Analysis of Delphine's Character in The Human Stain
Delphine: A Glimpse Into Contemporary Society
Andre Gide once declared, “Society knows perfectly well how to kill a man and has methods more subtle than death.” Society itself is inherently flawed because man is flawed. In many cases, individual people can represent the major flaws in a society. For example, Newt Gingrich represents the hypocrisy of society because as Speaker of the House, he led the lynch mob against Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky Scandal when he was cheating on his wife with a federal aide. In The Human Stain by Philip Roth, the character Delphine is a symbol of the hypocrisy and delusions of contemporary society with regards to prejudices; likewise, examining the character of Delphine gives a glimpse into society’s preoccupation on sex and indifference towards privacy.
David Hull once stated that, “hypocrisy is the lubricant of society.” Hull means that hypocrisy is an integral part of society and how people relate to one another. In The Human Stain, Delphine Roux, the French Professor and Dean of the Languages and Literature Department, is an example of a person who goes out of their way to accuse and discredit another. Roth uses Delphine as a symbol for many things in The Human Stain. For one, “Delphine is “Roth’s device for a sweeping commentary on contemporary society” (Safer 121). As a character, she has many flaws that represent society in general. For example, Delphine’s actions in the novel embody the hypocritical morals of American society as it breaks into the 21st Century. Delphine is a hypocrite because she leads the charge on banishing Coleman from the Athena College campus for his alleged racial slur while harboring her own prejudices. For example, when she pieces together a dating profile she ends up trying to find a way to say, “whites need only apply” (Roth). She cites a bad relationship in the past as the reason, but still chooses to stereotype a race based on a single instance. In addition, as Delphine carefully selects the traits that she desires in her ideal man, she comes up with a perfect image of Coleman Silk. She cannot even admit to herself that she has feelings for the man she has vehemently opposed for many years as a teacher and later as a dean.
Consequently, the novel shows that Delphine indignantly uses Coleman to cover up her own prejudices. Roth makes the point that society makes the same mistake by using scapegoats to cover up flaws that are not specific to one person, but to all people. Society never fixes these egregious problems, but instead chooses to cover them up with righteous attempts at purity. Safer states that, “Delphine’s hypocritical concern for political correctness and stainless purity reflects a similar attitude held by a careless society that deceives itself about morality and responsibility” (122). Just as Delphine’s character in the novel is self-deceiving and conflicted, society is similarly confused about the importance of morality. In the novel, the reaction of the community at Athena College is out of proportion to his insignificant usage of the word “spooks.” Instead of taking the simple misunderstanding of vocabulary as what it is and letting the involved parties communicate and come to an understanding, the college community decides to immediately remove itself from Silk as if he were a leper. Delphine goes to extraordinary lengths to ruin everything that Coleman Silk has built over his tenure at Athena College, making sure that his reputation is spoiled and basically forcing him to resign.
Likewise, Delphine offers a look at society’s preoccupation with sex and privacy. During the time this novel was written, the country was fixed in a heated battle with President Reagan over the Monica Lewinsky Scandal. The country looked to impeach the President because of his sexual misdeeds in the Oval Office. In the novel, Delphine is convinced that Coleman Silk is a misogynist and a woman-abuser because he is in a love affair with a woman less than half his age. Note that Monica Lewinsky was approximately half the age of President Reagan. She sends an anonymous letter to him telling him that she knows about his affair with Faunia. The French Professor cannot seem to leave Coleman alone, even though he has already resigned and left the public eye. Another example is when Coleman and Delphine fight over an issue in teaching styles for a single student. We realize that Delphine is interesting because she shows concern for people as a group, but disdain for the individual. This is analogous to the way society “chooses” scapegoats to prove political correctness. Delphine represents society’s obsessive interest in the personal lives of politicians, musicians, and movie stars. These individuals don’t seem to deserve the basic privacy that most Americans take for granted.
Another aspect of Delphine roux is her sexuality. She makes blatant attempts to flaunt her femininity. For example, during her interview for the job as a French Professor with Coleman Silk, she decides not to fix her skirt in order to make an impression on the man who later becomes her mortal enemy. She explicitly chose her attire to accentuate her feminine aspect, while still being conservative. Because Delphine is less complete than other characters in the novel, “intellect must substitute for sex” (Nadel 118). Likewise, when she starts having academic discussions with Arthur Sussman over meals, he starts trying to talk sex. In a phone conversation she tells him “her preference is to talk Marx” (Nadel 118). This simply “put a stop to that stuff” (Roth 269). Regardless, other women around the campus think that she is sleeping with him. Roth is trying to show that society is similarly ignorant and incomplete. People believe what they want to believe, no more and no less. Society is consequently preoccupied with privacy and blowing small instances way out of proportion.
Therefore, Delphine is an important character in The Human Stain because she represents the hypocrisy of society during the time when Roth crafted the novel. She represents everything wrong with the way that society lashes out in moral indignation at individuals to solve unresolved issues of the whole. In addition to being hypocritical with regards to prejudices, she also exemplifies societies preoccupation with sex and privacy. Delphine goes after Coleman with little regard to his privacy. Roth deftly uses Delphine as an iconic image portraying the major faults he sees in society.
Works Cited
Masiero, Pia. Philip Roth and the Zuckerman Books: The Making of a Storyworld. Amherst, NY: Cambria, 2011. Print.
Nadel, Ira Bruce. Critical Companion to Philip Roth: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York, NY: Facts On File/Infobase Learning, 2011. Print.
Roth, Philip. The Human Stain. New York: Vintage . Print.
Safer, Elaine B. Mocking the Age: The Later Novels of Philip Roth. Albany: State University of New York, 2006. Print.
