Cultural Identity Construction in Russian-Jewish Post-Immigration Literature

Cultural Identity Construction in Russian-Jewish Post-Immigration Literature by Regan Cathryn Treewater A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Comparative Literature University of Alberta © Regan Cathryn Treewater, 2017 ii Abstract The following dissertation examines narratives of immigration to Western Europe, Israel and North America authored by Russian-speaking writers of Jewish decent, born in the Soviet Union after World War II. The project seeks to investigate representations of resettlement experiences and cultural identity construction in the literature of the post- 1970s Russian-Jewish diaspora. The seven authors whose selected works comprise the corpus of analysis write in Russian, German and English, reflecting the complex performative nature of their own multilayered identities. The authors included are Dina Rubina, Liudmila Ulitskaia, Wladimir Kaminer, Lara Vapnyar, Gary Shteyngart, Irina Reyn, and David Bezmozgis. The corpus is a selection of fictional and semi- autobiographical narratives that focus on cultural displacement and the subsequent renegotiation of ‘self’ following immigration. In the 1970s and final years of Communist rule, over one million Soviet citizens of Jewish heritage immigrated to Western Europe, Israel and North America. Inhospitable government policies towards Soviet citizens identified as Jewish and social traditions of anti-Semitism precipitated this mass exodus. After escaping prejudice within the Soviet system, these Jewish immigrants were marginalized in their adopted homelands as Russians. The following study of displacement and relocation draws on Homi Bhabha’s theories of othering and unhomeliness. The analyzed works demonstrate both culturally based othering and unhomely experiences pre- and post-immigration resulting from relegation to the periphery of society. Based upon the concept of performativity developed by Judith Butler, this study maintains that the cultural display of self is a performative act which manifests in a variety of ways. iii Chapter One presents the research problem, introduces the corpus of analysis, discusses the concepts of unhomeliness, identity and performativity as theoretical tools, provides a justification of the methodological framework being utilized, and finally positions Russian-Jewish post-immigration literature within the canon of diasporic world literature. Chapter Two focuses on a contextualization of Russian-Jewish character portrayal from a historical perspective, charting the metamorphosis of the Wandering Jew, as first conceived of by Christian society, through this enduring figure’s transformation beyond stereotyped caricature. This study postulates that contemporary Russian-Jewish authors have reclaimed the literary image of the Wandering Jew as their own, effectively reconfiguring the character for their post-immigration narratives of displacement. As this project shows, the multilayering of cultural influences often results in ambiguous conceptualizations of self, a common feature of the literary make-up of Russian-Jewish post-immigration protagonists. Such ambiguity is often accompanied by a desire for self-definition and is frequently associated with the geroi khudozhnik (artist figure), who symbolically embodies post-immigration identity renegotiation. The artist appears regularly in these works as the perpetual creator and designer, who is equally engaged in the ongoing reformulation and shaping of his/her own post-immigration identity. Chapter Three focuses on the literary construction of post-immigration spaces and how they both inform and reflect cultural distinctiveness. Through examinations of unhomeliness, nostalgia, and the search for belonging, the project approaches representations of both physical and symbolic spaces as culturally significant. Chapter Four deals with the construct of performativity as it applies to displays of cultural identity. The chapter explores the culturally performative actions of post-immigration iv protagonists through the consideration of established character types, language usage, and the physical presentation of self in connection with multilayered identity. By identifying significant themes common to the project’s literary corpus the symbolic implications of everyday choices made by the analyzed characters exemplify the importance of understanding Russian-Jewish post-immigration experiences. The present comparative literary investigation of seven authors from this group demonstrates how the presence of multiple simultaneous cultural influences -- Soviet, Russian, Jewish, German, Israeli, American, Canadian – results in highly specific and complex presentations of ongoing identity negotiation. v Dedication For Benji May your culturally multilayered journey bring you adventure, inspiration and wisdom without borders. “Understand a man by his deeds and words; the impressions of others lead to false judgement.” -- Talmud “Keep your language. Love its sounds, its modulation, its rhythm. But try to march together with men of different languages, remote from your own, who wish like you for a more just and human world.” -- Hélder Câmara “Who is a wise man? He who learns of all men.” -- Talmud vi Acknowledgements Saying ‘thank you’ may seem easy – but adequately expressing the depths of my gratitude has proven to be a much more complicated endeavour. Truly, I do not know that I will ever be able to completely convey how appreciative I am to those who shaped and guided this journey. I consider it a great honour and privilege to have been supervised by Professor Irene Sywenky, to whom I will always be infinitely grateful. The levels of her dedication, support, and patience were more than I could have ever hoped for. Any future academic successes I celebrate will be the fruits of her unbelievable mentorship abilities. I will be forever indebted to Professor Massimo Verdicchio, who contributed tremendously to the trajectory of my life, in the most positive of ways. He was my teacher, advisor and cheerleader. I was blessed to have him and Professor Oleh Ilnytzkyj serve on my supervisory committee. The precision of my argumentation is thanks to Professor Ilnytzkyj’s exceptionally thorough reviews of my work – for which I am very appreciative. The examiners for my defence were especially supportive and encouraging in their discussions of my work and I wish to thank Professor Natalie Van Deusen and Professor Heather Coleman. I wish to also recognize the efforts of Professor Leonid Livak from the University of Toronto who served as my external examiner. I am grateful to him for so generously agreeing to review and critique my work. Additionally I would be remiss if I did not also express my gratitude to Professor Joseph Patrouch of the Wirth Institute of Austrian and Central European Studies for his continued support of my ongoing research. I was so very fortunate to encounter these wonderful, talented, and insightful scholars. But no less vital to the completion of my dissertation were the contributions and sacrifices of my family. My deepest thanks go to my parents, Jill and Gus, for encouraging and supporting my pursuit of academia. Together they instilled in me an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and adventure, and always ensured that I had every opportunity under the sun. The same year that I defended my dissertation, my mother, at the age of 62, graduated from the vii University of Hawaii forty years after completing her post-secondary education the first time around – I will always strive to be like her. Perhaps the most difficult person to suitably thank is my husband Dmitriy – how does one thank a person who fought side-by-side in the trenches with you battle after battle. He put up with more frustration than I can quantify, he postponed any hope of a ‘normal’ life and sacrificed so much to facilitate my education. Over the many years invested in this project he often joked that he should get an award for surviving my PhD program – I could not agree more. Thank you, Mitka, for the hours of heated discussions, the debates over translation, and for all of your many insights into the Russian-Jewish post-immigration psyche. At the risk of sounding cliché, I could not have done it without you. This dissertation is a triumph for us both – thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am extremely grateful to Ellen Schoeck, Justine Gill and Tober Lee Carton for reminding me how strong I can be, and to Nathalie Sharpe for her support. I have often referred to Volha Isakava as my ‘guru on life’ and I thank her for assuming the burden of this role. I extend my gratitude to the Brama Grodzka team for showing me how vital and relevant my research is – both within academia and not. My sincere thanks also go to Reverend Laura Springate for serving as my guiding compass, first when we were debaucherous youngsters and now as we pretend to be grown-ups. And finally, to my cat Mooks, who perched atop my window sill in quiet judgement of every moment of the writing process. Thank you. viii Cultural Identity Construction in Russian-Jewish Post-Immigration Literature Table of Contents A Note on Translation and Transliteration ........................................................................ ix Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Context, Corpus and Theoretical Approaches ................................................ 10 1.1

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