The Jewish Question in Ivanhoe
Isaac and Rebecca of York in pre-World War Two Britain
Master Thesis English Language and Culture, University of Amsterdam
Anne van der Marel
30 June 2011
Supervisor Dr. R.D Eaton
Content
Introduction
p. 3
Chapter 1: What are the Jews in Ivanhoe like?
p. 5
Chapter 2: How do Isaac and Rebecca of York fit in
the nineteenth century?
p. 20
Chapter 3: Ivanhoe in the early twentieth century.
p. 30
Conclusion
p. 38
Appendix 1: Paintings of Rebecca of York.
p. 40
Appendix 2: Publications of Ivanhoe according to
The English Catalogue of Books
p. 43
Appendix 3: Details of The Times Digital Archive
p. 44
Appendix 4: Theatre review The Times: May 23, 1913.
p. 44/45
Bibliography
p. 46
2
Introduction
When nowadays someone is asked whether they have ever heard about the story of Ivanhoe
(Sir Walter Scott, 1820), it is likely that they will respond with a doubtful ‘yes’ as an answer.
After having given that answer, it is also likely that the person will ask if Ivanhoe is not that
story about ‘all those knights in the Middle Ages’, and next they will probably sing or hum
the title song tune of the television series starring Roger Moore. It is rather nice that after so
many years, people remember a story from the nineteenth century, but at the same time it is a
shame that the important aspect of the story is forgotten and only the tournament at Ashby-dela-Zouche is remembered.
Yes indeed, Ivanhoe is set in twelfth century England where at the time both Saxons
and Normans inhabit the island. The two peoples are not at war, but they most certainly are
not fond of each other and refuse to speak each other’s languages. The main plot revolves
around the young Saxon Knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe, who is loyal to King Richard I, the
(Norman) king of England. Ivanhoe’s father Cedric the Saxon despises his son for going on
the crusades with Richard the Lion Heart and even disinherited him for doing so, since all
Cedric can think about is making sure that the Saxon line of nobles will not be overruled by
the Normans. Cedric’s fears are grounded, since Richard I is held captive in Austria and in the
meantime his devious brother John sits on the throne and plots with the Normans to abuse the
Saxon land owners without Richard knowing. On top of that, Ivanhoe is in love with Rowena,
his father’s high-born ward, but Cedric is determined to marry Rowena to Althelstane, a
Saxon noble, to make sure the Saxon line will not get lost. ‘Following a tournament, and then
the siege of a castle, Ivanhoe overcomes his father’s objections to him marrying Rowena, and
assists Richard in overcoming John’s ‘cabal’’(Julius, 197). Ivanhoe marries Rowena and all
live happily ever after, so it seems.
3
Looking superficially at the plot of the book, it can be said that Ivanhoe is an
adventure novel and that the main themes are politics (Saxons versus Normans) and love
(Ivanhoe and Rowena). But under the surface there is one other very important theme that
cannot be forgotten and which was a controversial one from the moment Ivanhoe was
published until a long time after that. Next to the above described story lines, there is one
other including two characters that are easily not remembered, but who play, in my opinion,
the most important roles in the book. These characters are the Jew Isaac of York and his
daughter Rebecca. Isaac is a wealthy money lender and his beautiful daughter helps him in his
business. As was “normal” in the twelfth century, the Jewish father and daughter are seen as a
lesser people and their religion is considered as a devilish one. Of this no secret is made by
either the Saxons or the Normans and throughout the book the Jews are discriminated against,
teased, cursed, sworn upon, tortured and accused of witchcraft. What is so interesting about
all this, is that when Isaac makes his first appearance in chapter five, Scott starts the chapter
with a quote from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (1598):
Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands,
organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?
Fed with the same food, hurt with the same
weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by
the same means, warmed and cooled by the same
winter and summer, as a Christian is?
With this quote Scott wanted to show that although ‘his’ Jews were treated horribly; he felt
that Jews and Christians were equal. Besides more instances in the book where the omniscient
narrator explains to the reader what kind of injustices were forced upon Jews, Scott created
two Jewish characters that are, especially Rebecca, sympathetic, caring and not as
judgemental and prejudiced as the Normans and Saxons.
4
Since ant-Semitism was not only present in the Middle Ages but was still a current
topic in nineteenth century Britain and even arose in the twentieth, it is interesting to look at
how Isaac and Rebecca of York fit in the cultural context of pre-World War Two Britain and
how Scott’s British readers handled Jewish characters portrayed as good and pure people. I
will try to answer this question by answering the following sub-questions, divided into
chapters: 1. What are the Jews in Ivanhoe like? 2. How did Isaac and Rebecca fit in the
nineteenth century? 3. How was Ivanhoe received in the twentieth century? As a result, this
thesis attempts to establish whether Isaac and Rebecca of York had become anachronisms or
if they represented a stable Jewish identity in pre-World War Two Britain.
5
1. What are the Jews in Ivanhoe like?
Although Sir Walter Scott wrote Ivanhoe (1819) while in a bad state of health, he received
jubilant criticism for his ability to create a romance novel which was appealing to all ranks
and classes in nineteenth century Britain, and something different from all his work
previously published. The novel about the conflict between the Saxons and the Normans in
the Twelfth Century ‘was received throughout England with a more clamorous delight than
any of its Scottish predecessors had. 12.000 copies were sold at once’ (Crocket, 283).
Ivanhoe’s success was not just limited to England, Scott’s use of common sense and humour
made him extremely popular among audiences all over Europe. However, besides all the
positive criticism the book received, there were also a lot of reviewers who stumbled upon the
historical inaccuracy of Ivanhoe. Some critics 1 said that Scott did not take the time to
investigate certain names, events and dates, and that the novel lacks psychological depth.
Therefore, the book is often described as a boy’s adventure story and numerous children’s
adaptations have been published ever since. But Ivanhoe is not just an adventure story for
boys, nor is it a simple romance tale since Scott can be labelled as the first nineteenth century
British writer who decided to give Jews a ‘kind of popular prominence in the English novel’
(Rosenberg, 75). As Michael Ragussis writes in his article ‘Writing Nationalist history’; ‘it
was Scott who drew the attention of the entire European community to the history of the
politically disenfranchised Jews, by exploring the way in which their lack of national status
was mirrored at once in the Saxons after the Norman Conquest’ (189). It is to be regretted that
critics who made the claims about historical inaccuracy and psychological depth, were only
interested in the British part of the story and overlooked the fact that not Wilfred of Ivanhoe
himself but Isaac and Rebecca of York (the Jewish father and daughter who are being
discriminated throughout the book and in the end leave Britain to settle in Spain) are the most
1
Andrew Lang, Walter Bagehot, David Daiches, Sir Herbert Grierson, Una Pope Hennesy
6
important characters in the book. Opposing Scott’s critics, I will argue in this first chapter that
Scott did do his research considering the roles of the Jewish father and daughter in Medieval
Britain very well and by doing so, Scott had a deliberate goal to inform his readers about the
injustice done to Jews in the Middle Ages and in nineteenth century Britain.
Historians are not quite sure about when the first Jews came to England, but it must
have been somewhere around the Eleventh Century. The Norman William the Conqueror
probably brought the first Jews to Britain and from then on, it was noting but misery for the
Jewish population in England. The British rulers seemed willing to create a negative imagery
around Jewishness from the very moment they set foot on the British isle. Jews in the Middle
Ages were seen as inferior. They ‘lived in separate quarters, or “Jewries”, in the larger
English towns, sharply separated from the rest of the population’ (Modder, 1) and were only
appreciated for the money they made for the English crown because ‘it was the gold of the
Jewish financiers that strengthened the position’ (Modder, 2) of William the Conqueror. From
the Twelfth Century onwards, there are several occurrences of harsh violence against Jews
and indications of British people trying to spread hatred against “the enemies of Christ”. Cecil
Roth (A History of the Jews in England), Jonathan A. Romain (Anglo-Jewry in Evidence), and
Montagu Frank Modder (The Jew in the Literature of England) all write about the several
incidents in which a climax of anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages was reached: mass
murdering in the city of York. ‘One stormy March night, when an outbreak of fire caused
confusion in the city, a number of conspirators broke into the house of Benedict of York […]
murdered his widow and all the other persons whom they found there, seized all the moveable
property and set the building in flames. The day after the tragic occurrences at York, on Palm
Sunday, 1190, a massacre took place, fifty-seven Jews being killed. Survivors to be expelled
from the town. ’(Roth, 22/25). When Richard I and later his brother and successor John ruled
the country, Jews were being exploited by having to pay ridiculous amounts of taxes; if they
7
failed to do so, a tooth a day would be pulled until all the money was paid. It is this period
that the story of Ivanhoe takes place.
Scott revises the representation of Jewish identity in the twelfth century by creating
the characters of Isaac and Rebecca of York. ‘Among the nineteenth-century novelists who
contributed conspicuously to the mythology of the Jew, Scott represents perhaps a larger
number of available attitudes than any of the novelists who followed him. Unlike Dickens and
Eliot, who continued to reflect the extreme positions encouraged by Shylock and Sheva, Scott
in the pages of a single novel cuts across a variety of traditional moods’ (Rosenberg, 74). As a
first, Isaac’s and Rebecca’s last name is the name of the British city where, as described in the
