Unravelling the Impact of Psychological Deterioration on a Desired Woman in Cynthia Ozick’s The Puttermesser Papers

This research article primarily embarks in-depth analysis of the mental and emotional disintegration of an independent woman who is facing the conflict between the thoughts of illusion and reality in Cynthia Ozick’s The Puttermesser Papers. Cynthia Ozick is one of the well-recognized contemporary American novelists and short story writers, known for discussing the themes of Jewish identity, the effects of the Holocaust, trauma, individuality, and the role of woman in the society through her writings. Her novel The Puttermesser Papers (1997) talks about the satirical life of an empowered woman Ruth Puttermesser and her inner struggle with career, relationships, and the sense of identity. It basically deals with the protagonist’s mental collapse or fragmentation of thoughts and complicated feelings, which creates disconnection, loneliness, and chaos in her behavior from the society. The main aim of this paper is to contextualize the dissolution of personality through the themes of the rejection of traditional gender roles, desire for mother-child relationship, the drastic effect of imagination on reality, psychological and professional struggles in an enthusiastic woman’s life.