Stereotypes of Jews
Encyclopedia
Stereotypes of Jews are generalizations or stereotypes about Jews. Jewish people have been stereotyped for over two millennia throughout Europe and the Western hemisphere as scapegoats for a multitude of societal problems. Antisemitism continued throughout the centuries and reached a climax in the Third Reich during World War II
. Jews are still stereotyped as greedy, nit-picky, stingy miser
s. They have been often shown counting money or collecting diamond
s. Early films such as Cohen's Advertising Scheme (1904, silent) stereotyped Jews as "scheming merchants".
Common objects, phrases and traditions used to emphasize or ridicule Jewishness include bagel
s, playing violin
, klezmer
, undergoing circumcision
, haggling and uttering phrases like mazal tov
, shalom
, and oy vey
. Other Jewish stereotypes are the rabbi
, the complaining and guilt-inflicting Jewish mother stereotype, the spoiled and materialistic Jewish-American Princess
and the often meek Nice Jewish Boy
.
In caricatures and cartoons, Jews are often depicted having olive brown skin, curly hair, large hook-noses, thick lips, large dark-colored eyes and wearing kippah
s.
Jews are commonly caricature
d as having large nose
s and hook noses. Jews also commonly are portrayed as swarthy and hirsute
. There is a brown, edible woodland fungus, Auricularia cornea, commonly referred to as "Hairy Jew's ear".
y and money-mad. This originates to the Middle Ages
, when Jews were forbidden from owning land by the church, and thus many went into money-lending and usury
. This led to, through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
, the association of Jews with greedy practices.
Publications like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
and literature such as William Shakespeare
's The Merchant of Venice
and Charles Dickens
's Oliver Twist
reinforced the stereotype of the crooked Jew.
Some, such as Paul Volcker
, suggest that the stereotype has decreased in prevalence in the United States
. A telephone poll of 1747 American adults conducted by the Anti-Defamation League
in 2009 found that 18% believed that "Jews have too much power in the business world", 13% that "Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want", and 12% that "Jews are not just as honest as other businesspeople".
There is not much evidence that Jews have a disproportionate representation in business , although there are a number of notorious Jewish white-collar criminals
, such as Bernard Madoff
, Bernard Bergman
, Jack Abramoff
. Some have attributed the seemingly high number of these criminals to the media emphasizing their Jewishness.
Jokes about Jewish attitudes towards money are common, such as: "How do you get 50 Jews into a VW Beetle? Toss in a penny
."
appeared in the 12th century and were associated with attacks and massacres against Jews.
Although Jews had not been particularly associated with moneylending in antiquity, a stereotype of them acting in this capacity was developed beginning in the 11th century. Jonathan Frankel notes that this stereotype, though obviously an exaggeration, had a solid basis in reality. While not all Jews were moneylenders, it does seem to have been true that Jews were disproportionately represented in the trade.
The Jews & the Japanese: the successful outsiders
More recently, benign stereotypes of Jews have been found to be more prevalent than images of an overtly anti-Semitic nature.
Stereotypes of Jewish mothers and Jewish-American Princess
es are well-known and pervasive stereotypes of Jewish women.
. Another example is Miriam in Nathaniel Hawthorne
's romance The Marble Faun
.
and stock character
used by Jewish comedian
s and authors whenever they discuss actual or fictional situations involving their mother
s and other mother-like females in their lives. The stereotype generally involves a nagging
, overprotective, manipulative
, controlling
, smothering, and overbearing mother or wife, one who persists in interfering in her children's lives long after they have become adults. Lisa Aronson Fontes describes the stereotype as one of "endless caretaking and boundless self-sacrifice" by a mother who demonstrates her love by "constant overfeeding and unremitting solicitude about every aspect of her children's and husband's welfare[s]".