previous paragraph, much hatred against Jews was present and where many Jews were killed.
Scott might have given Isaac and Rebecca this last name deliberately, to draw attention to the
horrible events that took place in York at the time. By making them part of a group of people
who were massacred for no reason other than being Jewish, Scott illuminates the racial
prejudices that were considered to be normal in the middle ages and perhaps even forecasts
what their destiny will be because no good could come of having a name like that. The
opposite could also be argued: that it was quite ignorant of Scott to give Isaac the name of
York since considering the events taken place, all Jews of York would be dead or have fled.
However, any other place name could have been chosen so it must be a very big coincidence
that it turned out to be this one. Since Scott supports his thoughts about anti-Semitism so
clearly throughout the book by creating certain events, he probably consciously opted for this
one after taking note of the York murdering.
The appearance of Isaac of York in Ivanhoe is introduced in chapter five as follows:
Introduced with little ceremony, and advancing with fear and hesitation, and many a
bow of deep humility, a tall thin old man, who, however, had lost by the habit of
8
stooping much of his actual height, approached the lower end of the board. His
features, keen and regular, with an aquiline nose, and piercing black eyes; his high and
wrinkled forehead, and long grey hair and beard. […] The Jew's dress, which appeared
to have suffered considerably from the storm, was a plain russet cloak of many folds,
covering a dark purple tunic. He had large boots lined with fur, and a belt around his
waist, which sustained a small knife, together with a case for writing materials, but no
weapon. He wore a high square yellow cap of a peculiar fashion, assigned to his nation
to distinguish them from Christians, and which he doffed with great humility at the
door of the hall (Scott, 47).
The first sentences of the description show that Isaac of York already knows by entering
Cedric’s home that he is not exactly a welcomed guest. Isaac enters the room with hesitation
as if the Saxons might have trapped him so that he must be aware of beatings or robbery. The
fact that Isaac has the habit of hiding his actual height shows that he has probably had
problems with Saxons and Normans, who would find his length threatening. He is used to
being humble and making sure he is not doing anything to upset the inhabitants of the island
he is on. Scott describes Isaac’s facial features and it is noteworthy that Scott writes that if
Isaac was not a Jew, he would be considered to be a handsome man. However, he is a Jew and
since his dark features and his hooked nose clearly show that, it does not matter that he is
actually a handsome male because
the marks of a physiognomy peculiar to a race, which, during those dark ages, was
alike detested by the credulous and prejudiced vulgar, and persecuted by the greedy
and rapacious nobility, and who, perhaps, owing to that very hatred and persecution,
had adopted a national character, in which there was much, to say the least, mean and
unamiable (Scott, 47) .
9
I consider it to be quite interesting that Scott decided here to write an introduction of Isaac
which is sympathetic to the Jewish people. By telling the readers that although Isaac looks
different, he is a handsome man, Scott informs the audience that although he is handsome, his
features are detested by people who are narrow-minded and racists. Hereby Scott clearly
shows that, as said previously, he wants to send out a message; Jews were judged by their
appearance rather than by there actions and those judgements were made by ignorant and
gluttonous Saxons and Normans. The further description of how Isaac looks has to do with his
clothing. The descriptions make clear that by what Isaac wears, he must be reasonably
wealthy. Although the people in the Middle Ages made a clear distinction between wealth and
noble birth (which meant that a wealthy Jew could never become one of the noble Saxons),
Isaac is treated far below his rank, simply for being Jewish. Also interesting here is the fact
that Scott explains that Isaac wears a typical yellow cap, designed by the English that is
supposed to identify him as a Jew. Again, this reveals that Scott considered it to be
noteworthy that the reason why Isaac is wearing such a cap is because the Brits found it
necessary for the Jewish race to distinguish themselves by wearing a particular piece of
headwear. By dong so, Scott does exactly the opposite of what American literary scientist
Edward Said claimed in his book Orientalism. Namely that in Europe there is a long-standing
tradition ‘of identifying the East as ‘Other’ and inferior to the West. The Orient, he says,
features is the Western mind ‘as a sort of surrogate and even an underground self’ (Walder,
236).
2
I believe that throughout the whole of Ivanhoe Scott is trying to do the opposite of
what Said claims Westerns authors to do, because he is mainly trying to show that although
Jews are different and therefore ‘Others’, they should not be treated differently because they
are not the ones that are bad persons; most of the Saxons and Normans are.
2
Said has criticized Scott on his novel The Talisman (1825) about the third crusades in the Middle-East in the
end of the Twelfth Century by saying that Scott is trying to justify violence by Christians against Muslims.
10
Isaac is in almost all occasions addressed with horrible names other than his own. The
most commonly used are ‘unbelieving dog’ or ‘dog of a Jew’ and no secret is made of the fact
that both the Saxons and the Normans despise the Jewish faith and any person who holds this
religion. Next to the fact the Isaac is addressed with offensive words by the other characters,
they continuously offend Jews in general or Isaac specifically when he is not there. For
example when Isaac enters Cederic the Saxon’s home Rotherhood, Cedric says: ‘we may
endure the presence of one Jew for a few hours. But I constrain no man to converse or to feed
with him’ (Scott, 46-47), and ‘"By my faith," said Wamba, "it would seem the Templars love
the Jews' inheritance better than they do their company’ (Scott, 46) After that the omniscient
teller takes over describing the way Lord Cedric and his guest continue to handle the presence
of the Jew.
The reception of this person in the hall of Cedric the Saxon, was such as might have
satisfied the most prejudiced enemy of the tribes of Israel. Cedric himself coldly
nodded in answer to the Jew's repeated salutations, and signed to him to take place at
the lower end of the table, where, however, no one offered to make room for him. On
the contrary, as he passed along the file, casting a timid supplicating glance, and
turning towards each of those who occupied the lower end of the board, the Saxon
domestics squared their shoulders, and continued to devour their supper with great
perseverance, paying not the least attention to the wants of the new guest. The
attendants of the Abbot crossed themselves, with looks of pious horror, and the very
heathen Saracens, as Isaac drew near them, curled up their whiskers with indignation,
and laid their hands on their poniards, as if ready to rid themselves by the most
desperate means from the apprehended contamination of his nearer approach (Scott
47/48).
11
In this piece of narrative Scott clearly shows the feelings of disgust and repugnance the people
in the room have for Isaac and he makes the reader see that in England in the Twelfth Century,
Jews were the lowest of the low and were despised without their personality being judged at
first. Besides the continuous name-calling, I would like to show with two other examples that
throughout the book Jews were considered to be, according to the Normans and the Saxons, a
lesser people. At the important tournament at Ashby-de-la-Zouche, Prince John tells Cedric
the Saxon and his friends to make place for Isaac and Rebecca as he wants them to sit at the
Gallery to watch the tournament. Cedric and his men refuse and a little quarrel arises. This
makes Isaac nervous and he suggests that they go and sit somewhere else. Prince John
however, responds by saying ‘"Up, infidel dog when I command you, or I will have thy
swarthy hide stript off, and tanned for horse-furniture."’(Scott, 74). The fearful Isaac obeys
but then Prince John turns the tables and dares one of the Saxons to stop the Jew, ‘fixing his
eye on Cedric, whose attitude intimated his intention to hurl the Jew down headlong’(Scott,
74). Not Cederic but Wamba, the jester is the first to take action and holds a piece of swine
meat in front of Isaac’s face, which is of course to Jews something unclean. Isaac stumbles
down the stairs which is ‘an excellent jest to the spectators, who set up a loud laughter, in
which Prince John and his attendants heartily joined’(Scott, 75). This situation shows that
Isaac is being used for ridicule and mockery. Prince John, who is at first eager to place Isaac
and Rebecca amongst nobility, changes his mind when he realizes the resistance by the
Saxons. And although Wamba might have prevented a horrible fight between Cedric and
Isaac, he chases the Jew in an extremely loathsome way. Later, in a dialogue between Robin
of Locksly (better known as Robin Hood) and Isaac, Isaac is called ‘"good beast—good
earthworm!"’(Scott, 290) by him. This might be an over-romanticized idea but Robin Hood
was, according to the legend, someone who stole from the rich and gave to the poor and on
top of that a person who knew better than to judge someone by his race. The fact that he
12
addresses Isaac of York with the words ‘beast’ and ‘earthworm’, although preceded by ‘good’,
shows that also Robin Hood is not much in favour of the Jewish race.
So how does Isaac take all this hatred and humiliating behaviour? He takes it as any
other person would do who is discriminated against because of his descent. His personality
can be described as fearful and full of self-pity because he is treated so badly but that goes
hand in hand with being a slightly arrogant greedy money lender since he knows the Saxons
and Normans need him for his money and that money is all he has got. Looking at him in a
superficial way, one could argue that he is nothing but a stereotypical Jew. Because of this
and probably because ‘nothing comparable had been offered since Shakespeare’ (Rosenberg,
76), Isaac of York is often compared with Shylock from The Merchant of Venice (1598).
Some critics would even go so far as to say that Scott did not even do his best to create a new
Jewish character but simply rewrote Shylock into Ivanhoe for the reasons that both Shylock
and Isaac are both widowers, moneylenders, and both their daughters are in love with a
