Ridiculous Jew

The Exploitation and Transformation of a Stereotype in Gogol, Turgenev, and Dostoevsky

Inbunden, Engelska, 2008

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This book is a study devoted to exploring the use of a Russian version of the Jewish stereotype (the ridiculous Jew) in the works of three of the greatest writers of the nineteenth century. Rosenshield does not attempt to expose the stereotype—which was self-consciously and unashamedly employed. Rather, he examines how stereotypes are used to further the very different artistic, cultural, and ideological agendas of each writer. What distinguishes this book from others is that it explores the problems that arise when an ethnic stereotype is so fully incorporated into a work of art that it takes on a life of its own, often undermining the intentions of its author as well as many of the defining elements of the stereotype itself. With each these writers, the Jewish stereotype precipitates a literary transformation, taking their work into an uncomfortable space for the author and a challenging one for readers.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2008-09-25
Mått152 x 229 x 27 mm
Vikt476 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor264
FörlagStanford University Press
ISBN9780804759526

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Litteraturvetenskap inom Skönlitteratur

PART ONE: GOGOL i. Taras Bulba: Gogol's Ridiculous Jew, Form and Function 27 2. Taras Bulba and the Jewish Literary Context: Walter Scott, Gogol, and Russian Fiction 61 3. Taras Bulba Otherwise: Deconstructing Gogol's Cossacks and Jews 75 PART TWO: TURGENEV 4. "The Jew": Turgenev and the Poetics of Jewish Death 99 PART THREE: DOSTOEVSKY 5. Notes from the House of the Dead: Ridiculous Jew, Existential Christian, Hagiographic Muslim, and the Intentional Text 131 6. Notes from the House of the Dead: Dostoevsky's Ridiculous Jew and the Critics 163 7. Notes from the House of the Dead- The Other Isay Fomich: Subversion and the Revenge of the Stereotype 173 Conclusion: Confronting the Legacy of the Stereotype: Babel, Rybakov, and Jewish Death 195

"The Ridiculous Jew is a most welcome and useful addition to the expanding field of Russian-Jewish studies.Rosenshield is a perceptive and sensitive reader and a persuasive and provocative writer."—Michael R. Katz, Slavic and Eastern European Journal. "Rosenshield's compelling new book is important, because it demonstrates the maturation of the field of Russian-Jewish literary studies and forces the reader to look back and to look more carefully at Jewish images that may seem simply absurd or repellent. Given the current atmosphere in Russia, the experimentation by government and the populace with reinventing Russianness and the heightening of ethnic tensions, The Ridiculous Jew seems particularly relevant." —Gabriella Safran, Stanford University "In The Ridiculous Jew Gary Rosenshield approaches the disturbing question of early nineteenth-century Russian literary anti-Semitism through deconstruction theory . . . Rosenshield's interpretation of Turgenev's 'The Jew' offers an in-depth historical background for the conclusion that 'the story then both perpetuates the stereotype and challenges the stereotype simultaneously'."—Nina Pelikan Straus, The Russian Review