An example of the Jewish mother stereotype is the character Sylvia Fine from TV series The Nanny
.
is a pejorative
stereotype
of a subtype of Jewish-American female. The term implies materialistic
and selfish tendencies, attributed to a pampered or wealthy background. This stereotype of American Jewish women has been portrayed frequently in contemporary US media since the mid-20th century. JAPs are portrayed as used to privilege, materialistic and neurotic. An example of the humorous use of this stereotype appears in the song "Jewish Princess" on the Frank Zappa
album Sheik Yerbouti
. Female Jewish comedians, such as Sarah Silverman
, have also made fun of the stereotype.
According to Machacek and Wilcox, the stereotype of the Jewish-American Princess did not emerge until after World War II and is "peculiar to the U.S. scene". In 1987, the American Jewish Committee held a conference on "Current Stereotypes of Jewish Women" which argued that such jokes "represent a resurgence of sexist and anti-Semitic invective masking a scrim of misogyny.'"
's Nathan the Wise (1779) as the first time that Jews were portrayed in the arts as "human beings, with human possibilities and characteristics." Harap writes that, the persistence of the Jewish stereotype over the centuries suggests to some that "the treatment of the Jew in literature was completely static and was essentially unaffected by the changes in the Jewish situation in society as that society itself changed." He contrasts the opposing views presented in the two most comprehensive studies of the Jew in English literature, one by Montagu Frank Modder and the other by Edgar Rosenberg
. Modder asserts that writers invariably "reflect the attitude of contemporary society in their presentation of the Jewish character, and that the portrayal changes with the economic and social changes of each decade." In opposition to Modder's "historical rationale", Rosenberg warns that such a perspective "is apt to slight the massive durability of a stereotype". Harap suggests that the recurrence of the Jewish stereotype in literature is itself one indicator of the continued presence of anti-Semitism amongst the readers of that literature.
from England in 1290, stereotypes were so ingrained and so durable that they persisted in English society as evidenced by presentations in English literature, drama, and the visual arts during the almost four-hundred-year period when there were virtually no Jews present in the British Isles. Some of the most famous stereotypes come from English literature; these include characters such as Shylock
, Fagin
and Svengali
. Negative stereotypes of Jews were still employed by prominent twentieth-century non-Jewish writers such as Dorothy Richardson
, Virginia Woolf
, T.S. Eliot, Evelyn Waugh
, Graham Greene
and James Joyce
.
Although Jewish stereotypes first appeared in works by non-Jewish writers, after World War II it was often Jewish American writers themselves who evoked such fixed images. The prevalence of anti-Semitic stereotypes in the works of such authors has sometimes been interpreted an expression of self-hatred; however, Jewish American authors have also used these negative stereotypes in order to refute them.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Jews are still stereotyped as greedy, nit-picky, stingy miser
Miser
A miser, cheapskate, snipe-snout, penny pincher, piker, scrooge, skinflint or tightwad is a person who is reluctant to spend money, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities...
s. They have been often shown counting money or collecting diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s. Early films such as Cohen's Advertising Scheme (1904, silent) stereotyped Jews as "scheming merchants".
Common objects, phrases and traditions used to emphasize or ridicule Jewishness include bagel
Bagel
A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
s, playing violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
, undergoing circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
, haggling and uttering phrases like mazal tov
Mazal tov
"Mazel tov" or "mazal tov" is a phrase used to express congratulations for a happy and significant occasion or event.-Etymology and pronunciation:...
, shalom
Shalom
Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye...
, and oy vey
Oy vey
Oy vey , or just oy, is an exclamation of dismay or exasperation meaning "oh pain." According to Douglas Harper, the phrase is derived from Yiddish and is of Germanic origin...
. Other Jewish stereotypes are the rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, the complaining and guilt-inflicting Jewish mother stereotype, the spoiled and materialistic Jewish-American Princess
Jewish-American princess
Jewish-American Princess or JAP is a pejorative stereotype of a subtype of Jewish-American female. The term implies materialistic and selfish tendencies, attributed to a pampered or wealthy background.-Origins:...
and the often meek Nice Jewish Boy
Nice Jewish boy
The Nice Jewish boy is a stereotype of Jewish masculinity which circulates within the American Jewish community, as well as in mainstream American culture...
