tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post3036736640571183371..comments2024-03-09T15:11:29.350-08:00Comments on Exotic and irrational entertainment: A guide to the novels of Anthony Trollope, Part 3Pessimisissimohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04223566131580795337noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-31041436767465529532011-10-23T14:49:29.820-07:002011-10-23T14:49:29.820-07:00Cher M. Lapin,
Many thanks for the resources and ...Cher M. Lapin,<br /><br />Many thanks for the resources and links you suggest on the subject of Victorian anti-Semitism. <br /><br />I hope in my post that I didn't sound like an apologist for Trollope's (or anyone's) anti-Jewish attitudes. I did mean to suggest, however, that the question of anti-Jewish attitudes in Trollope's novels is a complicated one. <br /><br />For one thing, while Trollope is never shy about addressing the reader directly, whenever an anti-Jewish comment is made it is—so far as I've been able to discover, anyway—always in the voice of a character (and often a not very admirable character) and not the author. For another, if we take Melmotte (from <i>The Way We Live Now</i>) and the Rev. Emilius (from <i>The Eustace Diamonds</i> and <i>Phineas Redux</i>) as perhaps the most negative and stereotypical portrayals, neither character is, in fact, unambiguously Jewish. Melmotte's origins are obscure, and Emilius has become a Church of England clergyman. They are both, however, foreign, and have mysterious and indeterminate histories; xenophobia is also a major element of the Victorian social attitudes evident in the world of Trollope's novels.<br /><br />Thanks again for your comment!<br /><br />Best,<br /><br />P.Pessimisissimohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04223566131580795337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9186118329509553435.post-45819330372850080592011-10-08T12:29:40.437-07:002011-10-08T12:29:40.437-07:00Dear Pessimisissimo,
I am fascinated by your Trol...Dear Pessimisissimo,<br /><br />I am fascinated by your Trollope series while not, as you know, entirely riveted by the extensive discussion of his even more massive novels. But as someone with my own tastes for arcane literature, I entirely understand the impulse...<br /><br />This time around, I am fascinated however, and feel compelled to respond in some way, to the first entry, particularly the "Perhaps this is the place to address the anti-Jewish attitudes that are occasionally expressed in Trollope's novels" paragraph. <br /><br />British anti-Semitism has been a most curious historical phenomenon, indeed, as practically no Jews lived in England before the enormous outmigration from Eastern Europe and Russia at the end of the 19th century - and yet it is a recurring, ambivalent, and even ugly theme in English literature since Chaucer, if not before. Unlike the European Mediterranean world, or Central and Eastern Europe, there was a lack of converted "hidden Jews" or pogroms sanctioned by princes and the likes of Martin Luther. And Jews who had come to England tended to be Sephardim, rather than Ashkenazim.<br /><br />The emancipation of Jews did occur during the Victorian era, however, an included the rise of individual politicians and businessmen of Jewish ancestry to significant positions, most notably Benjamin Disraeli, Tory MP and twice Prime Minister. The "Wiki version" of all of this may be explored:<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_England" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_England</a><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influences_on_the_standing_of_the_Jews_in_England" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influences_on_the_standing_of_the_Jews_in_England</a><br /><br /><a href="" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_of_the_Jews_in_England</a><br /><br />The most erudite treatment is Anthony Julius, <i>Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England</i> (Oxford UP, 2010 - in paper in England and should be soon in the U.S., too) - although it is as massively long as a Trollope novel and, if reader reviews can be trusted, a far from literary pleasure to read. <br /><br />On the topic of Mr. Breghert being "unambiguously Jewish" yet also "unambiguously kind, respectable, and honest," you're perhaps best off reading Proust. Or more timely, Edmund de Waal's <i>The Hare with Amber Eyes</i>. While outside of England, these marvelous readings provide insights into ambivalent and racist European attitudes toward artistically, intellectually, professional, and financially successful Jewish individuals and families in Europe. Highly recommended.<br /><br />With most sincere feelings of respect,<br /><br />M. LapinM. Lapinhttp://www.fantomas-lives.comnoreply@blogger.com