Christian. Although it is true that Isaac possesses many of the same negative characteristics
like Shylock such as greediness, vindictiveness, arrogance, and being materialistic, Isaac is a
more loving and caring father and is not as judgemental to his daughter as Shylock is. Isaac
never gives his opinion about Rebecca being in love with Ivanhoe, he approaches most
persons he encounters without previous knowledge with respect and he shows his gratitude
for the people who do help him, characteristics that Shylock in my opinion does not possess.
Furthermore, since Jews were denied any occupation other than money trading, there was not
much choice but to give him a job as a money lender. And as far as Isaac’s negative
characteristics, Jews were treated horribly and were therefore fearful personalities. They did
not understand why they were not welcome anywhere in the world, which created self-pity.
As Scott’s omniscient narrator says in chapter six:
13
The obstinacy and avarice of the Jews being thus in a measure placed in
opposition to the fanaticism that tyranny of those under whom they lived,
seemed to increase in proportion to the persecution with which they were
visited; and the immense wealth they usually acquired in commerce, while it
frequently placed them in danger, was at other times used to extend their
influence, and to secure to them a certain degree of protection. On these terms
they lived; and their character, influenced accordingly, was watchful,
suspicious, and timid—yet obstinate, uncomplying, and skilful in evading the
dangers to which they were exposed (Scott, 62).
By creating a character like Isaac of York, Scott gives us a negative stereotypical image of a
Jew. However, this is done with a twist since Isaac is not all bad. ‘He is also the pathetic
victim of inimical historical pressures, and perhaps the worst that can be said of him is that he
reacts as badly as possible under pressure’ (Rosenberg, 74). Isaac is not a character that
creates sympathy amongst readers, therefore Scott made him too much of a miser. What does
evoke sympathy is the way Scott describes how Isaac is treated. Even though Isaac is not a
sympathetic person, we cannot enjoy the way in which he is treated because this rests on
nothing but prejudice.
Rebecca of York, Isaac’s daughter, is introduced like this:
The figure of Rebecca might indeed have compared with the proudest beauties of
England, even though it had been judged by as shrewd a connoisseur as Prince John.
Her form was exquisitely symmetrical, and was shown to advantage by a sort of
Eastern dress, which she wore according to the fashion of the females of her nation.
Her turban of yellow silk suited well with the darkness of her complexion. The
brilliancy of her eyes, the superb arch of her eyebrows, her well-formed aquiline nose,
14
her teeth as white as pearl, and the profusion of her sable tresses, which, each
arranged in its own little spiral of twisted curls, fell down upon as much of a lovely
neck and bosom as a simarre of the richest Persian silk, exhibiting flowers in their
natural colours embossed upon a purple ground, permitted to be visible—all these
constituted a combination of loveliness, which yielded not to the most beautiful of the
maidens who surrounded her. It is true, that of the golden and pearl-studded clasps,
which closed her vest from the throat to the waist, the three uppermost were left
unfastened on account of the heat, which something enlarged the prospect to which
we allude. A diamond necklace, with pendants of inestimable value, were by this
means also made more conspicuous. The feather of an ostrich, fastened in her turban
by an agraffe set with brilliants, was another distinction of the beautiful Jewess,
scoffed and sneered at by the proud dames who sat above her, but secretly envied by
those who affected to deride them (Scott, 71/ 72 ).
This description shows that Scott could not stress more how beautiful Rebecca looks and how
wonderfully she is dressed. Her features are exquisite, her accessories superb and all the other
women are jealous of her. Interestingly enough, Jean-Paul Sartre writes in his book AntiSemite and Jew the following about the word combination “a beautiful Jewess”: ‘There is in
the words “a beautiful Jewess” a very special sexual signification, one quite different from
that contained in the words “beautiful Rumanian,” “beautiful Greek,” or “beautiful
American,” for example. This phrase carries an aura of rape and massacre’ (48). Sartre
concludes this probably because it is commonly known that when one has unfavourable
thoughts about a specific group of ‘others’, even positive (stereotypical) things will be turned
into negative ones and are experienced as intimidating. The fact that Rebecca is this beautiful
was seen by the Saxons and Normans as a threat; she was able to seduce them and persuade
them to do unchristian things. When a Jewess was beautiful, Saxons and Normans felt entitled
15
to force themselves upon her which could lead to, as Sartre writes, rape an massacre.
Furthermore, these actions were then considered to be Rebecca’s own fault. In contrast, when
a Rumanian, Greek or American woman was seen as beautiful this was not threatening
because they did not belong to a “devilish” race. Noteworthy in the description also is again
the fact that Scott describes Rebecca wearing a yellow turban. By this he has done his
research well, because it seems to be so that ‘Christian laws required both Jewish women and
prostitutes to wear a sort of turban, in the form of a yellow band of linen wound round their
heads from ear to ear. A Jewish woman discovered in the street without her yellow marker
could be publicly stripped – the same fate that awaited a prostitute. The lawmakers’ idea was
that Jewish women, like their circumcised brothers, must be clearly – and publicly, if
arbitrarily – distinguishable. In Scott, Rebecca’s luxurious turban signifies Jewish difference;
moreover, the association with female promiscuity constructs the turban as a sign of sexual
availability and impurity […] Rebecca of Ivanhoe can thus be read as an exotic Jewess among
Medieval Saxons and Normans, or as an anachronistic 1820 fashion plate in the twelfth
century. She is distinguished from her surroundings in either case, and the special associations
of the turban remain in force’ (Lewin, 8). As well as her father, Rebecca is addressed in a
negative way. When Prince John notices Rebecca’s beauty, the prior tells him that he ‘must
remember she is still but a Jewess’(Scott, 72) and Cedric calls Rebecca ‘daughter of an
accused race’ (Scott, 215). On top of that, a trial is set up because Rebecca is accused of
witchcraft by making a templar fall in love with her.
However, Rebecca is not as much insulted as her father. In fact, she even receives
some compliments which have got a lot, or better said everything, to do with the fact that she
is an extremely beautiful young woman. Several times she is called a lovely, a fair and a
beautiful Jewess and Prince John even considers her ‘the very model of that perfection, whose
charms drove frantic the wisest king that ever lived!’ (Scott, 72). According to Edgar
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Rosenberg ‘there can only be one opinion of Rebecca. She seems to be one of those literary
creations who assume a sort of suprapersonal significance the moment the book is out on the
market’ (Rosenberg, 84). Because indeed, Rebecca did not only drive the men in Ivanhoe
crazy, she was by far the most popular character of the book. ‘From the time of the novel’s
publication, readers and especially dramatists regarded Rebecca as its major source of interest.
In the fourteen of the twenty-nine dramatic and operatic versions produced in the sixty years
after Ivanhoe was first published, the novel’s focus on Wilfred of Ivanhoe, […] was replaced
by a spotlight on his undeclared lover, the tragic Jewess Rebecca (Valman, 20-21).
Apparently this was done because most of Scott’s readers were disappointed by the story’s
end because Rebecca does not marry her hero Ivanhoe. The audience expected Rebecca to
convert into a Christian and not to stay true to her own religion and live celibate in exile. But
against all odds, ‘Scott chooses to construct Rebecca as a romance heroine, virtuous and
chaste, an example worthy of imitation. As such, she partakes of the rhetoric of uniqueness,
“truth,” and exemplarity’ (Lewin, 3). The reason that readers of Ivanhoe were so keen to see
Rebecca marry her hero is because Rebecca is more heroic and sympathetic than any other
character in the book.
This makes her therefore the most appealing person of the whole story. The first
situation that shows Rebecca’s bravery is when in chapter twenty-nine, after the tournament,
Rebecca takes care of the wounded Ivanhoe. They are both being held captive in the castle
Torquilstone when a fight breaks out and Rebecca reports from looking out of the window to
Ivanhoe what exactly is going on. Rebecca is horrified by what she sees but Ivanhoe tells her
that he ‘would endure ten years of captivity to fight for one day by that good knight’s side in
such a quarrel as this’(Scott, 248). Ivanhoe accuses Rebecca of being ignorant when she
questions why Ivanhoe enjoys hearing about men wounding other men when he is wounded
himself. An argument arises in which Ivanhoe tells Rebecca that because she is a Jew she is
17
not familiar with the high feelings of pride when knights fight and win. According to Ivanhoe
chivalry ‘is the nurse of pure and high affection —the stay of the oppressed, the redresser of
grievances, the curb of the power of the tyrant—Nobility were but an empty name without her,
and liberty finds the best protection in her lance and her sword’ (Scott, 249). Rebecca replies
by telling Ivanhoe that these sorts of thoughts only lead up to suppression and oppression.
When Rebecca concludes her argument, Ivanhoe has drifted off into a state of
unconsciousness again. So what particularly interested readers was the fact that Rebecca
convinces her father to take care of Ivanhoe, thereby takes a great risk, and she is not afraid to
speak up to Ivanhoe when he is praising chivalry. Those are all very brave things to do for a
woman in the middle ages and even in later periods. She might figure as a role model for
women in general who are afraid to stand up for what they believe in.
The other situation is yet again one which shows the enormous strength of character of
Rebecca. After the wedding of Ivanhoe and Rowena, Scott follows up with the final chapter
in which Rebecca pays a visit to Rowena. When at the end of her visit, Rebecca tells Rowena
that she and her father have planned to leave Britain to go to Spain, Rowena suggests Rebecca
convert to Christianity so that they will be like sisters and all her trouble can be over. Rebecca
