SOURCE: Rollyson, Carl. “The Benefactor.” In Reading Susan Sontag: A Critical Introduction to Her Work, pp. 44-54. Chicago, Ill.: Ivan R. Dee, 2001.

In the following essay, Rollyson explores the similarities between Hippolyte, the main character in The Benefactor, and John Neal, the protagonist in Kenneth Burke's Towards a Better Life.

The Benefactor

Synopsis

In certain respects, “Dreams of Hippolyte” is a more satisfying title for Sontag's first novel [The Benefactor]. For it is a book of dreams, a reverie reminiscent of Poe. In the first chapter, Hippolyte, the narrator, declares in French, “I Dream Therefore I Am.” He takes a retrospective tone, contrasting the difference between “those days” and “now.” He has written an article that excites comment in the literary world and gains him an invitation to the salon of Frau Anders. In retrospect, it is difficult not to see in Hippolyte the emerging figure of Susan...