Identity Crisis and Midlife Psychological Development of the Protagonist in Bellow’s Novel Herzog

https://doi.org/10.2478/bjlp-2023-000010

Abstract

This study scrutinizes how the clash between generativity and stagnation that manifests in the seventh stage of life—what Erikson calls middle adulthood—has been reflected in Saul Bellow’s novel Herzog. This objective can be achieved utilizing the middle adulthood stage of Erikson’s psychogenetic theory. This study examines how the task of care can be analyzed as a minor them present in this midlife narrative as well as the role of man’s awareness of death in conjuring the urge of generativity in midlife Bildungsroman. The study is based on a qualitative descriptive approach. The study undertakes character analyses of the middle-aged protagonist of the novel from psychological perspective “Erikson epigenetic psychology. The protagonist “Herzog” shows a noticeable change in his personality. Once a self-absorbed and stagnated mentality overwhelmed by philosophical ideas, he has done his best to serve other human beings, including his children. His endeavors to renovate the house can be interpreted as his struggles to be generative.