Loathsome Jews and Engulfing Women: Metaphors of Projection in the Works of Wyndham Lewis, Charles Williams, and Graham Greene 9780814752753

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Loathsome Jews and Engulfing Women

LITERATURE AN D PSYCHOANALYSI S General Editor: Jeffrey Berma n 1. The Beginning of Terror: A Psychological Study of Rainer Maria Rilke's Life and Work by Davi d Kleinbar d 2. Loathsome Jews and Engulfing Women: Metaphors of Projection in the Works of Wyndham Lewis, Charles Williams, and Graham Greene by Andre a Freu d Loewenstei n

Loathsome Jews and Engulfing Women Metaphors of Projection in the Works of Wyndham Lewis, Charles Williams, and Graham Greene ANDREA FREU D LOEWENSTEI N

N E W Y O R K U N I V E R S I T Y PRES S New York and London

NEW YOR K UNIVERSIT Y PRES S New Yor k an d Londo n Copyright © 199 3 b y Ne w Yor k Universit y All right s reserve d Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Loewenstein, Andre a Freud . Loathsome Jew s an d engulfin g wome n : metaphor s o f projectio n i n the work s o f Wyndha m Lewis , Charle s Williams , an d Graha m Green e / Andrea Freu d Loewenstein . p. cm . — (Literatur e an d psychoanalysi s ; 2 ) Revision o f th e author' s thesi s (doctoral—Universit y o f Sussex) . Includes bibliographica l reference s an d index . ISBN 0-8147-5063- X (alk . paper ) 1. Englis h literature—20t h century—Histor y an d criticism . 2. Jew s i n literature . 3 . Lewis , Wyndham , 1881-1957—Characters — Jews. 4 . Williams , Charles , 1886-1945—Characters—Jews . 5. Greene , Graham , 1904 - —Characters—Jews . 6 . Projectio n (Psychology) i n literature . 7 . Psychoanalysi s an d literature . 8. Wome n i n literature . 9 . Metaphor . I . Title . II . Series . PR151.J5L64 199 3 820.9'9287—dc20 93-1636 2 CIP New Yor k Universit y Pres s book s ar e printed o n acid-fre e paper , and thei r bindin g material s ar e chose n fo r strengt h an d durability . Manufactured i n th e Unite d State s o f Americ a 10

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For Joy Holland

Contents

Foreword b y Jeffrey Berma n i x Acknowledgments x v Introduction 1 1. Th e Jews o f Britain : A Historica l Overvie w 1 6 2. A Surve y o f th e Survey s 4 4 3. I n Searc h o f a Psychoanalytic Theor y 7 8 4. Th e Molte n Colum n Within : Wyndha m Lewi s 11 9 5. Charle s Williams' s Extrusio n Machin e 18 8 6. Escapin g th e Inne r Void : The Earl y Novel s o f Graha m Green e 24 1 7. Conclusio n 31 2 Appendix: A Historica l an d Literary Timelin e o f Jews i n Englan d 31 9 Notes 33 3 Bibliography 35 9 Index 37 3

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Foreword

As Ne w Yor k Universit y Pres s inaugurate s a ne w serie s o f book s o n literature an d psychoanalysis , i t seem s appropriat e t o paus e an d reflec t briefly upo n the history of psychoanalytic literary criticism. For a century now i t ha s struggle d t o defin e it s relationshi p t o it s tw o contentiou s progenitors an d com e o f age . Afte r glancin g a t it s origins , w e ma y b e i n a bette r positio n t o speculat e o n it s future . Psychoanalytic literar y criticis m wa s conceive d a t th e precis e momen t in whic h Freud , reflectin g upo n hi s self-analysis , mad e a connectio n t o two plays and thus gav e us a radically new approach t o reading literature . Writing to his friend Wilhel m Fliess in 1897 , Freud breathlessl y advance d the idea that "lov e of th e mother an d jealousy o f the father" ar e universa l phenomena o f earl y childhoo d {Origins, 223-24) . H e referre d immedi ately to the gripping power o f Oedipus Rex an d Hamlet fo r confirmatio n of an d perhaps inspiration fo r his compelling perception o f family drama , naming hi s theor y th e "Oedipu s complex " afte r Sophocles ' legendar y fictional hero . Freud acknowledge d repeatedl y hi s indebtednes s t o literature , my thology, an d philosophy. Ther e is no doubt tha t he was a great humanist , steeped in world literature, abl e to read several languages and range acros s disciplinary boundaries . H e regarde d creativ e writer s a s allies , investi gating th e sam e psychi c terrai n an d intuitin g simila r huma n truths . "[PJsycho- analyti c observatio n mus t conced e priorit y t o imaginativ e writers," h e declare d i n 190 1 i n The Psych op athology of Everyday Life (SE 6 : 213) , a concessio n h e wa s generall y happ y t o make . Th e onl y exceptions wer e writer s lik e Schopenhauer , Nietzsche , an d Schnitzler , whom h e avoided readin g because of th e anxiety o f influence . H e quote d effortlessly fro m Sophocles , Shakespeare , Goethe , an d Dostoevsky , an d IX

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was himsel f a maste r pros e stylist , th e recipien t o f th e covete d Goeth e Prize i n 1930 . Whe n h e wa s considere d fo r th e Nobe l Prize , i t wa s no t for medicin e bu t fo r literature . Upo n bein g greete d a s th e discovere r o f the unconscious, h e disclaimed th e title and instea d paid generou s tribut e to th e poet s an d philosopher s wh o precede d him . And ye t Freud' s foray s int o literar y criticis m hav e not bee n welcome d uniformly b y creativ e writers, largel y becaus e o f hi s allegianc e t o scienc e rather tha n art . Despit e hi s admiratio n fo r art , h e viewed th e artis t a s a n introvert, no t fa r remove d fro m neurosis . Th e artist , h e wrote i n a wellknown passag e i n th e Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (1916 17), "i s oppresse d b y excessivel y powerfu l instinctua l needs . H e desire s to win honour, power , wealth , fam e an d the love of women; but he lacks the mean s fo r achievin g thes e satisfactions " (SE 16 : 376). Consequently , Freud argued , artist s retreat fro m realit y into the world o f fantasy, wher e they attemp t t o mak e thei r dream s com e true . Whil e concedin g tha t tru e artists manag e t o shap e thei r daydream s i n suc h a way a s t o fin d a pat h back t o reality , thu s fulfillin g thei r wishes , Freu d nevertheles s theorize d art a s a substitute gratification . Littl e wonder, then , tha t fe w artist s hav e been please d wit h Freud' s pronouncements . Nor hav e many artist s been sympathetic to Freud's preoccupation wit h sexuality an d aggression ; his deterministic visio n o f human life ; his com bative, polemica l temperament ; hi s self-fulfillin g belie f tha t psychoanal ysis bring s ou t th e wors t i n people ; an d hi s imperialisti c clai m tha t psychoanalysis, which he regarded as his personal creation, would explor e and conquer vast new territories. H e chos e as the epigraph fo r The Interpretation of Dreams (1900 ) a quotatio n fro m The Aeneid: "Flecter e s i nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo" ("If I cannot bend the Higher Pow ers, I wil l mov e th e Inferna l Regions") . Althoug h h e denie d tha t ther e was anythin g Promethea n abou t hi s work, h e regarde d himsel f a s one o f the disturber s o f th e world's sleep . Th e ma n wh o asserte d tha t "psycho analysis i s i n a position t o spea k th e decisiv e wor d i n al l question s tha t touch upo n th e imaginative life o f man" (SE 19 : 208) could hardl y expec t to wi n man y convert s amon g creativ e writers , wh o wer e n o les s familia r with th e imaginativ e lif e o f humankin d an d wh o resente d hi s intrusio n into thei r domain . Freud viewe d psychoanalyst s a s scientists , committe d t o th e realit y principle an d t o heroi c self-renunciation . H e perceive d artists , b y con trast—and women—a s neuroti c an d highl y narcissistic , devote d t o th e

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pleasure principle , intuitin g mysteriou s truth s whic h the y coul d no t ra tionally understand . "Kindl y natur e ha s give n th e artis t th e abilit y t o express hi s mos t secre t menta l impulses , whic h ar e hidde n eve n fro m himself," h e state d i n 191 0 i n Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of His Childhood (SE 11 : 107). The artist , i n Freud' s judgment , create s beauty , but th e psychoanalys t analyze s it s meanin g an d "penetrates " it , wit h al l the phalli c implication s thereof . A s muc h a s h e admire d artists , Freu d did no t wan t t o giv e the m credi t fo r knowin g wha t the y ar e doing . Moreover, althoug h h e always referred t o artists as male, he assumed tha t art itsel f wa s essentiall y female ; an d h e wa s draw n t o th e "seductive " nature o f art , eve n a s h e resiste d it s embrac e les t h e los e hi s masculin e analytical power . H e wante d t o b e calle d a scientist, no t a n artist . From th e beginnin g o f hi s career, then , th e marriag e Freu d envisione d between th e artis t an d th e analys t wa s distinctly unequa l an d patriarchal . For thei r part , mos t creativ e writer s hav e remaine d war y o f psychoanal ysis. Fran z Kafka , Jame s Joyce, an d D . H . Lawrenc e were fascinated b y psychoanalytic theor y an d appropriate d it , i n varyin g degrees , i n thei r stories, bu t the y al l remained skeptica l o f Freud' s therapeuti c claim s an d declined t o b e analyzed . Most artist s d o no t wan t t o b e "cured, " becaus e the y fea r tha t thei r creativity will be imperiled; and, agreeing with Wordsworth that to dissect is t o murder , the y d o no t wan t psychoanalyst s t o prob e thei r work . Vladimir Nabokov' s sardoni c referenc e t o Freu d a s the "Viennes e witc h doctor" an d his contemptuous dismissa l of psychoanalysis a s black magi c are extreme examples of creative writers' mistrust of psychoanalytic inter pretations o f literature . "[A]l l m y book s shoul d b e stampe d Freudian s Keep Out, " Naboko v write s i n Bend Sinister (xii) . Humber t Humber t speaks fo r hi s creato r whe n h e observe s i n Lolita tha t th e differenc e between th e rapis t an d therapis t i s bu t a matter o f spacin g (147) . Freud neve r los t fait h tha t psychoanalysis coul d cas t light upon a wide variety o f academi c subjects . I n th e shor t essa y " O n th e Teachin g o f Psycho-Analysis i n Universities " (1919) , h e maintained tha t hi s ne w sci ence ha s a role no t onl y i n medica l school s bu t als o i n th e "solution s o f problems" i n art , philosophy , religion , literature , mythology , an d his tory. "Th e fertilizin g effect s o f psycho-analyti c though t o n thes e othe r disciplines," Freu d wrot e enthusiastically , "woul d certainl y contribut e greatly toward s forgin g a close r link , i n th e sens e o f a universitas literarum, betwee n medica l scienc e an d th e branche s o f learnin g whic h li e

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within th e spher e o f philosoph y an d th e arts " (SE 17 : 173). Regrettably , he di d no t envisio n i n th e sam e essay a cross-fertilization, a desire, tha t is, fo r othe r discipline s t o pollinat e psychoanalysis . Elsewhere, though , Freu d wa s willin g t o acknowledg e a mor e recip rocal relationship betwee n th e analyst an d the creative writer. H e opene d his first publishe d essay o n literar y criticism , "Delusion s an d Dream s i n Jensen's Gradiva" (1907) , wit h th e egalitaria n statemen t tha t "creativ e writers ar e valued allie s and their evidenc e is to be highly prized, fo r the y are ap t t o kno w a whol e hos t o f thing s betwee n heave n an d eart h o f which ou r philosoph y ha s not ye t le t us dream " (SE 9 : 8) , an allusio n t o his beloved Hamlet' s affirmatio n o f th e mystery o f al l things. Concedin g that literar y artist s hav e been , fro m tim e immemorial , precursor s t o sci entists, Freu d conclude d tha t th e "creativ e write r canno t evad e th e psy chiatrist no r th e psychiatrist th e creative writer, an d th e poetic treatmen t of a psychiatric them e ca n tur n ou t t o b e correc t withou t an y sacrific e of it s beauty " (SE 9 : 44). It i s i n th e spiri t o f thi s equa l partnershi p betwee n literatur e an d psy choanalysis tha t Ne w Yor k Universit y Pres s launche s th e present series . We inten d t o publis h book s tha t ar e genuinel y interdisciplinary , theo retically sophisticated , an d clinicall y informed . Th e literar y critic' s in sights int o psychoanalysi s ar e n o les s valuabl e tha n th e psychoanalyst' s insights int o literature . Gon e ar e th e day s whe n psychoanalyti c critic s assumed tha t Freu d ha d a master ke y t o unloc k th e secret s o f literature . Instead o f readin g literatur e t o confir m psychoanalyti c theory , man y critics ar e no w readin g Freu d t o discove r ho w hi s understandin g o f lit erature shape d th e evolutio n o f hi s theory . I n short , th e master-slav e relationship traditionall y implici t i n th e marriag e betwee n th e literar y critic and psychoanalyst has given way to a healthier dialogic relationship, in whic h eac h learn s fro m an d contribute s t o th e other' s discipline . Indeed, th e prevailing ideas o f th e late twentieth centur y ar e strikingl y different fro m thos e o f th e lat e nineteent h century , whe n literatur e an d psychoanalysis wer e first allied . I n contras t t o Freud , wh o assume d h e was discoverin g absolut e truth , w e no w believ e tha t knowledge , partic ularly i n th e humanitie s an d socia l sciences , i s relativ e an d dependen t upon cultural contexts. Freud's classical drive theory, with its mechanistic implications of cathectic energy, has given way to newer relational models such a s objec t relations , sel f psychology , an d interpersona l psycho analysis, affirmin g th e importanc e o f huma n interaction . Man y earl y psychoanalytic ideas , suc h a s th e deat h instinc t an d th e phylogeneti c

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transmission o f memories , hav e fallen b y th e wayside, an d Freud' s theo rizing o n femal e psycholog y ha s bee n recognize d a s a reflectio n o f hi s cultural bias . Significant development s hav e als o take n plac e i n psychoanalyti c lit erary theory . A n extraordinar y variet y an d synthesi s o f competin g ap proaches hav e emerged , includin g post-Freudian , Jungian , Lacanian , Horneyan, feminist , deconstructive , psycholinguistic , an d reade r re sponse. Interes t i n psychoanalytic literar y criticis m i s at an all-time high , not just in the handful o f journals devote d t o psychological criticism , bu t in dozen s o f mainstrea m journal s tha t hav e traditionall y avoide d psy chological approache s t o literature. Scholar s ar e working o n identit y the ory, narcissism , gende r theory , mournin g an d loss , an d creativity . Additionally, the y are investigating new areas, such as composition theor y and pedagogy , an d explorin g th e role s o f resistance , transference , an d countertransference i n th e classroom . "In th e en d w e depend/O n th e creature s w e made, " Freu d observe d at th e clos e o f hi s lif e (Letters, 425) , quotin g fro m Goethe' s Faust; an d in th e en d psychoanalyti c literar y criticis m depend s o n th e scholar s wh o continue to shape it. All serious scholarship is an act of love and devotion , and fo r man y o f th e author s i n thi s series , includin g myself , psychoan alytic literar y criticis m ha s becom e a consumin g passion , i n som e case s a lifelon g one . Lik e othe r passions , ther e i s a n elemen t o f idealizatio n here. Fo r despit e our criticism s o f Freud , w e stand i n awe of his achieve ments; an d eve n a s w e recogniz e th e limitation s o f an y singl e approac h to literature , w e find tha t psychoanalysi s ha s profoundly illuminate d th e human conditio n an d inspire d countles s artists . I n th e word s o f th e fictional "Freud " i n D. M . Thomas' s extraordinar y nove l The White Hotel (1981), "Long may poetry and psychoanalysis continue to highlight, fro m their different perspectives , th e human fac e in all its nobility an d sorrow " (143n.). JEFFREY BERMA N

Professor o f Englis h State Universit y o f Ne w Yor k a t Alban y Works Cited Freud, Sigmund . The Letters of Sigmund Freud. Ed . Erns t Freud. Trans . Tania and James Stern. New York: Basic Books, 1975.

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. The Origins of Psychoanalysis. Ed . Mari e Bonaparte , Ann a Freud , an d Ernst Kris . Trans . Eri c Mosbache r an d Jame s Strachey . Ne w York : Basi c Books, 1954 ; rpt. 1977 . . The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. 2 4 vols. Ed . Jame s Strachey . London : Hogart h Press , 1953-74 . Nabokov, Vladimir. Introduction. Bend Sinister. Ne w York: McGrawHill, 1974 . . Lolita. London : Weidenfel d an d Nicolson , 1959 . Thomas, D . M . The White Hotel. Ne w York : Viking , 1981 .

Acknowledgments

This boo k originate d a s m y doctora l dissertatio n a t th e Universit y o f Sussex. During the prolonged period o f my work o n it, m y advisor, Sybi l Oldfield, wa s a sustaining presence—helpful wit h ideas and advice, always patient and deeply supportive. The detailed suggestions of Geoffrey Hem stedt an d Brya n Cheyette , bot h member s o f m y committee , helpe d m e revise th e thesi s fo r publication . Brya n Cheyett e i n particula r save d m e from wha t woul d hav e bee n a n unforgivabl e erro r b y informin g m e tha t Graham Green e ha d altere d th e anti-Semiti c conten t o f severa l o f hi s works. Eve n afte r Professo r Cheyette' s officia l functio n wa s ove r h e continued t o offe r usefu l advic e an d sourc e references . The administration o f Goddar d College , where I was a faculty membe r during the writing of this book, allowe d me to take the time off necessar y to complet e i t an d supporte d m y scholarship . I a m particularl y gratefu l to Dean s Pau l Garstk i an d Dea n Elia s an d t o colleague s Nick y Morri s and Barbar a Johnson . Friend s an d fello w writer s Michae l Bronsk i an d Jan Clause n helpe d m e wit h thei r idea s an d support . At Ne w Yor k Universit y Press , Jeffrey Berma n ha s bee n a true frien d to me and to this book, from hi s enthusiastic initial reception of it, throug h his war m encouragemen t durin g th e rewritin g process , t o hi s instan t feedback o n ne w drafts . Jaso n Renke r ha s bee n a consistently intereste d and supportive editor . Vick i Wilson-Schwartz contribute d intelligen t an d painstaking cop y editing , whic h greatl y improve d th e book' s style . My father , Pau l Loewenstein , offere d m e ongoin g suppor t an d lov e with thi s projec t an d others . I wis h h e coul d hav e live d t o se e thi s boo k in print . M y mother , Sophi e Freud , spen t tw o preciou s week s makin g the index t o thi s book . Durin g it s writing sh e offered valuabl e reference s and it was her guidance which helped me to form a psychoanalytic critica l xv

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perspective. Sh e wa s an d i s a n intellectua l companio n an d inspiration , whose heroi c midnigh t trip s t o rescu e a n ailin g compute r wil l neve r b e forgotten. Finally , m y partner , Jo y Holland , gav e me whatever I neede d most a t each stag e of th e work. He r valuabl e input ca n be found i n ever y aspect o f th e book' s content s an d ideas . Constan t discussio n wit h he r helped m e t o clarif y m y thoughts , an d durin g th e final stage s o f th e dissertation proces s sh e repeatedl y abandone d he r ow n wor k t o ai d i n the seemingl y insurmountabl e tas k o f actuall y gettin g tha t enormou s package finished an d i n th e mai l b y deadline . I woul d neve r hav e bee n able to complet e thi s boo k withou t he r loving an d continuall y sustainin g presence. I woul d lik e t o than k th e following : The estat e of th e autho r an d th e Watkins/Loomis Agenc y fo r permissio n to reprin t excerpt s fro m th e work s o f Charle s Williams . The Blac k Sparro w Pres s fo r permissio n t o reprin t excerpt s fro m The Apes of God © 1930 , 198 1 b y Wyndha m Lewis , an d fro m The Art of Being Ruled © 1926 , 198 9 b y Wyndha m Lewis . Viking Penguin , a division o f Pengui n Book s USA , Inc. , fo r permissio n to reprin t excerpt s fro m A Gun for Sale by Graha m Greene . © Graha m Greene, renewed .

Introduction

Wyndham Lewi s wrote : [A] man i s made, no t born : an d h e i s made, o f course , wit h ver y grea t difficulty. Fro m th e tim e he yells an d kick s i n hi s cradle , t o th e tim e he receives his last kick at school, h e is recalcitrant. 1 It require s onl y a sligh t textua l alteration—th e substitutio n o f "book " for ma n and "it" for "he"—t o mak e this statement applicable to the wor k in hand . I n m y introduction , I wil l attemp t t o giv e th e reade r a sense o f the proces s o f makin g thi s book—fro m th e momen t o f it s conceptio n through it s earl y yelling , th e gentl e kick s i t receive d a t schoo l (i t first saw th e ligh t a s m y doctora l thesi s a t th e Universit y o f Sussex) , an d o n to its final incarnation in this form. I will simultaneously attemp t to guid e you throug h th e chapters , preparin g yo u fo r wha t yo u ma y expec t fro m each one , explainin g th e orde r i n whic h I wrot e them , an d indicatin g where I see each one fitting int o the larger picture o f the book. Fo r thos e ambitious reader s wh o approac h thi s boo k a s a whole, th e introductio n will, I hope , serv e a s a general guide . Fo r thos e wh o consul t i t i n searc h of a specific referenc e o r author , th e introductio n wil l advis e yo u whic h chapters ma y b e o f use , an d whic h ma y easil y b e skipped . Before embarkin g upo n thi s critica l study , th e onl y substantia l piece s o f writing I ha d complete d wer e tw o novels . A s a novelist, I begi n wit h a plan, bu t soo n leav e it behind, a s the process o f writin g teache s me mor e about m y character s an d plot , an d eac h ne w piec e of knowledg e inform s what I hav e alread y writte n an d force s m e bac k t o th e beginnin g agai n in a slow, circula r process . I was surprise d t o find tha t I used ver y muc h the sam e proces s i n researchin g an d constructin g a critica l study . Eac h i

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INTRODUCTION

new insight , eac h ne w chapter , entaile d rethinkin g an d revisin g th e pre vious ones . Fo r th e purpos e o f thi s introduction , I hav e attempte d t o recast thi s proces s i n a linear way . I n fact , i t woul d b e mor e accurat e t o describe m y wor k a s a series o f interlockin g circles . My ide a fo r thi s stud y bega n i n th e fal l o f 1985 , when I wa s livin g i n London. Charme d b y th e grac e an d cultur e o f thi s cosmopolita n an d ultimately civilize d city , I wa s considerin g a permanen t move . On e o f the factor s whic h mad e m e hesitate , however , wa s ho w muc h les s com fortable I fel t a s a Jew i n Englan d tha n I ha d i n th e larg e Easter n an d Midwestern American cities where I had lived most of my life. In England, a sor t o f mild , ofte n quasi-humorou s anti-Semitis m seeme d t o m e quit e pervasive. A s a n ope n lesbian , I wa s no t unfamilia r wit h prejudice . Bu t what I wa s hearin g peopl e sa y abou t Jew s i n place s a s divers e a s leftis t political gatherings , m y loca l Eas t Londo n caf , an d comed y show s o n the BBC , reminde d m e o f th e wa y man y eve n quit e libera l whit e peopl e tended t o tal k abou t black s wher e I was from . Ther e wa s th e sam e half ashamed fascination , th e sam e furtive glanc e to se e if anyone wa s aroun d to hear—the n th e defian t utterance . All wa s no t negative . Minorit y identity , I learned , ha s it s secondar y perks. On the affirmative actio n questionnaires handed out when I applied for teachin g job s wit h th e no w defunc t Inne r Londo n Educatio n Au thority, I wa s n o longe r a mere "Caucasian"—fo r th e first tim e I ha d a box o f m y ow n t o check . I n thos e progressiv e feminis t circle s wher e I was not suspec t a s an oppressor o f the Palestinians, I was listened t o wit h the respectful silenc e due a member o f a n out-group. I was surprised an d rather please d t o find tha t wome n wh o kne w o f m e b y nam e onl y wer e prepared t o find m e exotic , unusuall y expressive , an d innatel y sexual . But fo r th e mos t part , I fel t uncomfortable . I foun d mysel f restrainin g my lov e o f bargainin g a t stree t markets , tryin g t o spea k mor e softly , waiting for a pause rather than breakin g eagerly into conversations a s was my habi t a t home . I woul d sho w th e English , I vowed , tha t I wa s no t the loud , pushy , an d vulga r Jewish woma n the y seeme d t o expect . Suc h an effor t soo n mad e m e angry , an d pushe d m e t o a n occasiona l deter mination t o ac t jus t a s loud, pushy , an d aggressiv e a s I could . All thi s was , admittedly , har d t o sor t out . Som e o f th e characteristic s which th e Englis h attribute d t o Jews wer e identica l t o th e characteristic s they attribute d t o Americans . Whil e bein g stigmatize d a s a loud, push y American ha d a sting, i t wa s th e stin g o f a mosquito bite , no t th e was p

INTRODUCTION

3

sting I felt whe n I mentioned m y Jewish las t name an d sa w the exchang e of looks . Still , neithe r o f m y copin g mechanism s wa s satisfying . M y newfound minorit y statu s ha d robbe d m e someho w o f th e personhoo d I wa s use d to , which , whil e i t certainl y include d somethin g o f th e Jew , the lesbian, th e feminist, th e woman, an d all of the various other identitie s which I, like everyone else, cart around—also seeme d to leave some roo m for m e a s a n individual . At abou t tha t tim e I rea d a n essay i n Lesli e Fiedler' s To the Gentiles in which Fiedle r tell s a story abou t hi s experienc e teachin g i n a n Englis h university. "Ho w doe s i t happen . . . that ther e i s no serious , n o consid erable Anglo-Jewis h novel? " Fiedle r ask s hi s students , an d i s me t wit h blank looks . "They'r e al l s o ric h here, " on e o f the m answer s finally, smiling benignly . "The y don' t hav e t o writ e books , d o they?" 2 I n thi s essay, Fiedle r decrie s th e "mild-as-milk , matter-of-fac t anti-Semitism " which h e foun d everywher e i n England . A s oppose d t o America n Jews , "The Jews i n England, " h e notes, "ar e fel t t o b e Englis h onl y insofa r a s they see m t o hav e cease d bein g Jewish " (157) . M y ow n experienc e i n England, ove r a decade later , echoe d Fiedler's . An d becaus e par t o f m y particular inherite d bran d o f Jewis h identit y i s tha t o f a n intellectual — one wh o encounter s discomfor t b y tryin g t o understan d ho w an d wh y it arose , an d wh o believes , agains t al l odds , tha t understandin g canno t only illuminat e bu t palliat e tha t discomfort— I bega n thi s study . As a novelist, a studen t o f literature , an d a compulsive reader , i t wa s natural fo r m e t o loo k fo r m y answer s i n fiction. I n doin g so , I realize d that m y presen t inquir y wa s connecte d t o a muc h olde r one . A s a n adolescent, I had encountered wit h a feeling o f embarrassment an d sham e the villainous and grotesque Jews who peopled the Victorian novels which were m y favorit e readin g matter . A s th e chil d o f intellectual , assimilate d refugees fro m Nazism , i n a home where the Holocaust an d the experienc e of anti-Semitis m wer e presen t a s a stron g undercurren t bu t seldo m dis cussed, I di d no t hav e th e word s t o explai n wha t wa s wrong , o r eve n how I felt. 3 I simpl y rea d on , an d trie d t o ignor e th e unpleasantness . A s an adul t wit h a t leas t som e o f th e word s an d concept s I neede d t o nam e those childhoo d feelings , I bega n m y stud y b y rereadin g th e classic s o f Jewish villain y I had grow n u p with an d bee n schoole d in : Oliver Twist, The Merchant of Venice, Chaucer' s "Prioress' s Tale, " Trollope' s Way We Live Now, selecte d work s o f T . S . Elio t an d D . H . Lawrence . I n search of goo d Jews, I reread Georg e Eliot's Daniel Deronda an d Joyce's

4

INTRODUCTION

Ulysses. A t thi s stag e I calle d m y fledglin g stud y "Representation s o f Jews i n Britis h Literature. " I soo n realize d tha t I was workin g i n a vacuum. Surel y th e note s tha t I wa s s o assiduousl y takin g ha d bee n take n already , th e conclusion s gathered? I determine d t o fin d ou t wha t ha d bee n don e i n th e field . Although I di d no t writ e i t unti l muc h later , thi s researc h provide d th e basis fo r wha t i s no w chapte r 2 : " A Surve y o f th e Surveys. " A s fa r a s I know, ther e exist s t o dat e n o organize d compariso n o r discussio n o f th e many book s devote d t o th e representatio n o f Jew s i n Britis h fiction. I found tha t comparin g th e approache s take n b y th e critic s i n thi s chapte r and attemptin g t o codif y thes e difference s aide d m e i n m y ow n effor t t o define m y theoretica l approach . A t th e tim e I undertook th e bul k o f th e research summarize d i n chapte r 2 , I ha d no t ye t mad e th e connectio n between th e authoria l representatio n o f Jew s an d women . Thi s chapte r accordingly confine s itsel f t o studie s o f th e representatio n o f Jew s i n British literature , wit h littl e examinatio n o f th e issu e o f gender . As I bega n t o rea d mor e contemporar y studies , I locate d critic s suc h as Lesli e Fiedle r an d Christophe r Rick s wh o approache d th e authoria l treatment o f Jews i n th e contex t o f th e treatmen t o f differen t group s o f "Others" (women , blacks , Indians , member s o f colonize d nations , gays).4 I found suc h bridging intriguing an d determine d tha t I too woul d look a t th e Jew i n literatur e no t i n isolatio n bu t rathe r i n th e contex t o f authorial treatmen t o f differen t "Others, " tha t is , group s whic h ar e se t aside i n th e cultura l production s o f whit e Wester n male s a s beings o f a n alien nature . I wa s alread y familia r wit h numerou s critica l work s whic h examined th e treatmen t o f wome n an d o f gay s an d lesbian s i n literature , and I now rea d suc h works a s Chinua Achebe' s Hopes and Impediments and Davi d Dabydeen' s collectio n The Black Presence in English Literature, bot h revealin g studie s o f th e representatio n o f blac k characters. 5 Finally, I bega n t o rea d contemporary , mor e theoretica l studie s i n which critics , rathe r tha n concentratin g o n th e representatio n o f tw o o r more particular group s of Others , studie d th e textual production o f Oth erness a s a production o r encodin g o f ideology. 6 Whil e I gaine d tremen dously fro m m y introductio n t o "th e rhetori c o f power " an d fro m m y exposure t o theorist s wh o us e Marxist , psychoanalytic , an d poststruc turalist outlooks to discuss the representation of the Jew, my own primar y concentration in chapter 2 is on those critics who came before, establishin g a groun d fo r th e res t o f u s t o wal k upon . I hope tha t th e chapte r wil l b e

