Representations of the Character of the Jew in the Nineteenth-Century French, German and English Novel, and the Jewish Response

Abstract

This thesis examines the relations between literature and the Bible through the myth of three characters, who construct the collective of 'the Jew' as a dangerous and fascinating Other in the nineteenth-century European mind. It examines the evolution of the representations of these characters, and their convergences and divergences in French, English and German nineteenth-century novels. The mythocritique method, taking into account the collective unconscious, reveals that the chosen characters re-enact three major myths, which demonstrate their vitality, not only in literature and theology, but also in art. A response can be found in comparative Jewish literature to these myths, completing the study and revealing a constructive dialogue and self-examination.