Andre Gide once declared, “Society knows perfectly well how to kill a man and has methods more subtle than death.” Society itself is inherently flawed because man is flawed. In many cases, individual people can represent the major flaws in a society. For example, Newt Gingrich represents the hypocrisy of society because as Speaker of the House, he led the lynch mob against Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky Scandal when he was cheating on his wife with a federal aide. In The Human Stain by Philip Roth, the character Delphine is a symbol of the hypocrisy and delusions of contemporary society with regards to prejudices; likewise, examining the character of Delphine gives a glimpse into society’s preoccupation on sex and indifference towards privacy.
David Hull once stated that, “hypocrisy is the lubricant of society.” Hull means that hypocrisy is an integral part of society and how people relate to one another. In The Human Stain, Delphine Roux, the French Professor and Dean of the Languages and Literature Department, is an example of a person who goes out of their way to accuse and discredit another. Roth uses Delphine as a symbol for many things in The Human Stain. For one, “Delphine is “Roth’s device for a sweeping commentary on contemporary society” (Safer 121). As a character, she has many flaws that represent society in general. For example, Delphine’s actions in the novel embody the hypocritical morals of American society as it breaks into the 21st Century. Delphine is a hypocrite because she leads the charge on banishing Coleman from the Athena College campus for his alleged racial slur while harboring her own prejudices. For example, when she pieces together a dating profile she ends up trying to find a way to say, “whites need only apply” (Roth). She cites a bad relationship in the past as the reason, but still chooses to stereotype a race based on a single instance. In addition, as Delphine carefully selects the traits that she desires in her ideal man, she comes up with a perfect image of Coleman Silk. She cannot even admit to herself that she has feelings for the man she has vehemently opposed for many years as a teacher and later as a dean.
Consequently, the novel shows that Delphine indignantly uses Coleman to cover up her own prejudices. Roth makes the point that society makes the same mistake by using scapegoats to cover up flaws that are not specific to one person, but to all people. Society never fixes these egregious problems, but instead chooses to cover them up with righteous attempts at purity. Safer states that, “Delphine’s hypocritical concern for political correctness and stainless purity reflects a similar attitude held by a careless society that deceives itself about morality and responsibility” (122). Just as Delphine’s character in the novel is self-deceiving and conflicted, society is similarly confused about the importance of morality. In the novel, the reaction of the community at Athena College is out of proportion to his insignificant usage of the word “spooks.” Instead of taking the simple misunderstanding of vocabulary as what it is and letting the involved parties communicate and come to an understanding, the college community decides to immediately remove itself from Silk as if he were a leper. Delphine goes to extraordinary lengths to ruin everything that Coleman Silk has built over his tenure at Athena College, making sure that his reputation is spoiled and basically forcing him to resign.
Likewise, Delphine offers a look at society’s preoccupation with sex and privacy. During the time this novel was written, the country was fixed in a heated battle with President Reagan over the Monica Lewinsky Scandal. The country looked to impeach the President because of his sexual misdeeds in the Oval Office. In the novel, Delphine is convinced that Coleman Silk is a misogynist and a woman-abuser because he is in a love affair with a woman less than half his age. Note that Monica Lewinsky was approximately half the age of President Reagan. She sends an anonymous letter to him telling him that she knows about his affair with Faunia. The French Professor cannot seem to leave Coleman alone, even though he has already resigned and left the public eye. Another example is when Coleman and Delphine fight over an issue in teaching styles for a single student. We realize that Delphine is interesting because she shows concern for people as a group, but disdain for the individual. This is analogous to the way society “chooses” scapegoats to prove political correctness. Delphine represents society’s obsessive interest in the personal lives of politicians, musicians, and movie stars. These individuals don’t seem to deserve the basic privacy that most Americans take for granted.
Another aspect of Delphine roux is her sexuality. She makes blatant attempts to flaunt her femininity. For example, during her interview for the job as a French Professor with Coleman Silk, she decides not to fix her skirt in order to make an impression on the man who later becomes her mortal enemy. She explicitly chose her attire to accentuate her feminine aspect, while still being conservative. Because Delphine is less complete than other characters in the novel, “intellect must substitute for sex” (Nadel 118). Likewise, when she starts having academic discussions with Arthur Sussman over meals, he starts trying to talk sex. In a phone conversation she tells him “her preference is to talk Marx” (Nadel 118). This simply “put a stop to that stuff” (Roth 269). Regardless, other women around the campus think that she is sleeping with him. Roth is trying to show that society is similarly ignorant and incomplete. People believe what they want to believe, no more and no less. Society is consequently preoccupied with privacy and blowing small instances way out of proportion.
Therefore, Delphine is an important character in The Human Stain because she represents the hypocrisy of society during the time when Roth crafted the novel. She represents everything wrong with the way that society lashes out in moral indignation at individuals to solve unresolved issues of the whole. In addition to being hypocritical with regards to prejudices, she also exemplifies societies preoccupation with sex and privacy. Delphine goes after Coleman with little regard to his privacy. Roth deftly uses Delphine as an iconic image portraying the major faults he sees in society.
Works Cited
Masiero, Pia. Philip Roth and the Zuckerman Books: The Making of a Storyworld. Amherst, NY: Cambria, 2011. Print.
Nadel, Ira Bruce. Critical Companion to Philip Roth: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York, NY: Facts On File/Infobase Learning, 2011. Print.
Roth, Philip. The Human Stain. New York: Vintage . Print.
Safer, Elaine B. Mocking the Age: The Later Novels of Philip Roth. Albany: State University of New York, 2006. Print.