refuses and explains: ‘I may not change the faith of my fathers like a garment unsuited to the
climate in which I seek to dwell’ (Scott, 400). She concludes her goodbye with the wise
phrase: ‘May He, who made both Jew and Christian, shower down on you his choicest
blessings! The bark that waits us hence will be under weigh ere we can reach the port’ (Scott,
401). The fact that Rebecca chooses not to convert to Christianity while she knows it might
end up to be a better life for her, shows the enormous devotion and strength she has for her
descent and that she does not wish to change who she is and what she stands for. ‘It is
ominous that Rebecca, who seems to represent the ideals of the past that are really worth
preserving, leaves England because the nation is not prepared to nurture these ideals. Before
18
departing, she explains to Rowena that “the people of England are a fierce race, quarrelling
ever with their neighbours or among themselves”’ (Duncan, 299). Moreover, it seems like
Scott deliberately chose to make Rebecca the heroine of the story. The chapter in which
Rebecca visits Rowena is the final chapter of the book. Because of this, Scott dismisses the
importance of the wedding chapter, which should be the big romantic climax of the novel, as
the final ending of the book and makes us remember Rebecca’s last words as the ending of the
story instead of the wedding between Ivanhoe and Rowena.
Concluding from the above stated evidence one could say that Scott did not just write
a simple romantic adventurous tale, but that he had an aim to inform his readers about antiSemitism in the twelfth century. With that he probably also wanted to link their situation in
those dark ages to the current one in nineteenth-century Britain and to make people stop and
think about discriminating other races. Scott does this by making Isaac and Rebecca ‘the
moral heart of Ivanhoe. Both are what they are in response to the pressures of their world. If
Isaac is in part both comic and contemptible, Scott shows clearly that his most unlovely and
ludicrous traits are to an overwhelming degree the consequences of the cruelty with which he
and his people have been treated. Exiled, harried, and despoiled, denied an entry into almost
all trades except the manipulation of money and then reviled as bloodsucking usurers because
Christians will not let him be otherwise. The existence of the Jew as outcast and scapegoat
indict the society that rejects him’ (Johnson, 743/744).
19
2. How do Isaac and Rebecca of York fit in the nineteenth century?
After having established in the previous chapter what twelfth century Jewish characters Isaac
and Rebecca are like, it is important to take a look at how they fit into the nineteenth century,
since that was the age in which their fictional characters were created by Walter Scott. It will
be interesting determine what the role of Jews in the nineteenth century was to see whether
Scott also used information from his surroundings and not just historical information to shape
his Isaac and Rebecca of York. In addition, examples of paintings of Jews in general and
paintings made of Rebecca will be discussed, as well opinions of critics about 19th century
novels that also incorporated Jews in their stories.
‘At the opening of the nineteenth century there were in England about eight thousand
men, women and children of Jewish origin. Their status was that of aliens, because, although
according to the common law every person born within de dominion of the crown is a British
subject, the Jews were precluded by special laws from exercising most of the privileges of
citizenship’ (Modder, 77). For example there was a law which required every man who
wanted to start a legal business, to take an oath in which he promised to live up to the British
rules of doing business “on the true faith of a Christian”. As a result, Jews ‘were barred from
the House of Commons, restricted in the professions, and politically ostracized’ (Modder, 77).
Therefore, the main part of the Jewish population developed themselves as small traders, petty
moneylenders, stock-jobbers, peddlers and old-clothes-men. Some of them who had a gift for
doing business made it as (illegal) merchants, jewellers or shopkeepers.
Although Jews were not given the status of legal inhabitants of Britain and were
restricted in doing business by certain laws, the population kept on growing every year and so
did the status of their professions as well as their role in society in general. The reason for this
large growth in Jewish immigrants was the fact that Jews who already settled in England told
their relatives on the continent that England was a country where Jews could live relatively
20
comfortably. Despite of the negative aspects mentioned above, Jews were allowed to wear
what they wanted to wear and synagogues were built which they could visit without any
problems. This resulted in a Jewish population of about 30,000 in 1837 and the Jewish
community kept on developing itself in every aspect of life and certain families, amongst
whom ‘the Goldsmids, the Cohens, the Levy Solomons, and the Rothschilds, moved in the
company of the social and financial aristocracy of the land’ (Modder, 80). This meant that
some of the Jews who mingled with the British aristocracy, moved out of the Jewish ghettos
on the outskirts of towns, and settled in some of the better neighbourhoods. In return, some of
the poorer British people moved to the original Jewish slums with the result that the Jewish
ghettos were not so Jewish anymore and Jewish people could become middle or upper class
citizens. Remarkable is the fact that in the early nineteenth century, while Britain was aware
of the growing hatred for Jews in Eastern Europe, citizens organized marches to demonstrate
against these persecutions. For example ‘a mass meeting was held in 1828 to protest against
the brutality of the persecution of the Jews by the Russian government’ (Modder, 94).
So, for the first half of the nineteenth century Jews in England could lead a relatively
normal life without giving up most of their own culture. It seemed as if the British population
really wanted to make things work between them and the Jews and generally did not have
racial prejudices. Unfortunately, according to some historians amongst whom F.M Modder
and C. Holmes, this Jewish “utopia” did not last forever. Modder and Holmes both write that
there was some growing hatred against the Jewish population in late nineteenth century in
Britain because at the beginning of the 1870’s there was a growing anti-Semitic threat coming
from Eastern Europe (mainly Germany and Russia) and many Jews who were living there at
the time, fled to England. Modder writes in his book The Jew in the Literature of England that
‘it was estimated that, as a result of the Russian persecutions of 1881 – 1882, 50,000
impoverished Jews fled to England. Again in 1890 – 1891, after similar outrages, 20,000
21
other refugees poured into England from Russia and Poland’ (234). According to Holmes
(Anti-Semitism in British Society 1876 – 1939) from then on, the attitude towards Jews in
Britain changed as well. British working men felt threatened by these new Jewish immigrants
and accused them of working for a lower fare and of being unfair competition; they felt that
the Jews were stealing their work. Also, ‘the influx from Eastern Europe occurred at a time of
conjunctural crisis in the East End (London) when a series of hard winters and the trade
depression of the mid – 1880s highlighted and reinforced the more long-term tendencies
towards industrial decline. The sudden increase in the number of Jewish immigrants
exacerbated certain social problems in the area and, at first, attention was directed towards the
effect of immigration upon the labour market’ (13, 14). On top of that the Jews who fled from
Eastern Europe were much more conservative than those who had been settling in Britain the
decades before, and they felt that the Jews who had already been living in England for a while
had lost their heritage and had forgotten where they came from. ‘These immigrants evidently
of necessity remained for a generation an isolated and self-centred people, within their narrow
limits, and fundamentally alien in their aims and ideas to the rest of their fellows. This of
course was understandable to those who had some knowledge of their sufferings and
persecutions in Germany and Russia and Poland. But it did not help the Jewish cause in
England’ (Modder, 244).
Relying on this information, it seems that at the end of the nineteenth century, when
large groups of Jews came along who were not willing to adjust, anti-Semitic feelings
amongst the Brits rose. However neither Holmes nor Modder support their statements with
concrete evidence other than saying that there were “feelings of hate” towards Jews. They do
not use proof from records of pamphlets or newspaper articles referring to that period. Holmes
explains this by saying ‘whereas social scientists concerned with present-day issues are able
to rely on upon interview and questionnaire responses in their attempts to ascertain the
22
distribution of anti-Semitic attitudes, we cannot accurately reconstruct the past by such
methods. In this respect the historian works under particular disadvantages’ (104). Because of
this, historian W.D. Rubinstein has argued that every attempt that historians have taken to
identify some sort of Jewish hate amongst the Brits, was like performing a witch hunt.
According to Rubinstein, their search was, and has been useless because there was and is
nothing there to find. Rubinstein claims that all accusations against England for ant-Semitism
in the nineteenth century written down by historians have been inaccurate and full of flaws.
The late Professor of English Michael Ragussis argues against Rubinstein’s claims. In
his essay ‘The “Secret” of English Anti-Semitism’, Ragussis writes that ‘the history of the
Jews in England has frequently been hidden in the shadow of the history of the Jews in other
European nations – doubly kept in the dark, then, first, by England’s reputed toleration of the
Jews (an historical tradition that has been well guarded), and second, by the more blatant
forms of anti-Semitism occurring in inquisitorial Spain or Nazi Germany’ (296). Ragussis
feels that England has been hiding behind the fact that they are generally thought to be a
country that treated Jews kindly, and that since they never took part in the Jewish genocide,
their anti-Semitic actions are not worth mentioning. Nonetheless, ‘the history of Nazi
atrocities should not make us inattentive to the subtle but nonetheless widespread, powerful,
and deeply ingrained forms of anti-Semitism that are an important part of English history and
culture’ (Ragussis, 296).
