The tenants in the evolution of Bernard Malamud's art.
Date
1973
Authors
Mesher, David R.
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Abstract
The Tenants, Bernard Malamud's fifth novel, takes place in New York City, a background unused by the author since the period of The Assistant. Like the setting, many of the techniques and motifs of the novel show a revival of the influence of The Assistant and of Malamud's early stories. Most noticeable among the revived techniques is the author's return to the confronĀtation of doubles, or counterparts; in a sense, Harry Lesser and Willie Spearmint, in The Tenants, attempt to reenact the relationship of Morris Bober and Frank Alpine, in The Assistant. Even the formats of these two novels are similar, both are reconstructed from earlier stories and, as with The Assistant, an understanding of the antecedent stories is necessary for a full interpretation of The Tenants.
But this novel is more than a return to an earlier, successful format. The Tenants must also be seen in the context of Malamud's latest work. The experimental, post-modern techniques and style of the novel indicate a progressive development in the novelist's art, a developĀment also suggested by Malamud's continuing concern with the relationship of art and life, which constitutes the central tension of Lesser's characterization.
Drawing on both early and recent sources in the author's own work, as well as showing the influences of several of literature's giants, The Tenants provides an opportunity to review much of Malamud's fiction from a perspective afforded by the passage of time and the wider picture of his evolving art. A balanced view of The Tenants, itself a product of this art, can only be achieved through an understanding of the components of that evolution.