Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
Page 5
THE JEW IN ENGLISH
LITERATURE
enemies of Christ. In the drama there
are frequent references to Jews and
a number of Jewish characters intro
duced, but none of them had the traic
dignity of a Shylock or even of a
Barabas. Beaumont and Fletcher, Ben
Johnson, and William Henninge are
among those having Jewish characters
in their works, although none are par
ticularly famous as types.
The part played by the Jews, them-
I selves, in the literary movement of
this century was not large. There
was neither leisure nor thought for
writing in the problem for mere safe
I existence.
The literary field of the eighteenth
century held many famous authors—
| among whom were Addison, Steele,
Defoe, Pope and Swift. But few of
i them paid attention to the Jews, and
such as did gave them but passing
and not altogether complimentary
reference. Neither Pope in his “Es-
I say on Man” nor Defoe in his “The
t Shortest Way with Dissenters’’ show-
I ed tolerance or liberty of conscience
for those outside the pale of the
I forms of Christian belief.
In the drama the Jew received on
I the whole in this century somewhat
fairer treatment than he did at the
hands of political controversialists.
But, although the wit of Richard
Sheridan enlivened the drama during
the latter half of the century, it did
not brighten the position or reputa
tion of the Jews. In “The School for
Scandal” there is a Jewish character,
a Mr. Moses, a money-lender. In 1775
Sheridan produced his “Duenna”, a
comic opera in prose. In the character
of Isaac Mendoza he again portrays
the Jew in the usual role of a scheming
money-lender. He does not treat him
seriously. He holds him up to ridicule,
but he makes him a villain also, with
out the redeeming feature of deep
emotion or strength of character. The
play was a tremendous success, and
ran through the season with but few
intermissions of several days at
Christmas and the Friday of each
week. It is interesting, and also hu
miliating, to know that this weekly
Friday intermission was for the rea
son that the part of Don Carlos was
sung by a Jew, who was Cantor of the
Portuguese synagogue and could not
act on Friday nights.
But the Jews found a champion in
Richard Cumberland. He was the first
dramatist who dared to oppose popu
lar prejudice and produce a drama in
which the Jew was not only not a
villain, but the leading and heroic
character. In 1794, his play, “The
Jew,’ appeared. Its principal char
acter is Sheva, a philanthropist, of a
peculiar kind. He stints himself that
he may give to others. It is not alto
gether just, for with the exaggera
tion characteristic of the drama, Cum
berland makes Sheva overgood, as
Barabas is overbad. Dickens made the
same mistake with Riah in “Our Mu
tual Friend”, when he tried to atone
for his Fagin of “Oliver Twist.” Yet
here, too, is the tragedy for the Jews.
Barabas, Shylock and Fagin are wide
ly known and taken as types. Sheva
and Riah are comparatively unknown,
and when known, are not regarded as
types, but as exceptions.
The entrance of Jews as authors
into English literature was not really
made until the latter part of the eigh
teenth century. It is not that they did
not write, but they did not write in
English. That their non-participation
in the life of the nation was the cause
of this evidenced was by the fact that
whenever the restrictive pressure was
removed, they at once became gener
ous and worthy contributors to na
tional literature. Shut out from its
national culture, the Jew could not
give expression to the ideals of the
nation. He could, however, appreciate
it, and he did so by reproducing many
of the literary classics in Hebrew,
namely Shakespeare’s plays and Mil
ton’s poems. Among the most noted
authors of the period were David
Levi, Ralph Schomberg and Emanuel
Mendez da Costa.
From the nineteenth century on,
the spirit of tolerance and justice be
came more advanced. Sir Walter
Scott was the first of the great novel
ists to create Jewish characters of
widespread interest. In “Ivanhoe” his
chief character is Isaac of York. He
is made to be the usual timid money
lender. Only once does he rise to noble
proportions in the plea for his daugh
ter, when he sounds the note of af
fection that has characterized Jewish
family life. In Rebecca, Scott has
given a creation of exquisite beauty.
