Aesthetic Persuasion

Download or read book Aesthetic Persuasion written by Eli Ben-Joseph and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 1996 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces James' negative opinions about Jews throughout his life. The sources of his anti-Jewish attitudes and the antisemitic stereotypes in his works were the opinions of his father, who described the Jews as "spiritually bankrupt" and the "epitome of greed"; a broad spectrum of American and French literature, ranging from school texts to well-known authors (e.g. Hawthorne); and ethnographic ideas popular during his lifetime. Discusses discrimination against Jews in the U.S. in the late 19th century, stating that James' works reflect the prevalent negative reaction to Jews. His pro-Dreyfusard position shows some ambivalence in his attitude, but his antisemitism is clearly depicted in his works. He uses the Jews as scapegoats, and sees the Jews in New York, in particular, as immigrants conspiring to conquer the city. States that although antisemitism is a marginal element in James' writing, many other writers and many readers were influenced by his racist attitudes.