Taking these scholarly statements into account we can conclude that there was a range
of very strong feelings present in nineteenth century Britain involving Jews and it is rather
difficult to accept one of these feelings as the truth. Since the words of many scholars have
not really brought us anywhere but in disarray, it is interesting to take a look at how Jews in
the nineteenth century were portrayed in literature and in paintings. If Ragussis is right, there
23
have to be signs in texts and paintings created in the nineteenth century and it should be
possible to establish some sort of a Jewish stereotype.
Since it would be a study in itself to establish precisely how Jews are described in
nineteenth century literature, I will give a critical overview of what some of the most
important scholars have written on this topic. As could be expected regarding the different
opinions on how Jews were treated, the opinions about the Jew in literature also vary. M. F.
Modder writes that ‘if we are to judge by the number and the variety of essays, articles and
letters published in the early years of the century on the subject of the Jews, we may assume
that the Children of Israel were regarded by most editors as a subject of growing popular
interest’ (93). Furthermore, Modder writes that mainly articles and books with a positive
rather than a negative attitude were published and that ‘in the literature of the early Victorian
period, we may expect to find some reflection of the status of the Jew and of the public
reaction toward the changes of his condition in society and politics. We shall see that the Jew
appears in most of the varied types of literature of the time, sometimes with credit, sometimes
with discredit, but always, or nearly always, with an increased humanity – that is to say, he
becomes less and less a lay figure designed to arouse abhorrence or sentiment, and more and
more a vital human being moved by passions not entirely alien to his gentile brother’ (163,
164). Modder concludes by saying that ‘in general, it may be said that the British press was in
sympathy with the Jewish communities during the years of European anti-Semite propaganda
in Jewish persecution’ (215). According to Professor Bryan Cheyette, ‘mid-Victorian AngloJewish literature was “explicitly apologetic” and acted to mediate the values of Anglo-Jewry’s
middle- and upper middle-class elite. The elite had “internalized” British cultural values and
their literature thus reproduced “an ambivalent Jewish identity [which] was the outcome of an
emancipation process where ‘Jews had to meet the expectations of gentiles’”. This
ambivalence persisted in the post-emancipation period in stereotypical representations of Jews:
24
“the Jewish family, Jewish capitalist and Jewish nationalists were all stereotyped as ideal
examples of good citizenship. However, alternatively, the same Jewish stereotypes could be
popularly utilized to demonstrate that the Jews were undermining a once great British nation”
(Valman, 241). Michael Ragussis writes in his book Figures of Conversion that he believes a
main goal of many nineteenth century novels to be that of conversion. ‘The participation of
the novel in the public controversy over the missions to the Jews was not limited to a string of
satiric allusions. Such allusions frequently functioned to trigger a critique of the ideology of
conversion by influencing the entire design of a novel’ (90). Linda Gerntner Zatlin gives
examples of different Jewish characters from novels by Victorian writers 3 in her book The
Nineteenth-Century Ango-Jewish Novel. These portraits show ‘the similarity and the
difference in the way Jews were perceived at the beginning and the end of the century by the
English community (124). Last but not least, Nadia Valman states in her book The Jewess in
Nineteenth-Century British Literary Culture ‘while Jews were represented as the best possible
object of progressive universalism, they were also seen as anti-citizens, constantly refusing or
compromising their right to inclusion’ (17).
Concluding from all these statements, one can say that there could not be found one
particular stereotype of Jews in English literature in the nineteenth century, since they were
characterized in many different ways. It is interesting to see here again that scholars disagree
about representation of Jews like they also did about their role in society. Furthermore, it is
not just the case that some scholars disagree; some of them also mention that different texts
about Jews created multiple images thus considering the role of Jews in literature, it looks as
if researchers were not able conclude anything other than ambiguity. Bryan Cheyette is the
only one who mentions the word “stereotype”, but he also says that this stereotype was used
positively and negatively. Like philosopher Theodor Adorno discovered while doing research
3
E.g: Fagin in Oliver Twist by Dickens and Svengali in Trilby by Maurier.
25
on Jewish stereotypes: ‘contradictory stereotypes are often held simultaneously, suggesting
that people who do not like Jews subscribe to any and all stereotypes to justify their dislike’
(Wilson, 466). It probably also works the other way around: people who, for whatever reason,
benefit from a positive look upon Jews will try to see every superstition in a positive way
which creates a mixed representation of Jewish stereotypes; benign as well as malignant.
Whether good or bad, it is clear that Jews were a popular topic to write about in the nineteenth
century and that is probably a reason why Scott decided to use them for his romance tale.
In The Jew in Text Linda Nochlin wonders how we can ‘distinguish between an image of
Jews which is anti-Semitic and one which is positive?’(11). Well, in general, humans are
attracted to a symmetrical face with proportioned eyes, ears, nose and mouth. For men, we
also prefer a clean and shaved face. Looking at pictures of Jews created by the English in the
nineteenth century 4 , it can be stated that they lack these attractive characteristics. Jews are in
almost all cases painted with a big nose, bent backs, crooked teeth, and a long beard. They
always wear long robes and a skull caps which are “oriental” looking and women’s bodies are
in most cases everything but slender. It is clear that Jews are depicted to make them look ugly
and to stress that they are different, other. Somehow, the paintings are more judgemental than
the books or better said: there are more paintings that show a negative image of Jews than
painting that show a positive one. However, when we look at some of the paintings made of
Rebecca of York painted in the nineteenth century we always see a beautiful woman 5 . She
most certainly is depicted with eastern looking rich, colourful clothes, always wears a turban
and jewellery but her face is more or less western looking, at least it lacks the typical Jewish
characteristics like the big nose. In two of the three paintings her body could be considered to
have some sexual connotation because both B. West and H.T Ruall painted a Rebecca as a
4
A. Courcell: Old Clothes, T. Rowlandson: Rhubarb Seller, Jew Broker, and Get Money Money Still, G. Cruikshank:
Monmouth Street, J. Davis: Reformers of the 19th Century, F.W. Lawson: The Soup Kitchen for Poor Jews
5
Appendix 1: E. Delacroix: Rebecca and the wounded Ivanhoe, B. West: Isaac's servant trying the bracelet on
Rebecca's arm, H.T Ryall: Rebecca.
26
voluptuous woman with a low-cut dress, revealing a lot of her chest. Pictures of Rebecca
show an exotic and beautiful woman and this was probably so for two reasons. As a first,
Rebecca was the most popular character in Ivanhoe and second; she is of course also
described as a very beautiful woman in the book. Although the paintings show more negative
images than the novels, there are also the paintings of the beautiful Jewess Rebecca. Again,
just as in society and in novels it seems as if opinions differed.
After having more or less established what Jews were like in nineteenth century
society and how they were shaped in novels and paintings, it is time to answer the question: to
what extent do Isaac and Rebecca fit in the 19th century? Bearing in mind all the information
we now have, one could say ‘yes’, since it can be believed that Isaac and Rebecca represent
the ambiguous character Jews had in the nineteenth century. Jews were simultaneously seen
as good and bad, helpful and antagonistic, ugly and beautiful. This must be the reason why it
is so difficult to establish a stereotype since Britain was apparently in some sort of a love-hate
relationship with its Jewish people. The reason that Ivanhoe flourished was probably because
it was able to give everybody what they wanted. This way Ivanhoe slips through all those
other nineteen century novels that are used as evidence by the above cited researchers to talk
about negative or positive imagery. Isaac of York can be seen as the negative image of Jews
and Rebecca of York as the positive. This way, Scott is not picking a side as other nineteenth
century novelist did, but is showing his audience the way Jews were looked upon by some in
a negative way and establishes the positive view with Rebecca. Isaac is a typical Jew
according those who had feelings of hatred against Jewish immigrants: he is a money
grabbing businessman who makes a living by exploiting others. His appearance is described
as reasonably handsome but Scott deliberately mentions the Semitic feature of the aquiline
nose which was considered ugly. Just as in the paintings, Isaac’s back is bent and he wears
typical oriental clothes. He is arrogant and not willing to adjust to an English lifestyle,
27
something that the English do not understand and are offended by. Rebecca on the other hand
is beautiful and Scott does not, in contrast to Isaac, depict her with any negative features.
Rebecca is a loving, caring, intelligent and exceptionally beautiful woman 6 , who tries to
create a living environment in which she is accepted and able to be herself. She is not arrogant,
but she does refuse to stay in England and convert to Christianity, which shows that Jews can
participate in British society without immediately throwing away their values. By creating
two characters that personify the feelings towards Jews in the nineteenth century, Scott
represented exactly the state that nineteenth century Britain was in. Since Ivanhoe was such
an extremely popular book, it must have created awareness and influenced a lot of readers
who perhaps had certain thoughts about the Jewish community in their city and changed their
minds afterwards. ‘Hundreds of readers in England who had never read a line of Jewish
history were introduced, in Ivanhoe, to the romantic aspect of the sufferings of this ancient