INTRODUCTION

5

useful t o other s seekin g suc h a grounding , an d tha t i t ma y enabl e the m to ski p som e of th e painstaking step s I went through . Chapte r 2 will als o be useful t o thos e reader s wh o hav e not considere d th e representatio n o f Jewish character s i n Englis h literatur e before . I n comparin g ho w Phil ipson, Modder , an d Rosenber g regar d Shyloc k an d hi s relatives , I offe r an introductio n t o th e text s whic h critic s i n thi s are a hav e traditionall y examined, an d t o th e persisten t type s an d stereotype s wh o mak e thei r stubborn wa y throug h th e years , refusin g t o b e put t o sleep . Chapte r 2 , then, provide s a backgroun d t o th e bod y o f m y argument , whic h i s t o be foun d i n chapter s 4 throug h 6 . I t i s no t essentia l readin g fo r a ful l understanding o f thos e chapters . Each critical book le d me to new novels. B y the end of my preliminar y research, I ha d rea d virtuall y al l th e fictio n tha t previou s critic s o n th e topic had included i n their surveys, most of which ende d aroun d th e year 1930. Accordingly , I decide d t o begi n m y ow n researc h wit h tha t date . At th e tim e I assume d tha t I woul d produc e anothe r surve y lik e thos e I had read , on e whic h woul d updat e th e availabl e knowledg e b y coverin g a differen t period . I planne d t o rea d al l th e book s publishe d i n Britai n after 193 0 whic h feature d Jewis h characters . Min e woul d b e a surve y with a purpose : t o determin e whethe r th e Holocaus t ha d significantl y changed th e representatio n o f Jew s i n Britis h fiction . I stil l believ e tha t this i s a n importan t study , bu t i t mus t b e don e b y someon e else . I bega n m y putativ e surve y almos t a t rando m wit h wha t I though t would be a few pages on the work of Graham Greene , an author identifie d by Rosenber g an d Fiedler , th e tw o critic s I ha d foun d mos t usefu l fo r my period , a s a particular culpri t i n hi s us e o f Jewish stereotypes. 7 M y preliminary metho d wa s a clos e examinatio n o f languag e an d text , m y focus th e mor e unconsciou s subtext s reveale d b y Greene' s treatmen t o f Jewish characters . Wha t I ha d assume d woul d b e merel y th e firs t ite m in many , a matter o f a few page s an d a week's work , rapidl y expanded . I soo n ha d ove r sixt y page s o f note s o n Greene' s firs t novel . I realize d a t thi s poin t tha t th e surve y approac h wa s no t fo r me . I abandoned m y pla n t o cove r a great dea l o f groun d an d decide d t o cove r instead no more than five authors. I had already determined tha t I wanted to look a t Gentile attitudes toward th e Jewish Othe r rathe r tha n attitude s we a s Jews tak e towar d ourselves . I n m y preliminar y wor k o n Greene , I ha d bee n struc k b y th e fac t tha t al l hi s Jews wer e male , an d tha t hi s representation o f the m seeme d t o b e closely tied to his struggle to defen d

6

INTRODUCTION

his manhood. M y desire to explore this lead caused me to eliminate femal e as well a s Jewish author s fro m m y list . Finally , I decide d t o concentrat e on mal e authors whom th e critics had identifie d a s particularly offensive . It i s importan t t o stres s her e tha t thi s selectio n proces s wa s i n n o wa y random. A t thi s poin t i n m y research , I wa s wel l acquainte d wit h th e wide rang e o f positiv e an d negativ e representation s o f Jew s i n book s written fro m th e lat e 1920 s t o th e 1940s . I f I ha d chose n E . M . Forster , Christopher Isherwood , o r C . P . Snow , fo r example , thre e author s wh o took stands against anti-Semitism and created a range of positive or neutral Jewish characters , a totally differen t stud y woul d hav e resulted . I chos e my author s precisel y becaus e o f thei r documente d anti-Semitism , whic h I ha d no w decide d t o explore . My subsequent clos e readings of the work of Wyndham Lewis , Charle s Williams, Georg e Orwell , Evely n Waugh , Aldou s Huxley , Hug h Mas singham, an d Willia m Gerhard i confirme d th e anomal y I ha d observe d in Greene . I n th e work s o f al l thes e authors , mal e Jew s seeme d t o re produce eithe r b y parthogenesi s o r b y attachin g themselve s t o Gentil e women: ther e wer e n o femal e Jew s t o b e seen . I n addition , eac h mal e Jewish characte r seeme d t o exis t i n clos e proximit y to , i n referenc e to , or i n oppositio n t o on e o r mor e Gentil e femal e characters . I attempte d to disentangle the Jews from th e women with no success: it was impossible to ignore suc h strikin g systemic connections. T o explor e the connection s between th e representatio n o f wome n an d o f Jews wa s thu s no t par t o f my initia l plan , bu t wa s instea d a focus whic h crep t in , s o t o speak , b y the bac k door . Althoug h I subsequentl y sharpene d an d redefine d m y topic, and eliminated Orwell, Waugh, Huxley, Massingha m and Gerhard i from th e study , th e clos e reading s referre d t o abov e eventuall y le d t o chapters 4 through 6 . It wa s a t thi s stag e o f th e stud y tha t I becam e awar e o f som e majo r theoretical an d substantiv e holes in my knowledge. A s I have mentioned , I originall y chos e th e period fro m 193 0 to 195 0 because I wanted t o find out ho w Worl d Wa r I I an d th e Holocaus t ha d influence d th e represen tation o f Jews i n Britis h fiction. Whil e th e ver y smal l sampl e o f writer s and texts I would b e examining in my newly conceptualize d stud y woul d prevent m e from answerin g that question, I still badly neede d a historical context fo r th e materia l I wa s reading . M y stud y o f th e survey s an d o f the fiction t o whic h thes e survey s ha d directe d m e ha d give n m e a sense of wher e Graha m Greene' s Jews fitted int o th e large r pictur e o f Jews i n

INTRODUCTION

7

British literature , bu t I lacke d a sens e o f ho w hi s attitud e compare d t o the norm of prewar and wartime English attitudes toward Jews, or indeed , of wha t th e extraliterar y fat e o f th e Jew s i n Englan d ha d bee n fro m medieval time s on . In addition , m y readin g o f th e ne w critica l discours e ha d shake n th e foundations o f th e fe w historica l "facts " I had though t I knew . I t i s th e frame whic h define s th e picture , I reminde d myself , an d i t i s the owner s of the frame wh o determine what will go inside it. As Edward Sai d point s out i n th e introductio n t o Orientalism, th e presentatio n o f histor y i s fa r from th e innocen t stud y i t sometime s pose s as : naming ha s a power an d force o f it s ow n (27) . M y subsequen t readin g i n Anglo-Jewis h histor y served t o refram e th e prevailin g versio n o f tha t histor y whic h I ha d previously accepted , an d t o giv e m e a more realisti c contex t fo r th e at titudes I wa s identifyin g i n th e literature . What struc k m e mos t abou t m y revise d versio n o f th e histor y o f th e Jews i n Englan d an d wha t seeme d t o remai n consisten t fro m th e preex pulsion day s throug h th e presen t wa s th e numbe r o f conflictin g signal s directed a t Britis h Jews an d th e hypocris y behin d governmenta l policie s regarding them. Fro m th e beginning, Britis h Jews were resented fo r thei r refusal t o assimilat e whil e bein g virtuall y prevente d fro m doin g so . Th e British libera l tradition , whic h I ha d previousl y see n a s a forc e whic h served an d protecte d th e Jews o f Britain , wa s instea d consistentl y use d as an enforcer o f thi s hypocrisy. I had rea d abou t Mosle y an d th e Britis h Union o f Fascists , bu t ha d assume d that , a s m y source s stated , the y represented a tiny lunati c minority. I now conclude d tha t th e distinctio n between th e fring e groups ' ideolog y concernin g Jew s an d th e "parlor " anti-Semitism o f th e kin d tha t I ha d experience d mysel f wa s a false on e which obscure d th e large r continuu m o f Britis h anti-Semitism . Time constraints did not allow me to make the study of primary source s that I would ideall y hav e like d t o undertak e i n orde r t o writ e chapte r 1 . My readin g i n history wa s that o f a beginning student , certainl y no t tha t of a historian, an d th e resultan t chapte r reflect s this . Still , I fee l tha t th e conclusions I presen t challeng e th e mainstrea m presentatio n o f Anglo Jewish history, an d that the attitudes an d discourse regarding Jews whic h I presen t i n chapte r 1 are recreate d b y al l thre e author s an d reproduce d in al l the texts I examine i n chapter s 4 through 6 . Reader s wel l grounde d in Anglo-Jewish histor y ma y wish t o ski p chapter 1 . Those, o n th e othe r hand, wh o thin k o f Britai n a s a n especiall y toleran t an d libera l countr y

8

INTRODUCTION

which serve d a s a have n t o th e persecute d Jew s o f Europ e durin g th e Second Worl d Wa r ma y fin d tha t thi s chapte r challenge s thes e precon ceptions, an d serve s a s a usefu l introductio n t o th e bod y o f materia l presented i n chapter s 4 through 6 . Onc e again , I complete d th e researc h on what would becom e chapter 1 fairly early . B y the time I had reframe d my study , i t was to o lat e to make eve n a brief historica l stud y o f th e rol e of wome n i n Britain . I console d mysel f b y reasonin g tha t man y other s had don e this . Still , chapte r 1 , lik e chapte r 2 , ignore s th e dua l approac h of thi s book . I no w returne d t o Graha m Greene , thi s tim e concentratin g o n auto biographical an d biographical material. I spent some time questioning m y own interes t i n thes e materials . Althoug h I wa s writin g m y dissertatio n in th e lat e 1980 s an d earl y 1990s , th e las t officia l classe s i n literatur e I had take n ha d bee n whe n I earne d m y M.A . i n th e earl y 1970s , a tim e when Ne w Criticis m reigne d suprem e i n graduat e Englis h studie s a t th e University of Wisconsin where I was a student. I had been briefly expose d to phenomenologica l an d mythi c criticis m alon g th e way , bu t bot h o f these perspectives reinforce d th e New Critica l admonition t o focus solel y on th e tex t a t hand , o r a t mos t o n mythi c meaning s o r association s t o the texts, an d to ignore even the most relevant biographical information. 8 Such a prohibition wa s difficul t t o disregard . I n th e en d I decide d t o d o so fo r severa l reasons . I n th e first place , muc h a s I trie d t o exclud e th e author fro m hi s text s a s I ha d bee n taugh t t o do , h e kep t intruding . I t was not onl y Lewis' s authoria l syste m tha t was paranoid; Lewi s th e ma n conducted hi s affair s an d le d hi s life withi n a paranoid framewor k whic h closely mirrore d tha t system . No t onl y wa s Williams' s authoria l syste m a rigid, obsessiv e one ; he himself live d his life within a n obsessive frame work whic h applie d t o hi s wor k habit s a s wel l a s his sexua l proclivities . Greene wrot e abou t depressed , guilty , empt y men . A s hi s letter s an d autobiographical writin g confirm , h e wa s himsel f a n empt y an d guilt ridden man . I searche d fo r critica l justificatio n t o d o wha t fel t right—t o includ e autobiographical an d biographica l materia l o n m y author s i n m y discus sion o f thei r texts . Th e poststructuralis t criticis m I ha d begu n t o rea d tended t o ignor e th e author , jus t a s New Criticis m had , an d t o focu s o n the tex t alone. 9 However , m y exposur e t o thi s ne w theor y gav e m e permission t o "deconstruct " m y receive d approache s an d t o mee t text s in way s whic h brok e th e rules . I f scholar s ar e allowe d t o writ e article s

INTRODUCTION

9

on advertising copy, I reasoned, surel y I am allowed to include an author's letters, journals , an d autobiograph y a s relevan t texts ? M y exposur e t o poststructuralism als o allowe d m e t o rejec t m y learne d Ne w Critica l notion that texts exist in an artistic vacuum which must not be penetrated. 1, like Terry Eagleton , decide d tha t th e ide a tha t "an y piec e of language , 'literary' o r not , ca n b e adequatel y studie d o r eve n understoo d i n isola tion" mus t b e illusor y (Eagleton , Literary Theory, 44) . I preferre d t o believe, wit h Eagleton , tha t literatur e i s inextricabl y caugh t u p i n "ma terial practices, socia l relations an d ideologica l meanings " {Literary Theory, 21). It seems to me that biographical (and especially autobiographical ) information reveal s exactl y ho w suc h factor s hav e influenced a n author' s work. I n a "Note o n Method " i n her boo k Social Mobility in the English Bildungssroman, Patrici a An n Alden , wh o connect s biographica l infor mation abou t th e authors i n her stud y with th e ideology reflecte d i n thei r texts, asserts, "I se e my work a s part of the ongoing resistance to thinkin g about literatur e a s a self-referentia l syste m instea d o f explorin g it s con nections t o al l thos e socia l practice s throug h whic h w e constitut e ou r world." 10 I n th e end , I sa w m y ow n decisio n t o explor e th e live s o f m y authors a s well a s thei r text s a s part o f thi s ongoin g resistance . In makin g th e decisio n t o incorporat e biographica l informatio n int o a primarily textua l stud y I kne w tha t I was venturing int o a field rife wit h pitfalls. I trie d har d t o avoi d these , o r a t leas t t o becom e awar e o f them . Always presen t wa s th e dange r o f fallin g int o th e kin d o f solipsisti c arguments employe d b y som e o f th e earlie r critic s discusse d i n chapte r 2, wh o maintained , fo r example , tha t Fagi n coul d no t possibl y b e a stereotyped portrai t becaus e Dicken s claime d t o b e a friend o f th e Jews. As Wimsatt an d Beardsle y maintai n i n "Th e Intentiona l Fallacy " (1946) , it is dangerous to confuse authoria l intention with textual evidence. n Thi s can lea d i n tur n t o th e fallac y i n whic h on e attribute s t o th e autho r a n attitude properl y belongin g t o hi s o r he r characters . ( I foun d Wayn e Booth's distinctio n betwee n th e implie d autho r who m w e construc t fo r ourselves fro m th e text , an d th e rea l author , who m w e canno t know , t o be especiall y usefu l i n thi s context. ) Whe n I clai m tha t Wyndha m Lewi s shows a loathing o f women , I a m not referrin g t o a loathing hel d b y on e or mor e o f Lewis' s character s whic h ma y o r ma y no t reflec t th e attitud e of th e author , bu t rathe r t o a n attitud e whic h seem s t o m e pervasive , basic to th e works i n question, an d clearl y indicative o f th e author' s ow n conscious o r unconsciou s attitud e o r feelings . I f I als o se e tha t loathin g

10

INTRODUCTION

played ou t i n Lewis' s ow n life , fo r example , i n his treatment o f hi s wife , I hav e attempte d clearl y t o indicat e th e distinctio n betwee n th e tw o realms, i n orde r no t t o conflat e literatur e with action . Unlik e thos e fem inists wh o vie w pornography a s a form o f violence agains t women , I se e a distinctio n betwee n th e ac t o f rapin g a woma n an d tha t o f producin g material whic h depict s rap e i n a positive light . Accordingly , whil e I wa s shocked b y th e similaritie s betwee n th e writin g abou t Jews an d wome n in the work o f the Freikorpsmen wh o ar e the subject of Klaus Theweleit's study an d i n th e thre e Britis h writer s i n m y ow n study , I urge d mysel f to remembe r tha t th e Freikorpsmen , unlik e my thre e authors , wer e war riors wh o kille d b y da y an d wrot e book s b y night. 12 Linking a n author' s histor y an d psycholog y t o hi s text s i s especiall y risky i n thi s study , give n tha t I limi t m y examinatio n t o thos e o f eac h author's work s i n whic h ther e ar e Jewis h characters . A s I explai n i n chapter 1 , a s th e wa r progressed , an d especiall y afte r th e new s o f th e Holocaust becam e widespread , man y author s chos e t o avoi d writin g about Jews, who had become a less convenient receptacle for stereotypica l projection. Whil e William s remaine d fairl y consisten t i n his treatment o f Jews ove r time , Lewi s mad e som e attemp t t o modif y hi s earlie r views , and Graham Greene, who created a number of unsavory Jewish character s before the war, almost completely eliminated Jews from hi s postwar opus, except fo r a n occasiona l referenc e t o a n almos t stereotypicall y "goo d Jew." H e als o altere d th e tex t o f thre e o f hi s earlie r book s fo r a postwa r edition, i n on e cas e turning a n unsavor y Jewish characte r int o a n Italia n and i n eac h cas e alterin g som e o f th e languag e referrin g t o Jews. 13 Ac cordingly, m y discussion , whic h i s limite d t o th e origina l versio n o f Greene's earlies t novels, including one novel {The Name of Action, 1932 ) which h e repudiated later , woul d b e most unfai r i f my purpose , lik e tha t of th e earlie r critic s i n chapte r 1 , wer e t o arriv e a t a mora l (o r clinical ) evaluation o f th e autho r i n question . A s thi s i s no t m y aim , I hav e attempted t o concentrat e m y biographica l inquir y o n th e periods i n eac h author's life which precede the texts I examine, an d not to make sweepin g conclusions whic h preclud e th e possibilit y o f late r change . Finally, m y decisio n t o loo k a t the lives, especiall y th e childhood s an d schooling, o f th e author s I studie d wa s no t undertake n a s a substitut e for a close reading of the texts in question. Rather , i t represents my effor t to se e thos e text s withi n a wider ideologica l an d socia l context , a s wel l as t o explor e som e o f th e connection s an d disjunction s betwee n ar t an d

INTRODUCTION

II

life. I foun d tha t biographica l informatio n ca n expos e no t onl y logica l connections bu t als o seemin g contradictions . I n m y examinatio n o f th e lives of the writers, I attempted to keep this in mind and not to manipulat e my "evidence " i n orde r t o brin g lif e an d literatur e int o lin e wit h eac h other. I t i s important t o remembe r tha t thes e seemin g contradiction s d o not indicat e that eithe r action or text is "false" or " a lie," as was assume d by som e o f th e earlie r critic s discusse d i n chapte r 1 . Huma n being s ar e notoriously ambivalen t creatures , an d writer s ar e n o exception . I aske d what i t mean s whe n a n autho r work s t o rescu e Jew s i n th e rea l world , but caricature s the m i n hi s fiction , no t a s a n effor t t o sho w tha t on e o r the othe r hal f o f th e equatio n i s false , bu t merel y i n a n attemp t t o loo k at th e whol e picture . What , i f any , se x lif e di d a n autho r hav e whos e texts sho w a n obsessio n wit h sexua l si n an d purification ? Wha t kin d o f marriages di d author s achiev e whos e text s showe d a loathing an d fea r o f women? M y grapplin g wit h thes e question s le d m e t o chicken-and-eg g speculations o n caus e an d effect , an d t o theorie s abou t wh y a particula r author's lif e seeme d mor e o r les s congruen t wit h hi s fictional texts . I hope tha t I di d no t allo w an y o f thes e speculation s t o kee p m e fro m a close an d challengin g investigatio n o f th e text s themselves . With only a little more than a year left t o complete my study, I changed its name t o Representations of Jews and Women in the Works of Graham Greene, Charles Williams, Wyndham Lewis, and George Orwell, a vague title which included my new focus on women a s well as Jews but reflecte d my lac k o f an y tru e theoretica l grounding . Durin g th e cours e o f m y research I ha d graduall y evolve d a n approac h whic h demande d clos e attention t o th e text an d t o th e meaning under th e surfac e o f th e tex t an d allowed for psychological interpretations base d on a combination of logic, some basic , rathe r outdate d psychoanalyti c theory , an d th e biographica l information I ha d accumulate d o n eac h author . I no w turne d t o variou s well-known sociologica l an d psychological explanation s o f prejudice , in cluding Jean-Paul Sartre' s Anti-Semite and Jew (1946) , T . W . Adorno' s Authoritarian Personality (1958) , Gordo n Allport' s Nature of Prejudice (1954), an d Joel Kovel' s White Racism: A Psychohistory (1970) , i n searc h of " a theory " whic h woul d wor k fo r me. 14 Whil e al l o f thes e work s contributed i n differen t way s t o my knowledge , non e o f the m seeme d t o address th e proble m I face d i n tryin g t o find a theor y t o fit m y clos e textual analysis , an d non e o f the m offere d m e a frame fo r wha t wa s no w emerging i n m y study : a serie s o f tightl y wove n individua l authoria l

12

INTRODUCTION

systems whic h applie d t o ever y tex t I studie d b y a particular autho r an d which encompasse d th e treatmen t o f bot h Jew s an d women . The turnin g poin t cam e whe n m y advisor , Sybi l Oldfield , steere d m e to Klau s Theweleit' s two-volum e wor k Male Fantasies (1987 , 1989) , a n examination o f novel s an d autobiographie s writte n b y member s o f th e German Freikorps , soldie r male s who , fro m 191 8 t o 1928 , create d th e "White Terror " an d fro m whos e rank s an d belie f syste m cam e man y Nazis an d muc h o f Naz i ideology . Thewelei t allowe d th e literar y pro ductions o f th e me n i n th e Germa n Freikorp s t o spea k fo r themselves — and thes e text s spok e ver y eloquently . A t hi s best , Thewelei t use d psy choanalytic theor y i n th e servic e o f supportin g an d elucidatin g hi s text s rather tha n a s a way t o loc k the m int o a n esoteri c an d irrelevan t system , as som e o f th e mor e traditiona l psychoanalyti c studie s seeme d t o m e t o do. Hi s book s mak e exactl y th e kin d o f connectio n whic h I ha d notice d in m y ow n research , betwee n th e Freikorpsmen' s fascis m an d thei r misogyny. Theweleit i n man y way s provide d a theoretica l mode l fo r me , bu t I felt critica l o f hi s bran d o f psychoanalyti c theory . Whil e objec t relation s theory certainl y seeme d t o offe r a broade r an d mor e usefu l perspectiv e for textua l analysi s tha n unreconstructe d Freudia n theory , I fel t tha t Theweleit's us e o f tha t theory , an d i n particula r hi s overl y concret e re liance o n th e wor k o f Melani e Klei n an d Margare t Mahler , wa s ofte n narrow an d limiting. Bu t each individual theorist o r "school " I identifie d in my ow n theoretica l searc h seeme d t o b e equall y limiting . Afte r week s of tryin g to fin d on e particular theor y o r "frame " whic h would perfectl y fit an d illuminat e m y conclusions , I turned i n despair t o my mother , Dr . Sophie Freud , a scholar o f postpsychoanalyti c theory . Throug h ou r ex changes an d throug h readin g an d discussio n o f he r pape r "Socia l Con structivism an d Research, " sh e helpe d m e t o realiz e tha t psychoanalyti c theory, lik e othe r bodie s o f theory , i s only a system o r serie s o f system s conceptualized b y huma n being s lik e mysel f i n orde r t o fram e o r bette r understand a particular se t o f behaviors. 15 M y mothe r steere d m e i n th e direction o f theorist s sh e though t I woul d find useful , assurin g m e tha t it was perfectly vali d t o stud y variou s psychoanalytic theorist s an d selec t those whic h seeme d relevant : i n othe r words , t o construc t a theoretica l "cluster" whic h I coul d us e a s a fram e t o clarif y an d pus h furthe r m y understanding o f wha t I ha d alread y discovered . It seem s importan t therefor e t o reemphasiz e her e that whe n I spea k o f

INTRODUCTION

13

my study' s psychoanalyti c grounding , I a m no t referrin g t o an y on e theoretical school . Althoug h fo r me , a s fo r Theweleit , a broadl y objec t relations framewor k prove d i n th e en d mor e usefu l tha n an y other , I chose my theorists because they she d som e light on the linking of woma n hatred and Jew hatred and the way this twin preoccupation shape d literar y texts, no t becaus e the y belonge d t o th e sam e school . Indeed , I begi n chapter 3 with a brief discussio n o f Kat e Millett an d Virginia Woolf, tw o novelists an d literar y critic s wit h n o explici t psychologica l grounding . I next proceed t o look a t the work o f thre e clinicians who (i n those of thei r works I consul t here ) concentrat e o n diagnosis , classification , an d treat ment rathe r tha n o n developmen t an d causality . I onl y the n mov e t o th e work o f five object relation s theorists. I then survey four clinician s whos e focus i s on th e effect s o f abus e on personality. Finally , I end thi s chapte r with a look a t th e Englis h publi c schoo l system , a n institutio n I identif y as a n inflicto r o f trauma , a n enforce r o f ideology , an d a mal e rit e o f passage. A s shoul d b e clea r fro m th e above , th e theorist s i n thi s chapte r do no t shar e on e theory , an d woul d no t b e foun d i n th e sam e roo m o r the same collection of essays. Nevertheless, instea d of presenting me with contradictory an d conflictin g viewpoints , th e more I read, th e more sim ilar thei r theorie s looke d t o me , unti l I bega n t o se e the m a s merel y different systemati c clothin g fo r th e sam e body . This insight , whic h I a m sur e woul d no t startl e professional s i n th e field o f psychology , wa s liberatin g fo r me . I foun d tha t Virgini a Woolf , Kate Millett, Kare n Horney, Melani e Klein, Dorothy Dinnerstein, Jessica Benjamin, Leo n Salzman , Davi d Shapiro , Ott o Kernberg , Alic e Miller , Ellen Bas s an d Laur a Davis , Mik e Lew , an d Virgini a Ter r wer e tellin g me remarkably simila r thing s abou t th e author s I was studying , an d tha t their insight s illuminate d m y researc h o n th e publi c schoo l experience . In chapters 1 and 2, my concentration was primarily on the representatio n of Jews, no t women . I n chapte r 3 , becaus e objec t relation s theor y tend s to concentrat e o n th e earl y relationshi p o f chil d an d mother , m y con centration wa s more o n th e representation o f women, wit h th e represen tation o f Jews a s a secondary concern . I hop e I hav e achieve d a balanc e in thi s respec t i n th e thre e introductor y chapters . The theoretica l backgroun d whic h I gaine d fro m thi s phas e o f m y research ha d th e effec t o f shiftin g an d sharpenin g m y perspectiv e s o tha t I wa s n o longe r satisfie d wit h an y par t o f m y previou s draft s o f chapter s 4 throug h 6 an d wa s force d t o rewrit e eac h one . M y thesi s adviso r ha d

14

INTRODUCTION

some doubt s abou t th e theoretica l emphasi s I ha d finall y "found, " wor rying that my shift fro m a n open perspective to a much more theoreticall y focused on e might replace what had been an openly exploratory approac h with a stale wor k i n whic h m y insight s woul d b e slotte d int o a precon ceived "schem e o f explanatio n tha t ha d bee n lyin g i n wai t fo r them. " Perhaps becaus e I a m b y natur e a disorganize d perso n wh o doe s bes t within a fairl y fir m structure , I foun d tha t th e shif t ha d th e opposit e effect. M y sharpene d perspectiv e seeme d t o ope n u p th e text s t o me , allowing m e t o mak e connection s tha t ha d bee n invisibl e before . Th e broad authoria l system s I had identifie d befor e no w cam e into focus , o n their ow n terms , i n relatio n t o on e anothe r an d t o th e large r historica l and socia l picture . Th e symboli c use s o f th e Je w an d th e woma n no w emerged, t o use Sander Gilman's concept, a s different branche s of a larger structure o r construc t rathe r tha n a s isolated , thoug h connected , phe nomena. 16 I t wa s durin g thes e las t five month s o f wor k tha t I cam e u p with th e presen t title . I t wa s als o durin g thi s final stag e tha t I bega n t o see my stud y no t onl y a s a close examinatio n o f th e work o f thre e rathe r unpleasant author s bu t als o a s a model whic h coul d b e use d t o identif y links betwee n misogyn y an d anti-Semitis m i n othe r authors , and , mor e generally, t o explor e th e authoria l us e o f th e "Other " i n literature . One criticis m ofte n use d t o discredi t th e psychoanalyti c approac h t o literary criticis m i s that i t is based o n th e individual i n isolation fro m th e larger community an d society, concentratin g o n how his or her particula r pathology o r individua l experienc e ha s influence d hi s o r he r textua l rep resentation. I t is thus see n as a theory whic h avoid s economic , historical , or socia l realities . I fee l tha t thi s i s i n fac t a fals e an d unnecessar y di chotomy. I n my first tw o chapters an d in my discussion o f the institutio n of th e Englis h publi c schoo l i n chapte r 3 , I hav e attempte d t o establis h both a historical an d a literary contex t fo r th e conscious an d unconsciou s attitudes tha t m y thre e writer s hel d towar d Jew s an d towar d women . While I will sugges t tha t som e o f thes e attitude s d o fit int o a psychologically "pathological " category , I a t n o tim e mea n t o impl y tha t thi s pa thology i s uniqu e t o th e writer s i n question , o r tha t i t i s a produc t o f purely personal experience. As history has made manifest agai n and again, pathology ca n b e widesprea d an d ca n encompas s a whole gender , class , country, o r group of countries—can reac h to as large a group as is implied by the term "Wester n civilization. " While it is true that one study canno t embody ever y approach , I do not se e my psychoanalytic approac h a s one

INTRODUCTION

15

which negate s broader , mor e societall y base d interpretations , bu t instea d as on e whic h open s th e wa y t o suc h interpretations . Th e rathe r strikin g pathology whic h i s evident i n thes e writers ' symboli c us e of wome n an d Jews doe s no t com e a s a surprise t o u s a s readers, becaus e simila r image s of bot h wome n an d Jew s ar e s o deepl y embedde d i n ou r ow n cultura l context.