She stands forth as by far the most
distinguished character in the story.
She is an ideal figure of true Jewish
womanhood. In many ways she voices
the sentiments of her people and
gives evidence that Scott had a sym
pathetic understanding of the feelings
of the Jews.
It is more than probable that “Oli
ver Twist” intensified the struggle
and delayed the victory of Jewish
emancipation for at least a decade.
The character of Fagin is a masterly
presentation of a possible type of the
underground criminal world. There is
no criticism of the accuracy of the
picture, but the great wrong is that
the author labels him Jew and pre
sents him as a Jewish type. Fagin,
like Shylock, has gone abroad as a
type, not only among English-speak
ing peoples, but throughout the world.
The Jews found a worthy exponent
in George Eliot. “Daniel Deronda” is
an intended protest against the con
ventional conception and treatment
under which the Jews had suffered.
She has a number of Jewish charac
ters, and their pictures are drawn
without exaggeration. Mordecai is one
of the finest characterizations in fic
tion; he is an embodiment of the
spirit of Israel.
The poets of this time sung of Is
rael in a noble strain. Wordsworth’s
“Song for the Wandering Jew”
breaks away from the conventional
sectarian legend and sounds a note of
universal aspiration. Shelly devotes
Canto VII of his “Queen Mab” to an
ideal version of the Wandering Jew
legend. Byron wrote “Hebrew Melo
dies” which were set to music and for
a time used in the synogogue service
in London. Robert Browning was
among the foremost poets of the cen
tury who devoted considerable atten
tion to matters of Jewish interest. It
is significant that in his two poems
of Jewish interest he gives his views
on two of the most important phases
of world-philosophy. In “Rabbi Ben
Ezra” and “Jochanan Hakadosh” he
expresses his convictions of life as
duty and destiny.
(Continued on Page 10)
GAVE $25,000 TO MT. SINAI
HOSPITAL ON DEATH BED
The late Eugene Littauer, whose
brother Hon. Lucius N. Littauer
recently gave $1,000,000 for ‘bette:
human understanding.’
MUSSOLINI TAKES EXCEPTION
TO TERMINOLOGY USED BY
ITALIAN ZIONISTS
London (J. T. A.)—An article in
the “Popolo di Romo,” which the Lon
don Daily Telegraph attributes to
Premier Mussolini, discusses the re
cent Italian Zionist Congress and
takes exception to the terminology
employed by Zionists in that country.
II Duce is surprised to hear the
Italian Zionists speak of the Hebrew
race, the Hebrew people and the He
brew nation without referring to re
ligion. He takes exception to this at
titude of Italian Zionists regarding
nationality and asks sharply whether
they consider themselves a nationality
or a religion. The object of this ques
tion is not to create anti-Semitism,
which does not exist in Italy, the wri
ter declares recalling that three Ital
ian premiers were Jews, but for the
purpose of being informed as to how
things stand and for drawing the
proper influence. The article does not
suggest what inference the writer in
tends to draw but, the “Daily Tele
graph” thinks the language employed
by the Italian Zionists has caused ir
ritation to the Fascist dictator.
It’s S
pring at Davison’s!
%
HE windows suggest it, the
first floor confirms the rumor, and the
whole store echoes the good news!
New merchandise, displayed in new ways,
attracts the eye. Colors have more than
the perennial freshness of the spring
season . . . they have a sun-touched glow
that is entirely new. To mention new
fashions is to think of the jacket frock,
the hat with the brim that widens at the
back of the neck, and such clever accesso
ries as the hand bag with the inverted
rim and the new Romanart jeyelry!
In the home furnishing departments,
too, spring is an accomplished fact.
Throughout the store—it’s spring at
Davison’s!
DAVISCN-PAXON CO.
affiliated, with. MACY’S.Aeou
ATLANTA