No Longer an Alien, the English Jew: the Nineteenth-Century Jewish
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Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1997 No Longer an Alien, the English Jew: The Nineteenth-Century Jewish Reader and Literary Representations of the Jew in the Works of Benjamin Disraeli, Matthew Arnold, and George Eliot Mary A. Linderman Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Linderman, Mary A., "No Longer an Alien, the English Jew: The Nineteenth-Century Jewish Reader and Literary Representations of the Jew in the Works of Benjamin Disraeli, Matthew Arnold, and George Eliot" (1997). Dissertations. 3684. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/3684 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1997 Mary A. Linderman LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO "NO LONGER AN ALIEN, THE ENGLISH JEW": THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY JEWISH READER AND LITERARY REPRESENTATIONS OF THE JEW IN THE WORKS OF BENJAMIN DISRAELI, MATTHEW ARNOLD, AND GEORGE ELIOT VOLUME I (CHAPTERS I-VI) A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH BY MARY A. LINDERMAN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS JANUARY 1997 Copyright by Mary A. Linderman, 1997 All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge the invaluable services of Dr. Micael Clarke as my dissertation director, and Dr. Frank Fennell and Dr. Steven Jones as my committee members. In addition, I wish to extend special thanks to Roberta Wacker Linderman for her support through the many years that this project took to complete. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. "NEITHER AN APOSTATE NOR A JEW": BENJAMIN DISRAELI AND THE ANGLO-JEWISH COMMUNITY . 38 III. GRASPING "THE SCEPTRE OF SOLOMON": ALROY AND THE EMERGENCE OF JEWISH POLITICAL POWER . 68 IV. "HOW ARE THE ELEMENTS OF NATION TO BE AGAIN BLENDED TOGETHER?": TANCRED AND JEWISH EMANCIPATION . 111 v. HER MAJESTY'S INSPECTOR AND THE JEWS' FREE SCHOOL: ARNOLD AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF INSTITUTIONAL POWER . 164 VI. HEBREW, JEW, OR ISRAELITE: HEBRAISM AND ANGLO-JEWISH IDENTITY . 181 VII. HELLENISM VERSUS HEBRAISM: A STRUGGLE FOR CULTURAL DOMINANCE . 217 VIII. ARNOLD'S RELIGIOUS PROSE AND ISRAEL'S MISSION: POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION . 250 IX. GEORGE ELIOT AND HER LITERARY REPUTATION 301 x. THE HISTORICITY OF MORDECAI AND THE DEBATE OVER JEWISH SPIRITUALITY . 323 XI. "A FRESH MADE GARMENT OF CITIZENSHIP": DANIEL DERONDA AND ANGLO-JEWISH IDENTITY 372 XII. CONCLUSIONS 422 BIBLIOGRAPHY 425 VITA 439 iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION "NO LONGER AN ALIEN THE ENGLISH JEW ... " The title of this dissertation is taken from an article appearing in The Jewish Chronicle at the time of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. It heralds Victoria's reign as a period of increasing tolerance towards the Jews in England: The suspicion and distrust with which [the Jew] was regarded fifty years ago have vanished .... No longer an alien the English Jew is now an integral part of the nation, as closely identified with its interests as any other Englishman. 1 This description of the Queen's reign also underscores the complex image of the Jew as "alien" and "Englishman." It indicates that a major effort of the Jewish community for the previous fifty years had been to "closely identify" with the nation's interests so as to diminish the public's "suspicion and distrust" of the alien Jew. The exhibition illustrates how such cultural practices as national celebrations were used by Anglo-Jews to articulate their relationship to the nation, and to influence the English perception of their community. In this way, the history of Victoria's reign is also that of the emergence of an Anglo-Jewish identity that seeks to 1 "The Queen's Jubilee," The Jewish Chronicle, 17 June 1887, p. 10. 1 2 balance the demands of Englishness with those of Jewish distinctiveness. 