Keywords: "Oliver Twist" Dickens racist anti-Semitism
As a special term, the term anti-Semitism did not appear for more than 100 years. However, among the European ethnic groups who believe in Christianity, anti-Semitic thoughts associated with national sentiments such as contempt, disgust, hatred and even extermination of Jews can be traced back to ancient times, and gradually evolved into a collective unconsciousness in the long years to come: they are evil, ugly, stingy and greedy, "carefully calculated heretics", with demonic qualities all their lives (Seltz 365), and they are a non-Jewish community. Moreover, they also believe that letting such people live in a non-Jewish society will pose a serious threat to the moral and psychological health of the whole society. It can be said that the historical record that Jews were killed again and again because they insisted on their religious beliefs and refused to be assimilated by the dominant religion not only made them feel hard and depressed in real life, but also their images were often conceptualized and distorted in literary works.
/kloc-Charles Dickens, a British critical realist novelist in the 0/9th century, created an antisocial figure, Fa2gin, in his first social novel Oliver Twist (1835). There is no doubt that in novel creation, how and what kind of characters the author creates is determined by the author according to the theme of his own story. Under normal circumstances, readers and researchers will only judge the gains and losses from the authenticity of this character image, and generally will not question the identity, status, occupation and related "race" of the character, and then criticize the writer's creative motivation and moral conscience. However, because Fagin, the bearer of the evil forces that disturb the social moral order, selected in Oliver Twist, is a Jew, the long-term misfortune of the Jewish nation, especially the constant vilification and attacks they have been subjected to in European society, is no longer because of their arrogant, unruly or stubborn character, but more often because they are Jews. People have reason to ask: Is Fei Jin, the leader of the Robber Cave, shaped according to the reality of life or some popular concepts? In other words, did Dickens have racial prejudice when describing and portraying Fagin as a Jewish character?
Twenty-five years after Oliver Twist was published, that is, 1863, a woman named Eliza Davis wrote a letter to Dickens. In the letter, she accused Dickens of encouraging "despicable prejudice against the discriminated Hebrews." There is no doubt that Mrs. Davis believes that Fagin created in Dickens' novels is the product of racial prejudice; This is a symbol that the Jewish nation has suffered from "discrimination" again. Dickens, who is famous for his true reflection of life, certainly disagrees with this accusation and he wants to refute it. At this time, social Darwinism, as a trend of thought, is emerging in academic circles. Social Darwinists introduced the concepts of heredity, variation and natural selection in biology into the field of sociology. They believe that human nature, behavior and language are directly derived from their biology. Based on this, it is not difficult for us to infer that a nation, whether it is a bright spot in its character or a bad habit, is derived from the inheritance of its race, that is, it is unchangeable and indestructible. Dickens found a theoretical basis to defend himself from this emerging "evolution theory": because Jews have been divided into inferior races since ancient Greece and Rome, they are heterogeneous and different, so the image of Fagin he created in Oliver Twist, although disgusting and hateful, is a true portrayal of his racial character. So Dickens said in his reply to Mrs Davis that Fagin was "called a Jew not because of his religion, but because of his race". He believes that his creation is based on social reality. The implication is that no matter Fagin or other characters, even the stories described are based on life. However, Dickens' reflection and criticism of social reality in Oliver Twist cannot hide his racial prejudice.
In order to better illustrate this problem, we briefly review the creative theme of Oliver Twist. In essence, this novel is mainly aimed at 19 th century inhumane slum law promulgated by Victorian England. Dickens used the personal experience of an orphan named Oliver Twist to condemn and criticize the hypocrisy of this law. In addition, Dickens also tried to express and expose the crime phenomenon in the society at that time through this novel, so as to achieve the purpose of improving the hearts of the world. This creative theme is shown in his works by describing the evil life, greedy nature and the corrosion and harm to children of social evil forces represented by Fei Jin, the leader of the "bandit cave".