.
Physical features
Kippah
A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
s.
Jews are commonly caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
d as having large nose
Human nose
The visible part of the human nose is the protruding part of the face that bears the nostrils. The shape of the nose is determined by the ethmoid bone and the nasal septum, which consists mostly of cartilage and which separates the nostrils...
s and hook noses. Jews also commonly are portrayed as swarthy and hirsute
Hirsutism
Hirsutism or frazonism is the excessive hairiness on women in those parts of the body where terminal hair does not normally occur or is minimal - for example, a beard or chest hair. It refers to a male pattern of body hair and it is therefore primarily of cosmetic and psychological concern...
. There is a brown, edible woodland fungus, Auricularia cornea, commonly referred to as "Hairy Jew's ear".
Greed
Jews have often been stereotyped as greedGreed
Greed is an excessive desire to possess wealth, goods, or abstract things of value with the intention to keep it for one's self. Greed is inappropriate expectation...
y and money-mad. This originates to the Middle Ages
Jews in the Middle Ages
The history of Jews in the Middle Ages spans the timeframe of approximately 500 CE to 1750 CE. This article covers the medieval history of Jews in the Christian-dominated European region...
, when Jews were forbidden from owning land by the church, and thus many went into money-lending and usury
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
. This led to, through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, the association of Jews with greedy practices.
Publications like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a fraudulent, antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for achieving global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the twentieth century...
and literature such as William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
and Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
reinforced the stereotype of the crooked Jew.
Some, such as Paul Volcker
Paul Volcker
Paul Adolph Volcker, Jr. is an American economist. He was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve under United States Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan from August 1979 to August 1987. He is widely credited with ending the high levels of inflation seen in the United States in the 1970s and...
, suggest that the stereotype has decreased in prevalence in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A telephone poll of 1747 American adults conducted by the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
in 2009 found that 18% believed that "Jews have too much power in the business world", 13% that "Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want", and 12% that "Jews are not just as honest as other businesspeople".
There is not much evidence that Jews have a disproportionate representation in business , although there are a number of notorious Jewish white-collar criminals
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
, such as Bernard Madoff
Bernard Madoff
Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is a former American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S...
, Bernard Bergman
Bernard Bergman
Bernard Bergman was an Orthodox Rabbi who was best known for his operation of a large network of nursing homes and his conviction of Medicaid fraud in 1976. Bergman turned an inheritance of $25,000 into an empire of nursing homes valued at $24 million.Bergman was born to Shlomo Bergman and Gittel...
, Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
. Some have attributed the seemingly high number of these criminals to the media emphasizing their Jewishness.
Jokes about Jewish attitudes towards money are common, such as: "How do you get 50 Jews into a VW Beetle? Toss in a penny
Penny
A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...
."
History
Martin Marger writes "A set of distinct and consistent negative stereotypes, some of which can be traced as far back as the Middle Ages in Europe, has been applied to Jews." Antisemitic canards such as the blood libelBlood libel
Blood libel is a false accusation or claim that religious minorities, usually Jews, murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals and holidays...
appeared in the 12th century and were associated with attacks and massacres against Jews.
Medieval Europe
The portrayal of Jews as historic enemies of Christianity and Christendom constitutes the most damaging anti- Jewish stereotype reflected in the literature of the late tenth through early twelfth centuries. Jews were often depicted as satanic consorts, or as devils themselves and "incarnation[s] of absolute evil." Physically, Jews were portrayed as menacing, hirsute, with boils, warts and other deformities, and sometimes with horns, cloven hoofs and tails. Such imagery was used centuries later in Nazi propaganda of the 1930s and 1940s.Although Jews had not been particularly associated with moneylending in antiquity, a stereotype of them acting in this capacity was developed beginning in the 11th century. Jonathan Frankel notes that this stereotype, though obviously an exaggeration, had a solid basis in reality. While not all Jews were moneylenders, it does seem to have been true that Jews were disproportionately represented in the trade.