2 The production of literary texts is another cultural practice that participated in the fashioning of Anglo-Jewish identity. This study will analyze how literary texts were used to mediate between the claims of "Englishness" and "Jewishness." It will explore how Benjamin Disraeli's The Wondrous Tale of Alroy (1833) and Tancred (1847) attempt to define a role for Jews in English political life during the emancipation era. Matthew Arnold's Culture and Anarchy (1869) and Literature and Dogma (1873) will be used to demonstrate how Anglo-Jews sometimes used literary representations to articulate their relationship to English cultural and religious values. Finally, George Eliot's Daniel Deronda (1876) will show how the practice of equating Jewish spirituality with Zionism jeopardized the perception of the Jew as an English citizen. The methodology that I use to interpret these texts draws on elements of new historicism as well as other analytical techniques. My analysis emphasizes 2Nineteenth-century Jews and Gentiles identified themselves as racially distinct groups. However, my use of the terms "Englishness" and "Jewishness" is based on the assumption that the terms represent "constructs" and are repeatedly defined in different ways throughout the century. I do not use them to represent essentialized qualities that are inherently linked to race. Instead, I use them to identify the adoption of certain manners, social conventions, and religious beliefs. While the term "Jews" indicates a racially distinct group, the quality of "Jewishne·ss" is continually defined and redefined by the community as it positions itself in post-emancipation society. 3 that both literary representations of the Jew and the responses of Jewish readers are historically specific and ideologically mediated. Finally, this study is also underwritten by the assumption that literary works are not only the products of ongoing cultural debates, but that they participate in them through their representations of social relations. A closer examination of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition will reveal the complexity of these social relations as well as demonstrate the need to consider literary representations of Jews in this complex cultural matrix. This exhibition guaranteed that Anglo-Jews would be active participants in the commemorative activities for the Queen's Jubilee. It included Jewish ecclesiastical art, portraits of Jewish notables, and various historical documents outlining the events of several hundred years of Jewish life in England. Sir Isidore Spielmann3 and several other Jewish notables seemed to have successfully organized an event that recognized both Jewish distinctiveness and the community's ties to England. According to The Jewish Chronicle, this first exhibition of Anglo-Jewish antiquities was especially 3Sir Isidore Spielmann (1854-1925) was originally trained as an engineer but became increasingly involved in the art world with his work as art director for the British Board of Trade, and as a representative for the British government at a number of international art exhibits. He was also active on behalf of Russian Jews, and edited Darkest Russia from 1890-2. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v. "Spielmann, Sir Isidore," by Hugo Bieber. 4 appropriate for the commemoration of Victoria's reign: [The historical documents] record a remarkable progress in the position of the community .... Her MAJESTY's reign has witnessed most of this advance, and it is appropriate that the records of it should be collected together in its Jubilee Year. 4 The "progress" alluded to here included the material prosperity of the community as well as the admittance of professing Jews to English institutions. By 1887, a professing Jew could attend English universities, serve in governmental positions, and enter the Houses of Commons and of Lords. The Jewish Chronicle praises "the Victorian age as the most marvelous era in Anglo-Jewish annals," since "in [Victoria's J hands the sceptre became an enchanter's wand which swiftly altered the whole aspect of Anglo-Jewish affairs. " 5 Descriptions of the exhibition also functioned to continually remind the reader of the liberality and tolerance of English society towards Jews. At the Inaugural Soiree celebrating the exhibit's opening, Mr. Frederick David Mocatta6 welcomed "practically the whole official portion of 4 "The Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition," The Jewish Chronicle, 1 April 1887, pp. 11-12. 5 "The Queen's Jubilee," 11. 6David Frederick Mocatta (1828-1905) served as chairman of the exhibition and later as president of the Jewish Historical Society of England. He also published a well respected book on the Jews of Spain and the Inquisition. He was an important communal leader who held progressive views on improving the living conditions of the working classes. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v. "Mocatta, Frederick David," by Hugo Bieber. 5 the Jewish community" and many "distinguished Christians" as the string band of the Royal artillery provided musical entertainment. 7 An observer from The Jewish Chronicle noted that on entering Royal Albert Hall with its "vast dome," the visitor enjoyed "a feeling of freedom." The openness of Royal Albert Hall was paralleled to British institutions, which were in mark contrasted