Abstract
The purpose of this article is to examine the role of transitional love objects in the lives of fictional adults, as depicted in the works of Cynthia Ozick. Ozick's protagonists are characterized by their symbiotic attachment to parent figures with whom they are unable to establish empathic and trusting relationships. In lieu of finding nurturance Ozick's fictional characters go in search of idealized love objects in the form of fetishes or idols, i.e., objects seeming to possess magical trustworthiness. Ozick warns against the choice of such narcissistically-determined, idolatrous objects, and extends her caveat even to human love relationships, with the implication that they are likely to prove disappointing. All of Ozick's fictional love objects represent partially differentiated, fetishistic extensions of the lover's self. These objects include a modern-day golem, idols, demons, witches, a tree, a shawl, and even a literary manuscript. Ozick clarifies the distinction between healthy self-love and self-acceptance and total absorption in the fetish as a soothing, symbolic substitute for satisfying unfulfilled developmental needs.
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