The Human Stain is Philip Roth's representative work of new realism, which reflects his exploration of human nature from the perspective of body consciousness. The relationship between the human stain and human morality is paradoxical and logical in his works. Seen from the cultural perspective the novel is a discussion of two mutually dependent paradigms of the human. Is the exile resulting from the "ghost" incident a purifying ritual to punish and discipline the body, or a somaesthetics affirming individual existence that is rid of the hollowness of civillzation and racist prejudice? The present author believes that the core of Roth's somaesthetics is body consciousness, which challenges the oppression of the 20th century social, historical and cultural development on individual consciousness, and at the same time enables the individual to choose his own self. The affirmation of body consciousness emphasizes the subjectivity of madness and desire in body consciousness, thus confirming the active role of body consciousness in identity construction.