It is the first principle that realistic writers should follow when creating. According to the traditional view, the realistic writers in this period, that is, critical realistic writers, gave a general and concentrated description of the typical and essential aspects of bourgeois society, and they "showed typical personalities in typical environments". (4) In fact, as far as the social crimes revealed and described in Oliver Twist are concerned, Dickens did not strictly follow the above criteria to reflect the crimes in English society. Specifically, when Dickens turned pen and ink from the "workhouse" of the bureaucracy to social crimes, he did not proceed from the real situation of society, but stood on the racist standpoint, and regarded Jews represented by Fagin as the chief culprit who disturbed the social order in Britain, poisoned the physical and mental health of Christian children and forced them to commit crimes. This is not to say that Jews cannot appear as negative images in literary works, but that people of any race can commit crimes and also appear as artistic images in novels. What matters is the author's attitude towards them. When reading Oliver Twist, there are two obvious feelings: First, whenever there is a typical evil scene, Jews are often the mastermind or protagonist. For example, the owner of the "bandit nest" hidden in a dark, wet and dirty street is a Jew; Another thief's den that appears repeatedly in the novel, Barney, the waiter of the "Three Cripples Hotel", is also Jewish. In short, whenever the novel focuses on the corrupt and dirty life of criminal gangs, Jews are the most indispensable; Second, Jews may not be the most cruel and vicious in the novel, but they are the dirtiest, disgusting and hateful. As far as Fagin in the novel is concerned, compared with the two thieves Sikes, the former is obviously not as bold and ferocious as Sikes, who is not afraid of hanging and even dares to kill Nancy, his lover who loves him deeply. Fagin's most vicious act was that when his apprentice slipped quickly and Charlie Bates returned empty-handed, he punched him down the stairs. In Fagin's own words: "People call me a miser, just a miser, that's all" (Dickens 63). Misers are different from murderers. However, Dickens seems to be somewhat unconventional in describing and portraying them. For Fagin, he almost used up his bitter, sarcastic and contemptuous pen and ink, and even made it look like a face. Just Fagin's Jewish face and smile made Dickens painstakingly, for example, "the evil face of the devil is completely wrinkled" (Dickens 148), "two or three teeth more like dog teeth or mouse teeth are exposed on toothless gums" (Dickens 375), "crooked eyes and evil smile" (Dickens 62) and pale lips. He was much more polite to Sikes, at least in appearance. Besides, it is always better for Dickens to make Sikes a thief than Fagin. Sikes often colluded with Fagin for money and wealth, but he always despised Fagin from the bottom of his heart for no reason. Whenever the two meet, Sikes always shows great momentum and feels good about himself. He can swear that Fagin is "a damn, rich, robbing and shouting old Jew" and "greedy, greedy and insatiable old man" (Dickens 93). In the face of sudden and furious accusations and denunciations, Fagin can only say in a timid, forbearing and even flattering tone: "Be gentle! Be gentle! Mr Sykes (Dickens 94). For example, thieves are divided into three, six and nine. There is no doubt that Jin Fei is far below Sikes.
On the one hand, Sikes' sense of superiority comes from his tall and powerful physique. For example, the author said that he was a "big guy" and "a pair of thick legs bulged out" (Dickens 93). It was his physical advantage that made him full of pride in front of Fagin, who was "old and thin". On the other hand, the deeper reason is related to his non-Jewish ethnic origin. In other words, the concept of "race" or "race" is one of the important bases to guide Dickens to create characters in this way rather than that way, that is, Sikes' physical height and personality are derived from his different bloodline from Fagin. In fact, it is not Dickens' unique creative feature to create characters according to his own bloodline. On the contrary, it is a reflection of an artistic concept popular at that time. In the preface to the History of English Literature, the contemporary French literary theorist Hippory Teado Fettena (1828- 1893) said: "There are three different sources-'race' which contributed to this basic moral state. People, like cattle and horses, have different natures. Some people are brave and smart, some people are timid and dependent, some people can have advanced concepts and creations, and some people only have preliminary concepts and designs, just like this kind of dog we meet is better than another kind of dog "(236-237). Among the three factors that determine "man", "race" occupies the first place, that is to say, whether a person is brave or despicable is determined by his "race" nature. Knowing this, it is not difficult to understand the logical basis for Dickens to describe Fagin as "a man with less than half the courage of a mongrel dog" (Dickens11) and "looking at his old bones like an ugly ghost who just emerged from the grave" (Dickens 146). In fact, in Oliver Twist, "Jew" does not simply refer to Fagin and Barney's definitions of individual identity and race, but refers to a certain kind of people in society through their individual symbols, which is, in Dickens' words, "a creature like a Jew" (Dickens 145). Therefore, in the novel, Dickens first described Fagin's hair, eyebrows and beard as red. In doing so, in addition to consciously connecting Fagin with the devil, the deeper intention is to highlight and amplify the unique racial characteristics of the Jewish nation by emphasizing the external imprint. It is worth noting that Dickens has always called him a "Jew" except for the name royalty in some direct quotations. This subtle change seems not surprising, but in fact it is meaningful-to show that the author hates not only Fagin, but contempt for the whole Jewish nation! In novels, Dickens always used to talk about or describe Jews with irony and contempt. "He is younger than Fagin, but his evil and disgusting appearance is almost equal to Fagin" (Dickens 1 12). Dickens' young Jews only appeared once in the novel, without the foreshadowing of the previous one and the development of the latter one. Based on his Jewish identity, the author concludes that he is as "evil and disgusting" as Fagin. In Dickens' view, not only Jews younger than Fagin are "evil and disgusting", but also Fagin's parents. "No one in the world has an ugly face like you, except your father, who, I guess, is being burned to death by the fire of hell with his curly red beard, unless you don't have any father.
But crawled straight out of your mother's stomach "(Dickens 356). What the author wants to convey through Sikes' mouth is nothing more than that: only an "evil and disgusting" Jewish father can give birth to an "evil and disgusting" Jewish son Fagin; The descendants of Fagin who were "evil and disgusting" (replaced by "young Jews") were naturally as "evil and disgusting" as Fagin.