and oppressed people in England, by the touching story of Isaac and Rebecca. (Modder,
137/138). It is interesting to see that after the publication of Ivanhoe, the Jewess Rebecca
seemed to be the most popular character of the book. Scott’s readers loved her and not only
the common people, but also most reviewers in 1820 acknowledged this, and many portraits
of her were painted. Since Rebecca was such a popular character, most of Scott’s readers were
extremely disappointed by the story’s ending since they hated to see Rebecca leave without
the man she loved. As a result, in almost every theatre or musical adaptation the ending was
changed since the British audience rather wanted to see the Jewess Rebecca marry Ivanhoe
than the Saxon Rowena. Again, this too has two ways of looking at it. On the one hand it is a
positive thing that Rebecca was such a popular character because one of the main themes of
the book is the one about the quarrel between the Anglos and the Saxons. It would be more
understandable that Rowena turned out to be the most popular character since she is someone
6
‘An alternative story about the “original” of Scott’s Rebecca began to circulate as early as 1821. This “original”
was Rebecca Gratz (1781 – 1869), an unmarried, well respected, philanthropic, and politically active member of
one of Philadelphia’s elite Jewish families’ (Lewin, 4).
28
with whom British readers could identify much and much more. The fact that even though
British people can probably not relate in any way to a Jewish woman in 12th century England
makes it very odd that Rebecca was the one who people cared most about, and therefore
changed the ending of the story. This was most certainly a positive progression in the way
people dealt with people of a different race as they were able to empathize with “the other”.
On the other hand it is not all that pleasant since wanting Rebecca to marry Ivanhoe also
means she had to convert into a Christian. This shows that the readers did not bear in mind
how valuable someone’s faith can be and that it is not something that could be thrown away
that easily. In that respect the English people did not empathize at all because they figured
that their religion would be better for Rebecca.
As a conclusion for this chapter it can be said that nineteenth century Britain did not have
a particular stereotype in mind considering its Jews. Yes, of course Jews were depicted in a
certain way by those who were not in favour of them but this feeling was anything but mutual
and there were many others who could absolutely not relate to that image of a Jew. Therefore
it cannot be stated whether Isaac and Rebecca of York conformed or subverted to it, but
nonetheless they can be seen as the personification of the attitude towards Jews in the
nineteenth century, cleverly constructed by Walter Scott to create awareness amongst his
fellow Brits.
29
3. Ivanhoe in the early twentieth century.
As mentioned in the previous chapters, Ivanhoe was an extremely popular book in its time as
well as for a long period after that. As Professor Ann Rigney says in her essay Performing the
Past: ‘The reception of this particular novel, as so many of Scott’s works, yields mindboggling statistics. There have been countless editions in the English language; it has been
translated into at least thirty-six languages and it continues to generate new translations, most
recently in Dutch, Croatian, and Vietnamese (the Library of Scotland has recorded more than
600). It has been abridged and illustrated for juveniles, and adapted on the stage, comic book
form, cinema, radio, television, and computer gaming. Ivanhoe is arguably the best-known,
most widely disseminated, most internationally successful and most enduring of all Scott’s
works, several of which were record-breaking best-sellers. It has influenced the perception of
the Middle Ages among several generations of readers, including a number of historians who
have admitted being so inspired or, alternatively, so goaded by its romantic distortions as to
turn to history as a vocation. In short, ‘Ivanhoe’ (that is, the text and its reception) represents a
media phenomenon that stretches from the early nineteenth century, when the novel became
an international bestseller, to the early twenty-first century, where it persists on the outer
reaches of the cultural margins, arguably in the process of disappearing from sight like a flare’
(208/209). For this third chapter, I would like to focus on the last sentence of Rigney’s
citation, since it is interesting that a book that was so incredibly popular for quite a long time,
more or less vanishes after that. Assuming that it is not just a matter of change of interest, this
chapter will concentrate on what the reason of this could be.
Publication records in The English Catalogue of Books, suggest that Ivanhoe reached a
high point in popularity almost eighty years after its first appearance because as the chart
below shows, Ivanhoe was published forty-two times from 1898 until 1915 and almost all
30
copies were published by different publishers 7 . Then, publication numbers decrease but are
still quite high with twenty-six copies from 1916 till 1933. But then in 1934, 1935 and 1936,
no copies of Ivanhoe were published and in 1937 and 1938 just two, followed by a gap of
eight years in which absolutely no copies were printed. Only in 1947 did the publishing
company ‘Harrap’ decide to publish Ivanhoe again, together with five other books by Scott in
that same year. In 1948 Todd Publishing did the same thing but again, from 1949 till 1951
again, no copies are printed.
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1880-1897
1898-1915
1916-1933
1934-1951
Number of publications of Ivanhoe in the 19th and 20th Century, according to the English Catalogue of Books.
As a result, English copies of Ivanhoe published in the 1920s, 30s and 40s are extremely rare
and difficult to find in (university) libraries in The Netherlands. Very few can be found and
even more interesting is that most of the available copies I have been able to find do not
contain an introduction. When they do have one, it is often one written in 1830 or somewhere
around that period. This is also the case when searching through copies in Britain and
America via the database ‘internet archive 8 ’. It can be considered quite remarkable that when
a book is published in a certain year, the publishing company decides to re-use an
introduction that is almost one hundred years old. It seems as if contemporary critics of that
7
Details in appendix 2.
8
www.archive.org
31
time did not have anything to say or did not want to say anything about Ivanhoe so publishers
had no choice but to omit an introduction completely or enter one that was really out of date.
After having established this information, somewhat more detailed questions arise, namely
what could be the reason for the lack of publications between 1936 and 1951 and why did
publishers in the beginning of the twentieth century have to fall back on one hundred year old
introductions?
For a clearer idea of what the presence of Ivanhoe in the first half of twentieth century
British society was like, I searched through The Times Digital Archive between 1901 and
1951. Most search options did not give any result at all (e.g. ‘Ivanhoe review(ed)’) and when
hits were found, they unfortunately turned out to be uninteresting and not useful (e.g. ‘Walter
Scott Ivanhoe’, ‘Ivanhoe Novel’). When one searches only with the word ‘Ivanhoe’, one gets
2438 hits for articles as results. However, the topics of the articles also include stocks and
shares, sports, deaths, births, and marriages, gold operations, theatre announcements/reviews 9
etc. Of the 2438 hits there can only be found thirteen articles 10 that directly relate to the book
Ivanhoe and they can be divided into the following categories: Auctions, letters to the editor,
reviews and news. In the category auctions we find five articles dating from 1901 till 1933.
All these articles are about the selling of first publications of manuscripts of Ivanhoe.
Noteworthy is that apparently there was interest in these things and people were willing to pay
since prices range from 75 pounds for a first edition of Ivanhoe, to 98 pounds for Ivanhoe at a
library sale at Christie’s, and 215 pounds for a manuscript in Scott’s handwriting. An editor
mentions that ‘manuscripts of Scott alone (including Ivanhoe) would today be worth a
comfortable fortune’. In the three letters to the editor we also find some positive mentionings.
One writer calls himself ‘a devoted admirer of Ivanhoe’ and another defends historical
9
Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote an Opera about the story of Ivanhoe which premiered in 1891 and was performed for
years and years after that. It was also broadcast on BBC Radio.
10
Details of articles in appendix 2.
32
inaccuracy in Ivanhoe. Then again three articles in the category ‘news’ and yet again, nothing
but positivism. In one article there is an announcement of an American movie company’s plan
to make a film of Ivanhoe and the writer of the article says that ‘there is little doubt that
Ivanhoe will be as generally appreciated as any of its predecessors’. Furthermore there is an
article in which a Prime Minister tells that he devoured Ivanhoe as a child and last but not
least the announcement of Scott’s death in 1932. Then suddenly there is, amongst all the
positive articles, one very interesting theatre review 11 written in 1913 about a performance of
Ivanhoe by The Lyceum Company. Overall, the content of the article is not very striking; it
just gives some information about the company and then describes the plot of the story.
However, the last paragraph is significant since the reviewer closes his article with the
following words: ‘Although the dialogue does not always keep on the most dignified level,
the adaptation preserves to a great extent the spirit which Scott breathed into the pathetic tale
of Ivanhoe’s pilgrimage and the sufferings of Rebecca of York. And as it is not in all our
theatres that the spirit of Scott would be welcomed to-day we have here another reason for
pronouncing the “Lyceum creed” a good one’. Clearly the writer refers with ‘the spirit of
Scott’ to the fact that in Ivanhoe, Isaac and Rebecca of York lead a miserable life by being
discriminated all the time because of their race and that Scott criticizes this. Obviously, the
writer claims that these views are not shared throughout London or Britain, which means that
it might be the case that plays adaptations of Ivanhoe were banned from some theatres
because of their “pro-Semitic” feelings. Noteworthy also is the fact that the writer of the
article does not say exactly that he means the things that are explained above. Of course, the
sentence is clear enough for interpretation, but why this reading between the lines? Why not
