Most early critical response to Saul Bellow’s The Dean's December (1982) has been as cold as its title. Detractors find the novel unsatisfactory because, with a cold, detached, and retrospective protagonist, it does not have much conflict. The novel, according to those nay-sayers, is a failure because it does not contain typical Bellovian wit and humor, dramatic confrontations, outbursts of wrath and delight, and unforgettable supporting characters.2 It is to be granted that The Dean’s December is a gloomy book with its solemn tone and moral imperatives; yet，to me, those fault-finding critics founder in one point: they forget that Bellow this time is writing a different novel and that it should be read accordingly.3