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Page 12 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 1 2, 1986 A Jewish Scarlett in 18612 Jewish ‘Differences’ similar to GWTW by David Bittner As “Gone With the Wind" entered its 5()th year of publica tion in 1986. book-lovers and history bulls around the nation celebrated the occasion. Special anniversary editions of Margaret Mitchell’s classic were published in hardback and softback, and golden anniversary festivities were held in Atlanta and Clayton County, home of Tara. Few were aware that as “Gone With the Wind" marked its 50th birthday, nearly 120 years had passed since the publication of “Differences,” an 1867 novel by Nathan Mayer describing the fortunes of a fam ily of southern Jewish planters just before, during and just after the Civil War. It would not be very much of an exaggeration to say that this epic of the Gold- mans of Pineland, a plantation in Tennessee , is a Jewish “Gone With the Wind.” First of all. both novels hinge on similar devices of plot, mostly supplied by contemporaneous events. As their human sagas unfold, both novels trace the progress of the Civil War. In parallel scenes parties are inter rupted by news flashes that Abraham Lincoln has been elected president; soldiers drill, prepar ing for war; we see Ashley W'ilkes and Louis Welland, the Jewish hero of “Differences,” in battle; they carry keepsakes from Scar lett O’Hara and Antonia Gold man. the heroine of “Differen ces”; on the homefront Scarlett and Antonia roll bandages and tend wounded soldiers; Rhett Butler and Mr. Merrins, a Jewish merchant in “Differences,” carry out daring blockade runs of cot ton to England; the war is lost, the Yankees sweep the south, and the O'Haras and the Gold- mans are ruined. Some other aspects of the nov els are not exactly parallel but still similar. Rhett Butler is ac cused of smuggling the Confed erate treasury out of the devas tated Southland; Louis Welland has been framed in Europe for absconding with the funds of the 1848 revolutionary government; Butler is nearly hanged; Welland is nearly lynched. Important turns in the plots of both novels depend on the outcomes of archaic card games like “brag” and “whist.” Finally, there is an unavoidable linguistic similarity between the locations of Tara and Pineland in Clayton County (Georgia) and Claiborne County (Tennessee). It is noteworthy that both “Differences” and “Gone With the Wind” paint similar portraits of southern antebellum society. It is a matter of course that Mar garet Mitchell, a daughter of the Old South, should include char acters drawn from all segments of that society, including blacks, “poor whites” and Yankee over seers. It is significant that Mayer does not neglect to delineate these same classes. He gives us Anto nia’s “Mammy” and Goldman house slaves who look down their noes at “field niggers"; describes poor whites who trade with the Goldmans as “miserable beings whose intelligence is at a min imum”; and includes some amus ing incidents involving the Gold- mans’ overseers, northern Jews named Mr. Sharp and Mr. Her ring. In thus painting the Gold- mans as part of a total picture of southern society, Mayer obviously “I want for your kids what I wanted for my kids—250 more points on the SAT.” —Stanley H. Kaplan I know the pressure you and your child feel as the SAT looms ahead But pressure without preparation like ours can be a disastrous duo. Your child needs to understand the test material thoroughly Relying only on "test tricks and shortcuts will shortchange your child's chances for success on the SAT. as well as in life As president of Stanley H Kaplan Educational Centers, Ive seen it happen over the 40 years weve been preparing students. The record of the Stanley H Kaplan company is irrefutable Thousands of Kaplan students have raised their SAT scores 150, 200, 250 points, or more afler taking our course. So if you want *he best for your kids, as 1 did, give them a Stanley 11 Kaplan SAT prep course We at Kaplan care about their preparation—and their education" IKAPLAN STANIIY H K API AN EDUCATIONAL CENTER ITD THE WORLD'S LEADING TEST PREP ORGANIZATION To Prepare for April 1987 SAT classes begin at: 1776 Peachtree St. - January 17 AJCC/Zaban - January 25 Etz Chaim, Marietta - January 25 DeKalb College - January 17 CALL NOW FOR DETAILS 876-2111 differences. A NOVEL. CHAPTER I. HERE is a glitter and a fragrance in the mere