use clear expressions? Besides the fact that ‘Scott’s spirit’ was not welcome in theatres,
journalists were obviously also not supposed to write about it. Furthermore, The Times Digital
11
Complete article can be read in appendix 4.
33
Archive shows that there were radio programmes broadcast from 1926 till 1936 in which
Ivanhoe was read (told by Uncle Rex) and plays and musical adaptations could be heard.
Striking is that the latest broadcast was on 28 November 1936 and then not till Saturday, April
29, 1950. Peculiarly, the broadcasts stopped in the same period as in which the books were
not published which clearly shows that there was something going on between 1936 and 1950
that stopped people from interfering with anything that had something to with Ivanhoe. Given
the lack of publications of Ivanhoe, the message in theatre review, the way how this message
is written down, and the disappearance of the radio broadcasts, show that Ivanhoe was, for
whatever reason, banned from society.
Looking at negative reviews of Scott and Ivanhoe in the twentieth century, we can
conclude from Jill Rubinstein’s reference guide why, according to certain critics, Scott lost his
popularity. Just as in the nineteenth century, Ivanhoe was criticized for his historical
inaccuracy, but although the audience in the nineteenth century was willing to overlook those
mistakes, the people in the twentieth century were not. Twentieth century readers were simply
not able to see the book as a romance but kept stumbling on its historical faults. Also, critics
gave answers on why Scott in general was not read anymore. According to Rubenstein’s
research, critics felt that Scott’s book could not live up to the ‘the changing standards of
literary critics and the changing expectations of the general public. Unlike the Victorians, who
sought after edification, modern critics who prize form, structure, and style find Scott
disappointing. The demands of the reading public have similarly shifted. John Buchanan
worried that Scott’s respect for law, order, and universal purpose are uncongenial to “an era of
dilapidation and disintegration”, and M.W Wallace attributed Scott’s declining reputation to
his conservative temperament and detachment from psychological minutiae. Hugh Walpole
also suggested the inevitable reaction to Scott’s enormous nineteenth century popularity as
one reason for the disinterest of the modern reader’ (introduction,). Criticism on Scott’s books
34
‘reached its twentieth century nadir in the late thirties and forties. The bulk of entries
constitutes what can only be classed as trivia, short notices in the Times literary supplement
and endless questions and answers in Notes and Queries. The student of Scott finds
surprisingly little work of enduring value of this period’ (introduction, Rubinstein).
Taking the last quote of Rubinstein into account, it is terribly difficult or better said
impossible to find specific criticism about Ivanhoe in the twentieth century. However,
because of the publication evidence collected from the The English Catalogue of Books and
the review and broadcasting programmes from The Times Digital Archive I would like to
propose another idea than the critics of why Ivanhoe was not published after 1933. The fact
that in Ivanhoe Jews are being characterized mainly as good, pure and beautiful people and in
Britain in the beginning of the twentieth century, anti-Semitism was growing and growing
must have something to do with each other. That Ivanhoe is not published even once in a
specific period and the radio stopped broadcasting adaptations in that same period, could be
linked to what Gisela Lebzelter 12 writes in her book Political anti-Semitism in England in
1918 – 1939. According to her, anti-Semitism ‘did not reach a climax until 1935-6, when it
became the central propaganda instrument of the BUF 13 . Only when exploited by this party,
which functioned as the political intermediary necessary to generate a mass-movement, did
anti-Semitism threaten to become an important element in British political life’ (172). The
conclusion that Gisela Lebzelter draws here is interesting when put next to the publication of
Ivanhoe. In 1935-6, years in which Ivanhoe is not published, anti-Semitism starts to play a
significant role in society. Given this information it can be argued that the fact that Ivanhoe
was not published between 1936 and 1951 and publishers in the beginning of the twentieth
century had to fall back on one hundred year old introductions has a link to the fact that from
then on, anti-Semitic feelings are at its highest. Because of this, publishers must have realized
12
Lebzelter is an author, historian, and scholar, and an expert on British fascism and anti- Semitism.
13
British Union of Fascists (1932 – 1940)
35
that printing Ivanhoe would be of no use since not many copies would sell and when a
publisher would publish the book, they were not able to find a literary critic that dared to lend
his/her name to writing about a book that criticized hatred against the Jewish population.
On the other hand, however very noteworthy numbers about the reception of Ivanhoe
in Germany in the twentieth century can be found in Frauke Reitemeier’s essay The reception
of sir Walter Scott in German Literary Histories. Reitemeier claims that in Germany readers
in the first 45 years of the 1900s were incredibly interested in books about the Middle Ages
and ‘the most popular novel by far became Ivanhoe, with eleven editions up to 1910, and
further twenty-six until 1945’ (99). Reitmeier also mentions that ‘a more practical reason for
the large number of Ivanhoe edition was the novel’s recommendation as a set text at school.
The publishing firms of Reclam, Velhagen & Klasing, and Schöningh, all of which were also
active in the market for textbooks and teaching material, brought out various editions from the
1880s onwards; three of the eleven editions between 1901 and 1910 and another four until
1945 were published under their auspices’ (99/100). This strikes me as quite remarkable
because how can a book that promotes a tolerant attitude towards Jews be so popular in a time
where Adolf Hitler was trying to exterminate every inch of Jewry in the country? Perhaps the
Germans got the content of Ivanhoe all wrong and saw the insults of the Normans and the
Saxons as the best feature of the book and used it as propaganda the other way around as
described in the second chapter: Ivanhoe is a good read for everyone. Bearing in mind the
popularity of Ivanhoe in Germany, there could be another plausible reason for the
unpopularity of the book in Britain. Perhaps the nineteenth century readers were simply
comfortable with the two ways in which Ivanhoe could be read. After that, when antiSemitism was growing it made them uncomfortable. A book which showed the way the
Jewish population was treated in the twelfth century reminded nineteenth century people that
36
not much had changed. All those hundreds of years it seemed as if nobody had taken the
effort to look in the past to make sure certain choices would not be made again in the present.
One thing is certain, Britain certainly knew that Ivanhoe is a story in which people are
judged for their racial prejudices and the fact that Ivanhoe was not available in print between
1936 and 1951 might be another piece of evidence in accepting that anti-Semitism in Britain
was, although cleverly hidden, present in things like this.
37
Conclusion.
Summarizing the conclusions drawn from the sub-topics, it is possible to state the following:
Scott had multiple intentions when he wrote Ivanhoe. He wanted to amuse people with
adventure and romance and on top of that he wanted to create awareness amongst the
nineteenth century (British) readers about the treatment of Jews in the Middle Ages. As Scott
clearly rejects anti-Semitic ideas and judges the Saxons and the Normans for being narrow
minded he probably did not only want to send a message across about the twelfth century but
also inform his fellow Brits that being Caucasian and Christian did not entail discriminating
against Jews. Scott did this in a clever way by giving his audience a stereotypical Jew with
mainly negative characteristics, and a beautiful, sympathetic and wise Jewess. Together they
personify the feelings about Jews in the nineteenth century since they were negative as well as
positive. This way, nobody would feel judged or accuse Scott of being pedantic but
nonetheless, he enlightened a precarious topic amongst a lot of people. When Ivanhoe’s
popularity decreases from the 1930s onwards, it seems as if the awareness Scott created had
become stronger on the site where the people were already positive but had had no effect on
the people with negative ideas about Jews. The British knew what was going on on the
continent and because of all the examples of anti-Semitism described in Ivanhoe, they did not
want to have anything to do with the book. It made them feel uncomfortable. With those
people Scott had reached his goal although it was not in favour of his sales numbers. On the
other hand, there is the evidence of The Times article, the broadcast information and
Lebzelter’s quote. These examples clearly show that there was anti-Semitism present in
England and therefore a lot of people were not interested in the story of Ivanhoe. Not in the
form of a book, nor in the form of a stage or a radio play because is spoke in favour of Jewish
people.
38
It seems as if Scott’s trick of creating a book that could be read both ways worked in
the nineteenth century, but did not in the twentieth. Therefore we can conclude that
unfortunately, Isaac and Rebecca of York fit in the cultural context of pre-World War Two
Britain and they had not become anachronisms; they represented a stable Jewish identity.
Although quite a lot had changed considering the role of Jews in the twelfth century compared
to the twentieth century, Jews were still discriminated against and people still wanted to have
nothing to do with them. I think it is fairly easy to rewrite the story of Ivanhoe and place it in
the first half of the twentieth century. If you would replace the knights for soldiers and the
horses for cars, nobody would raise an eyebrow and wonder whether such an attitude towards
Jews was common during that period. Only now, almost another hundred years later we could
say that Rebecca and Isaac are anachronisms although it seems as if other racial groups
(Moroccan and Turkish) have taken their place.
39
Appendixes.
1. Paintings of Rebecca of York.
Isaac's servant trying the bracelet on Rebecca's arm by B. West.
Rebecca by H.T Ryall:
40
Rebecca and the wounded Ivanhoe by Eugene Delacroix.
41
2. Publications of Ivanhoe from 1819 till 1955 according to The English Catalogue of
Books.

