symbol throughout the narrative. The text not only offers a detailed portrayal of the protagonist, Herzog’s physicality, but it also delves into the bodies of various secondary characters, thereby enhancing the novel’s complexity. From the standpoint of corporeal narratology, this analysis draws primarily from Peter Brooks’s theory of body narrative dynamics to explore the intricate role that the body assumes within the storyline. By examining how the body is woven into the fabric of the narrative, the paper argues that its representation serves to carry profound meanings and implications. Through vivid and often sexualized portrayals of the body, Bellow constructs a phallocentric universe, in which Herzog’s own physical presence becomes a symbol of the uniformity between sexual desire, cognitive obsession, and voyeuristic tendencies, all of which serve to propel the narrative forward. Meanwhile, Madeleine’s body is strategically portrayed as a Medusa-like object of intense desire, symbolizing both Herzog’s deep yearning and his underlying fear of emasculation, effectively embodying his psychological anxieties.
Keywords
Herzog, body writing, corporeal narratology
[1]. Brooks, P. (1993) Body Work: Objects of Desire in Modern Narrative. Harvard University Press. (pp. xi, 3, 11, 22, 30, 34-35, 90, 95, 100)
[2]. Brooks, P. (1992) Reading for the Plot: Design and Intention in Narrative. Harvard University Press,
[3]. Bellow. S. (1964) Herzog. The Viking Press. (pp. 5, 8, 77, 159, 254, 298-299)
[4]. Cixous, H. (1981). The Laugh of the Medusa. In E. Marks and I. Courtivron (Eds.), New French Feminisms (pp. 245-264). New York: Schocken Books.
[5]. Irigaray, L. Speculum of the Other Woman. Translated by Gillian C. Gill. Cornell University Press, 1985. (p. 27)
[6]. Ouyang, C. (2015). Contemporary Western and European Body Studies Criticism. China Social Sciences Press. (pp. 255-256)
[7]. Ouyang, C. (2015). “A Corporeal Narratologist Approach to the Body that Desires”. Contemporary Foreign Literature, 36(1), 146-153.
[8]. Punday, D. (2003) Narrative Bodies: Toward a Corporeal Narratology. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. (pp. vii–x)
[9]. Wang, A. (2021). “On Medusa Ekphrasis in Lolita”. Inquiry and Criticism, 1, 1-15 (pp. 8, 10)
[10]. Xu, D., & Wang, L. (2008). “Body, Identity, and Narrative: A Brief Discussion on Corporeal Narratology.” Jiangxi Social Sciences, 4, 28-34. (p.29)
Cite this article
Yang,J. (2025). Male-centric Soliloquy in a World of Desire: On Body Writing in Herzog from a Perspective of Corporeal Narratology. Advances in Humanities Research,11,46-49.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title:
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).