Who is Alex's Mother (Sophie) from Portnoy's Complaint and what is their importance?

Alex's mother is the book's dominant female presence. As a home-maker she is portrayed as house proud, gossipy, domestically competitive, and subtly racist. As a mother she is depicted as over-present, over-protective, and emotionally manipulative—she might, in fact, be perceived, by Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike, as a caricature of "the Jewish mother," over-involved in the life of her son to the extent that her influence is damaging rather than nurturing. This over-involvement runs the gamut from tight control over what he wears and eats and studies in school, to attempted control over what he feels (and particularly what girls he develops feelings for), to an uncomfortable physical intimacy. This last aspect of their relationship is perhaps the most significant, to Alex's character and to the book as a whole.