1916 – 1920: 4
1. 1916 Chambers (told to the little ones)
2. 1918 Milford (dramatised edition for school use)
3. 1920 Blackie
4. 1920 Chambers

1921 – 1925: 6
1. 1922 Harrap
2. 1923 Nelson (for boys en girls, July)
3. 1923 Harper
4. 1924 Nelson (September)
5. 1924 Warne
6. 1925 Collins

1926 – 1930: 11
1. 1927 Harrap (March)
2. 1927 Readers’Library
3. 1927 Harrap (June)
4. 1927 Black
5. 1928 Collins
6. 1928 Nelson
7. 1929 Collins
8. 1929 Collins (Children’s version)
9. 1929 MacMillan
10. 1930 Collins
11. 1930 MacMillan 2x (1 told to children)
1931 – 1935: 6
1. 1931 Warne
2. 1931 Nelson
3. 1932 Blackie
4. 1932 Nelson
5. 1932 Rivington’s (school edition)
6. 1933 Nelson


1936 – 1941: 2
1. 1937 Collins
2. 1938 Nelson

1942 – 1946: 0

1947 – 1951: 2
1. 1947 Harrap (published 5 other books of Scott that same year)
2. 1948 Todd Publishing Co. (published 4 other books of Scott that year)
42
3. Details of Articles of The Times Digital Archive.
Auctions:

The Times, Friday, May 10, 1901; pg. 8; Issue 36451; col B
Sale Of Books And Mss. First Edition Of The "Pilgrim's Progress."

The Times, Saturday, Jul 06, 1929; pg. 11; Issue 45248; col D
The Sale Room. Old Masters. Category: Arts and Entertainment

The Times, Wednesday, Jul 16, 1930; pg. 11; Issue 45566; col B
The Sale Room High Prices For Scott Category: Arts and Entertainment

The Times, Wednesday, Jun 14, 1933; pg. 17; Issue 46470; col F
The Sale Room The Dillon Library Category: Arts and Entertainment

The Times, Tuesday, Aug 26, 1924; pg. 11; Issue 43740; col G
A Great Library. Pierpont Morgan Collection., Famous English Manuscripts.
Letters to the editor:

The Times, Wednesday, Apr 20, 1921; pg. 6; Issue 42699; col C
Not Rowena. JOHN MURRAY. 50, Albemarle-street, W.1, April 16..
Category: Letters to the Editor ( respond to Saturday, Apr 16, 1921):

The Times, Monday, Oct 31, 1927; pg. 15; Issue 44726; col F
Prime Ministers In Their Libraries. NEVILLE G. LYTTELTON..
Category: Letters to the Editor

The Times, Friday, Jan 13, 1928; pg. 8; Issue 44789; col E
Novelists' Blunders. Your obedient servant, W. ALISON PHILLIPS..
Category: Letters to the Editor
News:

The Times, Saturday, Jul 19, 1913; pg. 6; Issue 40268; col E
"Ivanhoe" On The Bioscope.

The Times, Wednesday, Sep 21, 1932; pg. 11; Issue 46244; col F
Walter Scott The Novelist As Historian, An Estimate Of His Influence By
Professor G. M. Trevelyan, O.M..
Category: News

The Times, Saturday, Oct 29, 1927; pg. 14; Issue 44725; col E A Small Boy In A
Library. Prime Minister's Memories., Scott And Bunyan. Category: News
43
Reviews:

The Times, Friday, May 23, 1913; pg. 10; Issue 40219; col G “Ivanhoe" At The
Lyceum. Category: Reviews

The Times, Tuesday, Dec 05, 1939; pg. 4; Issue 48480; col C
For Children Young People At Home And Abroad
Category: Reviews
4. The Times article, Theatre review: The Times, Friday, May 23, 1913; pg. 10; Issue
40219; col G “Ivanhoe" At The Lyceum. Category: Reviews
44
45
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