O N E

The Jews of Britain: A Historical Overview

As a n America n chil d i n th e lat e 1950s , I rea d i n m y histor y textbook s of the Spanish and Portuguese, hysterica l Catholics who enjoye d burnin g people a t th e stak e durin g th e Inquisitio n an d whos e explorer s gleefull y destroyed entir e India n civilizations , complet e wit h gol d an d plumbing . Quite different wer e the English explorers, gentleme n in boats with beau tiful whit e sails , who , onc e the y ha d sighte d land , saile d straigh t hom e to mak e thei r repor t o n bende d knee s t o thei r lad y queen . England , m y textbooks tol d me , wa s a civilize d countr y o f religiou s toleranc e an d scientific inquiry . True , th e Englis h ha d once , briefly , fough t agains t us , but thi s did not mak e them Evil . Instead , the y had merel y been foolish — vain me n i n re d coat s wh o suffere d fro m th e temporar y illusio n tha t a king was better than a president, an d being ruled was better than Freedo m and Democracy . I t wa s a goo d war , th e Revolution , a wa r betwee n honorable me n wh o kne w th e rules , stoo d u p t o di e nobl y o n th e bat tlefield, an d neve r sneake d aroun d an d sho t peopl e fro m behind . Th e English wer e neve r Other . Ho w coul d the y be ? The y wer e Ou r Ancestors. From m y parent s too , I learne d tha t Englan d wa s On e o f th e Fe w Good Countries . Ha d th e English people not fought Hitle r from th e very beginning, put up with the blitz and slept every night in the underground , all for th e sake of the Jews? My Jewish refuge e parents , wh o ha d escape d to America , ofte n tol d m e th e stor y o f ho w the y referre d t o m e a s "Churchill" durin g the nine months befor e m y birth i n 1949 . Had I been a boy , I woul d hav e bee n name d afte r th e Englishma n the y seeme d t o regard a s th e savio r o f th e Jews. I n addition , a famous relativ e o f min e who ha d fle d t o Britai n a s a have n fro m th e Nazi s ha d bee n warml y 16

THE JEW S O F BRITAI N

17

received, a fact dul y note d i n th e histor y books , whic h di d no t mentio n that this famous man' s four sister s were somehow left in Austria, t o perish at th e hand s o f th e Nazis . Once established, myths die hard. I have already mentioned my mastery of th e ar t o f ignorin g uglier passages abou t Jews i n my favorit e Victoria n novels. I n college , a "junio r semeste r abroad " i n London , designe d t o immerse me in modern Britis h cultur e an d history, firml y establishe d m y Anglophilia an d lef t m y illusion s happil y intact . Englan d was , I knew , the sea t o f socialis m an d tolerance , it s imperialis t pas t lon g burie d an d forgotten—a civilize d contras t t o my ow n racist , warmongerin g country . It wa s onl y year s later , a s I bega n t o explor e th e histor y o f th e Jews i n England i n a n effor t t o plac e th e literatur e I wa s readin g fo r thi s stud y in a historical context , tha t I bega n t o questio n m y assumptions. 1 Preexpulsion "To spea k o f 'literatur e an d ideology ' a s two separat e phenomena whic h can b e interrelate d i s . .. quit e unnecessary . Literature.. . i s ideology, " writes Terr y Eagleto n (Eagleton , Literary Theory ', 22) . Th e ke y text s depicting Jews i n British literatur e ar e indeed inseparabl y entangle d wit h the ideology they embody. Thes e texts are not only enshrined in the inner canon; the y hav e bee n use d a s importan t pawn s i n th e argumen t abou t the Jews ' plac e (o r lac k o f one ) i n Britis h society . Judas , Shylock , an d Fagin ar e stil l amon g th e best-know n Jew s i n ou r culture . Thei r name s have passed int o th e commo n vocabular y an d becom e metaphor s fo r th e alterity o f th e Jew . Eve n mor e central , th e Ol d an d Ne w Testament s were use d a s th e textua l justificatio n fo r th e specia l statu s o f th e Jew i n the preexpulsio n years , an d stil l provid e a basi s fo r th e continue d am bivalence show n t o thi s grou p o f Others . An y accoun t o f th e Jewis h presence i n Grea t Britai n mus t thu s begi n wit h thes e metatexts . British Christian s perceived th e Jew a t once as the patriarch an d ances tor o f th e Ol d Testamen t an d a s the curse d membe r o f a deicidal nation , with distinc t link s t o th e devil , o f th e Ne w Testament . A s Harol d Fisc h explains th e dialectic: "He ha d t o b e kept outsid e th e pale of society : bu t he als o had t o b e preserved." 2 Thi s textua l ambiguit y wa s reproduce d i n the roya l strategie s whic h governe d th e Jews' position i n Englan d befor e the expulsio n o f 1290 . Smal l an d vulnerabl e communitie s o f Jew s "en joyed" a uniqu e "roya l protection, " whic h place d the m outsid e o f th e

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laws and expectations of the larger community, subjec t t o the king alone. 3 The phrase "roya l protection, " wit h it s encoded contradiction s an d bro ken promises , serve s a s a fit metaphor fo r th e lives of thes e preexpulsio n English Jews . Th e roya l protectio n place d the m a t th e merc y o f eac h monarch's whim , makin g thei r statu s foreve r tenuou s an d uncertain . A t the sam e time , it s connotatio n o f specia l privileg e cause d resentmen t i n the Gentile community. The early English Jews, forbidden t o enter guilds, to ow n o r far m land , t o ow n thei r ow n businesses , o r t o participat e i n government, quickl y establishe d themselve s i n th e on e trad e familia r t o them: banking . Th e Jew s becam e a n easil y availabl e sourc e o f revenue . Merciless taxatio n filled empt y roya l coffer s an d financed th e Crusades . The church an d throne combine d force s t o punish Jews b y execution an d torture fo r thei r insatiabl e nee d fo r th e bloo d (o r th e phallus ) o f youn g Christian boy s an d gathere d badl y neede d revenu e throug h fining a miscreant's entir e communit y an d confiscatin g hi s property . I n case s lik e that o f "Littl e Hug h o f Lincoln " i n 1255 , whe n Henr y I I himsel f su pervised th e hanging and torture of the accused Jew, th e throne indirectl y licensed suc h act s as the widespread sackin g an d burnin g o f Jewish com munities an d th e massacr e o f th e Jew s o f York . Jew s wer e persecute d for thei r refusa l t o assimilate , bu t force d b y a decre e o f th e Latera n Council i n 121 5 t o wea r distinguishin g badge s an d a costum e whic h virtually prevente d assimilation . In hi s "Statutur n d e Judaismo, " impose d a t a tim e whe n th e Jewis h community had been milked so dry that it was no longer financially usefu l to the crown, Edwar d I set up yet another doubl e bind: Jews were force d by la w t o qui t th e practic e o f usur y an d t o ente r instea d int o smal l commerce, crafts , an d farming ; ye t the y wer e barre d fro m th e guild s through whic h commerc e an d craft s wer e carrie d ou t an d coul d neithe r own no r ren t lan d t o farm . Damne d i f the y did , damne d i f the y didn't , the earl y Jews wer e finally expelle d fro m Englan d befor e thei r expulsio n from an y othe r countr y i n Europe , a n ac t whic h gaine d specia l prais e from th e Latera n Counci l fo r th e Englis h throne . 1290-1929 In Difference and Pathology, Sande r Gilma n note s tha t "stereotype s ca n . . . b e perpetuated, resurrected , an d shape d throug h text s containin g th e fantasy lif e o f th e culture , quit e independen t o f th e existenc e o r absenc e

THE JEW S O F BRITAI N

19

of th e grou p i n a given society " (20) . Durin g thei r absenc e o f 37 4 years, from 129 0 through 1656 , the onl y rea l Jews i n evidenc e i n Englan d wer e occasional physicians , brough t i n t o effec t cure s o n royalty , an d ofte n persecuted a s witche s whe n the y faile d t o d o so . Th e sam e perio d wit nessed th e literar y constructio n o f th e Jew : a figur e whos e dimension s quickly becam e s o clearl y delineate d tha t h e wa s awarde d "mythic " an d "archetypal" statu s b y critic s an d commentators , an d whom , lik e othe r mythic figures, w e ca n easil y recogniz e toda y i n moder n dress . Usuall y male, hi s devilish qualitie s coul d b e largely comi c o r largel y threatening . Miserly, gesticulating , hypervirile , o r disturbingl y female , h e passe d hi s generic yout h i n ballad s an d i n miracl e an d myster y play s an d cam e t o maturity durin g the absence of his human "model, " in the famous canon ical Jews o f Chaucer , Marlowe , an d Shakespeare . Between 163 0 and 1664 , Jews bega n graduall y t o ente r Englan d again , but ever y effor t formall y t o legaliz e thei r presenc e wa s resoundingl y rejected.4 Charle s I I finally achieve d thei r readmittanc e throug h a policy of quie t acceptanc e rathe r tha n a formal statute . Th e "Je w Bill " of 1735 , which propose d tha t Jew s residen t i n Englan d fo r thre e year s o r mor e be naturalized and allowed to own land created an anti-Jewish furor whic h the graduall y growin g presenc e o f th e Jews ha d faile d t o do . Th e explo sions o f popula r feelin g taugh t a n importan t lesso n t o th e smal l an d vulnerable establishe d Jewish community . Jews , wh o migh t b e tolerate d if they contributed economicall y bu t otherwise remained invisible, woul d be subjec t t o persecutio n i f the y spok e out , o r i n an y othe r wa y calle d attention t o themselves . The Jewish Boar d o f Deputie s forme d a t thi s tim e bough t th e lesso n wholesale. If , the y reasoned , the y coul d becom e assimilate d enoug h no t to stan d ou t i n a crowd , ric h enoug h t o provid e th e large r communit y with badl y neede d services , an d quie t enoug h no t t o asser t thei r rights , they migh t sli p by . Durin g th e nex t perio d o f Jewish visibility , th e wav e of immigratio n i n th e lat e nineteent h an d earl y twentiet h centuries , th e Board of Deputies joined with the British authorities to keep the workingclass newcomer s out . A kin d o f condui t fo r th e value s o f th e Gentil e ruling classe s t o th e mas s o f th e Jewish people , th e Boar d espouse d th e idea tha t Jew s brough t anti-Semitis m o n themselve s throug h thei r ow n behavior. Havin g internalize d wha t W . William s an d Brya n Cheyett e have termed th e "antisemitis m o f tolerance," the Board o f Deputie s wer e indeed "Deputies"—enforcer s o f th e standard s whic h judge d Jew s "o n

20

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the basi s o f thei r conformit y t o th e value s an d manner s o f bourgeoi s English society." 5 I n a logica l correlat e o f thi s view , assimilatio n wa s seen a s the wa y t o eliminat e anti-Semitism . Later , th e Board o f Deputie s and th e ver y smal l privilege d an d assimilate d Jewis h communit y i t rep resented wa s th e las t Jewis h grou p t o cal l fo r a boycot t o f good s fro m Nazi German y an d initially even opposed urgin g the government t o ope n its door s t o refugee s fro m Nazism . Previous antagonis m towar d Jew s ha d bee n voice d fo r th e mos t par t in terms of the difference i n religion. A racially based anti-Semitism bega n to surfac e i n th e lat e nineteent h an d earl y twentiet h centurie s wit h th e flood o f immigrant s fleeing Russia n pogroms . Th e "scientific " discours e of racia l anti-Semitis m stoo d i n direc t oppositio n t o th e emphasi s o n assimilation. A s Ir a B . Nadel l put s it , Racial anti-Semitism precluded the salvation of the Jews by conversion o r education sinc e heredit y an d rac e were eterna l laws ; hence, th e Jew wa s no longe r "Judaeus perversus," a historica l o r dogmati c concept , bu t a physical entit y whos e attribute s wer e quantifiable an d establishe d precis e and continuou s racia l characteristics . Th e Jewis h stereotyp e no w ha d a scientific basi s according t o racia l anti-Semitism an d coul d easil y be caricatured by representing his common features, an d appearance. 6 Much o f thi s argumen t focuse d o n th e discours e surroundin g th e bap tized Je w an d prim e ministe r Benjami n Disraeli . Throug h hi s person , Disraeli embodie d th e contradictor y dialecti c centere d o n th e Jews. H e was a t onc e th e ultimat e achievemen t o f Jewish assimilation—proo f tha t a Jew coul d indee d becom e a n English gentleman — an d a personificatio n of th e stealth y Je w who , concealin g hi s identity , inveigle s hi s wa y int o the Christian body , pollutin g the whole. I t is not surprising that Disraeli, who wa s himsel f a believer i n racia l Semitis m an d wh o produce d severa l important an d influentia l philo-Semiti c texts, als o inspired a vast numbe r of text s b y others , includin g bot h racia l attack s an d a variety o f positiv e and negativ e fictional portraits. 7 Gilman point s ou t tha t "[s]inc e al l o f th e image s o f th e Othe r deriv e from th e sam e dee p structure , variou s sign s o f differenc e ca n b e linke d without an y recognitio n o f inappropriateness , contradictoriness , o r eve n impossibility" (Difference and Pathology, 21) . Th e ne w racia l discours e comfortably house d th e sam e contradiction s a s previous, religion-base d anti-Semitism ha d contained . Jew s wh o ha d previousl y bee n accuse d o f

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21

being stubbornl y unwillin g t o assimilat e wer e no w viewe d a s raciall y unable t o d o so . The y wer e concomitantl y cowardl y an d degenerat e an d fiendishly strong , powerful , an d all-controlling , inten t o n thei r sexua l and financial plot s t o invad e an d engul f th e Christia n community . I n a kind o f conflatio n whic h wil l be a key them e o f thi s study, H . G . Wells , in Marriage (1912) , compare d Jew s t o femal e prostitute s an d accuse d them o f "prostituting " societ y fo r thei r ow n ends. 8 Many o f thes e theme s wer e expresse d i n on e o f th e mos t activ e an d influential o f th e texts o n Jews: Protocols of the Elders ofZion, a. forgery by th e tsaris t secre t polic e first publishe d i n Russi a i n 1903 , which em bodied th e internationa l conspirac y theory , attributin g i t t o a siniste r Jewish-Masonic collaboration . Althoug h prove n a forger y i n 1920 , th e year afte r it s publicatio n i n England , th e Protocols coul d no t b e gotte n rid o f s o easily. Perhap s becaus e it accurately textualize s th e discours e o f Christian terro r o f an d hostilit y towar d Jews , i t ha s ha d a n amazingl y long life, remainin g a potent an d frequentl y cite d documen t t o thi s day. 9 While the lot of postexpulsion Britis h Jews compared favorabl y t o tha t of Jews i n al l othe r Europea n countries , th e fea r an d loathin g expresse d in th e Protocols remaine d presen t i n a n undercurren t whic h tende d t o emerge i n ful l forc e durin g period s o f economi c o r socia l crisis , rapi d change, o r war . Thu s Jews wer e widely believe d t o b e th e force s behin d the Boe r Wa r o f 1899-1902 , th e Firs t Worl d War , an d eve n th e Secon d World War. Th e newspaper magnate Lord Beaverbroo k voice d a popular sentiment whe n h e commented , i n 1938 , "[T]h e Jews ma y driv e u s int o war.. . . Their political influence i s moving us in that direction." 10 Right wing politician s an d muc h o f th e genera l publi c blame d Jew s fo r suc h instances o f corruptio n i n governmen t a s th e Marcon i Scanda l o f 1911— 13, an d Jews wer e blame d fo r th e economi c recessio n followin g Worl d War I . Th e conservativ e pres s describe d th e Russia n Revolutio n o f 191 7 as th e first ste p i n a systemati c takeove r b y th e force s o f worl d Jewry , while the very widespread attitud e towar d th e founding o f th e Leagu e of Nations i s revealed in the words o f an editorial in the Morning Post: "W e have alway s considere d th e Leagu e o f Nation s a s a sort o f Jewish pawn shop whic h hold s th e pledge s o f th e Britis h Government." 11 It wa s durin g th e wav e o f immigratio n i n th e earl y twentiet h centur y that the idea of Palestin e a s a national hom e for th e Jews was first frame d by th e Britis h government . Th e government , daunte d b y th e influ x o f Jews, was on the lookout for an alternative place, in Joseph Chamberlain' s

22

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words, t o "diver t th e flow o f Jewis h refugee s awa y fro m Britain, " an d at thi s tim e Nort h Afric a a s wel l a s Palestin e wa s considere d fo r thi s purpose. 12 The concep t o f a homeland , frame d i n thi s rhetorica l context , neatl y matched th e ambivalenc e i n th e longstandin g Britis h discours e towar d the Jews. I t maintaine d th e popular imag e o f Britis h friendlines s t o thei r Jews an d provide d fo r th e preservatio n o f th e peopl e o f th e Ol d Testa ment, whil e simultaneousl y offerin g a means o f divertin g th e curse d an d infectious Ne w Testamen t Jew s fro m Britain . Whe n th e Balfou r Decla ration o f 191 7 declared Palestin e a national hom e fo r th e Jewish people , the Britis h reactio n wa s highl y positive . Representativ e i n it s sentimen t if no t i n it s vehemence o f expression , wa s th e deligh t o f H . H . Beamish , founder o f one of the right-wing patriotic groups of the day, The Britons. Beamish suggeste d tha t th e Jews "shoul d b e forced t o liv e in Palestin e i n the sam e wa y tha t snake s an d othe r vermi n shoul d b e force d t o liv e i n the jungl e an d no t i n people' s houses." 13 H . G . Well s agree d tha t th e idea o f Palestin e a s a Jewish homelan d wa s "altogethe r san e an d practic able" (Cheyette , "Wells, " 29) . The sam e forces coul d a s easily b e summoned a few year s late r agains t the Balfou r Declaratio n a t a time when th e rhetori c surroundin g th e ide a of a Jewish state had shifted. B y the 1920s , Wells had become a prominent anti-Zionist, wh o sa w th e desir e fo r a homelan d a s a n a n exampl e o f Jewish particularis m an d refusa l t o assimilate , whic h h e hel d t o b e th e cause o f contemporar y anti-Semitis m (Cheyette , "Wells, " 30-31) . An d a few year s afte r th e Balfour Declaration , no t onl y th e right-wing Patriot and somewha t mor e mainstream Morning Post but als o the Spectator, th e Times, th e Daily Mail, an d th e Daily Express an d Sunday Express com bined i n a heated attac k o n Zionism . Typica l wer e th e report s tha t Lor d Northcliffe, owne r o f the Times, mad e from Palestine , i n which he wrot e that ther e had bee n peace and quie t "befor e th e arrival o f th e undesirabl e Jewish element, " wh o wer e "pushful , graspin g an d domineering." 14 W . E. B . Whittaker , th e Daily Express's specia l corresponden t i n Palestine , described th e Jewish immigrant s t o tha t countr y a s furtiv e ghett o waif s and gutte r residents , an d threat s t o whit e Europea n womanhood : "The y make wa y fo r none , an d eve n Europea n wome n mus t o n occasion s ste p into th e gutter s s o tha t th e seren e progres s o f th e disciple s o f Zio n ma y be undisturbed." 15 Such rhetoric , thoug h b y n o mean s unique , wa s no t typica l o f th e

THE JEW S O F BRITAI N

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3

mainstream o f Britis h society , whic h ha d a considerable investmen t i n a n image o f racia l tolerance . A s Elain e Smit h demonstrates , i n th e 1920 s anti-Semitism ofte n surface d i n the guise of the more acceptable antialien ism. 16 During the decade after th e First World War, a number of antialie n measures which emanated from Parliament , th e London Count y Council , and th e boroug h council s chippe d awa y a t th e right s o f Englis h Jews . The Alien s Ac t o f 191 9 mad e i t possibl e t o depor t alie n Jew s a t will . Housing, employment , an d educatio n discriminatio n affecte d British born childre n o f nonnaturalize d Jew s a s well a s their parents . In thi s period , Jew s i n mos t othe r Europea n countrie s suffere d fro m pogroms an d extreme s o f persecution . B y contrast , i n Englan d fro m th e turn o f th e centur y t o th e 1920s , excep t fo r som e incident s o f violenc e by th e ne w an d growin g fascis t group s i n th e Eas t En d o f London , fe w Jews wer e physicall y harmed . Mos t historian s credi t England' s toleran t liberal tradition for this difference. W e have already discussed the pressure placed o n th e Jewish communit y t o confor m t o bourgeoi s Englis h stan dards impose d b y th e "antisemitis m o f tolerance. " I n hi s articl e "Th e British an d th e Shoah, " Ton y Kushne r share s thi s view an d explore s th e British libera l ideolog y whic h prohibit s over t act s o f violen t persecutio n against minorit y group s bu t leave s member s o f thes e group s i n a doubl e bind, "urge d t o assimilat e bu t a t th e sam e tim e denie d fre e acces s t o th e resources o f societ y throug h discrimination." 17 The 1930s The small , openl y fascis t an d anti-Semiti c group s who , i n th e year s be tween th e Worl d Wars , met , hel d rallie s an d marches , an d publishe d widely ar e variousl y describe d b y historian s wh o hav e studie d th e phe nomenon, includin g Gisel a Lebzelter , Richar d Griffiths , Coli n Holmes , and Richar d Thurlow , a s "fringe," "marginal, " "minority, " o r "extrem ist" groups , whic h neve r gaine d mas s appea l an d whic h were , t o us e Richard Griffiths' s phrase , fo r th e mos t par t "detached " a t th e tim e o f the wa r itself. 18 Historians an d othe r commentator s ofte n mentio n anothe r strai n o f anti-Semitism, mor e ofte n espouse d b y middle - an d upper-clas s Britis h in contrast to the not exclusively but predominantly working - class mem bership of the fringe group s (whose leadership, however, ofte n cam e fro m the upper or middle classes.) These nonaffiliated anti-Semite s are variously

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called "parlou r anti-semites " (Griffiths) , nonviolen t anti-Semite s (Leb zelter), "innocen t anti-semites " (Orwell) , an d thos e wh o harbore d "queasy, resentfu l feeling s abou t Jews" (Lionel Trilling). 19 Similarly, th e critic Georg e Watso n distinguishe s betwee n th e mor e blameworth y ra cialists and those he calls "culturalists," who opposed Jews for "rational " or cultura l reasons. 20 Another kin d o f polarit y ofte n cite d i s between thos e who expounde d their view s befor e learnin g o f th e full exten t o f th e persecutions an d late r of th e Holocaus t an d thos e few , lik e Ezr a Pound , wh o continue d t o d o so eve n i n th e fac e o f thi s knowledge . Gertrud e Himmelfarb , i n he r defense o f John Buchan , a n adventur e write r o f th e tur n o f th e century , demonstrates a rather extreme version of such chronological polarization : [T]his kind of anti-Semitism, indulge d i n at that time and place, was both too commo n an d too passiv e to b e scandalous . Me n were normall y anti Semitic, unless by some quirk of temperament or ideology they happened to be philo-Semitic.... It was only later, when social impediments became fatal disabilities, when anti-Semitism ceased to be the prerogative of English gentlemen and became the business of politicians or demagogues, that sensitive men were shame d int o silence . I t was Hitler... who put a n end t o the casual innocent anti-Semitis m o f the clubman. 21 As T. S . Elio t i s said t o hav e put it , wit h som e regret , th e wors t thin g about Hitle r wa s tha t "h e mad e a n intelligen t anti-semitis m impossibl e for a generation." 22 Onc e Hitle r ha d give n anti-Semitis m a bad name , i t became increasingl y necessar y fo r commentator s an d author s themselve s to creat e a polarization betwee n U s (th e innocen t non-anti-Semites ) an d Them (th e guilt y anti-Semites) . Wher e an d whe n thi s lin e wa s drawn , however, varie d greatly . I n 194 8 George Orwell , himsel f n o love r o f th e Jews i n hi s earl y writing , labele d a lette r accusin g T . S . Elio t o f anti Semitism nonsens e an d distinguishe d betwee n Eliot' s (an d incidentall y his own) "innocent " prewar anti-Semitism , an d the later virulent variety : "Of cours e yo u ca n find wha t woul d no w b e calle d antisemiti c remark s in hi s earl y wor k bu t wh o didn' t sa y suc h thing s a t th e time ? On e ha s to draw a distinction between what was said before and what after 1934 . "2 3 Other author s an d commentators, les s percipient tha n Orwell, place d th e dividing lin e a t 1939 , th e dat e o f Britain' s entr y int o th e war , whil e stil l others argue d tha t suc h remark s mus t b e judge d "innocent " unti l thei r author coul d b e show n t o hav e indisputabl e knowledg e o f th e existenc e of th e concentratio n camps .

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5

In fact , i f on e resist s suc h binar y divisions , th e attitude s towar d Jew s held by the so-called fringe elements , the more mainstream "parlou r anti Semites," member s o f th e governmen t an d it s branches , an d th e greate r public (a s reveale d b y Mas s Observatio n Poll s durin g th e perio d imme diately before th e war) reveal far more continuity tha n polarity. Thi s view is share d b y a grou p o f historian s an d cultura l critic s includin g Brya n Cheyette, Bil l Williams , Davi d Cesarini , an d Ton y Kushner , eac h o f whom ha s questione d th e divisio n betwee n margi n an d center . A s Kush ner puts it, such a division "served to emphasize the decency and toleranc e of th e res t o f Britis h society " ("Shoah, " 5) . Cheyett e agree s an d argue s that th e polarizatio n allowe d fo r a dismissa l o f th e centralit y o f Britis h anti-Semitism: Part of the problem for students of British antisemitism is that it has been deemed politica l onl y i n s o fa r a s i t resemble s th e genocida l mode l o f German nationa l socialism . B y comparison wit h th e Germa n experience , Jewish stereotyping in Britain has been depoliticized and labelled as a private or "social " phenomenon whic h i s characterized abov e all as an "unsyste matic, non-theoretical, an d casual" prejudice. ("Jewis h Stereotyping, " 12) It i s essential to refus e suc h a polarization whil e examinin g th e variou s so-called fring e groups , whic h included , i n th e earl y an d lat e 1930s , Arnold Lees' s Imperia l Fascis t League , th e Britis h Fascists , th e Imperia l Fascist League, the Nordic League, the Right Club, the Military Christia n Patriots, th e Link , th e January Club , an d th e best-known o f them , Mos ley's Britis h Unio n o f Fascist s o r BUF . Th e "fringe " group s themselve s differed i n that som e identified themselve s with Mussolini' s fascism , oth ers wit h Hitler's , an d stil l other s claime d t o hav e discovere d a uniqu e English variety o f fascism; bu t al l were anti-Semitic to some degree. Mos t of th e earlie r group s share d a hatre d fo r German s an d Jew s alike . Th e right-wing paper , The Patriot, fo r example , wa s bot h strongl y anti German an d anti-Jewis h unti l 1936 . A t tha t point , a s Lebzelte r put s it , "When anti-Semitis m supersede d anti-Germa n agitatio n afte r th e war , i t was simply argued that Germany, too , was Jew-ridden, an d both Englan d and German y victim s o f th e Jewish yoke " (16) . After Worl d Wa r I an d th e Russia n Revolution , th e belie f i n a n inter national Jewish Marxis t conspiracy (ofte n als o linked, a s in the Protocols, to th e Masons ) wa s central . Typically , Nest a Webster , a n upper-clas s right-winger an d one of the few women whos e wealth gave her the powe r

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to publiciz e he r views , referre d t o Jewis h agitator s a s "th e tsets e fl y carrying th e poiso n ger m o f Bolshevis m fro m th e breedin g groun d o f Germany." 24 Joh n Wolf' s popula r Nazi Germany linke d th e Je w wit h Marxism, th e destructio n o f Germa n society , an d sexua l offenses . [FJollowing a sinister impuls e o f th e blood , h e strives afte r worl d domi nation an d th e means of achievin g this i s the destruction o f th e so-calle d Christian Europea n culture... . A tim e wil l com e whe n th e worl d wil l express its gratitude to Hitler for having checked the downfall of the Western lands. 25 The onl y grou p whic h attracte d a mas s following , Oswal d Mosley' s British Unio n o f Fascists , orchestrate d physica l attack s o n Jew s i n Eas t London an d violenc e o n a grande r scal e a t suc h famou s event s a s th e Olympia Rall y o f Jun e 1934 . Whil e th e BU F originall y declare d itsel f free o f anti-Semitism , Jew-hatre d becam e a n importan t principl e o f th e organization a s it increasingl y modele d itsel f o n it s Germa n prototype . As Kushne r notes , th e BU F contribute d i n a n extrem e for m t o th e already centra l discours e whic h maintaine d tha t th e Secon d Worl d War , like al l othe r wars , wa s a pla n b y an d fo r th e benefi t o f worl d Jewry : "The Jews' War, " a s i t wa s calle d i n BU F propaganda. 26 Suc h opinion s were no t limite d t o extrem e fascist s lik e Webste r an d Wolf . Th e right wing bu t respectabl e Hilair e Belloc , wit h G . K . Chesterto n an d late r th e far mor e virulen t anti-Semit e A . K . Chesterton , spok e fo r th e so-calle d Chester-Belloc grou p o f th e Edwardia n years , a well-regarded circl e o f nostalgic Catholic s wh o looke d bac k t o a preindustrial, medieva l worl d as yet unspoile d b y th e schemin g Jewis h financiers , th e "hidde n hand " behind the corruption of the day. Belloc wrote in G. K's Weekly i n August 1936: Moscow is only a symbolic word for a group of men which is cosmopolitan and largel y Jewish , wit h th e Jewis h intensit y o f purpose.. . the Jewis h ability t o ac t i n secret , th e Jewish indifferenc e t o propert y an d nationa l ideals, the fierceJewish sense of Justice, and above all the Jewish tenacity.27 In ever y realm , "fringe " an d mainstrea m forme d a continuit y rathe r than a division. Right-win g authors , includin g Alexander Ratcliffe , Joh n Hooper Harvey , an d Douglas s Reed , move d easil y betwee n "dogmatic " anti-Semitic propagand a an d best-sellin g popula r writing . It i s als o importan t t o remembe r tha t thes e attitude s wer e no t limite d to the right. Kushner' s analysi s of Mass Observation materia l reveals tha t

