Barr, Morgan Nastassia
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Barr, Morgan Nastassia (2020) Identifying the 'Female Schlemiel': The Composition and Representation of the Female Jewish Archetype in Mid to Late Twentieth Century Texts. Masters thesis, York St John University. Downloaded from: http://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/5008/ Research at York St John (RaY) is an institutional repository. It supports the principles of open access by making the research outputs of the University available in digital form. Copyright of the items stored in RaY reside with the authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full text items free of charge, and may download a copy for private study or non-commercial research. For further reuse terms, see licence terms governing individual outputs. Institutional Repository Policy Statement RaY Research at the University of York St John For more information please contact RaY at [email protected] Morgan Barr 1 Identifying the 'Female Schlemiel': The Composition and Representation of the Female Jewish Archetype in Mid to Late Twentieth Century Texts. Morgan Nastassia Barr Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Research York St John University School of Humanities, Religion and Philosophy October 2020 Morgan Barr 2 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that the appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material. Any reuse must comply with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and any licence under which this copy is released. © 2020 York St John University and Morgan Nastassia Barr The right of Morgan Nastassia Barr to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance of with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Morgan Barr 3 Acknowledgements I would like to note the amazing support of my supervisors, Lauren Stephenson and Martin Hall. They have both been an endless source of calm to my own writing angst. No pay rise is big enough. Seriously. I am wholly grateful for the loving support system I that have found from my partner, Nick, who encourages me to do my best. My friends, Niamh Grevatt, Chelsea Barkhuizen, and Rachael Macha, who are so incredibly strong and beautiful that the world simply is better because they are in it. I dedicate this work to them, so when I die, they get ten copies each. Finally, I want to thank the free school meals scheme. It gave me the ability to learn without hunger and had it not been there this dissertation would not exist. Morgan Barr 4 Abstract The construction and representation of the schlemiel is a subject deeply linked to archetype, culture, perspective, gender and comedy. The history of the archetype itself is steeped in a rich background of character, one that only a small part of it is recognised through the past seventy years of comedy. The title of this dissertation refers to its intent to examine the composition and representations of the schlemiel, and how the visibility of the archetype has lent itself towards a male perspective, and what that means for inclusivity within the archetype. The first two chapters will cover the definitions and interpretations of the schlemiel, which will be linked through the discussions of gender, comedy and ‘Jewishness’ and the remaining chapters will be used to discuss four primary examples of the female schlemiel, who in themselves feature similarities and differences between male and female representations of the same archetype. These collective schlemiels will be examined through a term written by Ruth Wisse, that the schlemiel is a ‘model of endurance’, and will be applied to the primary texts. The main examples used within this research are Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner, Elaine May, and Madeline Kahn and the importance of these women as primary resources is due to; the decades on which this research is directed, from the mid 1950s to the late 1980s, the fact these women are all Jewish, that they are known for their comedy work, and each have worked within sectors of the comedy industry. In utilising these key factors, the analysis of the female schlemiel and its representations will work to create cohesive structure that will lead to its overall conclusion. Morgan Barr 5 Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................................................... 7 Chapter One: Defining the Schlemiel ................................................ 15 1.1. Introducing the Schlemiel .................................................... 15 1.2. Development of the Archetype ............................................ 18 1.3. Feminising the Schlemiel …................................................. 22 1.4. A Matter of Endurance …..................................................... 27 Chapter Two: Finding the Female Schlemiel .................................... 33 2.1. Defining the Female Schlemiels …....................................... 33 2.2. The Incongruous Feminine/Masculine ….............................. 34 2.3. Jewish Humour and Female Identity …................................. 37 2.4. Women Aren’t Funny ............................................................ 40 2.5. The Female Schlemiels: Rivers, Radner, May, and Kahn … 43 Chapter Three: Stand-up and Sketch Comedy with Rivers and Radner …................................................................... 51 3.1. Joan Rivers on Stage …....................................................... 51 3.2. The Schlemiel and the Single Girl ….................................... 54 3.3. A Feminist On Paper …........................................................ 56 3.4. A Jewish American Princess ................................................ 59 Morgan Barr 6 3.5. From Rivers to Radner ......................................................... 61 3.6. The First in SNL ................................................................... 63 3.7. Jewish Genes …................................................................... 65 Chapter Four: Elaine May Writing the Schlemiel ….......................... 69 4.1. Introducing Elaine May: Writer, Director, Kooky woman ….. 69 4.2. Nichols and May, A Jewish Partnership …........................... 74 4.3. May’s Schlemiel on Film …................................................... 76 4.4. Dynamics of May’s Written Schlemiels …............................. 81 Chapter Five: Madeline Kahn’s Schlemiel on Film ........................... 86 5.1. Characterising Madeline Kahn ............................................. 86 5.2. Parody and the Schlemiel: Khan as ‘Lili Von Shtupp’ …...... 90 5.3. Pretty/Funny Binary and the Schlemiel ................................ 94 5.4. Sexualising the Schlemiel .................................................... 98 Conclusion …....................................................................................... 103 Bibliography ….................................................................................... 111 Filmography ….................................................................................... 115 Morgan Barr 7 Introduction This thesis aims to examine the archetype of the schlemiel from varying definitions in order to examine and apply them to selected case studies of Jewish female comedy performers. The definitions found in within the primary texts individually contribute their own perspectives of the schlemiel as a foolish character and each of these definitions written by those in the field, such as Sanford Pinsker, Irving Howe, and Ruth Wisse, feature their own interpretations of the archetype that specifically link the schlemiel to defining characteristics. Pinsker takes the approach within his alteration of Leo Rosten’s soup adage, that the schlemiel is a tragic figure. In that metaphorically buttering both sides of his bread he is ensuring his own ill-fate, and in doing so he is foolishly ignorant of his mistakes. For Irving Howe, the schlemiel could be the innocent, the eternal innocent, and connects to the archetype that features within Jung’s Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. This act of being the eternally innocent applies to the schlemiel’s intention and suggests that the intention of doing-good allows the schlemiel’s mistakes to be accepted by others within the narrative, and the audience. This relationship between the archetype and the audience is very important to note further along in this research, since it ensures the acceptance and welcoming of an archetype in a performative space. These initial definitions assert that the schlemiel is a fool, but they further emphasise that the schlemiel represents more regarding their intentions, actions and representations. For the purpose of this study, the schlemiel is a foolish character who is used as a model of endurance. This working definition is based on the understandings of the schlemiel through academic and etymological definitions, that the schlemiel is a fool, and utilises a specific account of the schlemiel, Wisse’s ‘Model of Endurance’, to create a more intricate and specific research subject. Morgan Barr 8 The value in addressing Ruth Wisse’s model of endurance is such that it allows for analysis that is not specifically targeted towards one gender. The sexual schlemiel and the eternal innocent are beneficial in that they address the relationship between the schlemiel and perception of morality and immorality. Regarding women, this is particularly important because there is an uneven ground on