Abstract

Abstract This article examines the preoccupation with failure that pervades Cynthia Ozick’s essays. Ozick regularly presents herself in her public statements as obscure, unread, and soon to be forgotten; in essays and interviews she habitually returns to a period in her twenties and thirties when she labored in vain to get published. Ozick’s concern with the youthful literary success that eluded her is the visible edge of a larger fascination with failure that spirals through her essays. Whether comically underscoring the incompetence with which writers approach the ordinary tasks of life or meditating more somberly on the waning of fame and the difficulties of achieving cultural permanence, Ozick finds marginality, failure, and falling short as fundamental to literary creation.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.