Japan
Though many stereotypes of Jews are common in Japan, they are often of a positive nature, relating to intelligence or wealth. There have been a number of books written detailing the similarities between Japanese and Jewish cultures. The Jews and the Japanese: Cultural Traits and Common ValuesThe Jews & the Japanese: the successful outsiders
United States
David Schneder writes "Three large clusters of traits are part of the Jewish stereotype (Wuthnow, 1982). First, Jews are seen as being powerful and manipulative. Second, they are accused of dividing their loyalties between the United States and Israel. A third set of traits concerns Jewish materialistic values, aggressiveness, clannishness."More recently, benign stereotypes of Jews have been found to be more prevalent than images of an overtly anti-Semitic nature.
Jewish women
Negative stereotypes of Jewish women are widely known and generally accepted in popular culture.Stereotypes of Jewish mothers and Jewish-American Princess
Jewish-American princess
Jewish-American Princess or JAP is a pejorative stereotype of a subtype of Jewish-American female. The term implies materialistic and selfish tendencies, attributed to a pampered or wealthy background.-Origins:...
es are well-known and pervasive stereotypes of Jewish women.
Belle juive
One literary stereotype is that of the "belle Juive", the beautiful Jewess, a figure that is often associated with temptation. One example of this stereotype is the character of Rebecca in Sir Walter Scott's IvanhoeIvanhoe
Ivanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while...
. Another example is Miriam in Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, a judge during the Salem Witch Trials...
's romance The Marble Faun
The Marble Faun
The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni, also known as Transformation, was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was published in 1860. The Marble Faun, written on the eve of the American Civil War, is set in a fantastical Italy...
.
Jewish mother
The stereotype of the Jewish mother or wife is a common stereotypeStereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
and stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
used by Jewish comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s and authors whenever they discuss actual or fictional situations involving their mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
s and other mother-like females in their lives. The stereotype generally involves a nagging
Nagging
Nagging is a form of pestering, or otherwise reminding an individual of previously discussed dictates or advice, usually from a perspective of superiority. The word is derived from the Scandinavian nagga, which means "to gnaw".-Social nagging:...
, overprotective, manipulative
Psychological manipulation
Psychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
, controlling
Control freak
In psychology-related slang, control freak is a derogatory term for a person who attempts to dictate how everything around them is done — "a control freak. Scared to let us have differences"...
, smothering, and overbearing mother or wife, one who persists in interfering in her children's lives long after they have become adults. Lisa Aronson Fontes describes the stereotype as one of "endless caretaking and boundless self-sacrifice" by a mother who demonstrates her love by "constant overfeeding and unremitting solicitude about every aspect of her children's and husband's welfare[s]".
An example of the Jewish mother stereotype is the character Sylvia Fine from TV series The Nanny
The Nanny
Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
.
Jewish-American Princess
The stereotype of the Jewish-American PrincessJewish-American princess
Jewish-American Princess or JAP is a pejorative stereotype of a subtype of Jewish-American female. The term implies materialistic and selfish tendencies, attributed to a pampered or wealthy background.-Origins:...
is a pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of a subtype of Jewish-American female. The term implies materialistic
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
and selfish tendencies, attributed to a pampered or wealthy background. This stereotype of American Jewish women has been portrayed frequently in contemporary US media since the mid-20th century. JAPs are portrayed as used to privilege, materialistic and neurotic. An example of the humorous use of this stereotype appears in the song "Jewish Princess" on the Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
album Sheik Yerbouti
Sheik Yerbouti
Sheik Yerbouti is a double vinyl album by Frank Zappa made up of material recorded in 1977 and 1978. It was first released on March 3 1979 as the first release on Zappa Records and re-issued on compact disc, first in unauthorized form by EMI in 1986 and then by Rykodisc in 1990 and then again in 1995...
. Female Jewish comedians, such as Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
, have also made fun of the stereotype.
According to Machacek and Wilcox, the stereotype of the Jewish-American Princess did not emerge until after World War II and is "peculiar to the U.S. scene". In 1987, the American Jewish Committee held a conference on "Current Stereotypes of Jewish Women" which argued that such jokes "represent a resurgence of sexist and anti-Semitic invective masking a scrim of misogyny.'"
