Who is Mike Eden from Marjorie Morningstar and what is their importance? Marjorie_Morningstar_(novel) English & Literature Mike Eden | Marjorie Morningstar

Though present in only four chapters of the novel, Mike Eden's impact on Marjorie is critical to the outcome of her story. A former psychology professor, Mike is now in the business of pharmaceutical purchase and sale, primarily in Germany. As a younger man, he entered an ill-fated marriage to a woman who refused to give him a divorce. One evening, he fell asleep at the wheel of his car and struck an embankment, an accident which resulted in his wife's death. His guilt over this accident, along with his complete rejection of Freudian psychology, led to a nervous breakdown and the end of his teaching career. He sought employment elsewhere and now owns his own chemical company. He engages is a great deal of self-medication, one surmises, to treat his emotional difficulties, but is also involved with an anti-Nazi organization and uses his business access to Germany to complete errands for the organization.