Nancy is the only Jewish woman whose conscience has not been completely extinguished in her works. However, when Dickens showed her kindness and aversion to stealing, she repeatedly emphasized her "temperament and habit of belonging to a special race" (Dickens 123): her appearance lacked a proper sense of cleanliness; She has a bad temper, and the room is full of alcohol, smoke and so on. This is very different from Dickens' favorite words and kindest ideas in Oliver Twist to try to figure out and express his favorite characters. Dickens, while describing Nancy positively to a certain extent, still has some reservations, because he thinks that Nancy, as a Jew, must have these inherent shortcomings, otherwise the characters will be distorted and false. In short, in Dickens' view, due to biological inheritance, every Jew undoubtedly inherited the despicable and disgusting qualities of his ancestors to varying degrees, and his appearance and nature were irrevocably unchangeable, which was inevitable for Jews.
Biological destination. He felt that he didn't discriminate against Jews when he said this in his novel, but he just told some facts. This is why Dickens said the following sentence when refuting Mrs. Davis: "If I write French or Spanish as' Roman Catholic' in a story, then I have done a very disgraceful and unreasonable thing; But I call Fagin a Jew because he is a member of the Jewish nation, because it conveys the concept of people like him, just like when I introduced China to my readers, I called him China. " ⑤ Dickens thought it was undoubtedly a big mistake to call Christians "Roman Catholics", but it was reasonable to call Fagin "Jews". First of all, Fagin is a Jew, so there is nothing wrong with calling him "Jew" in general instead of calling him by his first name. Secondly, using the symbol Fagin to refer to the concept of "people of the same kind" shows that the attribute of "Jew" is appropriate and matches his "race". Naturally, the anti-Semitism tendency in Dickens' artistic thought did not come into being after the emergence of social Darwinism, but it has a long history, has a profound social, historical and cultural background, and involves some feuds between Judaism and Christianity. Judaism, which Jews believe in, is the "matrix" of Christianity, and there is a relationship between them. Due to various historical reasons, Christianity has developed very rapidly, and Judaism has been transformed many times in the process of development, so it quickly broke away from Judaism and became a new religion independently. Since then, two opposing religions have been arguing about who is God's chosen people. In order to attract more believers to join their own camp, the two sides launched a fierce "war of words" of mutual accusation, ridicule and slander, and Christians also fought against Jews. In this war, the most offensive and effective blow to Judaism by Christians was that they accused Jews of killing God Jesus. In this way, the image of Jews has been greatly damaged, and in the eyes of non-Jews, it has become the incarnation of Satan.
Judaism's inferior position in the struggle forced the Jews who became vulnerable groups to "be trampled by the great power of Christianity". All these have directly influenced the writing mode of European literary works: as early as the rise of European folk literature and stories and legends, the image of Jews began to be derogated. Especially in the Middle Ages, Jews almost became synonymous with "bad guys" in legends and folk songs. As some scholars have pointed out, "In these literary styles that rose and prevailed in the Middle Ages, as long as Jews were mentioned or appeared, Jews were almost invariably described or portrayed as demonic figures who only did bad things and did not do good things" (Xin Xu 75). Even during the Renaissance, the fate of the Jews did not improve. Chaucer described Jews as murderers of Christian children in The Canterbury Tales, according to the legend that Jews made unleavened cakes with the blood of Christian children in Norich, England in the 2nd century (1 144). In particular, the "Black Death" that occurred in Europe 1940- 1950 in 14 made Jews who were already struggling to survive feel wronged again. They were framed as the makers of the "plague" and killed. At the same time, Jews have also been branded as "usurers". Shakespeare created a selfish, greedy and vicious Jewish usurer in The Merchant of Venice. In a sense, in the history of European literature, the image of Jews is always used to being associated with those negative values, which has almost become a fixed expression mode. From the slogan of modern anti-Semitism, "Wasder Jude glaubt Iseinerlei, in der Rasseligt die schweinrei" (Kaplan 81), we can also feel the deep-rooted hatred of Jews in Europe.
Looking back at history, it is not difficult to find that Dickens' choice of Fei Jin in Oliver Twist was not accidental, but inherited the tradition of prejudice against Jews in European history. Dickens' so-called realism is actually difficult to overcome the shackles of deep-rooted racial concepts.
Annotate notes
(1)1879 was invented and founded by the German writer William Marr.
(2) see Mrs Elizabeth Davis's letter to Charles Dickens, June 22, 1863. > Anglo-Jewish letters (1 158-
19 17)，ed。 Cecil Ross (London: Soncino, 1938) 305. The translation is self-translated by the author.
See Charles Dickens' Letter to Lady Elizabeth Davis. > anglo-Jewish letters (1158-1965438), ed. Cecil.
Ross (London: Soncino, 1938) 306. The translation is self-translated by the author.
④ See Literature and Art of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin (Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House, 1953) 20.
⑥ See Heim Maccabees: Preface of Judaism Trial, translated by Huang (Jinan: Shandong University Press, 1996) I-II.
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