name if the South, which are associated with sunny skies ind exuberant vegetation. Like a Nile of the new world the Mis sissippi pours its vast stream ; • it is bordered by bluffs, that are pyramids of God’s own making ; and in their soil repose chieftains, that have never been tyrants, surrounded by warriors, that have never been slaves. These exquisitely German reflections pas sed through the mind of Louis Welland, as the steamer Powhattan, on which he was a passenger, approached the wharves of Memphis, It weis precisely the most inap- 1* seeks to validate the Jews in that society. He is eager to claim a place among the landed white class for them, as when he has Charles Goldman, Antonia’s brother, debate Merrins’ asser tion that Jews “have nothing to do with country or rights.” Charles calls this a “monstrous doc trine.” Finally, one observes a strong sociological similarity between the O'Haras and the Goldmans themselves. Both families are newcomers to southern society. The O’Haras hail from Ireland and France and the Goldmans the Goldei\Buddha restaurant 1905 Clairmont Road (1 2 block south of North Druid Hills Road) 633-5252 » An exciting experience in au thentic Mandarin and Szechuen cuisine. The menu is a pleasing > combination of modest prices and more than 100 exotic entrees and dinner combina tions. Hours Mon. - Thurs.. 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. Fri. - Sal. ........ 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.! Sun- 12 noon - 10 pjn.1 Open 7 Days from France and Germany. Mrs. Goldman’s grandfather and Mrs. O’Hara’s father both served in Napoleon's army; Mrs. Goldman refers to her formidable old aunt, the daughter of a Napoleonic general, as “Madame la Gene- rale.” Both Gerald O'Hara, Scar lett’s father, and Mr. and Mrs. Goldman have similar ambitions for their children. When Gerald arrived from Ireland he had trouble finding a wife because “no family wanted a daughter to wed a man about whose grand father nothing was known.” In establishing himself at Tara, Gerald has paved the way for Scarlett, who has her pick of beaux. The Goldmans have prom ised Antonia’s hand to their non- Jewish neighbor, Frank Tourte- lotte. They “hope to see their children take their place among the aristocracy of Tennessee,” secure in the belief that “it is the wife who determines the religion of the children.” (The Goldmans send their son Charles to New York to find a Jewish wife.) Of course it would be dishon est not to note the limitations of a comparison between “Gone With the Wind” and “Differences." Nathan Mayer, an associate ol Isaac Mayer Wise, was a Ger man-born physician, and the literary value of his work suffers in comparison to that of “Gone With the Wind.” The writing of “Differences” is stilted. Mayer reveals his foreign background in the use of such German phrases as “howling with the wolves” (an expression signifying assent with the majority). He has no ear for black dialect. His difficulty shows in the near-standard Eng lish of his slave characters. Most important, “Differences” lacks the rich character devel opment of “Gone With the Wind." This is particularly true in regard to Antonia Goldman, with whom very much of a comparison with Scarlett O’Hara would be forced and misleading. Antonia may simper and spin her parasol as coquettishly as Scarlett, but the similarity between the two char acters stops there. Antonia is flatly virtuous in contrast to Scar lett, who usually manages to do the right thing but often for sub tle motives. During the first days of Reconstruction, for instance, the politically apathetic Scarlett rebuilds war-torn Tara much less because she wants to see the South rise again than because she is motivated by grim sell- interest. Antonia’s admirers, on the other hand, observe that “she would be found ready to lay her life down at any moment for the good ol the South.” The scenes at the ends of the novels are also strongly in contrast. The end of “Gone With the Wind” is a study in complexity and realism, as Scarlett reels from her discovers of Ashley Wilkes’ feebleness and unworlhiness and despairs that she has only too late recognized Rhett Butler’s value. The end of “Differences” is simple and bliss- Continued next page. FOR THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Ron Weintraub New and Used Cadillacs Hennessy Cadillac Jaguar 3040 Piedmont Rd., N.E. Atlanta, GA 30305 261-5700 Best of Europe, Jaguar