Language:
English
Year of publication:
1998
Titel der Quelle:
Social Research
Angaben zur Quelle:
65,2 (1998) 401-433
Keywords:
Antisemitism in literature
;
Jews in literature
;
Judaism in literature
Abstract:
In late 19th-century literature, child murder and sibling incest were linked as signs of Jewish sexual madness. Jews were seen as essentially "ill" as a result of inbreeding and incest, inbreeding was seen as a tool used by Jews to perpetuate their economic power, and the decadence of urban life was thought to be due to Jewish sexual exclusivity and economic mobility. Discusses how this theme is reflected in late 19th-20th-century literature, especially in Thomas Mann's "Waelsungenblut" (1905) and Martin Amis's "Success" (1978). Mann's novella, a tale of Jewish brother-sister incest, ends with an emphasis on Jewish sexual exclusivity. In Amis's novel, none of the main characters are Jews, but they perceive Jews as incestuous and corrupt.
Note:
On antisemitic conceptions of the Jew in 19th-20th century culture and literature.
,
Appeared also in "Jewish Social Studies" 4 (1998).
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
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