THE JEW S O F BRITAI N

*7

the fear o f international Jewish finance , whic h persisted, agains t al l logic, even after new s of the Holocaust was made public, was particularly stron g among respondent s o n th e left . As w e wil l see , member s o f th e Chamberlai n an d Churchil l govern ments wer e i n n o wa y immun e fro m thes e centra l beliefs . Winsto n Churchill, wh o stoo d ou t durin g th e wa r fo r hi s unwaverin g an d ofte n lonely defens e o f th e Jewish cause , had written i n 191 8 to Lloy d George , "There i s a point abou t Jews—you mus t no t hav e to o man y o f them," 28 and ha d joine d wholeheartedl y i n th e attac k agains t Jewish-Bolshevis m after 1918 . Lor d Londonderry , secretar y o f stat e fo r ai r fro m 1931-35 , sounded a familiar not e i n hi s lette r t o th e Germa n ambassado r t o Eng land, Joachi m vo n Ribbentrop , i n 1936 : " I hav e n o grea t affectio n fo r the Jews . I t i s possibl e t o trac e thei r participatio n i n mos t o f thos e in ternational disturbance s whic h hav e create d s o muc h havo c i n differen t countries." 29 Members o f th e governmen t an d o f th e publi c wh o share d thes e atti tudes alway s share d a commo n perceptio n o f thei r ow n lac k o f anti Semitism. I n a recapitulation o f Cheyette' s "antisemitis m o f tolerance, " typical Mass Observatio n respondent s differentiate d betwee n assimilate d British Jews, t o whom the y did not object , an d those Jews they identifie d as foreign, o r "foreig n acting, " whom the y blame d fo r al l the "trouble. " Such distinction s wer e elucidate d i n attempt s t o prov e th e respondents ' lack o f anti-Semitism . A s th e wa r continue d an d th e new s o f th e fat e o f the Jew s becam e public , mos t peopl e fel t tha t Hitle r ha d gon e to o far . However, the y continued to believe that Jews caused anti-Semitism them selves throug h thei r ow n behavio r an d tha t ultimatel y i t la y wit h the m to en d it. 30 Kushne r conclude s hi s surve y o f th e Mas s Observatio n poll s by notin g "a n unshakeabl e convictio n tha t antisemitis m ha d bee n well earned b y the Jews" through thei r exclusivenes s an d refusal t o assimilate , their greed , an d thei r nee d t o tak e contro l o f culture , institutions , an d finance ("Shoah, " 12) . There ma y b e a difference o f degre e betwee n thi s belief an d th e "fringe " belie f i n a n internationa l conspiracy , bu t th e lin e of demarcatio n i s a wavering on e indeed . Despite th e centralit y o f anti-Semitis m o n th e lef t an d right , i t i s als o important t o remembe r that , throughou t thi s period , a strong leftis t co alition o f worker s an d intellectuals , includin g man y Jews, maintaine d a n antiracist stance . Whe n th e Kristallnach t Pogro m o f 193 8 wa s reporte d in the media, ther e were widespread denunciation s fro m th e British pres s

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and public, though these were relatively short-lived. Unite d Front action s against fascism dre w consistentl y larg e audiences, an d th e strengt h o f th e anitfascist movemen t wa s eviden t i n th e Battl e o f Cabl e Stree t i n Octo ber 1936 , whe n a coalitio n o f Jewish , leftist , an d labo r force s collecte d seventy-seven thousan d signature s agains t fascis m an d anti-Semitis m an d blocked Mosley' s demonstration . Th e East-End-base d Jewis h People' s Council agains t Anti-Semitis m an d Fascis m (th e J PC) wa s th e stronges t of a number o f Jewish organization s whic h linke d protectio n o f th e loca l Jewish communit y wit h th e international fight agains t fascism. Th e JPC, which had a working-class, leftis t base , organized mass meetings, agitate d aggressively agains t racia l incitement , an d countere d Blackshir t politica l organizing. I t cooperate d wit h non-Jewis h antifascis t bodie s an d orga nized a join t conferenc e agains t fascis m wit h th e Nationa l Counci l fo r Civil Libertie s i n 1937 . Th e JP C an d it s principle s wer e denounce d b y the Boar d o f Deputies , who , throug h thei r paper , th e Jewish Chronicle , urged Jew s t o sta y hom e an d refrai n fro m suc h antifascis t actio n a s th e Battle o f Cabl e Street. 31 T o giv e credi t wher e i t i s due , th e Boar d o f Deputies, alon g with othe r representative s fro m th e wealthy, establishe d Anglo-Jewish community , di d mak e a pledge t o bea r th e tota l financial burden for Jewish immigrants fro m Germany . "Thi s essentia l foundatio n for th e Government' s willingnes s t o permit substantia l immigratio n fro m Germany unti l outbrea k o f th e war" 32 allowe d th e governmen t t o main tain its image as a body friendly t o the Jews. A Cabinet meeting's minute s record a discussion o f the benefit o f securing for Britai n "prominen t Jew s who wer e bein g expelle d fro m Germany. " No t onl y woul d thes e Jew s have somethin g t o contribute , bu t th e actio n "woul d als o creat e a ver y favourable impressio n i n th e world , particularl y i f ou r hospitalit y wer e offered wit h som e warmth " (Wasserstein , "Th e Britis h Government, " 68). In fact, th e favorable impressio n woul d b e gained o n borrowe d credit . Apart fro m no t restrictin g Jewish immigratio n befor e 1939 , th e govern ment di d no t implemen t an y kin d o f rescu e effor t an d mad e n o financial contribution t o immigran t needs . Privat e individual s an d organization s were responsibl e fo r rescuin g th e larg e number o f Jews wh o manage d t o escape to Englan d befor e th e war , an d th e Jewish organization s covere d the expense . Whil e som e organization s lik e th e Britis h Medica l Associ ation oppose d th e entr y o f mor e tha n a small number o f refuge e doctors , others, lik e th e Academi c Assistanc e Council , welcome d man y Jewis h

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scholars into England. Othe r private citizens and charitable organization s like Care For Children, whic h too k te n thousan d childre n i n 1938 , con tributed t o th e rescu e o f grea t numbers . While, a s I hav e demonstrate d above , anti-Semitis m wa s muc h mor e pervasive than is usually assumed, what Wyndham Lewi s contemptuousl y referred t o a s th e "Lef t Win g Orthodoxy " o f writer s an d intellectual s certainly existe d a t leas t t o som e exten t a t thi s period , and , especiall y before th e war , wa s responsibl e fo r th e sparin g o f considerabl e number s of Jewish lives . Writers and Jews in the 1930s Chroniclers o f th e literar y thirtie s hav e offere d a numbe r o f reason s t o explain th e relativ e uninvolvemen t o f th e writer s an d intellectual s o f th e 1930s when i t cam e t o th e fat e o f th e Jews o f Europe . Al l see m t o agre e that the Spanish Civil War had a key impact on the emotional and political lives o f youn g intellectual s an d tha t i t als o playe d a central rol e i n thei r subsequent disillusionmen t an d withdrawal fro m politica l involvement. 33 The participatio n o f man y writer s an d intellectual s i n antifascis t organi zation aroun d th e Spanis h Civi l Wa r ma y hav e le d t o wha t mos t com mentators fee l i s a somewha t erroneou s definitio n o f th e thirtie s a s a "red" er a fo r writers . Th e Left Review's surve y o f 1936 , later mad e int o a pamphlet , "Author s Tak e Side s o n th e Spanis h War, " cam e ou t wit h an outstandin g majorit y o n th e sid e o f th e republicans . I n fact , a s Val entine Cunningha m point s out , man y o f th e "for " answer s wer e i n fac t equivocations whic h wer e interprete d b y th e leftis t authors , Stephe n Spender and W. H . Auden , a s being "against Franco and Fascism" (Cun ningham, 438-39) . Cunningha m writes : "[T]h e journe y t o Spain , whic h was suppose d t o accelerat e th e doubtin g leftis t autho r int o commitmen t and action , t o sea l him int o th e public mode , th e public arena , ende d b y returning hi m s o o n e r . . . o r l a t e r . . . t o th e personal , th e inactive , th e uncommitted o r differentl y committed " (460) . Many , lik e Virgini a Woolf's nephew , Julia n Bell , wer e kille d i n Spain . Georg e Orwel l wa s forced t o questio n hi s conviction o f the possibility o f a clear- cut struggl e of good agains t evil, a movement o f the people's socialism against a fascist dictatorship. Hi s disillusionmen t wit h th e Lef t cause d a n aversio n t o communism which almos t equaled his aversion to fascism. Other s reacte d in th e manne r o f Frenc h write r Simon e Weil , whos e experienc e o f th e

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dehumanization o f wa r convince d he r ane w tha t ther e coul d b e n o suc h thing a s a just war . The horro r an d disgus t agains t war , establishe d b y th e devastatin g experience o f th e Firs t Worl d Wa r an d reinforce d b y th e experienc e o f Spain, moved intellectuals such as Weil to embrace pacifism an d to pledge to avoi d wa r a t al l costs . Thu s th e sam e writer s an d intellectual s wh o were th e mos t profoundl y antifascis t an d wh o migh t hav e bee n counte d on t o moun t a n earl y protes t agains t governmen t indifferenc e t o th e fat e of th e Jews wer e als o thos e wh o advocate d a n appeasemen t polic y wit h Germany. Althoug h thi s wa s no t it s aim , th e polic y the y advocate d o f nonintervention i n "domestic " affair s include d perforc e Germany' s righ t to dispos e o f it s Jews a s it sa w fit . I t is , however, importan t t o mak e th e distinction betwee n governmen t appeaser s an d pacifist s suc h a s Weil , Maude Royden , Mar y Sheepshanks , Sher a Simon , Dr . Hild a Clark , an d Virginia Woolf , whos e philosophie s wer e grounde d i n dee p oppositio n to th e Nazis ' racis t an d dehumanizin g value s an d whos e missio n wa s t o stop Hitle r throug h peaceful strategie s rathe r tha n t o accommodat e t o him. Mos t o f thes e renounce d thei r pacifis m an d entere d int o th e wa r effort aroun d 1938 . The y wer e als o instrumenta l i n privat e effort s t o denounce Nazis m an d t o rescue European Jews—attempts whic h ha d n o influence o n governmen t policy . Whe n Maud e Royde n renounce d he r world-famous pacifis m i n 1939 , fo r example , i t wa s becaus e "sh e coul d not bea r wha t Hitle r wa s doin g t o th e Jews." A s sh e pu t it , "ther e ha d come int o th e worl d somethin g wors e tha n war." 34 Lik e Royden's , Or well's and Weil's conviction s tha t war must be prevented a t all costs wer e relatively short-lived . Bot h eventuall y too k a strong stand agains t Hitler , and Wei l publicl y state d tha t sh e had bee n tard y i n abandonin g he r pac ifism (Oldfield , 82) . Perhaps eve n mor e tha n th e Spanis h Civi l War , th e Nazi-Sovie t Pac t of August 193 9 led to a widespread withdrawal from politic s and a feeling of persona l impotence , a "movement fro m activ e anti-fascism " a t a time when activ e vigilanc e an d a determination t o pu t one' s bod y o n th e lin e might hav e mad e a differenc e (Watson , 60) . I n th e word s o f Ceci l Da y Lewis, "Spai n wa s a death t o us , Munic h a mourning." 35 Fo r many , th e fight agains t anti-Semitis m ha d becom e identifie d wit h th e Communis t party which , especiall y i n London , ha d effectivel y organize d agains t th e BUF an d o n behal f o f Britis h Jews . Afte r th e Nazi-Sovie t pact , whe n communism ha d los t it s appeal , thi s associatio n to o worke d agains t th e Jews.

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David Daiches maintains that the progressive earlier thirties, dominate d by a group o f young, largel y gay , mal e writers, includin g W. H . Auden , Christopher Isherwood , Stephe n Spender , Loui s MacNeice , an d Ceci l Day Lewis , deteriorate d int o th e increasingl y conservativ e decad e o f th e forties. H e asks , rhetorically , " W h o . . . foresa w tha t a n avant-gard e tha t was agnosti c an d lef t win g woul d soo n giv e wa y t o on e tha t wa s righ t wing an d religious? " (12) . Stephe n Spende r point s ou t i n retrospec t tha t these youn g me n remaine d unde r th e shado w o f th e olde r generation , whose most revered spokesperson was T. S . Eliot. W e have already note d Eliot's regre t a t th e impossibilit y o f intelligen t anti-Semitis m afte r th e war, an d his distaste for Jews i s well documented. Eliot , wh o flirte d wit h the fascisti c an d anti-Semiti c Frenc h movemen t Actio n Franchise , ad vocated a rural, Christia n society , ru n b y a n elit e o f theologica l intellec tuals lik e himself—thi s "roughl y a t th e tim e whe n Hitler' s troop s wer e marching int o Poland " (Eagleton , Literary Theory, 40) . Other literar y forefather s include d th e Chester-Belloc grou p o f writer s and th e mor e extrem e Ezr a Pound , whos e anti-Semitis m wa s linke d t o his misogyny an d was shared b y thos e in his imagist movement. 36 Poun d believed tha t "[pjoetr y h a d . . . become a mawkish , womanl y affair . . . language ha d gon e sof t an d los t it s virility," thu s renderin g i t unequal t o the tas k o f rightin g th e Jewis h conspiracy . Eagleto n recount s Pound' s hope an d belie f tha t "middl e clas s liberalis m wa s finishe d an d woul d b e ousted by some version of that tougher masculine discipline which Poun d was to discove r i n fascism" (Eagleton , Literary Theory, 41 , 42). A s Eag leton an d Judit h Ruderma n als o poin t out , D . H . Lawrence , regarde d by man y o f th e writer s o f th e thirtie s a s a n inspirationa l representativ e of freedo m an d working-clas s progressiveness , share d Pound' s sexism , racism, an d anti-Semitism. 37 Th e centralit y o f thi s anti-Semiti c discours e among "th e olde r generation " o f literar y forefather s become s clea r whe n one notes that Yeats, Shaw, Wells, Arnold Bennett , an d Rudyard Kiplin g each at one time recorded their own less virulent beliefs in the international Jewish conspiracy . Forefathers an d foremother s wer e o f cours e no t al l right-win g anti Semites. Younge r leftis t writer s coul d loo k t o th e Woolfs ; t o E . M . Forster, who , whil e n o longe r writin g fiction , wa s stil l activ e agains t fascism an d spoke out strongly against anti-Semitism; and to James Joyce, whose portrai t o f Leopol d Bloo m i n Ulysses is generall y regarde d a s a milestone i n th e representatio n o f Jewis h characters . Spender , Graha m Greene, Harold Nicolson, an d George Orwell consistently fought fascis m

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and anti-Semitism . Th e Lef t Boo k Club , starte d i n 1936 , too k a consisten t stand agains t fascis m an d anti-Semitis m i n it s publications , an d it s out reach wa s see n b y man y withi n an d withou t literar y circle s a s th e cente r of Britain' s attempt s a t a unite d fron t agains t fascism . But a s w e hav e alread y noted , a position o n th e lef t o f th e politica l lin e did no t alway s serv e a s a n indicato r o f authoria l attitude s towar d Jews . Aldous Huxley , a leftis t membe r o f th e Peac e Pledg e U n i o n , gav e a surprisingly equivoca l answe r whe n aske d b y Jaco b Zeitli n t o mak e a public statemen t abou t Naz i atrocitie s i n 1938 : It i s better no t t o d o thes e things... . Expressions o f generalize d opinions , outbursts o f indignatio n an d th e lik e don' t see m t o m e t o fulfil l an y ver y useful purpose . . . on e i s merel y indulgin g i n an d permittin g other s t o in dulge i n th e pleasures.. . of usin g intemperat e language. . . . Th e persecu tion o f th e Jew s i n German y i s horribl e i n th e extreme ; bu t i t i s no t b y proclaiming th e fac t i n a loud voic e tha t thi s particula r persecutio n wil l b e stopped... [it ] i s immensel y old . . . an d boun d u p wit h habi t o f thought , feeling, action , an d belief[.] 38 Some writers , fro m bot h lef t an d right , includin g Isherwood , A u d e n , Huxley, an d W y n d h a m Lewis , emigrate d t o th e Unite d State s o r Canad a when wa r wa s declared . Th e majorit y o f thos e w h o remained , lik e th e majority o f th e Britis h people , activel y supporte d th e wa r agains t Hitle r and vocall y condemne d hi s treatmen t o f th e Jews. However , lik e th e res t of th e population , the y wer e eithe r unawar e of , o r di d no t conside r questioning, th e government' s immigratio n policy . O n c e th e wa r began , over t anti-Semitis m becam e unacceptabl e amon g almost al l writers . W y n d h a m Lewi s an d Ezr a Pound , w h o transgresse d this code , wer e a t least temporaril y ostracized . Georg e Orwell , w h o mad e a consciou s thoug h no t alway s successfu l effor t durin g th e wa r t o ri d himself o f hi s o w n anti-Semitism , comment s i n hi s essa y " N o t e s o n Nationalism" i n 1945 : There is little evidence abou t thi s a t present, becaus e the Nazi persecution s have made it necessary for an y thinking person to side with the Jews agains t their oppressors . Anyon e educate d enoug h t o hav e hear d th e wor d "anti semitism" claim s a s a matte r o f cours e t o b e fre e o f it , an d anti-Jewis h remarks ar e carefull y eliminate d fro m al l classe s o f literature . Actually , anti-semitism appear s t o b e widespread , eve n amon g intellectuals , an d th e general conspirac y o f silenc e probabl y help s t o exacerbat e it. 39

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33

Orwell note s tha t i f conservatives , neo-Tories , an d politica l Catholic s are th e wors t offenders , "peopl e o f Lef t opinio n ar e no t immun e t o it " either ("Nationalism, " 92) . Nor , i t seems , wer e writers . N o caucu s o f writers organize d t o pus h th e governmen t t o bom b Auschwitz ; n o pe titions b y writer s wer e go t u p t o challeng e th e immigratio n laws ; an d war writer s wh o worke d fo r th e Ministr y o f Informatio n accepte d th e news blackou t an d refusa l t o nam e th e Jews . Th e conspirac y o f silenc e seems t o hav e embrace d politician s an d writer s alike . Sander Gilma n urge s u s "t o loo k fo r link s whic h illuminat e th e inter dependence of systems of stereotypical representation." I have mentione d the lin k betwee n anti-Semitis m an d misogyn y i n th e work o f Poun d an d Lawrence, an d w e wil l mee t i t agai n i n th e wor k o f th e thre e writer s featured i n thi s study . Her e i t is enough t o note, a s does Valentine Cun ningham: "Misogyn y wa s rif e i n th e writin g o f thi s period . . . even th e determinedly womanizin g an d marrie d foun d i t har d t o stee r thei r text s clear o f th e prevailin g hostilit y t o wome n an d marriage " (152-53) . Wit h the exceptio n o f Virgini a Wool f an d (i n a n occasiona l passin g reference ) Katherine Mansfield , th e variou s survey s o f writer s o f th e thirtie s ar e conspicuously silen t about women writers. Cunningham , wh o is as guilty as any o f the m o f thi s omission , notes : "A s fo r women , the y frequentl y count fo r littl e i n th e Ol d Bo y worl d o f th e all-mal e schoo l an d colleg e . . . when i n 1939 , Aude n an d Isherwoo d dre w u p . . . a lis t o f th e te n most promisin g Britis h writer s o f th e day , the y include d n o wome n a t all" (151) . 1939-1945: Response to the Nazi Atrocities Disbelief and Denial

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The prominent Englis h historian A. J. P . Taylor records an event of 1938: After the incorporation of Austria into Germany, Sigmund Freud, founde r of psychoanalysis, was admitted int o England with none of the usual for malities, and, against all the rules, was made a British citizen the next day.40 In th e sam e paragraph , Taylo r tell s u s definitively , "Naz i treatmen t o f the Jews did more than anything else to turn English moral feeling agains t Germany, an d this moral feeling in turn made English people less reluctant to g o t o war " (20) . Taylor's phras e "th e usua l formalities " indicate s tha t th e welcome wa s

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less war m fo r les s illustriou s refugees , bu t nowher e i n hi s boo k o n thi s period doe s h e mentio n tha t i n 1939 , whe n Englan d entere d th e war , these "usua l formalities " becam e a solid wall . Regardles s o f th e Englis h "moral feeling " abou t Hitler' s treatmen t o f th e Jews , the y wer e lef t t o perish rather than gain entry to Britain or any of its territories. The picture Taylor an d othe r mainstrea m historian s o f th e perio d pain t correspond s to th e child' s versio n o f histor y wit h whic h I started thi s chapter . I n thi s reading, th e Britis h people' s brav e battl e agains t Nazis m wa s a battle fo r the surviva l o f th e Jews. I n biographie s an d reminiscences , other s recal l the perio d an d th e Britis h attitud e towar d th e Jew s throug h th e sam e rose-colored spectacles . For instance , i n his book The Thirties and After> Stephen Spende r explain s ho w th e leftis t resistanc e t o authorit y durin g the lat e twentie s an d earl y thirtie s yielded , durin g th e war , t o a stat e o f unified grace : " a sens e o f belongin g t o a communit y wher e al l classe s were draw n togethe r i n sympathy . Englan d wa s holy , s o was France , s o were th e Jewish peopl e i n concentratio n camps." 41 As w e hav e noted , th e BU F use d th e ter m "Th e Jews' War " t o signa l that th e war ha d bee n designe d a s a money-making prospec t b y th e Jews themselves. A corollar y constructio n wa s th e denia l tha t Jew s suffere d at Germa n hand s i n an y specia l way . Earl y revisionist s dismisse d al l reports o f Jewis h oppressio n a s "so b stuff " an d expende d considerabl e energy i n disseminatin g th e denial . Th e familia r imag e o f th e evi l an d grotesquely comi c Jew, gesticulatin g an d complainin g in a hysterical "fe male" manne r rathe r tha n takin g hi s knock s wit h a stiff uppe r li p lik e a proper Britis h male , wa s manipulate d i n text s suc h a s Georg e Bolitho' s The Other Germany (1943 ) to deny th e reality o f Jewish slaughter : "Th e Jews ar e brilliant propagandists . . .. Th e Jews wail more loudly tha n an y other oppresse d people . S o we hea r thei r voice s first." 42 Bolitho's boo k i s a product o f th e fa r right , bu t hi s constructio n an d even hi s vocabular y wa s share d b y Prim e Ministe r Chamberlai n an d b y high official s i n th e Foreig n an d Colonia l Office s an d i n th e Ministr y o f Information. A typica l Foreig n Offic e minut e b y A . R . Dews , hea d o f the Souther n Departmen t o f th e Foreig n Office , noted , i n 1944 : "In m y opinion a disproportionate amoun t o f th e tim e o f thi s offic e i s wasted i n dealing wit h thes e wailin g Jews." 4 3 As Bernar d Wasserstein , Walte r Lacqueur , an d Mont y Noa m Pen kower al l prov e indisputabl y i n thei r books , th e governmen t receive d clear, well-documente d report s o f Hitler' s intention s toward , discrimi -

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35

nation against , an d finally wholesal e extermination o f the Jews o f Europ e beginning wit h hi s ascen t t o powe r i n 1933. 44 Thes e report s cam e fro m countless eyewitnes s accounts , fro m th e reports o f neutra l diplomat s an d governments, from mai l sent from occupie d territories, from innumerabl e British intelligenc e agents , an d fro m th e Britis h ambassador s t o Berlin . As Walte r Lacqueu r stresses , "Naz i German y wa s no t a hermeticall y closed society.. . despit e secrec y an d disinformatio n th e 'fina l solution ' was an open secret almost right from th e beginning" (3). The British (an d the American) government s steadfastl y chos e not t o believ e this evidenc e and ignore d an d suppresse d it . One exampl e o f thi s patter n occurre d i n Augus t o f 1942 , whe n Dr . Gerhart Riegne r o f th e Worl d Jewis h Congres s gav e wha t wa s b y the n a familia r report . H e ha d proo f tha t th e recen t murde r b y th e Germa n government o f mor e tha n 700,00 0 Polis h Jews wa s par t o f a larger plan ; all th e remainin g Jew s i n Naz i Europ e wer e t o b e deporte d an d exter minated. Fran k Robert s o f th e Foreig n Office , wh o ha d hear d fro m a colleague month s earlie r o f th e disappearanc e o f on e an d a hal f millio n Jews, reacted to this report by claiming "naturally we have no informatio n bearing on this story" (Lacqueur, 79) . Ever mindful o f the Office's image , he added , " I don' t se e ho w w e ca n hol d u p thi s messag e muc h longer , although I fea r i t ma y provok e embarrassin g repercussions." 45 One reaso n fo r th e widesprea d disbelie f o f thos e i n Chamberlain' s conservative government was that many of these reports came from Jews . Attempting t o suppres s a rather innocuous whit e paper, Unde r Secretar y of Stat e Alexande r Cadoga n pointe d ou t tha t th e Britis h consul s i n Ger many had derived most of their information fro m "persecute d Jews, wh o are not , perhaps , entirel y reliabl e witnesses." 46 Reginal d Leepe r o f th e Foreign Offic e agreed . "A s a genera l rule , Jew s ar e incline d t o magnif y their persecutions." 47 Eve n a s lat e a s 1945 , a n officia l o f th e Refuge e Department o f th e Foreig n Offic e coul d write : "Source s o f informatio n are nearly alway s Jewish whose account s ar e only sometime s reliabl e an d not seldo m highl y coloured . On e notabl e tendenc y i n Jewish report s o n this proble m i s to exaggerat e th e numbe r o f deportation s an d deaths." 48 This denia l pervade d th e governmen t an d civi l service . I t wa s als o valorized b y th e medi a an d incorporate d int o publi c opinion . Leadin g journalists o f th e day , includin g Beverl y Nicols , Douglas s Reed , an d George Price-Ward , al l expressed doub t an d disbelie f abou t th e accurac y of th e atrocit y stories . Eve n th e Manchester Guardian, th e newspape r

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which consistentl y showe d th e mos t sympath y fo r th e Jews , i n Augus t 1941 denied report s o f mas s exterminatio n i n Europe , claimin g tha t "th e deportation o f Jews t o Polan d mean s tha t Jewish muscle s ar e needed fo r the Germa n wa r effort " (Lacqueur , 75) . Socialist s o n Peace News an d even member s o f th e Counci l o f Christian s an d Jews, a group forme d i n March 194 2 specifically i n sympathy with the Jewish plight, al l concurred in thi s disbelief . Th e conservativ e Catholi c pres s was especiall y dubious , with the Catholic Herald warnin g its readers "to avoid swallowing wholesale th e curren t report s o f anti-Jewis h persecutions." 49 Kushne r dem onstrates the widespread public denial, typified b y one Mass Observatio n respondent wh o wrote, whe n reminde d i n 194 0 of th e plight o f th e Jews, "Must you? . . . On e ha d almos t forgotte n them " ("Shoah, " 9) . On th e par t o f th e government , denia l wa s accompanie d b y a virtua l black-out o f an y referenc e t o Jews i n wa r propaganda . Th e ter m "Ger man nationals " o r som e othe r euphemis m wa s alway s use d instea d o f "Jews." "Jewis h persecution " an d "atrocit y stories " wer e bot h o n a Ministry o f Informatio n lis t o f undesirabl e theme s fo r Britis h propa ganda purposes . A Ministr y o f Informatio n memorandu m i n Jul y 194 1 stated tha t atrocit y propagand a "mus t dea l wit h undisputabl y innocen t people. No t wit h violen t politica l opponents . An d no t wit h Jews." 5 0 Among the various explanation s fo r thi s policy were that to acknowledg e the Jews a s a separate grou p woul d b e to "giv e i n t o" Germa n racialism ; that "awardin g protectiv e statu s t o al l endangere d Jew s woul d overloo k very extensiv e Thir d Reic h brutalit y abov e al l i n Poland , agains t non Jews," an d tha t an y mentio n o f atrocitie s inflicte d o n Jew s woul d b e counterproductive (tha t is , woul d reverberat e wit h th e Britis h people' s own anti-Semitism , stirrin g u p publi c sympath y fo r th e Germans , rathe r than disapproval). 51 Lacqueu r notes , "Anti-semitis m figure d throughou t 1940 an d 194 1 i n almos t ever y issu e o f th e 'Hom e Intelligenc e Weekl y Report' " (92) . While public anti-Semitism certainl y existed , i t seemed t o be much les s virulent tha n tha t o f th e governmen t official s themselves . Th e rabid anti Semitism which was believed t o lie just below the surface, an d which wa s probably a projection o f thei r ow n feelings , wa s use d t o justif y th e tota l closed-door polic y o f th e governmen t towar d Jews . Kushne r explains : Herbert Morrison , th e Hom e Secretary , wa s particularl y anxiou s no t t o make manifest what he regarded as dangerous latent antisemitism in Britain.

