The Portrayal of Jews in Nineteenth-Century English Literature | Amy Levy (essay date 1886)
Amy Levy (essay date 1886)
SOURCE: "The Jew in Fiction," in The Jewish Chronicle, June 4, 1886, p. 13.
[In the following essay, Levy contends that, although Jews have secured a "prominent position " in English society, they have not been fairly represented in English novels—particularly George Eliot's novel Daniel Deronda, which, according to Levy, makes a "sincere and respectful attempt " at portraying Judaism but does not genuinely reflect contemporary Jewish life.]
It is curious, that, while the prominent position of the Jew is recognised as one of the characteristic features of English social life of the present day, so small a place should be allotted him in contemporary fiction.
In finance, in politics, in society; in every branch of art and science the English Jew is to be found in a position of more or less distinction. It is only in the novel, with one notable exception, that his claims to consideration...
[The entire page is 931 words long]
Navigate
