The Prague Orgy: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Prague Orgy: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complex interplay between a group of characters navigating the cultural and personal turmoil of post-war Czechoslovakia. Central to the narrative is Nathan Zuckerman, a celebrated American novelist, who is reluctantly drawn into the lives of Czech émigrés when Zdenek Sisovsky enlists his help to reclaim his father's unpublished Yiddish stories. Sisovsky, a disgraced writer himself, embodies the conflict between artistic ambition and personal sacrifice.
Eva Kalinova, once a prominent actress, now struggles with her identity and former glory as she supports Sisovsky, while Olga Sisovsky, Zdenek’s estranged wife, grapples with her own fame and despair, seeking Zuckerman’s affection amidst her tumultuous life. The character of Rudolf Bolotka, a janitor with a theatrical past, offers insights into the societal pressures that keep many in Prague tethered to their circumstances. Young student Oldrich Hrobek represents the next generation's hope and fear, warning Zuckerman of the repercussions of his presence in a state suspicious of outsiders. The narrative reaches a climax with Novak, the minister of culture, who epitomizes the bureaucratic disdain for Zuckerman and the artists he associates with, highlighting the broader cultural divides in Czechoslovakia at the time. Through these characters, the story explores themes of exile, identity, and the struggles of creative individuals within a repressive society.
The Prague Orgy: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Philip Roth
First published: 1985
Genre: Novella
Locale: Prague, Czechoslovakia
Plot: Comic realism
Time: January/February, 1976
Nathan Zuckerman, a famous American novelist, the author of Carnovsky. He is approached by Zdenek Sisovsky, a Czech refugee, who wants him to help retrieve his father's unpublished short stories, which are still in Prague. Reluctantly, Zuckerman goes.
Zdenek Sisovsky, a Czech writer, the author of a single book, a mild satire that caused a scandal when published in 1967. He has therefore left his country, his wife and child, and his aging mother to go to America with his mistress, Eva Kalinova. He seeks the aid of Nathan Zuckerman, whose work he praises, to help retrieve his father's unpublished Yiddish short stories, which remain in the possession of his estranged wife, Olga.
Eva Kalinova, once the most famous actress in Czechoslovakia, now a distraught, bitter refugee with her current lover, Sisovsky. An accomplished Chekhovian, she no longer acts, because her English is poor, but she has become a salesperson for women's dresses. In Czechoslovakia, she was married to a famous folk singer, Petr Kalina, but she left him for a Jewish “parasite,” Pavel Polak, and fell into disgrace.
Olga Sisovsky, Zdenek's estranged wife, herself a writer, something of a celebrity, with “the most beautiful legs in Prague.” She is also famous as a drunk and a promiscuous woman, the results of her profound despair. She falls in love with Zuckerman and wants him to marry her and take her away to America. At first, out of resentment against Sisovsky, she refuses to give up his father's stories, but later, she complies.
Rudolf Bolotka, Zuckerman's guide through Prague, formerly a theatrical producer and now a janitor in a museum. Separated from his wife and children, he has many girlfriends, which is the reason (he says) he cannot leave Prague, though he has been allowed to go. He introduces Zuckerman to Olga at Klenek's house, famous for its parties, while Klenek is in France directing a film.
Oldrich Hrobek, a young student with a deep interest in American writing who visits Zuckerman at his hotel. He tries to warn Zuckerman that the government suspects him of espionage and that he should leave Prague immediately. According to Bolotka, however, it is Hrobek and his professor who are in trouble with the authorities, not Zuckerman.
Novak, the minister of culture. He escorts Zuckerman to the airport as he is being expelled from Czechoslovakia; the stories Olga has given him are confiscated. Novak lectures Zuckerman on the virtues of hardworking Czech citizens, as opposed to the “sexual perverts,” “alienated neurotics,” and “bitter egomaniacs” Zuckerman has chosen to meet, whom most Czechs consider “malcontents and parasites and outcasts,” according to Novak.