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This philosophy , whic h indirectl y blame d Jews fo r th e creatio n o f anti semitism, wa s also used a s a reason fo r refusin g asylu m t o Jews escapin g from Naz i Europe.. . by puttin g th e stat e o n th e defensiv e s o tha t it s priority wa s t o appeas e antisemiti c sentiment , Britis h fascist s partiall y achieved their anti-Jewish objectives . ("Paradox, " 86 ) The government policy of refusing t o "name" the Jews as special targets of th e Nazi s als o serve d suc h objectives . A s lon g a s Jews wer e no t spe cifically named , th e Britis h governmen t coul d pursu e it s closed-doo r policy, refusin g al l plan s fo r rescuin g th e Jew s b y removin g the m t o Palestine o r othe r Britis h territories—thi s whil e retainin g it s goo d nam e as a friend an d rescue r o f th e Jews . The imag e o f a line separatin g "parlour " an d "fringe " anti-Semite s i s especially deceptiv e whe n considerin g governmenta l policies . Th e con servative upper- an d upper-middle-class Englis h clubme n wh o tende d t o be "parlour anti-Semites " were also heads of government an d of the Civi l Service, includin g th e Foreig n an d Colonia l Office s an d th e Ministr y o f Information, thre e office s whic h wer e amon g th e mos t culpabl e i n th e governmental collusio n i n the extermination o f the Jews o f Europe. Har old Nicolson' s often-quote d qui p o f 1930 , "Althoug h I loath e anti semitism, I d o dislik e Jews," i s unpleasant bu t no t exactl y frightenin g i n the mout h o f on e wh o wielde d relativel y littl e power , an d who , i n an y case, becam e on e o f th e mos t activ e supporter s o f th e Jew s b y 1939. 52 The attitude of the prime minister, Nevill e Chamberlain, i n power durin g the year s i n whic h Britai n wa s offere d an d rejecte d th e chanc e t o rescu e the Jews o f Europe , i s mor e disturbing . Chamberlain , wh o wa s know n for hi s dislik e o f th e Jews, i s quote d a s saying , " N o doub t Jew s aren' t a lovabl e people ; I don' t car e abou t the m myself " (Kushner , "Shoah, " 7). Accordin g t o a politica l reporte r o f th e time , "An y question s pu t across the table about, say , reports of the persecution of the Jews, Hitler' s broken pledges , o r Mussolini' s ambitions , woul d receiv e a respons e o n well-established lines : h e [Chamberlain ] wa s surprise d tha t suc h a n ex perienced journalis t wa s susceptibl e t o Jewis h Communis t propa ganda." 53 Chamberlain's hostilit y towar d th e Jew s wa s thu s concretize d i n hi s policies. Denial and inaction characterized th e policies of his appeasemen t government whe n i t cam e t o thes e unlovabl e people . Governmenta l spokespeople simultaneousl y denie d th e reports of atrocities and discrim ination an d indicate d tha t thes e report s wer e indee d tru e bu t wer e non e

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of Britain' s business . A typica l reactio n wa s tha t o f th e Princ e o f Wales , who, i n 1933 , maintained tha t "I t wa s no busines s o f our s t o interfer e i n German interna l affair s whethe r r e Jews o r anythin g else." 54 It is one thing to si t back passively an d watch a people be exterminate d and anothe r t o tak e activ e step s t o insur e tha t th e atrocit y b e inevitable . Immediately afte r wa r wa s declared , despit e th e ne w prim e minister' s friendliness towar d the Jews, such active steps were taken. As Wasserstein succinctly put s it : The British Government.. . found itsel f supersede d b y the Germans fro m 1941 onwards as the major agenc y preventing Jewish escape from Europ e to Palestine. During the early part of the war, when the German Govern ment openl y trie d t o dispatc h larg e numbers o f Jews beyond th e border s of th e Reich , ever y practicabl e tacti c wa s employe d b y th e Britis h Gov ernment t o prevent significan t number s o f Jews reaching Palestine (or indeed anywher e els e in the Empire , including.. . Britain itself)... . As the escape routes were sealed s o too wa s the fate o f th e majority o f th e Jews imprisoned i n Nazi Europe . (Britain and the Jews, 80) Britain's relatively generous immigration policy before the war change d abruptly i n 1939 , whe n "th e no t inconsiderabl e expans e o f th e Britis h Empire was found . . . t o have an absorptive capacit y of nil" when i t came to th e admissio n o f Jewish refugees. 55 Betwee n 193 9 an d mid-1941 , ex pulsion o f th e Jew s wa s on e o f Germany' s centra l goals , changin g t o a policy of extermination onl y in October o f 1941 , when, fo r th e first time, Jews wer e forbidde n t o leav e th e country . Durin g thi s time , contrar y t o recent accusation s tha t Zionist s rejecte d othe r proffere d haven s i n orde r to floo d Palestin e wit h Jews , Zionis t an d othe r Jewis h group s sough t refuge i n Ethiopia , Nort h Africa , o r an y countr y a t al l whic h migh t provide asylum . A s new possibilities were suggested , th e Britis h govern ment rejecte d eac h on e remotel y unde r it s jurisdiction , citin g th e sam e vague fears o f embarrassmen t an d anti-Semiti c uprising s amon g th e loca l population. Thi s polic y wa s i n strikin g contras t t o Britain' s immigratio n policy towar d Yugoslavian , Greek , Dutch , an d Belgia n non-Jewis h ref ugees, al l o f who m wer e welcome d int o Britai n withou t restriction . The polic y wa s actively , eve n vindictively , enforced . Th e Britis h re peatedly fired o n ship s wit h refugee s boun d fo r Palestine , o r sen t the m back t o sur e death . Wit h th e excus e tha t suc h actio n migh t hampe r "se curity," the y eve n sough t t o preven t a n America n charit y fro m sendin g food t o dyin g familie s maroone d o n on e suc h ship . Conference s o n "th e

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39

refugee question " i n 193 8 at Evian an d in Bermuda i n 194 3 provided "a n agreeable setting for a lamentable succession of speeches in which delegat e after delegat e expresse d sympath y fo r th e pligh t o f th e refugee s fro m th e Reich an d the n proceede d t o explai n wh y i t wa s impossibl e fo r hi s gov ernment t o offer anythin g other than a token contribution " (Wasserstein , "British Government, " 74) . When th e Salvador , a refuge e shi p ful l o f Bulgaria n Jewis h refugee s was sun k wit h tw o hundre d deaths , includin g sevent y children , th e hea d of th e Foreig n Offic e refuge e section , T . M . Snow , commented : "Ther e could hav e bee n n o mor e opportun e disaste r fro m th e poin t o f vie w o f stopping this traffic." 5 6 A memorandum fro m th e Foreign Offic e i n June 1940 stated : "Illega l immigratio n i s no t primaril y a refuge e movement . . . . Th e problem is an organized invasion of Palestine for political motives, which exploit s th e fact s o f th e refuge e proble m an d unscrupulousl y use s the humanitaria n appea l o f th e latte r t o justif y itself." 57 Anothe r minut e agreed: "[W] e simpl y canno t hav e an y mor e peopl e le t int o th e Unite d Kingdom o n merel y humanitaria n grounds . .. . Furthermore, thes e par ticular refugees . . . ar e hardl y war-refugee s i n th e sens e tha t the y ar e i n danger becaus e the y hav e fough t agains t th e Germans , bu t simpl y racia l refugees."58 Notable i n almos t al l thes e minute s i s a reversa l i n whic h th e victim s become th e oppressor s an d th e official s themselve s th e victimized : a tendency w e wil l encounte r repeatedl y i n th e literar y text s addresse d in chapter s 4 throug h 6 o f thi s study . Thes e officials , i n a bizarr e an d egocentric readin g o f th e situation , seeme d no t t o gras p tha t th e refugee s were peopl e inten t o n savin g thei r lives . Instead , subscribin g t o a per sonalized versio n o f th e Jewis h conspirac y theory , the y reasone d tha t the refugee s acte d a s the y di d a s par t o f a plo t t o humiliat e o r "em barrass" the m (o r thei r large r "body" — th e Britis h government) . J . S . Bennet, on e o f th e Colonia l Office' s Middl e Eas t experts , recapitulate s the "sobbin g an d wailing " metapho r a s well a s his perception o f himsel f and hi s colleague s a s th e rea l victim s i n hi s complain t i n 194 1 abou t the Unite d States ' censoriou s attitud e towar d th e Britis h treatmen t o f the Jews : "Th e Jew s hav e don e nothin g bu t ad d t o ou r difficultie s b y propaganda an d deed s sinc e th e wa r began . . . when couple d wit h un scrupulous Zionis t 'sob-stuf f an d misrepresentations , i t i s very har d t o bear." 59 Sir John Shuckburgh, th e deputy under secretary at the Colonial Office ,

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struck th e sam e not e o f victimizatio n i n hi s remark s o n th e Jew s o f Palestine i n 1940 : I am convinced tha t in their hearts they hate us and have always hated us; they hate all Gentiles.... So little do they care for Great Britain as compared with Zionism that they cannot even keep their hands off illegal immigration, which the y mus t realiz e i s a very seriou s embarrassmen t t o u s a t a time when we are fighting fo r ou r very existence. 60 Officials i n th e Foreig n Office , th e Colonia l Office , an d th e Ministr y of Informatio n too k passiv e bu t letha l actio n congruen t wit h thei r per ceived rol e o f oppresse d victims . The y regularl y use d delays , lies , an d inaction t o counte r scheme s b y th e ne w prim e minister , Churchill , an d others t o provid e ai d t o th e Jews o f Europe . Th e Foreig n Offic e "lost " or withhel d topographica l materia l whic h Jewis h organization s ha d do nated t o th e Ai r Ministr y fo r th e bombin g o f Auschwit z an d Treblinka , then ignore d a n instructio n fro m th e prim e ministe r an d th e foreig n secretary t o pla n an d carr y ou t th e bombin g o f Auschwitz . Whil e in dustrial plants an d oi l refineries a s near a s five miles from Auschwit z an d the railway lines connecting these plants were repeatedly bombed in 1944, neither th e railwa y line s t o th e camp s no r th e camp s themselve s wer e ever bombed , despit e pleadin g fro m Jewis h representatives . Th e depor tations an d gassing s thu s continue d unti l th e ver y en d o f th e wa r (Pen kower, 218) . Even afte r th e war, wit h newsreels o f Buchenwald an d Belsen on ever y screen, th e governmen t maintaine d tha t Jews mus t b e treated a s nationals of existin g states rather than a s a separate group. Clemen t Atlee's Labou r government continue d th e closed-doo r polic y unti l Britis h withdrawa l from Palestine , continuin g t o intercep t boatload s o f refugee s an d retur n them to the same concentration camps they had come from an d attemptin g to forc e th e remnant s o f Europea n Jewry t o "retur n home " t o German y and Austria . A n officia l film o n th e camps , produce d i n 1945 , achieve d the amazin g fea t o f removin g al l reference s t o Jew s an d t o th e Naz i extermination progra m (Kushner , "Shoah, " 11) . It is difficult t o judge just how awar e the majority o f the British peopl e were o f thei r government' s closed-doo r immigratio n polic y towar d th e Jews afte r 1939 . Wha t i s clea r i s tha t th e Britis h public , whil e copin g courageously wit h a wa r agains t bot h civilian s an d enliste d me n an d women, reacte d i n a far mor e generou s an d varie d wa y t o th e fat e o f th e

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Jews tha n di d their government . On e Gallu p poll taken in February 194 3 on th e question o f admittin g Jews threatene d wit h deat h to Britain foun d 78 percent i n favor—this i n strikin g contras t wit h th e governmen t polic y of tota l nonadmittance , whic h wa s no t influence d b y thi s poll . A publi c memo o f 1943 , which explaine d th e closed-doo r polic y i n term s o f em barrassment t o th e governmen t i n th e cas e o f "flooding " b y alie n Jew s and a possible outbrea k o f Britis h anti-Semitism , wa s greete d b y consid erable publi c outcr y an d demand s t o cu t th e re d tap e an d allo w th e refugees in , demand s which were again ignored. Afte r a series of Londo n Daily Telegraph storie s i n June 194 2 revealed th e slaughte r o f mor e tha n 100,000 Polish Jews, th e use of ga s vans, an d the horrors o f the Chelmn o camp, an d state d tha t i t was th e ai m o f th e Nazi s "t o wip e the rac e fro m the Europea n continent, " th e Nationa l Executiv e Committe e o f th e La bour Party an d the trade unions made resolutions condemnin g the Nazis, and a Labour delegation went to see Anthony Eden, the foreign secretary , in an attempt t o get him to take a more active role in rescue efforts. Szmu l Zygielbojm, th e Jewis h representativ e o f th e Polis h Nationa l Counci l who had been the source of the Telegraph storie s and who later committe d suicide i n despai r a t Allie d refusa l t o hel p th e Jews , an d Ja n Masaryk , another eyewitness , spok e a t on e o f man y bi g rallie s a t Caxto n Hall , i n London, wher e Zygielboj m reiterate d tha t "[i] n Poland , a whole peopl e is being exterminated i n cold blood" (Lacqueur, 76) . In 194 3 the Nationa l Committee fo r Rescu e from Naz i Terro r wa s se t u p t o publiciz e th e fat e of th e Jews, an d throughou t th e war many individuals , includin g Harol d Nicolson, Jame s Parkes , an d Eleano r Rathbone , devote d themselve s t o the cause. While anti-Semitic incidents i n London's Eas t End ros e durin g the war, so did the frequency wit h which people opened homes and purses to th e refugees . On th e othe r hand , a s we have noted, a considerable percentag e o f th e population continue d t o blam e the Jews fo r th e Holocaust. H . G . Wells , one o f th e mor e influentia l holder s o f thi s opinion , whe n give n a n eye witness accoun t o f th e ga s chambers , coul d onl y comment , "[TJher e i s room fo r ver y seriou s researc h int o th e questio n wh y antisemitis m emerges i n ever y countr y th e Jew s resid e in." 61 Th e majorit y o f Mas s Observation respondent s polle d jus t afte r th e Kristallnach t pogrom , throughout th e war , an d immediatel y afte r i t agree d wit h Wells ; whil e they foun d Hitle r extreme , the y felt , i n th e word s o f on e respondent , that "th e Jewish proble m i s created b y th e Jews themselves . . . . Nobody

4*

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would interfer e wit h Jews, no t eve n Nazis , i f the y ha d no t mad e them selves s o conspicuou s an d hateful " (Kushner , "Shoah, " 12) . Even thi s ver y guarde d sympath y seeme d t o hav e bee n short-lived . Polls indicate d sympath y fo r th e Jews fo r abou t tw o year s followin g th e war, bu t whe n Zionist s i n Palestin e kille d tw o sergeant s i n 1947 , ther e were widespread anti-Jewis h riots in all major citie s in England, an d Mass Observation poll s indicate d tha t "peopl e ar e n o longe r move d b y th e thought o f Jewish suffering i n concentration camps " (Kushner, "Shoah, " 7, 12-13) . Cheyette suggests that the widely held liberal ideal of an English melting pot in which Jews must lose their particularity an d become indistinguish able ha d a s it s mos t extrem e consequenc e th e fac t tha t "durin g thei r darkest hour , Jew s coul d b e tragicall y regarde d b y Britai n a s eithe r a non-distinct entity—merel y national s o f existin g states—o r a s adherent s of Nazi racial categories ("Wells," 33). A Holocaust survivo r who settle d in Englan d state s th e sam e them e mor e simply : " W e . . . . wer e no t sup posed t o embarras s peopl e b y sayin g a word" (Kushner , "Shoah, " 13) . Conclusion The nomenclatur e whic h define d th e Britis h a s a tolerant society , place d the burde n o f assimilatio n o n th e Jews, an d blame d an y deviatio n fro m that toleranc e o n thei r ow n failur e t o carr y ou t tha t tas k has indeed bee n sustaining. I t ha s create d a cove r fro m unde r whic h th e realit y o f th e British collusio n i n th e exterminatio n o f th e Jew s ha s onl y recentl y emerged. Between 193 9 and 1941 , Hitler was willing an d eage r to expe l the Jews from th e Third Reich . Th e government s o f Grea t Britai n an d th e Unite d States, whil e al l the tim e professin g thei r dee p commitmen t t o an d sym pathy fo r th e refugees , shunne d al l offer s fro m th e Naz i governmen t a s efforts t o "embarrass " them b y unloading masses of unwanted alie n Jews on them. 62 The y shu t thei r doors , an d th e Jews wer e killed . Th e leve l of denial, double-talk , an d hypocris y i s remarkable . Jus t a s Edwar d I ex pelled th e earl y Britis h Jew s usin g th e rhetori c o f crusadin g Christia n doctrine, the British government couched its actions against more moder n Jews i n virtuou s conference s an d rhetori c whic h condemne d anti Semitism. In both cases, the Jews were kept out of England, and England's collective hand s remaine d clean . Th e Englis h libera l ideolog y prevente d

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overt violenc e agains t Jew s i n Englan d bu t encourage d les s open , mor e passive form s o f prejudic e whic h wer e i n th e en d equall y lethal . Thi s liberal ideolog y als o encourage s a kind o f historica l complacenc y an d a n unwillingness t o loo k beneat h th e surface . Accordingly , thoug h th e evi dence o f collaboratio n i s there , neithe r Englan d no r th e Unite d State s ever bore the burden of blame or guilt that France and other collaboratin g countries assumed . I have alread y mentione d th e force s o f projectio n whic h wer e a t work i n the Foreig n Office' s insistenc e tha t Jewis h immigratio n t o an y countr y would caus e a wav e o f violen t anti-Semitism . Thi s for m o f projectio n will appear again and again in the texts of the three authors I shall examine in thi s book . I n evidenc e to o wil l b e th e mythica l Je w wh o appear s s o often i n th e memorand a an d minute s o f th e Foreig n Office—tha t Je w whose aim , mor e eve n tha n t o preserv e hi s ow n life , seem s t o b e t o "embarrass" an d humiliat e th e victimize d Britis h official .

T W O

A Survey of the Surveys

In my introduction , I spoke of the experience I had a s a young an d naiv e Jewish reade r o f encounterin g wit h a feelin g o f internalize d sham e th e Jews wh o people d m y favorit e books . Eve r sinc e Davi d Philipson' s pi oneering work The Jew in English Fiction (1901), critics have been doin g what woul d hav e bee n s o helpfu l t o m e a t tha t time : takin g tha t sham e out o f th e close t an d namin g it. Th e work ha s been don e inclusively an d well, wit h eac h ne w criti c buildin g o n th e scholarshi p o f th e last . Wha t has, t o my knowledge , neve r been don e an d what I will make an attemp t to d o i n thi s chapter , i s t o compar e th e majo r pas t studie s o f th e repre sentation of Jews in English literature and to address some of the questions they rais e a s critical works. Tim e an d spac e limitations forc e m e t o limi t my discussio n t o th e book s an d article s I judge d t o b e mos t centra l t o the formatio n o f th e ongoin g critica l discourse . I hav e include d othe r books, articles , an d dissertation s i n m y footnote s t o thi s chapter . Current literar y theorist s ten d t o assig n all criticism published befor e th e " N e w " Criticis m o f th e lat e 1960 s t o som e murk y hinterlan d i n whic h "general readers " or , a t best , interpretiv e critic s muddle d alon g wit h nothing bu t a n unreasone d an d unreliabl e commo n sens e t o guid e the m on thei r way . A s Rama n Seldon , autho r o f a n especiall y knowledgeabl e and clea r guid e t o contemporar y literar y theory , pu t i t i n 1985 : "Critic s talked comfortable goo d sense about the writer's personal experience, th e social an d historica l backgroun d o f th e w o r k . . . criticis m spok e abou t literature withou t disturbin g ou r pictur e o f th e worl d o r o f ourselve s a s readers." 1 Such a dismissal rathe r condescendingl y lump s togethe r unlik e critica l texts, som e o f whic h ma y i n fact , dependin g o n wh o w e ar e an d wha t 44

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our assumptive picture of the world is, challenge us as readers and distur b our pictur e o f th e world . Whil e th e critica l work s I wil l discus s i n th e first par t o f thi s chapte r examin e virtuall y th e sam e bod y o f text s an d tacitly accep t man y o f th e sam e theoretical assumptions , the y d o presen t different view s o f th e relationshi p o f text , writer , an d reade r an d o f th e causes of anti-Semitis m an d the appropriate methods o f fighting it . Thes e differences lea d i n turn t o strikingl y differen t reading s o f th e sam e texts . In The Company We Keep: An Ethics of Fiction, Wayn e Boot h write s that unti l quit e recentl y " '[ejveryone ' assume d tha t suc h practic e [th e reading o f fiction ] ha d a n effec t o n conduct.. . o n th e mor e endurin g habits of conduct t o whic h th e wor d 'character ' applies." 2 Booth comment s tha t "th e grea t eighteent h centur y Englis h novelist s took fo r grante d a close connection betwee n readin g and conduct" (233) . The critic s I will discus s i n th e mai n bod y o f thi s chapte r al l shared tha t assumption an d mos t buil t thei r critica l argument s aroun d it . However , some o f the m sa w author s primaril y a s agents, whos e rol e wa s directl y or indirectl y t o influenc e th e societ y aroun d them , whil e other s sa w authors primaril y a s reflectors, whos e rol e wa s t o mirro r th e attitude s they foun d i n tha t society . Critics als o interprete d text s differentl y accordin g t o thei r goal s i n undertaking th e study , usuall y state d i n th e introductio n t o eac h book . While I note d thes e over t goals , I als o trie d t o loo k fo r other , unstated , and ofte n unconscious , underlyin g goal s o r purpose s whic h seeme d t o me t o b e th e alternativ e drivin g forc e behin d eac h book . Thes e critics , who ar e predominantl y Jewis h an d wh o includ e severa l Jewish scholar s and rabbis , shar e a n overtl y ethica l goal : t o protec t an d defen d th e rep utation o f thei r own , muc h maligne d people. 3 Suc h a goa l coul d b e achieved b y attemptin g t o disprov e (an d sometime s t o justif y o r excuse ) the "arguments " o r unjus t stereotype s presente d i n th e texts ; o r b y di recting th e unsuspectin g reade r towar d example s o f anti-Semitis m i n th e texts, thu s performin g th e "naming " functio n I mentione d earlie r an d exposing the author in question. Through the latter operation, th e "good " or philo-Semiti c author s coul d b e separate d ou t fro m th e "bad " o r anti Semitic ones , presumabl y allowin g th e reade r t o preselec t hi s o r he r reading materia l accordingly . The discours e an d assumption s o f eac h criti c als o differe d accordin g to whether the implied reader was a Jew or a Gentile. Presumably (thoug h not necessarily ) Jew s wer e les s i n nee d o f a n argumen t refutin g Jewis h

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miserliness than Gentiles , but more in need of a naming and classificatio n operation. I n 1947 , Milton Hindu s identifie d thi s oppositio n i n his discussion o f th e commonl y experience d proble m o f ho w t o dea l wit h a much-admired o r canonize d autho r whos e text s malig n Jews : Since the liberation fro m th e ghetto... anti-Semitism ha s been a s omnipresent a s germs i n th e air about us . .. . When i t appear s a s an element , even a minor one, in the work of a writer whom we are bound to admire by al l the canons o f art , it has several possible effects . I n the case of the Gentile reader, i t either escape s his notice, o r it confirms a notion h e has already ha d of the Jews, o r it may be noticed b y him and rejected, o r it may plan t th e seed s o f a new suspicion withi n him . A s for th e Jewish reader, h e either ignores it as unimportant i n the sum of the entire work, or else his aesthetic enjoyment eve n of a master like Shakespeare is soured by this drop of vitriol.4 Another differenc e la y in the critics' model s o f historica l progression . Some saw anti-Semitism in literature as an ongoing and unchanging motif ; others sa w it a s one which wa s graduall y disappearing . Stil l other s sa w it as one which was growing increasingly deadly with time. The particular texts eac h criti c chos e a s well a s the judgments h e or sh e made o f thes e texts wer e ofte n determine d b y thi s difference . The goa l o f understandin g anti-Semitis m an d it s cause s throug h a n examination o f literatur e wa s als o importan t t o severa l o f thes e critics , who hope d tha t suc h understandin g woul d contribut e t o th e eventua l extinction o f anti-Semitism . T o thi s en d som e turne d fo r thei r answer s to biographica l informatio n abou t th e author s an d to othe r field s o f in quiry such as sociology, psychology , economics , o r history; while other s stayed firml y wit h th e text itself . A n important activit y amon g th e latter group wa s tha t o f classification . Avoidin g th e dualit y o f positiv e an d negative portraits , thes e critic s groupe d type s o f Jewis h stereotype s o r traits, i n thei r effor t t o lear n mor e abou t th e dynamics a t work . In orde r t o pinpoin t som e o f thes e differences , I looked , wheneve r applicable, a t how each criti c approache d tw o key figures i n the debate : Shylock an d Fagin. Whil e severa l o f th e critics examine d Jewis h a s well as Gentile authors , i n keeping with the aim of my own study, I restricte d my discussio n t o thei r readin g o f Gentil e authors . I discus s thes e critic s in a roughly chronologica l sequenc e bu t abandon tha t chronolog y i n the case of critics whose wor k seem s to me to be more closel y relate d t o tha t of critic s o f a n earlie r o r late r period .

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47

The Surveys In 1901 , Davi d Philipson' s boo k The Jew in English Fiction appeared , the first publishe d stud y o f th e representation o f Jews i n Englis h fiction. Philipson's stated , rathe r surprisin g goa l is to determin e "whethe r o r no t it i s legitimate t o introduc e Jews int o work s o f fiction." 5 I n respons e t o his own question, Philipso n reasons that as English Jews, "having steppe d out o f th e ghett o int o th e fre e ligh t an d air " hav e los t thei r "peculia r customs" and become in their patriotism an d habits, indee d in everythin g but thei r religion , exactl y lik e thei r neighbors , i t i s not legitimat e t o introduce th e Jewish characte r int o fiction unles s in the role of "followe r and confesso r o f hi s religion , an d thi s onl y b y suc h a s have mad e a long and exhaustiv e stud y o f th e same " (12 , 17) . Th e onl y autho r t o hav e achieved thi s goal , accordin g t o Philipson , i s Georg e Eliot , i n Daniel Deronda. Al l th e other s wh o wrot e fro m 159 0 to 1900 , th e period com prising Philipson' s study , create d i n their Jewish character s "coars e lou d individuals" wh o "spea k a frightfu l jargon. " A s fo r thes e authors , "n o worse enem y o f th e Jews exist[s] " (13-14) . Philipson' s underlyin g goa l is to convinc e his assumed (presumabl y Gentile ) readershi p tha t Jews ar e actually capable of behaving like normal people: that is, like any bourgeoi s English gentleman. 6 Philipson's theor y o f agency , whil e no t a s centra l t o hi s argument , i s equally clear : i t i s ba d book s whic h incit e crowd s t o ba d action . Th e books h e condemn s "contai n th e insidiou s see d whic h sink s deepl y an d produces poisonou s an d noxiou s weeds " (14) . Complaining o f Barabas' s description o f himsel f an d hi s peopl e i n Marlowe' s The Jew of Malta (1592), h e comments, " N o wonde r tha t a populace. . . shoul d b e goade d on t o al l excesses imaginabl e whe n the y hea r suc h word s a s these " (29) . In hi s discussio n o f texts , Philipso n attempt s t o determin e whethe r each presentatio n o f a Jew i s accurat e (true ) o r not , usin g 'true ' i n th e factual o r litera l sense . H e explain s tha t th e traditio n o f Jewis h usurer s is a false one , a s Christian s wer e usurer s too , an d ofte n mor e crue l tha n the Jewish ones . Christophe r Marlowe' s portrai t o f Baraba s i n The Jew of Malta (1592 ) i s als o a fals e one , becaus e "n o Je w eve r employe d hi s child fo r th e purpos e tha t Baraba s i s mad e t o emplo y Abigail " (25) . Philipson feels less comfortable rebuttin g some of the other charges levied against th e Jew s b y th e author s i n hi s study . Perhaps , h e admits , th e newer immigrant s are i n fac t loud , coarse , vulgar , uncultured , an d gen -

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erally objectionable , bu t then , s o ar e th e Irish , th e French , an d indeed , all thos e wh o ha d no t ha d th e civilizin g advantag e o f lon g exposur e t o English cultur e o r th e grea t privileg e o f bein g bor n English . "Cultur e takes time, " Philipso n remind s us . "Th e childre n o f th e upstar t wil l b e more culture d an d refine d tha n he ; his grandchildre n stil l more so " (15 16). H e urge s u s t o generalize , i f generaliz e w e must , o n th e basi s o f th e great ol d familie s o f Britis h Jewry , rathe r tha n fro m th e uncout h new comers. Philipson' s goa l o f representin g th e Je w a s cultured , patriotic , and exactly like his Gentile compatriots leads him into trouble with Shakespeare, "th e myriad-minde d dramatist , England' s first genius " (7). As a n Englishman, Philipso n love s th e bard , an d ye t h e i s trouble d b y The Merchant of Venice. Afte r a n uneasy defens e o f Sh y lock, h e finally con cludes that "th e feeling s o f the poet. . . are with hi m [Shylock] " and add s wistfully, "I t ha d al l bee n wel l don e ha d no t thi s elemen t o f th e poun d of flesh bee n introduced; anythin g les s atrocious (i f the Jew, i n deferenc e to popular opinion , ha d to be defeated i n the end) had served the purpos e better, especiall y a s i t i s s o peculiarl y un-Jewish " (47) . Fagin, o n th e othe r hand , i s " a blo t o n th e otherwis e fai r fam e o f th e great fictionist" (95) . However , Philipso n asserts , Dicken s meant n o harm, an d i n Our Mutual Friend h e balance d th e scor e wit h Riah , "th e most beautifu l characte r o f th e whol e novel " (97-98) . Philipson's theor y o f historica l progressio n i s closely connecte d t o hi s underlying goa l o f convincin g hi s readershi p o f th e Jews' rapi d progres s toward assimilation . Englis h Jews , h e complains , ar e rapidl y advancin g to the goa l of becoming ordinary Englishmen . Wh y hav e Gentile author s failed t o remar k thi s advance ? The Jew in English Fiction, pioneerin g when published , i s no w o f interes t largel y i n term s o f th e ligh t i t shed s on th e stron g pressur e place d o n th e Jewish communit y t o assimilate — or else . I n it , Philipson , a n Anglo-Jewis h schola r an d rabbi , textualize d the enforcemen t o f thi s dominan t discours e o n th e large r Jewis h com munity b y it s mor e assimilate d leaders . Rabbi Edwar d Calisch' s The Jew in English Literature as Author and Subject (1909 ) offer s a mor e spirite d an d les s apologeti c defens e o f th e Jew, who m Calisc h assure d th e reade r "th e worl d utterl y misjudge d an d mistook." 7 Mor e positiv e i n hi s outloo k tha n Philipson , wh o approve s only o f Georg e Eliot , Calisc h present s a nonetheles s unevenl y loade d scale. O n on e sid e ar e nobl e Jews suc h a s Richar d Cumberland' s Shev a

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(The Jew, 1794) , Scott' s Rebecc a (Ivanhoe, 1819) , an d Georg e Eliot' s Mordecai an d Danie l (Daniel Deronda, 1876) . O n th e othe r side , Chris topher Marlowe' s Baraba s (The Jew of Malta, 1592) , Willia m Shake speare's Shyloc k (The Merchant of Venice, 1594) , an d Dickens' s Fagi n (Oliver Twist, 1838 ) joi n a hos t o f lesser-know n candidates . Calisch' s stated goa l i s a defense o f th e Jew i n th e fac e o f " a torren t o f abus e an d misrepresentation" (23) . H e see s th e conditio n o f Englis h Jew s i n hi s own tim e a s "amon g th e happiest " an d assure s u s tha t a t las t "th e won derful devotio n o f th e Jews t o thei r religio n an d thei r unflinchin g loyalt y in th e face o f centurie s o f fearfu l persecutio n ar e being recognized " (23) . Calisch's stud y begin s wit h earl y medieva l ballad s an d plays , an d h e is th e firs t t o identif y th e Ne w Testamen t a s on e o f th e earlies t an d b y far th e mos t influentia l piec e o f literatur e whic h attacke d th e Jews . H e traces th e earl y storie s o f ritua l killing s directl y t o thei r biblica l sourc e and t o th e influenc e o f th e churc h an d th e clergy . Calisch include s historie s i n hi s surve y an d berate s earl y historian s Mathew Paris , John Speed , an d Ralp h Holinshed , wh o "narrat e th e un happy tragedie s tha t befel l th e Jews , withou t on e trac e o f feelin g fo r them" (20) . Unlik e Philipson , h e object s strongl y t o Shylock , an d i n hi s discussion o f The Merchant of Venice h e attempt s t o prov e tha t Shake speare coul d hav e know n n o Jew s personall y an d s o mus t hav e base d Shylock o n a stereotyp e rathe r tha n o n "reality. " H e especiall y object s to th e reveng e moti f i n th e play , a s "vengefulnes s an d thirs t fo r bloo d are not characteristi c qualitie s o f the Jews" (76). In a more contemporar y argument, h e demonstrate s tha t Shyloc k function s no t onl y a s a n indi vidual bu t als o a s a representativ e Jew , an d a s suc h i s associate d wit h usury, cruelty , vindictiveness , an d revenge . Shakespeare , h e point s out , painted man y othe r Christia n villains , "ye t n o reproac h ha s eve r com e through the m upo n th e Christia n religion s o r Christia n peoples " (76) . Despite thi s reservation , Calisc h doe s no t renounc e Shakespear e en tirely. I n an early effort t o grapple with the perennial question o f whethe r or not a writer ca n escap e the mores o f hi s times, h e suggests tha t Shake speare's geniu s enable d hi m "t o creat e a characte r noble r tha n h e in tended" (74) . Like Philipson , Calisc h reproache s Dicken s fo r creatin g Fagin , a n ac t he call s a "monstrou s wron g t o th e Jews." Unlik e hi s predecesso r h e i s not mollifie d b y Riah , who m h e call s "a n unconvincin g spineles s sain t [who]. . . does no t offse t Fagi n i n th e least " (128) . I t i s onl y b y intro -

