The Humbling
A great actor loses his gift in his sixties and looks for a second chance in a late love affair.
Philip Roth’s short novel about Simon Axler, a celebrated stage actor in his sixties who suddenly loses the ability to act. After a spell in a psychiatric hospital he begins an affair with a much younger woman, the daughter of old friends, hoping it will give him a second start. Roth writes about ageing, desire and the fear of losing what made a life worth living.
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Renata Salecl
So it’s about ageing and I think why it’s important is because we see the capacity to hold on longer. It is possible with the help of medicine to very much prolong life, but the tragedy is that desire remains: for satisfaction – especially sexual and creative satisfaction.
Interview · October 2012
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