The demonization of the Jew in Chaucer's "The Prioress's Tale," Shakespeare's The merchant of Venice and Scott's Ivanhoe

Abstract

This thesis examines the issue of anti-Semitism throughout three different eras in chosen classics of the English literature- 'The Prioress's Tale' from the Canterbury Tales, The Merchant of Venice and Ivanhoe- comparing and contrasting the demonization of the Jewish characters present in the texts. By examining the three texts, I intend to show the evolution of the demonization of Jews in literature throughout different periods in history. The historical and cultural aspects of the works will be taken into consideration, for anti-Semitism can be clearly traced as an ideology built throughout Western culture as a form of domination and exclusion of minorities. The Lateran Council of 1215 resurrected the spectrum of anti-Semitism by imposing laws such as the prohibition of intermarriage between Jews and Christians or the obligation of different dress for Jews. This is especially visible in the chosen works, for Jews are stigmatized as demonic, pagan, heretic and unclean. A particular trope present in two of the texts in the Christian aversion to usury- a task that was conveniently attributed to the Jews. Since they were considered inferior, such work was thought to suit their lot. Another one is the demonization of the Jewish woman. This is done first by turning her into an object of desire and seduction in both Ivanhoe and The Merchant of Venice, then by trying to force their conversion to Christianity- which happens to the character Jessica but not Rebecca. A theme connected to the previous one is the issue of purity and cleanliness. Jews are seen as particularly unclean, being associated with negative images such as latrines, mutilation, poison, sexual depravity and witchcraft. All of the anti-Semitic feelings above can be detected in the three works, and they can be effectively contrasted and compared in order to better understand the repudiation of the Jews in literature. This analysis is done by (1) the collection of historical data, related to anti-Semitism, from the different settings in which the literary works were written and the examination of it via cultural studies and (2) a comparative study of the Jewish characters and demonic themes present in the texts. Data have been collected from historical texts, archives and manuscripts. This dissertation challenges the reader to develop a critical reading of canonical writings, questioning anti-Semitism via demonization of the Jews in literature by offering a view of these literary texts of different genres and settings.