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ducing Jewis h author s int o th e debat e tha t Calisc h manage s t o balanc e the scale s enoug h t o retai n hi s theor y o f rapi d progres s towar d mor e positive representation . A boo k b y anothe r membe r o f th e Anglo-Jewis h intelligentsia , M . J . Landa's The Jew in Drama (1926) , continue s alon g much th e sam e lines, although hi s pessimisti c theor y o f progressio n an d hi s ton e o f outrag e represent a departure. T o th e moder n reader , Landa' s boo k i s usefu l a s an inclusiv e catalogu e o f ever y Britis h pla y produce d u p t o it s dat e o f publication tha t include s Jewis h characters . Eve n mor e tha n hi s prede cessors, Land a hold s literatur e directl y responsibl e fo r behavior . Shake speare, i n creatin g Shylock , "sprea d th e plagu e o f prejudic e i n al l land s and climes, " crystallizing medieva l hatre d o f th e Jews an d givin g "t o th e masses a weapo n o f eas y persecutio n tha t wil l exis t fo r al l time." 8 I n Fagin, "Charle s Dickens . . . through sheer ignorance and thoughtlessnes s . . . saddled th e stag e wit h a wretched characte r whos e evi l influenc e ap pears to have been instantaneous" (166). According to Landa: "The caus e of emancipatio n seeme d t o b e proceedin g normally , ste p b y step . The n came check—wit h th e appearanc e o f Fagin—an d i t wa s no t unti l 185 8 . . . that a Jew wa s admitte d int o Parliament " (166) . Montagu Modder' s The Jew in the Literature of England: To the End of the 19th Century (1939 ) i s th e mos t inclusiv e an d ambitiou s stud y t o date, bu t on e o f th e mos t contradictory . Modde r present s a conflicte d text i n whic h severa l o f hi s argument s subver t on e another . Hi s aim , a somewhat startlin g on e i n view of th e date of his writing, i s to sho w tha t things ar e improving fo r th e Jews. A s he puts i t in his introduction, "A s a chapter i n Jewish histor y thi s boo k inspire s optimism." 9 H e conclude s the boo k o n th e sam e hopefu l note , withou t mentionin g curren t events : " N o bas e tyranny ca n be perpetrated o n th e Jews with th e old impunity . The pen is the sword of modern warfare, an d it is the friend an d champio n of th e Jew" (364) . Unlike th e othe r critic s w e hav e discusse d s o far , Modde r state s hi s belief tha t th e write r doe s no t creat e realit y bu t instea d reflect s i t i n a mirror image . Face d b y unsavor y image s o f Jew s tha t ar e clearl y not mirrors o f reality , h e solves the dilemma b y suggestin g tha t som e writer s may b e liars , wh o purposefull y distor t rathe r tha n reflectin g faithfully . Modder reason s tha t a "true" portrait, tha t is , on e base d o n actua l Jews,

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would b e positive ; therefore , negative , stereotypica l portrait s mus t b e false. Lik e th e othe r critic s I hav e discusse d s o far , Modde r doe s no t consider th e possibilit y o f positiv e stereotypes : instead, al l negative por traits ar e ba d (lies ) whil e positiv e one s ar e goo d (truth) . Modder agree s wit h Calisc h tha t Shakespear e mus t hav e bee n "lying " when h e create d Shylock . H e i s no t a s willing , however , t o renounc e Dickens, who , h e explains , was familia r wit h Jews , but , unfortunately , only wit h th e wrong kind . Thi s eagernes s t o recrui t Dicken s fo r th e sid e of th e angel s lead s Modde r t o cas t aspersion s o n thos e critic s wh o plac e him o n th e othe r side , classin g the m wit h hi s contemporary , th e note d anti-Semite, Hilair e Belloc: "It i s absurd . . . for critic s like Hilaire Bello c . . . t o sa y tha t Dicken s dislike s Jews . . . and that , i n creatin g Fagi n h e shows a prejudice unworth y o f a humanitarian novelist . Dicken s ha s n o intention o f malignin g th e Jewish people . H e i s merely describin g a reprobate in the dens of Londo n . . . who, i t so happens, i s of Jewish origin " (218). As a way o f exoneratin g him , Modde r paraphrase s withou t acknowl edgment Dickens' s famou s defens e o f Fagi n i n answe r t o Mrs . Eliz a Davis's complaint . Dicken s himsel f wrote , "[I] t wa s unfortunatel y tru e of th e tim e t o whic h th e stor y refers , tha t tha t clas s o f crimina l almos t invariably was a Jew."1 0 I n Modder's version: "Unfortunately a t the time to whic h th e stor y refers , th e clas s o f criminal s operatin g i n th e manne r of Fagi n wa s frequentl y compose d o f person s commonl y designate d a s Jews" (217) . Modde r her e lighten s th e effec t o f Dickens' s "almos t in variably" by changing it to "frequently" an d softens th e impact of "Jews " with the euphemistic "persons commonly designated a s Jews," but other wise repeat s Dickens' s ow n defense , whic h h e quote s a few page s later , as a final proo f o f th e author' s innocence . Disregardin g Dickens' s rathe r confusing defens e that Fagin "is called 'the Jew' not because of his religion but becaus e o f hi s race, " Modder insist s tha t th e rea l proof tha t Dicken s did no t dislik e Jews i s tha t h e claime d tha t h e di d not . Suc h a denial o f the possibilit y o f unconsciou s motivation , typica l o f Modder' s litera l approach t o literature, wa s also a defense use d by a far more sophisticate d author an d critic , T . S . Eliot , who , disregardin g th e evidenc e o f hi s ow n texts, claime d tha t th e proo f o f hi s lac k o f prejudic e la y i n hi s ow n assertion o f it. x x In his discussion of Trollope's Way We Live Now (1875) , Modder onc e more fall s int o th e tra p o f distinguishin g bette r fro m wors e classe s o f

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Jews. Melmotte , th e evi l financier, declare s Modder , i s not a stereotyp e after al l bu t instea d a "personificatio n o f th e commercia l corruptio n o f the seventies," based on an actual financier of the times who just happened to be "the wrong kin d of Jew" (276) . In the previous chapter, I discusse d the argumen t mad e b y those , who , i n a n effor t t o defen d themselve s against th e charg e o f anti-Semitism , distinguishe d betwee n th e "good " English Jew s an d th e "bad " foreig n ones , wh o provoke d anti-Semitis m by thei r behavior . I t i s disturbin g t o se e thes e Jewish critic s makin g th e same distinction. 12 To hi s credit , Modde r wa s th e first t o mov e fro m simpl e namin g o r identification o f prejudice d attitude s towar d a system o f classificatio n o f Jewish types or stereotypes. Hi s list of types include the Wandering Jew, the Shyloc k type , th e Jewess a s Comely Daughte r an d Heroine , an d th e type o f th e Jewish Hero , exemplifie d b y Disraeli' s characte r Coningsb y in hi s nove l o f th e sam e name . Modder' s effor t t o trac e thes e types , however, i s onc e mor e undermine d b y hi s concretenes s an d hi s nee d t o demonstrate a n upwar d progres s "unde r th e inspiratio n o f th e ne w hu manitarian an d evangelica l movements " (353) . Hermann Sinsheimer' s Shylock: The History of a Character wa s first published i n Englan d i n 194 7 but wa s originall y writte n an d suppresse d in Hitler's German y of 193 6 and 1937 . Sinsheimer traces Shylock throug h his historica l incarnation s o f Wanderin g Jew, Judas , an d usurer , bu t hi s study i s mainly a close an d carefu l examinatio n o f th e text . Th e boo k i s a passionate effort , b y " a Jew who , havin g bee n bor n an d brough t u p a s a Germa n an d a Jew (no t a s a Jew an d a German ) bu t [who ] wa s n o longer... a Germa n a t heart " t o cleav e t o th e playwrigh t h e loves , an d to acquit him of the charge of anti-Semitism. 13 Denigrating contemporar y Nazi production s o f th e pla y i n whic h Shyloc k wa s presente d a s a re pulsive an d bloodthirst y laughing-stock , Sinsheime r maintain s tha t "Shakespeare mus t hav e realize d tha t somethin g wa s wron g wit h th e treatment o f th e Jews. A n d . . . h e took side s unequivocall y wit h th e op pressed an d injured " (110) . Sinsheimer's arguments , lik e Modder's , occasionall y oppos e on e an other, a s whe n h e claim s tha t th e famou s lawsui t actuall y shoul d hav e been resolve d i n Shylock' s favor , becaus e "th e warpin g o f wha t i s jus t and logical can never serve as a means of developmental progress in law" ; or when h e names Shylock "th e spokesma n o f the bondsmen o f medieva l

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Christianity" (100 , 146) . Sinsheimer's goal , a n understandable on e in th e circumstances, i s clear : "th e anti-Semite s mus t no t b e allowe d t o cal l Shakespeare a s a witness fo r thei r side " (144) . While Sinsheimer' s evidence , howeve r shaky , i s base d o n a clos e exam ination o f th e text, anothe r boo k o n Shylock , Bernar d Grebanier' s Truth about Shylock (1962) , i s not. Grebanie r als o defends Shakespeare , bu t o n quite different grounds . Shylock' s Jewishness is a coincidence, Grebanie r explains, an d thos e wh o se e hi m a s representativ e ar e merel y indulgin g in typical Jewish oversensitivity. Thi s is self-defeating an d "to o indulgen t of th e shortcoming s o f thos e wh o ar e Jewish. . . [OJn e coul d wis h tha t everyone woul d b e a littl e mor e objective. " Ther e ar e ba d an d goo d i n all people , Grebanie r continues ; afte r all, "i t ha s bee n said " tha t ther e were influential Jewis h banker s who poure d mone y int o Hitler' s coffers . Grebanier recommend s avoidin g th e moras s o f Shakespearia n commen tary and "walking surefootedly amon g the lines Shakespeare has written, " a tas k h e seem s convince d tha t h e alon e ha s achieve d (18) . Grebanier' s arguments ar e invariabl y ill-founde d an d depen d o n source s outsid e th e text, whil e hi s complaint s abou t typica l Jewish oversensitivit y an d self indulgence sound th e note we have heard in chapter 1 fro m th e victimize d "parlor" anti-Semite s i n England' s wartim e government . I n on e o f hi s more unfortunate arguments , h e explains that Shakespeare could not hav e been anti-Semitic ; ha d h e been , th e Nazi s woul d certainl y hav e mad e more us e o f The Merchant of Venice fo r thei r propaganda , bu t "th e Germans kne w thei r Shakespear e to o wel l to admi t o f suc h a use" (92). 14 Rabbi Joshu a Trachtenber g define s hi s boo k The Devil and the Jews: The Medieval Conception of Jews and Its Relation to Modern Antisemitism (1943 ) as a broad cultural study rather than as literary criticism. 15 Trachtenberg doe s not divorc e his present inquir y fro m th e then ongoin g extermination o f th e Jews o f Europe , althoug h h e neve r directl y name s his concern , speakin g instea d i n euphemisti c term s o f a time whe n "ou r culture an d perhap s civilizatio n itsel f ar e i n jeopardy." 16 H e admit s t o feeling guilt y "t o b e caught rummagin g i n musty medieva l texts " a t suc h a time, especiall y a s he is "under n o illusion a s to th e immediate practica l utility" o f hi s investigation, bu t h e justifies hi s stud y fo r it s truth-tellin g qualities, an d for it s indirect relevanc e to contemporary concerns : "If th e Jew i s today despise d an d feare d i t i s because w e ar e heirs o f th e Middl e

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Ages . .. becaus e the figure o f th e Demonic Jew, les s than human, indee d antihuman, th e creatio n o f th e medieva l mind , stil l dominate s th e fol k imagination" (viii) . Trachtenberg i s more intereste d tha n hi s predecessors i n explorin g th e causes of anti-Semitism. H e identifies variou s theories of causation: xenophobia, socia l and economic frictions, th e propaganda techniques of dem agogues, an d th e huma n nee d fo r a scapegoat . I n th e end , however , h e rejects thes e a s "merel y immediat e stimul i o f activ e Je w hatred, " an d identifies, no t th e literature itself , bu t th e myth beneat h th e literature , a s the ke y factor : "th e powde r ke g o f emotiona l predisposition " (3) . The concep t o f myth , a s Trachtenber g use s it , i s a ne w on e amon g these critic s an d obviate s th e necessit y fo r th e kin d o f debat e tha t al l th e critics I hav e examine d s o fa r engage d in : whethe r o r no t Shakespear e knew an y Jews, whethe r o r no t th e nee d fo r reveng e wa s a Jewish trait , and whether Jews ar e family me n who love their daughters o r fiends wh o are likel y t o sel l the m off . Trachtenberg, th e first t o argue that "hatre d o f the Jew i s not th e resul t of a rationa l process, " wa s als o th e first t o locat e th e sourc e o f literar y representation i n th e unconsciou s a s well a s the consciou s proces s o f th e writer. H e locate s th e myt h o f th e Je w i n Jung' s archetypa l o r "mas s subconscious": the source of many a weird notion—of the horned Jew, of the Jewish thirst for Christian blood, o f the Jew who scatters poison and disease broadcast, of th e secre t parliamen t o f worl d Jewry, meetin g periodicall y t o schem e and plot, o f a distinctive Jewish odor , o f Jews practicing black magic and blighting thei r surrounding s wit h th e evi l eye—notion s tha t stil l prevai l among the people and that have been advanced by official Nazi publications, for al l the "scientific" verbiage of current antisemitism . (6 ) We hav e alread y encountere d som e o f thes e "notions " i n chapte r 1 , advanced no t b y Nazi s o r Britis h fascist s bu t b y th e Britis h government , the press , an d member s o f th e Britis h public . In hi s exploratio n o f myt h an d hi s demonstratio n o f th e clos e lin k between th e Je w an d th e devi l i n medieva l poetry , plays , an d drama , Trachtenberg convincingl y demonstrate s hi s theor y tha t th e Je w i s a stand-in fo r "th e mysterious , fearsom e evi l force s which. . . . hav e men aced th e peac e an d securit y o f mankind.. . hi s inherite d dread " (47) . Although h e doe s no t explor e thi s subjec t a t length , h e als o mention s

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sexual drea d a s par t o f th e greate r picture , a s i n text s an d drawing s i n which th e Je w wa s picture d wit h th e horn s an d bear d o f th e goat , a symbol o f Satani c lechery . Trachtenberg's decisio n i n 194 3 never t o refe r directl y t o th e concen tration camp s or to mention th e Jews a s the target o f Hitler's "bloodshe d and tyranny, " instea d referrin g vaguel y t o a "worl d i n turmoil " an d t o "modern, scientifi c anti-semitism, " i s reminiscent o f th e Britis h govern ment's refusal t o name the Jews in its propaganda. Whethe r this avoidanc e was a misguided attemp t t o avoi d Germa n racialism , th e resul t o f a publisher's suggestion , o r merel y a personal an d les s conscious evasio n is , a s in th e cas e o f Modder' s silence , unclear . Edgar Rosenberg' s From Shylock to Svengali (1960 ) is the most inclusiv e study t o dat e o n th e subjec t o f Jew s i n Englis h literature . Rosenberg' s close attention t o texts, hi s intellectual scope , an d his exhaustive researc h made hi s boo k on e o f th e mos t usefu l tha t I consulte d fo r thi s study . I n addition, m y reading of all the fictional text s to which he referred enable d me t o establis h th e soli d backgroun d I neede d fo r m y ow n research . In hi s introduction , Rosenber g criticize s previou s studie s fo r a paro chialism whic h relate d th e portraya l o f Jew s i n literatur e "eithe r t o a particular climat e o f opinio n o r to th e private prejudice o f th e author." 17 Such direc t correlations , i n hi s opinion , ar e "ap t t o sligh t th e massiv e durability o f a stereotype, whic h i s almos t b y definitio n th e leas t pliabl e of literar y sorts , th e on e leas t sensitiv e t o socia l vibrations " (14) . Rosenberg's mode l o f th e relationshi p amon g author , text , an d reade r approaches Roma n Jacobson's model , i n which th e autho r an d reade r o f any tex t ar e relate d t o on e anothe r a s th e sende r an d th e receive r o f a message tha t intur n depend s o n a share d cod e o f communication. 18 A s Rosenberg put s it , novelist s d o no t necessaril y reflec t th e attitud e o f contemporary society : "a t most , the y reflec t th e tast e o f th e readin g public, whic h i s no t quit e th e sam e thing " (14) . H e reject s th e simpl e equation o f a positive presentatio n o f Jewish character s a s desirabl e an d a negative one as undesirable and explores the idea of a positive stereotype: "the depressingl y unifor m presentatio n o f th e Jewish parago n a s a mor alizing apologist , a tolerant an d educate d bore " (14) . Although h e doe s no t explicitl y refe r t o th e unconscious , Rosenber g dissociates himself fro m th e long debate about whether or not a particular author wa s personall y anti-Semiti c an d focuse s o n th e tex t an d wha t lie s

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beneath its surface rathe r than on authorial statements of belief. He write s with admirabl e distinctnes s o f th e conflic t abou t Dickens : I suspect that the gulf which separates Fagin from Dickens's public professions of tolerance defines th e difference betwee n metaphor an d statement , creation and criticism, and that one of the defects endemic to earlier studies .. . lies in the general failure t o distinguish th e two. (17) Finally, h e frees himsel f fro m th e exercise taken o n s o whole-heartedl y by the other critics , bot h thos e who "woul d b e happiest i f all distinction s between Jews an d other folk coul d be obscured o r suppressed altogether " and those who attempte d t o right eac h wrong through rationa l argument : "In th e lon g ru n th e argumen t tha t 'Jew s ar e no t lik e that ' confuse s lif e and art , experienc e an d literature ; i t ignore s th e possibilit y tha t a fiction may b e al l the mor e convincin g an d durabl e fo r bein g a basic distortion " (19). Rosenberg's method , lik e Modder' s earlie r attempt , i s primaril y on e of classificatio n o f types . I n hi s model , thes e type s d o no t fal l int o an y kind o f chronologica l progression , bu t rathe r com e ou t o f a kin d o f archetypal vei n int o whic h eac h succeedin g generatio n taps . H e choose s the types for "thei r recurrence from on e writer to the next, thei r inexplicable resemblance , thei r sovereig n positio n i n literatur e an d thei r final imperturbability an d resistanc e t o fashionabl e wind s o f doctrin e an d changes i n weather " (11) . H e trace s thes e type s throug h a large numbe r of works of fiction, a s well as through a close analysis of six novels written between 179 5 and 1895 , examining eac h on e first withi n a historical con text an d the n i n a n in-dept h focu s o n th e particula r treatmen t o f Jewis h characters. For Rosenberg, Shyloc k and Fagin are relatives, two versions of a stable myth whic h "differen t generation s d o no t s o much reinterpre t fo r them selves a s the y rehabilitat e it " (187) . He , lik e Calisc h an d Trachtenberg , points ou t tha t "th e Jewis h crimina l i n a variet y o f masks—a s Christ killer, traitor , financial hog . . . had Scriptura l sanctio n fro m th e first" (22). Chaucer' s us e o f bloo d sacrific e an d knif e mutilatio n i n "Th e Pri oress's Tale " is thus no t new , bu t rathe r a recapitulation o f theme s "cur rent for som e two and a half centuries before Chauce r fictionalized them " (25). This Jew-Villain typ e can be found i n Herod, i n Judas ("the origina l businessman wit h th e contrac t i n th e pocket") , an d i n th e anonymou s Jew who force d a reed filled with vinegar betwee n Christ' s lip s in answe r

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to hi s "eli , eli. " B y th e tim e Shakespear e go t t o it , " t h e typ e wa s full y constituted a s h e foun d it , an d i t ha d bee n fo r centuries " (33) . Shake speare's onl y additio n t o th e m y t h i s his combinatio n o f th e t w o role s o f mutilator an d usurer : " T h e J e w 's knif e wa s n o w poise d fo r purpose s o f extortion" (25) . Rosenberg's descriptio n o f th e characteristi c Jew-Villai n a s h e existe d at th e tim e o f Scot t i s w o r t h repeatin g here , a s we wil l mee t i t agai n an d again i n m y subsequen t chapters : He wa s a fairly thoroughgoin g materialist , a physical coward , a n oppor tunist i n mone y matters , a bit o f a wizard i n peddlin g hi s pharmaceutica ; queer in his religious observances in so far as he still paid attentio n to them, clannish in his loyalties, secretiv e in his living habits, servil e in his relations with Christians , who m h e abominated ; fo r physica l signpost s h e ha d a n outlandish nose , a n unpleasant odor , an d frequently a speech impedimen t also... . Though a widower, h e had th e comfor t o f a n attractiv e daughte r . . . h e was bound t o b e defeate d i n al l fundamental contest s b y th e othe r party. Hi s conversation wa s attended b y muc h frenzie d gesticulating , an d when h e di d no t hav e hi s way h e resorte d t o a disgusting displa y o f self indulgence. Hi s affection s wer e unevenl y divide d betwee n hi s ducat s an d his daughter. . . . He himself sat , spider-like, i n the center o f a n impressiv e commercial network . Othe r anima l metaphor s whic h describe d hi m wer e the hog , th e dog , th e rat , th e vulture , th e weasel , th e fox , th e toad , th e serpent, an d th e wasp . A s a creatur e les s sinne d agains t tha n sinning , h e hardly qualified fo r tragedy; on the other hand, his repulsive physiognomy , his eccentri c habits , an d hi s hostil e motive s conspire d t o sui t hi m ideall y for purpose s o f th e comic an d the horrific. (35-36 ) For Rosenberg , Fagin , eve n mor e tha n Shylock , embodie s th e arche typal Jew-Villai n type . Existin g outsid e o f society , outsid e eve n o f J u daism itself , h e murder s indirectly , ou t o f diabolica l cupidit y rathe r tha n revenge. H i s knif e i s raise d agains t th e innocen t y o u n g b o y , th e m y t h ological victi m an d the persona fro m whos e traumatize d an d terrified eye s we se e him . Whil e h e view s Fagi n a s existin g i n oppositio n t o society , he see s Melmotte , th e upstart Jewish swindle r o f Trollope's Way We Live Now (1875) , a s a n insider— a symbo l o f tha t societ y an d it s depravity. 1 9 Rosenberg's chapte r o n Georg e D u Maurier' s Trilby (1894) , " T h e J ew as Degenerat e an d Artist, " i s of specia l interes t her e because , a s he point s out, Trilby i s on e o f th e first book s i n Englis h i n whic h a Jewish mal e character i s allowe d sexuality . Svengali , a bestia l an d repulsiv e figure, seduces an d virtuall y inhabit s a pur e Englis h girl . "[T]h e crim e a t th e

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heart o f th e nove l i s not reall y on e o f occul t sorcer y bu t th e specificall y 'Jewish' crim e t o whic h th e German s hav e sinc e give n th e nam e Ras senschande, the (legally punishable) mating of the inferior racia l type with the higher " (256) . The book' s fina l chapter , "Wha t New s o n th e Rialto, " briefl y bring s the wor k u p t o date , pointin g th e wa y t o mor e curren t author s whos e Jews ar e draw n fro m th e sam e vei n o f stereotype , an d namin g tw o au thors, Jame s Joyc e an d Q P . Snow , who m Rosenber g identifie s a s th e only ones to have successfully escape d stereotyping in their representatio n of Jews. Th e appendice s t o From Shylock to Svengali, whic h includ e a n excellent bibliograph y an d severa l ke y historica l letter s an d texts , ar e almost a s invaluabl e a s th e boo k itself . Harold Fisch , whos e shor t boo k The Dual Image appeare d i n 1971 , further explore s th e concep t o f th e Jew a s a dual imag e of goo d an d evil , a projectio n o f th e basi c an d lastin g Christia n ambivalenc e towar d th e Jew a s expresse d i n th e Ol d an d Ne w Testaments . Whil e Fisc h cover s no rea l ne w groun d i n hi s descriptio n o f text s an d spend s som e tim e a t the ol d exercis e o f determinin g whic h representation s ar e realisti c o r "true" Jews an d whic h ar e not , h e doe s mak e a n effor t t o explor e som e of th e psychology behin d th e myth o f th e Jew, a n area which Rosenber g "prefers t o leav e t o th e psychiatrists. " Fo r Fisch , a s fo r Trachtenberg , the Jewish characte r i n recen t literatur e i s a "Jungia n archetyp e issuin g from th e collectiv e unconscious o f moder n man." 20 H e als o offers a new and intriguin g explanatio n o f on e o f th e myths: the charge o f bloo d guil t which appear s ove r an d ove r in the literature. Fisc h points ou t tha t whil e Gentiles murdere d hundred s o f thousand s o f Jews becaus e o f thei r faith , there i s no exampl e o n recor d o f non-Jew s bein g murdere d b y Jews fo r this reason. 21 I n a significant passage , h e explains the charge a s "a simpl e example o f guil t transferenc e o r substitution" : The guilt one feels in one's own conscience... is transferred imaginativel y to the victim who is made guilty of precisely th e same crime. I n this way the burden of guilt is diverted, while at the same time the crime is obscurely justified by being visualized as a punishment for a previous crime committed by the victim!... It is no accident that the revival of the blood libel charge has always been associated with actual outbreaks of violence against Jews: the myt h i s clearly produce d t o justify b y anticipatio n th e crim e alread y meditated b y the unconscious. (22-23 )

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Interestingly, th e sam e proces s i s describe d b y object s relation s theo rists suc h a s psychoanalys t Ott o Kernberg . I n hi s discussio n o f defens e mechanisms a s the y functio n i n th e narcissisti c personality , Kernber g describes th e proces s o f projectiv e identification , i n whic h th e patien t attributes t o th e othe r a n impuls e h e ha s represse d i n himsel f an d then , "under th e influenc e o f tha t projecte d impulse, " experience s fea r an d loathing towar d tha t Other , a s well a s th e nee d t o contro l hi m o r her . These shadow y externa l object s sometime s suddenl y see m to b e invested with hig h an d dangerou s powers , a s the patient project s ont o other s th e primitive characteristic s o f hi s ow n supereg o an d o f hi s own exploitativ e nature. His attitude towards others is either deprecatory— he has extracted all he needs and tosses them aside—or fearful— other s may attack, exploit, and force hi m to submit to them. 22 Fisch's speculation s abou t th e rol e o f projectiv e identificatio n i n anti Semitism and its literary representations are new, and will be an importan t keystone o f m y ow n study. 23 Charlotte Le a Klei n wa s bor n Jewish , converte d t o Catholicism , an d founded a n orde r devote d t o Catholic-Jewis h understanding . He r con tributions t o the subject includ e her doctoral thesis of 1967 , "The Portrai t of th e Jew i n Englis h an d Germa n Fictio n an d Drama , 1830-1933 " an d two significan t article s i n th e magazin e Patterns of Prejudice. Klein' s work, whic h i s not ne w i n it s theoretica l approach , i s o f specia l interes t here becaus e he r compariso n o f Englis h an d Germa n literatur e o f th e same perio d make s he r th e first amon g th e critic s w e hav e considere d who doe s no t trea t Britis h literatur e i n isolatio n an d becaus e he r exam ination o f lesser-know n an d mor e popula r work s bring s a new bod y o f texts int o th e debate . While Klei n use s Rosenberg' s researc h a s a base , sh e disagree s wit h both Rosenberg' s an d Fisch' s model s o f th e dua l image . Sh e finds tha t the typ e o f th e saintl y Je w i s s o rar e a s t o b e scarcel y a type , an d tha t Gentile authors , whethe r Germa n o r English , expres s littl e ambivalenc e in thei r long-establishe d patter n o f Jew-hating . Sh e als o quarrel s wit h Rosenberg's nonhistorica l approach , claimin g tha t ther e are i n fac t som e important way s i n whic h literatur e reflect s th e times , an d tha t hi s ap proach neglect s th e rea l functio n o f Jew s i n literature : t o mirro r "th e problems an d anxietie s o f societ y a t large." 24

