Language:
English
Year of publication:
1993
Titel der Quelle:
Review of Contemporary Fiction
Angaben zur Quelle:
13,3 (1993) 172-185
Keywords:
Barnes, Djuna.
;
Jews in literature
;
Women authors, American 20th century
Abstract:
Discusses representations of a primitive otherness which permeate the novel "Nightwood" by American writer Djuna Barnes. The otherness is figured in exotic, erotic, and often ethnic terms. The book's protagonists belong to three outsider groups: Jews, Blacks, and lesbians. Pp. 179-182 relate to the depiction of Jews, who are treated differently from Africans and lesbians. The Jews are seen as neither erotic nor exotic. They are described as parodies of masculinity, sexually undesirable, and physically distasteful. The male Jewish body is portrayed as the antithesis of desire. Lesbian love is given a privileged status, but in the context of this novel it occurs only between white Christian women - the categories Blacks, Jews, lesbians are mutually exclusive. States that the use of Jews to represent the concept of degeneration positions "Nightwood" directly in the context of early 20th-century European racial politics.
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