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Impotence and the Futility of Liberation in Portnoy's Complaint
- Philip Roth Studies
- Purdue University Press
- Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2007
- pp. 131-143
- 10.1353/prs.2007.a386419
- Article
- Additional Information
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Colson's essay juxtaposes Portnoy's Complaint and Foucauldian theory to show the imbricated powers Portnoy both rebels against and subjects himself to and reveal an underlying power strategy operating through the sexual revolution. It argues that liberation is illusory and that freedom must be sought through "practices of freedom," through pleasure.