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In Germa n literatur e Klei n finds a n unbroke n lin e o f preoccupatio n with an d fea r o f th e Je w (sh e i s referrin g her e specificall y t o th e mal e Jew) a s a powerful sexua l an d economi c threat . Thi s preoccupatio n in tensifies i n the late part o f th e nineteenth centur y bu t doe s not materiall y change. I n Englis h literatur e befor e 1880 , o n th e othe r hand , sh e finds that Jews wer e viewed a s a negligible, asexual , an d nonthreatening quan tity. Klei n correlates this with their general nonthreatening social position in England an d th e fac t tha t Jews mad e up suc h a small percentage o f th e population i n compariso n t o thei r representatio n i n Germany . In th e previou s chapter , I discusse d th e shif t t o a racial anti-Semitis m in th e lat e nineteent h century , coincidin g wit h th e influ x o f Jewis h im migrants betwee n 188 1 and 1905 . Klein , wit h An n Arrest y Naima n (se e n. 14) , points ou t thi s shift , locatin g i t first i n Trollope's Prime Minister (1876), i n whic h th e "Jew-Gentil e competitio n i s s h o w n . . . a s political , social, an d for th e first time , racia l and sexual" ("Image," 23) . She points out th e growin g racia l threa t fel t b y Britis h me n a s reflecte d i n th e ne w portrait o f th e mal e Jew , wh o " i s . . . often n o longe r a n ol d ma n bu t combines th e tw o vices , luxuri a an d avariti a i n himself. " A n exampl e i s Daphne D u Maurier' s Juliu s Lev y i n The Progress of Julius', a characte r his creato r introduce s wit h th e word s "H e wa s oriental , h e was a sadist , he wa s a pervert." 25 Klein's discussio n o f severa l novel s abou t intermarriag e i n whic h th e Jewish strai n i s portrayed a s malign, an d inevitabl y mor e powerfu l tha n the Gentil e o r "English " strain , i s especially german e t o thi s study . He r chapters o n th e representatio n o f Jewish wome n ar e particularly strong . She corrects th e dichotom y othe r critic s hav e notice d betwee n th e beau tiful an d goo d Jewess an d th e evi l Jew, pointin g ou t tha t "whil e ther e i s a constan t traditio n o f ver y appetizin g youn g Jewesses , th e ol d Jewes s . . . i s particularly ugl y an d repellent " ("Portrait, " 138) . In he r excellen t discussio n o f bot h Georg e Eliot' s Daniel Deronda (1876) an d Henr y James' s Tragic Muse (1890) , Klei n escape s fro m th e dualistic frame whic h classifie s eac h author a s either a friend o r a n enem y of th e Jews. Sh e shows ho w thes e authors , whil e abl e to brea k fre e fro m the hol d o f th e stereotyp e whe n consciousl y creatin g a major character , succumbed t o stereotypica l portrait s i n th e les s consciou s constructio n of mor e mino r character s ("Portrait, " 132) . I foun d Klei n leas t convincin g i n he r discussio n o f th e evil s o f Zion ism. 26 Here , fo r th e first time , sh e reproduce s th e "anti-semitis m o f

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tolerance" i n he r convictio n tha t portrayal s o f Jew s i n fiction (and , b y inference, thei r treatmen t i n Britis h society ) would hav e been differen t i f only Gentil e Britis h author s ha d know n th e righ t typ e o f Jews . Citin g the opposition t o Zionism o f "establishe d an d official Anglo-Jewry " (th e Board o f Deputies , th e Chie f Rabbi , an d thei r newspaper , th e Jewish Chronicle), sh e blames earl y Zionists fo r emphasizin g thei r Jewish rathe r than thei r Britis h identity , feel s tha t "Zionis m helpe d t o propagat e th e legend o f a n organize d Jewis h threa t t o th e Gentil e world, " an d ca n hardly blam e th e Englis h fo r doubtin g th e Britis h Zionists ' loyalt y t o "their host nation" ("Portrait," 70) . This last phrase is especially insidiou s as i t buy s int o th e commonl y voice d an d still-extan t vie w tha t Britis h Jews ar e in som e sens e guest s wh o owe d specia l loyalt y an d gratitud e t o their kin d "hosts. " While she, like most other critics in this study, identifies Joyce's Ulysses (1922) as a shining exception, Klei n concludes that the line from Trollop e to writers of the 1930 s is unbroken. Sh e describes her surprise and disma y when sh e foun d tha t th e representatio n o f th e Je w i n th e literatur e o f England wa s remarkabl y simila r t o thei r representatio n i n Germa n lit erature i n th e perio d betwee n 189 0 and 1933 , a reaction whic h mirrore d my ow n feeling s whe n I identifie d th e remarkabl e similaritie s betwee n the text s o f th e Britis h author s i n m y stud y an d thos e o f th e Germa n Freikorpsmen i n Klau s Theweleit' s study . Klein's work first appeared in the monthly magazine Patterns of Prejudice, the sourc e o f man y significan t article s o n thi s subject . Th e America n magazine Commentary supplie d severa l others . I t i s no t possibl e t o lis t all of thes e articles here, but I will briefly mentio n severa l which, becaus e they mad e ne w connection s rathe r tha n merel y cataloguin g an d identi fying anti-Semitism , I foun d particularl y pertinent . Bryan Cheyette' s article , " H . G . Well s an d th e Jews : Antisemitism , Socialism, an d Englis h Culture " (1988) , t o whic h I als o refe r i n chapte r 1, wa s especiall y usefu l becaus e Cheyett e trace s th e progres s o f Wells' s anti-Semitism rathe r tha n treatin g i t a s a stati c fact . I n Tono-Bungay o f 1909, Wells saw the Jew somewhat a s Trollope did , a s "a cultural symbo l for a corrupt, decayin g capitalist society" (Cheyette, "Wells, " 25). Later , in Marriage (1912) , h e focuse d o n th e sexua l fear s prevalen t i n Britis h anti-Semitism a t tha t time , usin g th e prevailin g imag e o f th e Jew a s so ciety's prostitute. Betwee n 192 0 and 1940 , Wells's anti-Jewish venom was

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turned agains t Zionism , whic h h e fel t t o b e a n expressio n o f Jewis h particularity an d refusal t o assimilate, o r "disappear." Finally , durin g th e Second Worl d War , Wells' s anti-Semitis m foun d expressio n i n his often expressed theor y tha t th e Jew s ha d provoke d (and , on e ca n infer , de served) thei r punishment . I n a late r article , Cheyett e emphasize s th e ambivalence of Shaw' s portrait o f Jews, situatin g him in a British cultura l context i n whic h "th e maste r t e x t . . . i s Matthe w Arnold' s Culture and Anarchy (1869 ) [wit h its ] distinctio n betwee n 'Hebraism ' an d 'Hellen ism.' " 2 7 Cheyette , wh o i s th e autho r o f th e forthcomin g boo k Jewish Representation in English Fiction and Society, 1875-1925: A Study in Semitism, wa s a n importan t resourc e fo r th e presen t study . Gina Mitchell' s articl e o n th e adventur e writer s "Sapper " (Herma n Cyril McNeile ) an d Joh n Buchan , "Caricatur e o f th e Bulldo g Spirit : When Peac e Seem s Dull " (1974) , i s o f interes t her e becaus e o f th e con nections Mitchel l make s betwee n specificall y mal e militarism , wit h it s exaltation o f wa r an d murde r an d it s equatio n o f virilit y an d killing , an d the need t o identify a racially inferior "other " wh o ca n be dehumanized : "labeled t o th e leve l o f a pest wh o shoul d b e exterminated." 28 Mitchel l points ou t tha t thi s verba l dehumanizatio n i s typica l o f th e languag e o f right-wing extremists, including the Nazis, who referred t o the Jews the y were murderin g a s "cargo, " amon g othe r terms . Two article s o n th e representatio n o f Jews i n othe r tha n Britis h liter ature wer e als o especiall y helpful . I n "F . Scot t Fitzgeral d an d Literar y Anti-Semitism" (1947) , Milto n Hindu s describe s Fitzgeral d a s a repre sentative of the "decorative, fashionable, literar y anti-Semitism" commo n in th e literar y world s o f Englan d an d th e Unite d State s i n th e 1920s . I was interested i n th e continuit y Hindu s find s betwee n thi s kin d o f "par lour" anti-Semitis m an d th e les s fashionable , mor e over t variety , a s I came t o a similar conclusio n i n chapte r 1 . I foun d Ver a Ebel s Dolanova' s "O n 'th e Ric h Jew' o f Fassbinder : A n Essay o n Literar y Antisemitism " (1989 ) a n interestin g an d provocativ e argument whic h extend s th e dialogu e int o th e present . I n he r discussio n of the controversy ove r the leftist write r Rainer Werner Fassbinder's pla y "The Garbage , th e City , an d Death " (1975) , Dolanov a make s th e poin t that moder n stereotypica l depiction s o f Jews, regardles s o f authoria l in tention, ar e inextricably linked with ancient images and ancient and recent history, an d author s mus t b e consciou s o f this—as , i n Dolanova' s opin ion, Fassbinde r faile d t o be. 29

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Leslie Fiedle r wrot e th e firs t o f th e work s I wil l discus s her e i n 1949 , a rather larg e chronological ste p backward . However , Fiedler' s theoretica l approach t o th e ongoin g discussio n i s s o fa r ahea d o f hi s tim e tha t I decided t o plac e hi m towar d th e en d rathe r tha n a t th e beginnin g o f thi s discussion. Fiedle r wrote "Wha t Ca n We Do abou t Fagin?" (1949), "Ne gro and Jew, Encounte r i n America" (1960) , an d The Stranger in Shakespeare (1972 ) durin g a twenty-three-year perio d i n whic h hi s increasin g growth o f consciousnes s concernin g issue s o f rac e and gende r i s evident . Nevertheless, becaus e o f Fiedler' s psychoanalyti c orientation , an d be cause i n al l three work s Fiedle r examine s literar y representatio n o f Jew s as part o f a broader stud y o f th e representatio n o f th e "Other " i n liter ature, th e thre e work s for m a cohesiv e whol e an d stan d apar t fro m th e other work s I hav e discusse d s o fa r i n thi s chapter . I wil l accordingl y group the m together , treatin g the m a s a whole. Taking hi s theor y fro m th e field s o f Freudia n psychoanalysis , my thology, an d sociology , Fiedle r attempt s t o answe r on e o f th e question s many of the critics in this chapter have posed: how are we (and for Fiedle r the "we " has , refreshingly , a Jewish referent ) t o dea l wit h a n admire d and canonized author whose texts treat Jews in a stereotypical way? How , Fiedler ask s mor e specifically , ar e w e t o dea l wit h Fagin—tha t demoni c image o f ourselve s tha t ha s bee n preserve d i n literatur e throughou t history? Fiedler frame s an d answer s thi s questio n i n severa l ways . First , h e insists, i t i s essentia l tha t w e locat e th e myt h no t i n ourselves , a s man y of th e critic s w e hav e examine d s o fa r hav e done , bu t rathe r "i n th e barbarous dept h o f th e whit e Gentil e heart." 30 Thoug h theatrical , th e phrase i s significant . I t indicate s Fiedler' s determinatio n t o firmly clos e the door o n th e discourse , promulgate d b y Jew an d Gentil e alike , whic h views anti-Semitis m a s th e Jews' ow n problem : on e w e create d throug h our own behavio r an d our very being and one which onl y we can solve. 31 According t o Fiedler , fo r th e whit e Gentile , th e tas k i s on e o f ac knowledgment: The Gentile must learn for himself that Shylock is the creature of his fantasy and fear, his stratagem to transfer th e evil that haunts us all on to an alien, an Other. 32 For th e Jew, o n th e othe r hand , th e tas k i s on e o f transcendence :

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We mus t translat e fo r ourselves , a s w e read , passionat e avarice , nihilism , and the desire to mutilate, into terms more universal than the mythic, bestia l Jews; th e archetypa l imag e tha t realize s thes e blac k qualitie s is , i n on e sense, no lie; we know such impulses exist, even in us, though not of cours e as we ar e Jews, bu t a s we ar e men . ("Fagin, " 418 ) While Fiedler' s us e o f languag e i n thi s essa y ( " m e n " fo r " h u m a n s , " " b l a c k " fo r "evil" ) i s dated, hi s solutions ar e not. H e first clearl y identifie s t w o group s o f "implie d readers, " wit h differin g need s an d tasks . H e the n focuses o n th e Jewis h " w e " a s implie d reader , discussin g th e differen t options availabl e t o us . Thes e includ e avoidin g th e proble m an d with drawing int o " s o m e spiritua l g h e t t o , " disassociatin g ourselve s fro m th e myth, kidnappin g o r appropriatin g i t fo r ourselves , an d censorin g th e m y t h an d th e literatur e whic h contain s it . Hi s solutio n i s a variet y o f the optio n o f appropriation : w e mus t retai n th e literatur e an d loo k withi n ourselves fo r th e uneasines s w e fee l befor e "thos e terribl e o t h e r s . " Suc h a self-examinatio n ma y revea l internalize d self-hatre d o r ou r o w n p r o pensity t o i n tur n projec t th e m y t h ont o differen t group s o f O t h e r s , suc h as black s ("Fagin, " 100) . H e recapitulate s thi s them e i n The Stranger in Shakespeare: What is demanded of u s . .. i s not so much that we go back into the historical past i n orde r t o reconstruc t wha t me n onc e though t o f Jew s an d witches , but rathe r tha t w e descen d t o th e leve l o f wha t i s th e mos t archai c i n ou r own livin g selve s an d the n confron t th e livin g Shyloc k an d Joan. 33 In hi s examinatio n o f The Merchant of Venice i n " W h a t Ca n W e D o about Fagin? " and , a t greate r length , i n The Stranger in Shakespeare , Fiedler trace s Shyloc k bac k t o th e archetypa l m y t h o f th e evi l father, " t h e male equivalen t o f th e witc h mothe r [and ] lik e he r associate d wit h th e killing an d eatin g o f children " (Stranger, 109) . Fiedle r finds a n earl y reincarnation o f Shylock , th e knife-wielding , devouring , an d castratin g father, i n th e O l d Testamen t stor y o f Abraha m an d Isaa c an d a late r on e in th e castratin g J ew o f earl y ballad s an d moralit y plays . H e convincingl y employs th e theor y o f castratio n anxiet y t o trac e thi s m y t h backwar d t o biblical an d medieva l source s an d forwar d t o th e w o r k o f T . S . Eliot , Ezra Pound , an d t w o o f th e author s I wil l b e focusin g o n here , Charle s Williams an d Graha m Greene . The sense of a threat greate r than that explicitly stated, a threat to sexuality , is reall y ther e i n [The Merchant of Venice] an d i t seem s t o me , eve n th e

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standard atrocit y attribute d t o th e Jew, th e ritua l murde r o f a child, i s a rationalization o f tha t origina l nightmar e o f th e circumcisor , ritua l blad e in hand. ("Fagin, " 414 ) In "Negr o an d Jew : Encounte r i n America, " Fiedle r describe s som e of th e way s i n whic h Africa n an d Jewish American s ar e boun d togethe r and kep t apart . I n literatur e a s i n life , h e argues , th e Negr o ha s tradi tionally embodie d th e "primitiv e an d instinctive " "id " wishe s an d fear s of whit e Gentiles , whil e th e Jew ha s embodie d "th e use s an d abuse s o f intelligence," o r th e "ego " wishe s an d fears . Bot h archetypes , however , are defined b y "th e primitiv e fea r o f th e contaminatio n o f blood " ("Ne gro," 239) . In The Stranger in Shakespeare, Fiedle r effectivel y applie s hi s mode l to Shakespeare' s representation s o f women , blacks , an d Jews . T o him , the effor t t o rehabilitat e Shyloc k throug h sympatheti c directio n o f th e play seem s a n exercis e i n ba d faith—a n unsuccessfu l an d naiv e effor t t o appropriate an d kidna p th e myth . The Merchant of Venice, h e says , "celebrates, certainl y release s ritually , th e ful l horro r o f anti-Semitism . A Jewis h child , eve n now , readin g th e pla y i n a clas s o f Gentiles , feel s this i n sham e an d fear " (Stranger, 98). 34 In hi s examinatio n o f th e woma n a s Othe r i n Shakespeare , Fiedle r explicitly connects the Jew and the woman as Other, th e central paradigm of m y ow n study . Usin g th e theor y o f projectio n whic h I mentione d i n my discussio n o f Fisch , h e identifie s th e mal e fea r o f castratio n a s th e source of male prejudice an d violence against the object o f their projectiv e identification: "Bot h femal e witchcraf t an d Jewis h usury . . . reflect th e male Gentile' s fea r o f los s o f potency " (Stranger, 125) . Fiedler's work is not without its faults. Hi s theory of how "id" qualitie s are attribute d t o black s an d "ego " qualitie s t o Jews , on e commo n t o psychiatrists an d sociologist s wh o hav e studie d prejudice , suc h a s Joe l Kovel, i s of onl y limite d value. 35 I n fact , bot h "id " attributions , suc h a s filth an d sexua l promiscuity, an d "ego " attributions , suc h a s avarice an d scheming, are often embedde d within the same Jewish character, o r appear in differen t Jewis h character s withi n on e book , a s chapter s 3 through 5 will demonstrate. Studies such as John Garrard' s "Now an d Seventy Years Ago," a comparison o f complaint s agains t Jews betwee n 187 0 an d 191 4 and agains t Afro-Carribean s an d Asian s livin g i n th e sam e Eas t En d neighborhood i n th e earl y 1960s , sho w tha t th e stereotype s attribute d t o new immigrants to Britain, whether black or Jewish, are strikingly similar ,

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involving filth, th e spreading of disease, sexual promiscuity, an d "savage " or barbari c socia l customs. 36 Sande r Gilma n als o demonstrate s quit e de finitively ho w the "id" qualities at first attributed t o black characters were shifted ont o Jewish character s when , i n lat e nineteenth-century Europe , Jews wer e see n a s increasingl y threatenin g an d black s a s les s so . "[T]h e very concep t o f colo r i s a quality o f Otherness , no t reality . Fo r no t onl y are blacks black i n this amorphous worl d o f projection, s o too ar e Jews" (Difference, 30) . Fiedler, wh o wrot e befor e th e widesprea d challenge s t o orthodo x Freudian psychoanalyti c theory , i s als o les s tha n convincin g i n th e ap plication o f th e Oedipa l theory , whic h h e sees everywhere an d i n pursui t of whic h h e sometime s seem s t o lea p awa y fro m th e tex t i n question . The language of th e earlier essays also consistently reflect s hi s white mal e assumptions, a s i n th e paragrap h cite d earlie r fro m "Wha t Ca n W e D o about Fagin? " i n whic h h e urge s th e Jewis h reade r t o acknowledg e hi s own "black " feeling s no t a s a Jew bu t a s a "man " (418) . I n th e sam e essay, hi s reference s t o "th e Gentile " an d "Th e Jew " actuall y refe r t o white mal e Gentile s an d whit e mal e Jews, agai n reflectin g hi s white mal e assumption. Thus , hi s importan t thesi s tha t th e fea r o f th e Je w b y th e Gentile i s base d o n a fea r o f litera l o r symboli c castratio n o r los s o f manhood i s marre d b y hi s failur e t o realiz e tha t suc h a theor y ha s n o relevance t o femal e Jew s o r t o blac k femal e Gentiles , t o nam e onl y tw o examples. By 1960 , Fiedler' s awarenes s o f th e racia l Othe r ha s somewha t in creased, bu t h e i s stil l blin d t o th e femal e Other . Hi s fault y belie f tha t the "Negro" has always represented th e id while the Jew has represente d the eg o o r supereg o i s als o marre d b y hi s lac k o f awarenes s o f gende r issues, a s th e Negr o ma n an d woma n clearl y represen t differen t thing s to the white Gentil e man an d woman, a s do the Jewish ma n an d woman . By 1972 , Fiedler has realized tha t women, lik e Jews and blacks, represen t a significant importan t Othe r i n the writing of men, an d he acknowledge s that a "Gentile" can be female, bu t h e is still making th e assumptio n tha t his reader s shar e whitenes s an d malenes s wit h him , speakin g repeatedl y about ho w "we " ar e threatene d b y th e othernes s o f th e femal e an d th e black. These are significant lapses , but we notice them becaus e of, no t in spit e of, Fiedler' s awarenes s o f sexua l an d racia l bia s a s a facto r i n textua l representation. Hi s consciousnes s i n thi s respec t i s s o fa r ahea d o f tha t

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of hi s contemporarie s i n thi s stud y tha t w e expec t mor e o f him , an d subject hi m t o the kind o f feminis t criticis m we would no t attemp t i n th e case of the other, mor e entrenched whit e male critics. Fiedler is an ethica l critic i n Wayn e Booth' s bes t sens e o f th e word : on e wh o consistentl y confronts mora l issue s an d own s u p t o hi s persona l baggag e rathe r tha n pretending t o b e dispassionat e o r objective . Th e question s h e ask s an d the kind s o f connection s h e make s wer e essentia l fo r m e a s I looke d fo r a theoretical model for my own study. Just as Rosenberg's boo k provide d me wit h a soli d bas e t o wor k from , Fiedler' s wor k provide d a kin d o f springboard. "What Ca n W e D o abou t Fagin? " provoke d s o muc h commen t tha t i t led t o a symposium i n 194 9 in Commentary i n which variou s prominen t Jewish Englis h an d America n author s {all male) wer e aske d t o respon d to som e o f th e question s Fiedle r ha d posed . I n a response whic h shock s in 1992 , thes e Jewis h authors , wit h a fe w notabl e exceptions , angril y disowned th e topic, claiming, a s Harry Levi n did, "Ther e is . .. n o reaso n why writer s o f Jewish ancestr y shoul d no t fee l a t home within th e broa d perspective o f Anglo-America n literar y tradition." 37 Harol d Rosenber g accuses Fiedle r o f Jewish paranoia , claimin g tha t Sh y lock i s no differen t from an y othe r Shakespearia n villain , an d i s n o brothe r o f his , an d tha t anyway suc h stereotype s hav e never interfered wit h his reading pleasure . He concludes , rathe r surprisingly , "[A]r t doe s n o harm." 38 Stephe n Spender, afte r assurin g the reader tha t h e is, being only a quarter Jewish, "not a Jew," identifie s th e rea l problem no t a s anti-Semitism, whic h ha s "ennobled, purifie d an d mad e whol e th e Jews i n ou r epoch, " bu t a s th e Jewish problem o f self-consciousness , an d goe s on t o berate Jewish writ ers for dwellin g o n thei r miseries an d t o invite them instea d t o ente r int o the new, livel y tradition, "wher e corpse s an d ideologie s an d racia l griev ances are not admitted." 39 Wit h th e exception o f three American writers , Irving Howe , Kar l Schapiro , an d Alfre d Kazin , thes e writer s see m of fended an d eve n furiou s a t thi s reminde r o f thei r Jewis h identity . "W e are Americans o r English," the y respond , o r "A s creativ e artist s we exis t outside tradition . Wh y bothe r u s wit h th e painfu l an d blood y past? " Fiedler, wh o asks , "[I] n th e ligh t o f D a c h a u . . . wha t respons e ca n w e make t o a cultur e i n whic h s o terribl e an d perilou s a myth o f ourselve s is inextricabl y involved? " ("Fagin, " 416 ) seems , sadly , t o b e i n th e mi nority here .

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Christopher Ricks' s T. S. Eliot and Prejudice (1988 ) is of interes t her e i n terms o f bot h it s subjec t an d it s theory . Eliot , a ke y figur e i n curren t examination o f literar y anti-Semitism , wa s a tremendou s influenc e an d an importan t symboli c figur e fo r Wyndha m Lewis , Charle s Williams , and Graha m Greene , al l thre e o f th e writer s I concentrat e o n here . Th e dialogue whic h too k plac e o n bot h side s o f th e Atlanti c o n th e occasio n of Eliot' s commemoratio n i n 198 9 ha s bee n wel l publicized , wit h on e side maintainin g tha t a n anti-Semit e lik e Elio t deserve s n o commemo ration an d th e othe r sid e arguing eithe r that Elio t was not i n fact a n anti Semite o r tha t hi s wor k deserve s attentio n regardles s o f hi s persona l peccadillos.40 Of th e critic s we hav e examine d s o far wh o discus s Eliot , Rosenberg' s and Klein's moral condemnation an d rejection is unambiguous. However , while h e agree s tha t t o Elio t th e Je w i s "a n objec t o f horror , a symbo l of illegitimat e dispossession , o f bestiality " ("Fagin, " 415) , Fiedle r i s nevertheless eloquen t abou t hi s ow n nee d t o hol d o n t o thi s literar y forefather. The more philistine among us are driven to cry hysterically, "Boycot t the anti-Semite! Don't read the reactionary swine!" But the Jewish intellectual of m y generatio n canno t disow n hi m withou t disownin g a n integral par t of himself.... We are not yet willing to resign from Wester n culture; and speaking English, we cannot afford t o abjure... the voice which has made in our own rhythm and idiom elegant patterns of our arid despair and quiet oases of hope. ("Fagin, " 412) Christopher Ricks' s boo k cover s no t no t onl y Eliot' s representatio n of Jew s bu t als o hi s representatio n o f wome n an d suburbanite s an d hi s textual discussion s o f issue s o f differenc e an d prejudice . Rick s als o use s Eliot a s a model fo r a larger discussio n o f th e natur e o f literar y prejudic e itself. Lik e Fiedler, wh o urge s us to look a t the darkness within , an d lik e Virginia Woolf, wh o i n 194 0 urged he r readers t o find th e "subconsciou s Hitlerism" i n themselves, 41 Rick s object s t o th e traditio n amon g literar y critics, sociologists , an d socia l historians, includin g Gordo n Allpor t an d Sander Gilman , o f th e makin g o f th e prejudice d int o a clas s apart , a pathological "them. " O n thi s poin t Rick s quote s Elio t himself : "Ho w easy i t i s t o se e th e servitud e o f others , thei r obedienc e t o prejudice , t o the grou p amon g whic h the y live . . . and ho w difficul t t o recogniz e an d face ou r own." 42

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Speaking directl y t o som e o f th e question s I posed a t the beginnin g o f this chapter , Rick s posits fou r differen t way s t o conside r th e questio n o f Eliot's anti-Semitism : th e bibliographic , th e historical, th e disassociated , and th e continuous . Predictably , h e rejects th e firs t tw o methods , whic h are used t o th e exclusio n o f al l others b y th e earlie r critic s i n this survey . He als o rejects th e disassociative method espouse d b y most o f th e writer s who responde d t o th e Commentary symposium . Jus t a s Fiedle r main tained tha t t o den y th e dar k myt h i n Shyloc k i s t o sanitiz e o r dishono r the complexit y o f Shakespeare' s play , Rick s feel s tha t "t o maintai n tha t Eliot's relatio n t o anti - Semitis m i s one thing , hi s poems ar e another " i s to ignor e Eliot' s complexit y a s a poe t (71) . Th e anti-Semitis m "i s no t easily o r neatl y t o b e severe d fro m thing s fo r whic h th e poetr y i s not t o be deplored o r forgive n bu t activel y praised" (72) . Ricks's choic e is what he call s th e continuou s method , "whic h believe s tha t th e matte r o f anti Semitism ha s a particular importanc e becaus e i t canno t b e isolate d fro m the large r issue s o f categorizin g an d prejudic e i n Eliot' s poetry " (61) . This method implie s a close, even microscopic examinatio n o f th e text s involving Eliot' s us e o f Jews an d o f women . I t als o involve s th e makin g of distinctions between the degrees and kinds of prejudice involved . Rick s discusses th e sam e objectionabl e passage s pinpointe d b y othe r critic s i n the poem s "Gerontion, " "Burban k wit h a Baedeker : Bleistei n wit h a Cigar," "Sweene y Amon g th e Nightingales, " an d "Dirge " an d i n th e essay "Afte r Strang e Gods. " Wha t i s ne w i s hi s identificatio n o f th e method o f "profound insinuation " b y which Eliot uses his lines to trigge r the reader' s ow n prejudice , a "precipitate collusion " whic h Rick s claim s is a n intrinsi c par t o f Eliot' s purpos e rathe r tha n a demonstration o f th e poet's ow n prejudice. 43 Another devic e which Rick s points ou t i s the techniqu e o f givin g suc h offensive line s a s these i n "Gerontion, " "M y hous e i s a decayed house, / And th e Je w squat s o n th e windowsill , th e owner, " t o a n unreliabl e narrator. A s Rick s ask s i n thi s case , "Wh o woul d wis h t o b e he , an d what endorsemen t the n i s bein g aske d fo r thought s o f hi s dr y brai n i n its dr y season? " (29) . Whil e th e degre e t o whic h th e poe t doe s i n fac t inhabit thi s particular narrato r i s debatable, th e point i s an important on e and on e ofte n neglecte d b y les s sophisticate d critics . I n makin g thes e distinctions, a s Rick s point s out , h e i s counterin g th e schoo l o f though t espoused by Bruno Bettelheim, amon g others, which maintains "tha t an y discriminations withi n anti-Semitism.. . ar e gratuitou s an d indulgent " and whic h hold s tha t an y attempt s a t "rational " discussio n o f suc h a n

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irrational phenomeno n a s anti-Semitis m o r racism , apar t fro m a blanke t condemnation, i s itsel f a collusion an d a blaming o f th e victi m (29) . Ricks enter s much shakie r groun d whe n h e calls for a n examination o f the cause s o f prejudic e withi n th e objec t o f th e prejudice: "Th e fac t tha t there could , appallingly , b e n o doub t i n th e cas e o f Hitle r an d th e Jew s should no t b e allowe d t o petrif y o r putref y ou r entir e worl d int o on e i n which al l prejudice i s indubitabl e i n bein g entirel y dissociate d fro m an y antecedent causes , provocation , o r evidence " (76) . The word s "evidence " an d "provocation " impl y a kin d o f rationa l connection i n whic h on e thin g cause s another ; prejudic e i n it s ver y def inition doe s no t wor k thi s way. I find Fiedler' s insistenc e o n locatin g th e prejudice withi n th e prejudiced , no t withi n hi s victim , fa r preferabl e a s well a s more logical . Nevertheless , Ricks' s effor t t o comba t th e pressur e against rationa l discussio n o f anti-Semitis m an d othe r form s o f prejudic e is an important one . Th e refusa l t o loo k closel y i s a kind o f throwin g u p of th e hand s i n despair— a withdrawa l which , I believe , i s not usefu l t o anyone i n th e end . Th e T . S . Elio t Rick s show s u s i s a comple x an d contradictory man , an d Rick s doe s no t attemp t t o defen d o r condem n him. Neithe r doe s h e attemp t t o gues s a t th e influenc e Eliot' s anti Semitism ha s had , o r t o explai n th e socia l o r persona l patholog y whic h could lea d Elio t t o writ e suc h disparat e line s abou t Jews withi n th e sam e time period. Wha t h e does instea d i s to subjec t Eliot' s reference s t o Jew s and t o prejudic e an d anti-Semitism , i n bot h hi s poem s an d hi s critica l writing, t o suc h a clos e scrutin y tha t h e split s th e text s open , allowin g them t o revea l mor e tha n w e woul d hav e though t possible . Postscript: The Discourse of Power Most o f th e critic s I hav e discusse d s o fa r looke d onl y a t th e treatmen t of Jew s i n th e variou s work s the y scrutinize . Rick s an d Fiedler , wh o alone among the critics in this chapter examine the representation o f Jews in th e large r contex t o f th e textua l representatio n o f th e Other , mak e a bridge t o thos e curren t poststructuralis t critic s whos e focu s i s th e rep resentation o f th e Other . Thi s focus , whic h ha s variousl y bee n calle d "the rhetori c o f power" an d "discours e an d power" i s usually associate d with Miche l Foucaul t an d Edwar d Said. 44 Whil e critic s wh o migh t b e placed i n thi s grou p diffe r widel y an d includ e thos e wh o defin e thei r approaches primaril y a s psychoanalytic , Marxist , deconstructionist , o r

