American Pastoral

by

Philip Roth

Sylvia Levov Character Analysis

Sylvia Levov is Lou’s wife and the Swede and Jerry’s mother. She’s a kind and thoughtful woman who takes seriously her responsibility to care for her family. She is highly attuned to others’ feelings, and she has developed a high level of patience for her husband’s angry political tirades and his propensity to go off on tangents about the former glory of the glove industry.

Sylvia Levov Quotes in American Pastoral

The American Pastoral quotes below are all either spoken by Sylvia Levov or refer to Sylvia Levov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Heroes, Legends, and Myth-Making  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

The only thing worse than their never seeing her again would be their seeing her as he had left her on the floor of that room. Over these last few years, he had been moving them in the direction, if not of total resignation, of adaptation, of a realistic appraisal of the future. How could he now tell them what had happened to Merry, find words to describe it to them that would not destroy them? They haven’t the faintest picture in their mind of what they’d see if they were to see her. Why does anyone have to know? What is so indispensable about any of them knowing?

Related Characters: Nathan Zuckerman (speaker), Seymour “The Swede” Levov, Merry Levov, Lou Levov, Sylvia Levov
Related Symbols: Old Rimrock
Page Number: 293-294
Explanation and Analysis:
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Sylvia Levov Quotes in American Pastoral

The American Pastoral quotes below are all either spoken by Sylvia Levov or refer to Sylvia Levov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Heroes, Legends, and Myth-Making  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7 Quotes

The only thing worse than their never seeing her again would be their seeing her as he had left her on the floor of that room. Over these last few years, he had been moving them in the direction, if not of total resignation, of adaptation, of a realistic appraisal of the future. How could he now tell them what had happened to Merry, find words to describe it to them that would not destroy them? They haven’t the faintest picture in their mind of what they’d see if they were to see her. Why does anyone have to know? What is so indispensable about any of them knowing?

Related Characters: Nathan Zuckerman (speaker), Seymour “The Swede” Levov, Merry Levov, Lou Levov, Sylvia Levov
Related Symbols: Old Rimrock
Page Number: 293-294
Explanation and Analysis: