Bellow's women: The limitations of a major American writer (Saul Bellow)

In the tradition of liberal humanism, there has been an implicit patriarchal paradigm, which has given unreserved respect to the classic status of middle-class, white male novelists. Looked at from a resisting feminist point of view, these writers are so absorbed in the glorification of the male individual that they leave women behind. Therefore, it is not surprising that feminists have argued that the authentic history of women has been excluded in the Western tradition.; Among recent novelists Saul Bellow has been considered a representative novelist whose persistent theme of preserving human dignity gives a glimpse of hope to the alienated people in modern society. Yet his affirmation is incomplete because he excludes half the human beings---the women. Regarding women as a dangerous species, most of Bellow's male protagonists seem to be reluctant to have any kind of stable relationship with women. On the one hand, due to the fear of the loss of their male ego-strength, any recognition of an authentic woman is threatening to men. On the other hand, women, incomprehensible and uncontrollable, have baser instincts men deny in themselves. The critics also have worked mostly on Bellow's male protagonists, ignoring the women characters who are treated with male prejudice in his novels.; As this dissertation examines the women characters in Saul Bellow's novels from a feminist point of view, Bellow's characterization of women will be a major criterion in determining the validity of his artistic vision as a humanist. A feminist critic can call into question the validity of the received criticism and argue that Bellow's humanism must not be considered as affirmative and encompassing as it has been taken to be in the patriarchal tradition. In spite of his being called a "humanistic" writer, Bellow does not show much interest in women of the lower class and a different color. Although Bellow affirms the dignity of human beings, he fails to realize that human life does not mean middle-class, white, male life. Thus Bellow's considerable achievement is distinctly limited by the women characters who appear throughout his now lengthy career.