Portrayal of Jews in 19th and 20th Century British Novels

Abstract

Since the time of Chaucer, British literature literally brimmed over with Jewish stereotypes. The image of a villainous Jew created in the Middle Ages and during the Elizabethan era represented a traditional pattern that was with slight modifications adopted by other authors of the following centuries. The main aim of this bachelor paper is to analyse Jewish stereotypes occuring in the three selected novels: Trilby by George du Maurier, Stamboul Train by Graham Greene and The Sins of the Father by Allan Massie. At the beginning a brief outline of the history of Jews in Britain is provided. The practical part focuses on negative and positive stereotypes occuring in the selected works, points out the common features of those images and compares them with their earlier representations. The attention is drawn to the influence of Biblical imagery and Christian attitudes on potraying the Jews and the influence of Jewish involvement in the field of finance and politics. The last chapter focuses on the post-war image of a Jew and the new perspectives in portraying the Jews in the novel by Allan Massie.