In literature
Jewish stereotypes in literature have evolved over the centuries. According to Louis Harap, nearly all European writers prior to the twentieth century projected the Jewish stereotype in their works. Harap cites Gotthold LessingGotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
's Nathan the Wise (1779) as the first time that Jews were portrayed in the arts as "human beings, with human possibilities and characteristics." Harap writes that, the persistence of the Jewish stereotype over the centuries suggests to some that "the treatment of the Jew in literature was completely static and was essentially unaffected by the changes in the Jewish situation in society as that society itself changed." He contrasts the opposing views presented in the two most comprehensive studies of the Jew in English literature, one by Montagu Frank Modder and the other by Edgar Rosenberg
Edgar Rosenberg
Edgar Rosenberg was an American television producer. Born in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany, to German Jewish parents, Otto & Lilli, the Rosenberg family migrated to America in 1940, due to the Outbreak of World War II. Rosenberg married comedian and commentator Joan Rivers and was the father of Melissa...
. Modder asserts that writers invariably "reflect the attitude of contemporary society in their presentation of the Jewish character, and that the portrayal changes with the economic and social changes of each decade." In opposition to Modder's "historical rationale", Rosenberg warns that such a perspective "is apt to slight the massive durability of a stereotype". Harap suggests that the recurrence of the Jewish stereotype in literature is itself one indicator of the continued presence of anti-Semitism amongst the readers of that literature.
English literature
Although Jews were expelledEdict of Expulsion
In 1290, King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England. Lasting for the rest of the Middle Ages, it would be over 350 years until it was formally overturned in 1656...
from England in 1290, stereotypes were so ingrained and so durable that they persisted in English society as evidenced by presentations in English literature, drama, and the visual arts during the almost four-hundred-year period when there were virtually no Jews present in the British Isles. Some of the most famous stereotypes come from English literature; these include characters such as Shylock
Shylock
Shylock is a fictional character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.-In the play:In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who lends money to his Christian rival, Antonio, setting the security at a pound of Antonio's flesh...
, Fagin
Fagin
Fagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".-Character:Born...
and Svengali
Svengali
Svengali is a fictional character of George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby. Svengali "would either fawn or bully and could be grossly impertinent. He had a kind of cynical humour that was more offensive than amusing and always laughed at the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place...
. Negative stereotypes of Jews were still employed by prominent twentieth-century non-Jewish writers such as Dorothy Richardson
Dorothy Richardson
Dorothy Miller Richardson was a British author and journalist.-Biography:Richardson was born in Abingdon in 1873. Her family moved to Worthing, West Sussex in 1880 and then Putney, London in 1883...
, Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
, T.S. Eliot, Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
, Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
and James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
.
American literature
Until the 20th century, the characterization of Jews in American literature was largely based upon the stereotypes employed in English literature.Although Jewish stereotypes first appeared in works by non-Jewish writers, after World War II it was often Jewish American writers themselves who evoked such fixed images. The prevalence of anti-Semitic stereotypes in the works of such authors has sometimes been interpreted an expression of self-hatred; however, Jewish American authors have also used these negative stereotypes in order to refute them.
See also
- Antisemitism
- Model minorityModel minorityModel minority refers to a minority ethnic, racial, or religious group whose members achieve a higher degree of success than the population average. It is most commonly used to label one ethnic minority higher achieving than another ethnic minority...
- Nice Jewish boyNice Jewish boyThe Nice Jewish boy is a stereotype of Jewish masculinity which circulates within the American Jewish community, as well as in mainstream American culture...
- Racial antisemitism
- Self-hating JewSelf-hating JewSelf-hating Jew is a term used to allege that a Jewish person holds antisemitic beliefs or engages in antisemitic actions. The concept gained widespread currency after Theodor Lessing's 1930 book Der Jüdische Selbsthass ; the term became "something of a key term of opprobrium in and beyond Cold...