Nathan Zuckerman

Nathan Zuckerman is Philip Roth’s alter ego and the protagonist of The Anatomy Lesson. In the story, renowned novelist Nathan Zuckerman is 40 years old and is struggling with severe, persistent pain in his neck, shoulders, and upper arms. The pain has persisted for 18 months, and no doctor has been able to explain or treat the pain. Zuckerman has been unable to write due to the pain. He is divorced and is having affairs with several different women in order to abate loneliness and distract himself from the pain.

Zuckerman’s feeling of discontent increase sharply after the death of his mother. He eventually becomes so frustrated with his chosen profession that he decides to go to medical school. He flies to Chicago to meet with an old friend of his, Bobby Freytag, who is now a doctor. Bobby says that Zuckerman would never be admitted to...