A Liminal Narcissus: Philip Roth's The Human Stain

The article explores the interconnections between the narrator’s narratological stance as a writer and the protagonist’s decision to repudiate his African American ancestry and pass for Jew. Masiero claims that the way in which Roth plots Coleman Silk’s passing goes a long way in illuminating the author’s countertextual poetics. The race issue turns out to be reflected and refracted in Zuckerman’s highly conscious handling of his material – a veritable postmodern hide-and-seek game he plays with the reader.