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feminist, i t i s safe t o conclud e tha t mos t o f the m rejec t th e Ne w Critica l concept of the text as an isolated object for study and stress that all cultural discourse i s a production o f socia l an d economi c force s an d thu s reflect s the dominan t ideolog y o f th e existin g powe r structure . Fo r example , i n Orientalism, Sai d demonstrate s ho w th e Wester n myt h o f th e "Orient " and th e "Oriental " ha s been constructed throug h generation s o f Wester n ethnocentric discourse. 45 As we have already seen, Terry Eagleton, whos e orientation i s primarily Marxist , als o stresse s th e complet e indivisibilit y of th e tw o concept s o f literatur e an d ideology . I n hi s model , on e whic h would have been endorsed b y the earliest critics in this chapter, Philipson , Calisch, an d Modder , literatur e i s a powerful forc e whic h i s itself a for m of "social control and social cement" {Literary Theory, 23-24) . An earlie r theorist, Loui s Althusser, expresse s a similar sense of the interrelatednes s of literature an d ideology : "ar t make s us see... th e ideology fro m whic h it i s bor n i n whic h i t bathes , fro m whic h i t detache s itsel f a s art , an d t o which i t alludes." 46 Just a s ideolog y determine s wha t i s writte n an d published , s o doe s i t determine what is excluded. As Michel Foucault emphasizes: "Individual s working within certain discursive practices cannot think or speak withou t obeying th e unspoke n 'archive ' o f rule s an d constraints ; otherwis e the y risk bein g condemne d t o madnes s o r silence." 47 Even th e mos t effectiv e "strategie s o f containment " ar e no t entirel y successful, an d eve n th e mos t inclusiv e ideologie s contai n ambivalence . As th e theorie s o f bot h Rolan d Barthe s an d Jacques Derrid a stress , i t i s important t o loo k no t onl y a t wha t a tex t set s ou t t o d o bu t a t wha t happens whe n i t transgresses it s own law s an d definition s o r undermine s itself. I n chapter s 4 throug h 6 , whil e I hav e no t attempte d t o adop t th e dominant poststructuralis t vocabulary , I hav e trie d t o b e awar e o f un derlying ideolog y a s well a s societa l constraint s an d containment . I wil l en d m y surve y wit h a discussion o f tw o recen t poststructuralis t texts which , whil e the y d o no t confin e themselve s t o th e representatio n of Jews, rais e som e importan t issue s abou t tha t representation . Henry Loui s Gates , Jr. i s the editor o f the anthology "Race," Writing, and Difference, Thi s collection , whic h originall y appeare d i n tw o issue s of Critical Inquiry i n 198 5 an d 1986 , i s th e wor k o f man y hands ; i t contains essay s by twenty-tw o theorist s a s well as several "responses " t o these essays. Because they seemed particularly german e to my own study , I was especially interested in those essays which concern writing by whites

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about blacks . Mos t o f thes e essay s demonstrat e how , a s Gate s writes , "In muc h o f th e thinkin g abou t th e prope r stud y o f literatur e i n thi s century, [race ] ha s bee n a n invisibl e quantity , a persisten t ye t implici t presence." 48 Th e constructe d paradig m o f "race " consistentl y objectifie s people o f color , wh o ar e textualize d a s invisibl e and/o r subhuma n pro jections o n th e par t o f whit e authors . Mos t o f thes e essay s ar e dauntin g in thei r vocabulary , seemin g t o visualiz e a s thei r implie d reade r othe r contemporary literar y theorists . Despit e thi s difficulty , severa l o f the m served a s model s o f intellectua l brillianc e fo r me , expandin g m y critica l vocabulary an d i n man y case s th e bound s o f m y ow n vision . However , "Race," Writing, and Difference als o contain s a disturbing subtext . Edward W . Said' s essa y "A n Ideolog y o f Difference " attack s Israel i imperialism, which, he argues, is a dominant ideology which has produced harmful an d deepl y racis t textua l representation s o f Palestinians . I n thi s essay, Sai d refer s repeatedl y t o "Israel' s mor e muscula r supporters . . . the largest , wealthies t an d mos t organize d Jewis h communit y i n th e world—the on e i n th e Unite d States, " whic h h e claim s ha s move d o n several front s sinc e th e Israel i invasio n i n 198 2 t o censor , punish , an d attack al l critics o f Israel. 49 In particular , Sai d labels two book s whic h h e considers anti-Palestinia n a s "instruments " o f thi s conspiracy . Whil e Said's argument s ar e convincing, an d hi s ange r powerful, i t i s ironic tha t the author of an article about "the ideology of difference fuelin g Zionism " should sli p s o easil y int o th e Jewish conspirac y myt h w e encountere d i n chapter 1 . By ignoring th e Jewish force s fo r peac e and settlemen t i n bot h the Unite d State s an d i n Israe l an d lumpin g al l Jew s togethe r a s on e wealthy, organize d communit y inten t o n destruction , h e reproduce s a familiar text , privilege d b y centurie s o f repetition . In a "reaction " t o thi s essay , Housto n A . Bake r writes : It is difficult t o hear a Palestinian voice separate from th e world o f Jewish discourse. (Of course, Jews are not likely to feel this way, and will probably call for Said' s head on a platter. Bu t that is the necessary reaction of wellfinanced clien t states.) 50 Baker's first sentenc e refer s i n th e singula r t o " a Palestinia n voice. " H e opposes thi s lon e individua l voic e t o "th e worl d o f Jewish discourse" — again makin g Jew s int o a n organize d an d oppressiv e group : a whol e "world." H e the n make s a quick biblica l referenc e t o "Said' s hea d o n a platter," a biblical associatio n t o eithe r th e Jewish woma n Salome , wh o

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demanded an d go t th e hea d o f th e (pre-Christian ) Joh n th e Baptis t o n a platter, o r t o th e Ol d Testamen t Judith , anothe r Jewis h woma n wh o stealthily sle w th e Assyria n genera l Holoferne s whil e h e wa s aslee p an d showed hi s hea d t o he r countrymen , wh o the n rushe d i n t o defea t hi s army. 51 I n both references, "Jews " a re picture d a s a stealthy female inten t on th e decapitatio n (o r symboli c castration ) an d murde r o f Said—th e lone, non-Jewis h mal e who i s the representative o f his vulnerable people . This imag e too , i s a familiar one , whic h wil l appea r ove r an d ove r agai n in th e misogynis t an d anti-Semiti c text s i n thi s study . Finally , i n a quic k jump, Bake r transform s "Jews " int o "well-finance d clien t states, " pre sumably a referenc e t o th e dependenc e o f Israe l o n th e Unite d States . Once again , h e i s back o n familia r groun d wit h thi s imag e o f al l Jews a s rich an d greed y warmongers . Suc h labelin g undermine s th e purpos e o f a book presumabl y devote d t o th e debunkin g o f th e harmfu l constructio n of race . In hi s "reaction " t o th e book , Tzveta n Todoro v wonder s whethe r th e authors i n th e antholog y chos e t o "activel y ignore " anti-Semitism 52 (Gates, 377) . Whil e I hav e n o quarre l wit h Gates' s definitio n o f "race, " it doe s see m t o m e tha t th e inclusio n o f th e materia l I hav e describe d does mor e tha n t o ignore : i t activel y embed s th e familia r discours e o f anti-Semitism int o a vehicle whos e purpos e is , a s Gate s put s it , t o chal lenge th e concep t o f rac e a s " a trop e o f ultimate , irreducibl e difference " (5). At issue here is the need for critics who are studying the representatio n of the "Other" to, as Fiedler put it, look within ourselves for "that terribl e other" rather than to complacently assum e that we ourselves exist outsid e of th e ideolog y o f power . In hi s boo k Difference and Pathology, a n examinatio n o f th e trope s o f sexuality, race , an d madness , Sande r Gilma n make s no suc h assumption . Gilman reason s tha t human s for m stereotype s i n orde r t o tr y t o gai n control ove r a n uncontrollabl e universe . Textua l stereotype s ar e " a ric h web o f sign s an d reference s fo r th e ide a o f differenc e [which ] aris e ou t of a society' s communa l sens e o f contro l ove r it s world " (20) . Gilma n uses th e psychoanalyti c concep t o f splittin g t o explai n ho w eac h in dividual strive s t o achiev e suc h control . I n thi s model , a chil d split s the worl d an d himsel f int o goo d an d bad . Th e ba d sel f i s then distance d and place d a t a remove , an d th e worl d ca n b e safel y divide d int o th e good sel f (us ) an d th e ba d Othe r (them) . Stereotype s are :

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[a] crude set of mental representations of the world... palimpsests on which the initial bipolar representations ar e still vaguely legible. They perpetuate a neede d sens e o f differenc e betwee n th e "self " an d th e "object " whic h becomes the "Other." {Difference ', 18 ) Stereotypes are particularly needed when an individual experiences anxiety du e t o a n alteratio n o f th e sens e of orde r (real or imagined ) betwee n himself an d th e Othe r {Difference, 20) . Th e pathologica l personality , whose boundarie s ar e mor e tha n ordinaril y shaky , consequentl y ha s a n exaggerated nee d t o stereotype . Suc h an individual "see s the entire worl d in term s o f th e rigid lin e o f difference " {Difference, 18) . Gilman see s the making of stereotypica l image s as a combined produc t of the universal need to split and dichotomize and of historical and cultural circumstances. H e explain s th e fluid , shifting , an d ofte n contradictor y locus of the stereotypes i n terms o f shifting historica l an d cultura l image s of th e Other. Althoug h a particular stereotyp e ma y b e activated b y a real experience with a person o r group , stereotype s can , a s we sa w in chapte r 1, als o exis t i n th e absenc e o f th e grou p i n questio n {Difference, 20) . Gilman suggest s tha t stereotype s d o no t exis t a s isolate d phenomena , but instead function lik e metaphors, which in turn cluster other associative assumptions aroun d them . Gilma n use s Stephe n Pepper' s ter m "roo t metaphor" to describe the original stereotype or metaphor which becomes a clusterin g bas e aroun d whic h one' s assumptiv e realit y ca n b e framed . Because stereotypes ar e not isolated images but rather associative clusters, their branches become connected an d interrelated. Gilma n comments tha t otherwise insightful studie s of textual stereotypes ofte n los e sight of thes e interrelationships {Difference, 26) . In his discussion o f th e stereotype s o f sexuality, h e writes : "Wha t i s fascinatin g t o m e abou t th e se t o f image s in the texts I have chosen i s that the y link certai n foca l point s o f anxiety . The black , th e proletarian , th e child , th e woman , an d th e avant-gard e are al l associate d i n a web o f analogies " {Difference, 37) . Just a s Gilman's other conclusions parallel many of my own, hi s "foca l points" ar e similar to thos e I locate in the three author s i n this study . A s we will see in chapte r 4 , Wyndham Lewis , th e first autho r I will discuss , devotes entir e book s t o eac h o f thes e shiftin g foca l point s fo r hi s drea d and anxiety . I discovere d Gilman' s boo k onl y afte r completin g th e first draf t o f m y own, an d wa s intereste d t o se e the differen t way s i n whic h hi s findings, based o n a n entirel y differen t grou p o f texts , parallele d m y own .

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Conclusion In th e introductio n t o thi s book , I looked bac k an d identifie d th e reade r I wa s a t fifteen a s naive . Similarly , th e critic s wh o first studie d th e rep resentation o f Jew s i n Britis h literatur e ma y appea r naiv e t o thos e o f u s who swim in a critical pond which includes the ultrasophisticated criticis m of suc h master s o f th e subtl e a s Laca n an d Derrida . Most , thoug h no t all, o f th e critic s i n th e first par t o f thi s chapte r define d th e contour s o f their task in a fairly limite d way: as the identification, th e condemnation , and sometime s th e classificatio n o f stereotype s o f Jews . Nevertheless, w e must not b e too quic k t o dismis s these initial and ke y acts of naming , no r th e tone o f mora l urgenc y whic h fuele d them . Thes e predominantly Jewish scholars wrote in the absence of any contemporar y examination of anti-Semitism or of the representation of Jews in literature. Wayne Booth , discussin g th e need o f moder n critic s t o separat e doctrin e from aesthetics , cite s the problem face d b y th e judges who ha d t o decid e whether t o awar d th e Bollinge n Priz e t o Ezr a Pound' s Cantos i n 1948 . These " 'goo d poems ' expressing abhorren t doctrines " were awarded th e prize in the end , th e committe e o f writers explainin g tha t th e contest ha d to d o wit h th e us e o f languag e rathe r tha n wit h doctrine . Non e o f th e earlier critics in this survey would hav e been troubled b y such a problem, and non e o f the m woul d hav e le t Ezr a Poun d anywher e nea r th e prize . In fact , o f al l th e critic s i n thi s survey , onl y Christophe r Rick s absolve s himself fro m th e tas k o f "guessin g a t th e influenc e Eliot' s anti-Semitis m has had, eithe r o n th e world o f literatur e o r outsid e tha t world " o r fro m any explanatio n o f th e socia l backgroun d o r persona l patholog y whic h could lead to Eliot's disparate textual statements abou t Jews (Ricks , 101) . Interestingly, th e contemporar y critic s i n th e postscrip t t o thi s chapter , writing from a methodology very different fro m an d far more consciousl y elucidated tha n tha t o f th e earlie r critics , shar e wit h the m a definition o f literature a s a powerful forc e o f "socia l contro l an d socia l cement " an d a sense that the critic's task is a moral as well as an aesthetic one (Eagleton , Literary Theory, 23-24) . Rosenberg, Trachtenberg , Fisch , Klein , an d Fiedler , wh o envisione d a less direct connection among author, text , and society, did not withdra w from th e ethica l criticis m whic h wa s th e earlie r critics ' focu s bu t wer e increasingly awar e o f th e dualit y an d ambivalenc e i n th e Gentil e repre sentation o f Jews . The y studie d bot h positiv e an d negativ e stereotype s

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and approached eac h of a n author's works separately, rathe r than treatin g them a s a monolithi c whole . Th e earlie r critic s al l fel t tha t a n author' s personal behavio r an d hi s o r he r ow n self-definitio n a s a toleran t o r prejudiced perso n wer e relevan t informatio n fo r thei r tas k o f judgment . Critics wh o wrot e withi n th e join t context s o f psychoanalysi s an d th e New Critica l discourse , includin g Fisch , Rosenberg , an d Fiedler , tende d to exclud e suc h biographica l informatio n abou t th e author , focusin g in stead o n th e unconsciou s revelation s o f th e text . Fo r th e mos t recen t critics, a stron g focu s o n th e tex t an d a disregar d o f authoria l intentio n and presenc e i s coupled , no t alway s consistently , wit h a focus o n socia l and historica l context . For th e mos t part , th e earlies t critics , includin g Philipson , Calisch , and Modder , viewe d anti-Semitis m i n literature a s a phenomenon whic h was graduall y bu t steadil y disappearing , makin g wa y fo r mor e positiv e and realisti c portrait s o f Jews . Surprisingly , chronolog y wa s no t th e only determinin g facto r here : M . J . Landa , i n 1926 , wa s a s pessimisti c in hi s historica l outloo k a s th e post-Holocaus t critics , an d Montag u Modder, i n 1939 , offere d th e mos t optimisti c forecas t o f all . I n th e years immediatel y followin g th e Secon d Worl d Wa r suc h optimis m wa s no longe r possible , an d gav e wa y t o a vie w o f th e Jewis h stereotyp e as either a n unchangin g give n o r a s a phenomenon whic h ha d worsene d with time . However , wit h th e passag e o f time , anti-Semitis m bega n t o be see n a s a les s pressin g societa l issue , leadin g t o a boo k lik e Gates' s anthology, whic h incorporate d a n anti-Semiti c subtex t int o a discussio n of textua l racism . Finally, th e critic s I hav e discusse d i n thi s chapte r concerne d them selves i n varyin g degree s wit h th e origin s o f th e anti-Semitis m the y identified. Th e earlie r critics , fo r th e mos t par t avoide d thi s question , relying o n ethics , relativel y clos e reading , an d commo n sens e t o for m their judgments . Late r critics , mor e concerne d wit h th e origin s o f anti Semitism, hav e found suc h belief system s a s Marxism an d psychoanalysi s increasingly useful . Fo r Fiedler , th e psychoanalyti c approac h mean t a n orthodox Freudianism , wit h it s focu s o n th e Oedipa l challeng e an d castration anxiety . Fo r Gilman , i t mean t a n object s relation s theor y close t o th e on e whic h I will emplo y i n thi s study . Fo r th e mos t curren t critics, includin g Gate s an d Said , curren t critica l theory , a professiona l discourse wit h it s ow n method s an d vocabulary , ha s increasingl y take n center stage .

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In undertaking my own study, I found th e identification an d groundin g supplied b y th e earlie r critics , especiall y Rosenberg , invaluable . A s a model fo r m y ow n work , however , I turne d t o thos e critics , beginnin g with Fiedler , wh o viewe d th e representatio n o f Jew s withi n th e large r context o f th e treatmen t o f variou s group s o f Others .

T H R E E

In Search of a Psychoanalytic Theory

A Composite Profile The mor e closel y I approache d th e wor k o f th e thre e author s i n thi s study, th e clearer it became to me that for eac h of them the representatio n of Jew s wa s integrall y tie d u p wit h th e representatio n o f women , an d both wer e par t o f a n intricat e associativ e cluste r o r defensiv e system ; a s Gilman put s it , "heuristi c structure s tha t th e sel f use s t o integrat e th e various stereotype s associate d b y analogy " (Gilman , Difference and Pathology, 22) . A s I studie d thes e structures , eac h on e seeme d t o tak e o n a lif e an d shap e o f it s own , an d I sa w eac h system' s capacit y t o tak e i n new material to incorporate or transform int o its own image. In the course of m y research , I bega n t o refe r t o thes e system s privatel y a s "extrusio n presses," a n imag e I late r applie d t o th e wor k o f Charle s William s i n particular. Thi s imag e originate d i n a memory o f a set o f variousl y size d and shape d machine s I sa w a s a child whe n m y metallurgis t fathe r too k me t o wor k wit h him . Me n fe d ra w molte n meta l int o th e complicate d coils o f thes e machines, eac h o f whic h produce d o r extrude d a variety o f molded metalli c sausage s a t th e othe r end . Similarly , eac h o f th e thre e authorial systems looked differen t an d utilized differen t mechanisms , bu t each on e produce d surprisingl y simila r interlockin g stereotypica l an d symbolic representation s o f Jews an d women . To tur n t o a different metaphor , I began t o se e that while eac h writer / director stage d hi s ow n play , i n which wome n an d Jews playe d idiosyn cratic an d differen t parts , crossin g an d meetin g i n differen t ways , eac h one worke d fro m th e sam e basi c plot. Befor e movin g t o a consideratio n of th e theorist s whos e wor k helpe d m e t o construc t m y ow n psychoan alytic theory , I wil l accordingl y describ e a large r authoria l system : th e common "press " o r plo t whic h emerge d fro m thi s stud y an d whic h I 78

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here ascribe to a composite implied authorial profile. I will use this profil e in th e ensuin g page s t o concretiz e a discussio n o f theor y whic h coul d otherwise becom e to o abstrac t an d ungrounded . Durin g th e cours e o f this discussio n I wil l allo w mysel f t o shif t a t time s fro m a n analysi s o f this implie d profil e t o a n analysi s o f a particula r autho r himself , bu t I will attemp t t o signa l clearl y whe n I a m shiftin g groun d i n thi s way . In the work o f Wyndham Lewis , Graha m Greene , an d Charles Williams, the woman i s seen a s distinctly "Other. " A s such sh e is sometimes ideal ized, mor e often denigrated , bu t never regarded a s a fellow huma n being . She is the objec t sometime s o f attraction , mos t ofte n o f disgus t an d con tempt, emotion s whic h ar e directe d a t he r min d o r inne r bein g an d a t her body, an d are specifically fixed upon her breasts, mouth, an d genitals; that is , upo n he r sexua l (o r childbearing ) self . Fo r thes e authors , th e sexual an d reproductiv e aspec t o f th e woma n take s o n a larger-than-lif e quality. I t make s he r bot h dangerou s an d powerful ; throug h i t sh e ca n engulf th e helples s mal e i n a kind o f swallowin g u p o r subsuming . Thi s terror ca n b e expresse d i n literal , physica l terms : th e mal e character s i n Williams's "ghos t stories" repeatedly lose their physical shapes, and Lew is's mal e character s fea r bein g transforme d int o women . O r i t ca n b e expressed i n more psychological terms, a s when Greene' s mal e character s desperately fea r tha t thei r tru e evi l an d cowardl y inne r selve s wil l b e exposed b y virtuou s an d engulfin g women . All three writers perceive their own boundaries as especially vulnerable, easily entere d int o o r destroye d b y th e invasiv e female . Sometimes , i n contrast t o th e evil , usuall y whoris h woman , ther e exist s a good one— a young, powerles s virgi n wh o nonetheles s embodie s th e femal e threa t o f engulfment a s much or more than her counterpart, an d must be destroye d or dominated. Whethe r th e woman i n question i s defined a s good o r evil , violent aggressio n agains t her is textualized a s a necessary defensiv e mea sure against her female force. Sometime s this aggression appears as a direct countermeasure agains t femal e attack , whil e a t othe r time s th e attac k i s a preemptive move— a safet y measur e undertake n t o preven t th e woma n from doin g he r worst . Despit e thes e attacks , th e woma n i s mos t ofte n the victor , whil e th e man , ostensibl y th e aggressor , i s almos t invariabl y seen a s th e victim . While positive relationship s i n these writers' books ar e few, thos e tha t do occur are largely between tw o men, an d homoerotic element s abound ,

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although al l thre e o f th e writer s ar e aggressivel y heterosexual . Lewis , whose work is the most profoundly homoeroti c of the three, demonstrate s a fea r an d loathin g o f effeminat e me n whic h i s almos t a s stron g an d obsessive a s his fear an d loathin g o f women. Greene' s character s struggl e desperately an d usuall y unsuccessfully t o maintain thei r shak y manhood , while Williams' s characters , les s overtl y viril e i n presentation , shar e a propensity towar d a form o f sexua l sadism in which women ar e punishe d "for thei r ow n good. " The rol e playe d b y th e Jewis h characte r i s somewha t mor e varied , though equall y boun d b y availabl e historical an d mythic possibilities. H e is almos t inevitabl y male , wit h Jewis h wome n appearin g onl y twic e i n all of th e books i n question , an d the n onl y i n walk-on roles . I n th e wor k of all three authors he is at times seen as an effeminate man— a horrifyingl y hermaphroditic lin k t o th e loathsom e female . A s such , h e exhibit s th e "female" traits of physical weakness, cringing cowardice, greed, pettiness, and corruptibility. H e can alternatively embody a rapacious male sexuality which is both perverse and powerful. I n this guise, he corrupts the virginal females, stealin g the m fro m th e victimize d Gentil e male . A t hi s mos t dangerous, h e i s the Gentil e male' s castrato r o r murderer , usuall y actin g in leagu e wit h th e woman . Anothe r role , ofte n assume d simultaneousl y with the last, is that of the all-powerful mastermin d who runs, or scheme s to run , th e world , an d who , i n leagu e wit h wome n and/o r homosexual s and often wit h othe r member s o f a designated "Other " (children , blacks , communists, member s o f th e workin g class , an d foreigner s ar e al l prim e candidates), victimizes , enslaves , o r castrate s th e helples s an d powerles s male. I n thi s chapter , I wil l briefl y discus s th e differen t theorist s whos e work forme d m y theoretica l framework , attemptin g t o sho w ho w eac h one shed s ligh t o n th e profil e above . The Theorists The Monstrous Male: Virginia Woolf, Kate Millett, and Klaus Theweleit. Among th e man y importan t feminis t theorist s wh o fin d a n explanatio n for persona l an d socia l patholog y i n th e socia l conditionin g o f men , Virginia Woolf an d Kat e Millett, eac h a pioneer i n her time , consistentl y linked th e misogyn y whic h wa s th e mai n subjec t o f thei r theorie s wit h racism. Virginia Wool f wa s bor n i n 1882 , th e sam e yea r a s Wyndham Lewis ,

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l

the earlies t o f th e thre e author s I wil l discuss . A n influentia l novelist , critic, an d feminis t theorist , Wool f wa s a contemporar y o f al l thre e o f the author s i n thi s study , wh o refe r t o he r wit h attitude s rangin g fro m fury (Williams ) t o a guarded respec t (Greene) . I n Three Guineas (1938 ) Woolf reflect s o n wha t sh e calle d th e psychopatholog y o f masculinism : the trait s i n me n whic h seeme d t o caus e the m t o lov e t o fight, divide , and dominate. x Wool f fel t tha t man's primar y dominatio n o f women wa s the roo t o f hi s nee d t o dominat e othe r groups . There [i n th e dominatio n o f women ] w e hav e i n embry o th e creature , Dictator a s we call him when h e is Italian o r German , wh o believe s tha t he has the right, whether given by God, Nature, sex, or race is immaterial, to dictate to other human beings how they shall live; what they shall do.2 Unlike late r feminis t theorists , includin g Mar y Daly , Susa n Griffin , and Luc e Irigaray , whos e writin g reflect s thei r belie f i n innat e feminin e superiority, Wool f reason s tha t me n ar e bor n whol e bu t ar e quickl y programmed throug h th e conspirac y o f societie s tha t "sin k th e privat e b r o t h e r . . . an d inflat e i n his stead a monstrous male , lou d o f voice , har d of fist," who , unlike his sister, is consumed with the principles of division, separation, power , an d dominio n (Thre>? Guineas, 105) . Woolf neve r underestimates th e power o f tha t conditioning , whic h sh e feels ha s becom e par t o f men' s bodie s an d brains , jus t a s the wil d rabbi t differs i n its brain an d body fro m th e rabbit i n the hutch (Three Guineas, 140).3 Dominance , sh e reasons , ha s becom e s o muc h a part o f th e mal e role that unteaching it will take "millennia, no t decades " (Three Guineas, 142). In England sh e locates that conditioning for dominatio n specificall y in universit y education , whic h wa s restricte d t o me n an d taugh t the m "the arts of dominating othe r people . .. o f ruling, o f killing, o f acquirin g land an d capital " (Three Guineas, 34) . I n German y thi s programmin g produced a Hitler: "the quintessenc e o f virility, th e perfect typ e of whic h all the other s ar e imperfec t adumbrations " (Three Guineas, 187) . In th e first chapte r o f he r book , Women Against the Iron Fist, Sybi l Oldfield demonstrate s tha t th e lin k whic h Wool f point s ou t betwee n th e male need t o dominat e wome n an d hi s need t o dominat e othe r group s i s far from new . She shows how, in the late 1800s, Bismarck and his disciple, Heinrich vo n Treitschke , persistentl y groupe d war , manliness , an d th e "Aryan" rac e together, similarl y conflating peac e with femininity an d th e lesser races. 4 Marinetti's Futurist Manifesto o f 1909 , which Oldfiel d call s

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"an extraordinar y premonitio n o f th e woman-despisin g necrophili a o f fascism," similarl y declares : We want to glorify war—th e world's only hygiene—militarism, deed , destructor of anarchisms, the beautiful idea s that are death- bringing, and the contempt of women. (Oldfield , 12 ) Woolfs descriptio n o f "monstrou s men, " preoccupie d wit h division , separation, power, an d dominion, i s congruent with our authorial profile , which reflect s hierarcha l dichotomies , assumption s o f domination , an d contempt an d fea r o f wome n an d Jews . He r comment s o n th e rol e o f education fo r dominatio n ar e also applicable t o ou r profile , althoug h sh e concentrates o n th e university rathe r than , a s I shall do a t the en d o f thi s chapter, o n earlie r boardin g schoo l education . In he r ground-breakin g book , Sexual Politics (1969) , Kat e Millet t take s up th e argumen t wher e Virgini a Wool f lef t off , an d extend s i t t o textua l representation. Millett' s focu s i s o n "patriarcha l government . . . the in stitution whereb y tha t hal f o f th e populac e whic h i s female i s controlle d by tha t hal f whic h i s male." 5 Millett, lik e Woolf, locate s mal e patholog y not i n biolog y bu t i n socia l conditioning , whic h i s enforce d b y patriar chy's chie f institution , th e nuclea r family , an d whic h "run s i n a circle of self-perpetuation an d self-fulfillin g prophecy " (53) . I n ou r patriarcha l society, accordin g t o Millett , gende r i s endowe d wit h th e pervasiv e an d determining forc e whic h Marxis t theorist s hav e traditionally reserve d fo r class. "Because of our social circumstances," she writes, "male and femal e are reall y tw o culture s an d thei r lif e experience s ar e utterl y different " (53). I n suc h a culture , relation s betwee n me n an d wome n fal l int o a dichotomous patter n o f dominanc e an d victimization : a patter n whic h we wil l find repeate d agai n an d agai n i n work s b y Lewis , Williams , an d Greene. Ou r thre e author s woul d agree tha t mal e an d femal e ar e tw o cultures wit h differen t lif e experiences , bu t se e th e mal e cultur e a s th e only tru e one— a beleaguere d an d preciou s entit y whic h wome n ar e at tempting t o infiltrat e an d infect . Th e sadis m an d dominanc e Millet t cite s become in this frame a necessary defense against the process of infiltration . In Millett' s words : "Patriarchal societie s typicall y lin k feelings o f cruelt y with sexuality , th e latte r ofte n equate d bot h wit h evi l an d wit h powe r . . . the rul e her e associate s sadis m wit h th e male . . . and victimizatio n with th e female " (70) .

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Millett, lik e Woolf , consistentl y link s misogyn y wit h racism . Gilma n noted the textual similarities between the Victorian representation o f Jews and blacks , bot h group s bein g inscribe d wit h th e sam e trait s an d eve n the same appearance. Millett notes that studies of commonly held attitude s toward black s an d women revea l that thes e two group s als o are inscribe d with th e sam e traits , includin g "inferio r intelligence , a n instinctua l o r sensual gratification , a n emotiona l natur e bot h primitiv e an d childlike , an imagined prowes s i n or affinit y fo r sexuality.. . a wily habit o f deceit , and concealmen t o f feeling.. . a n ingratiatin g o r supplicator y manne r invented t o please " (86) . With th e exceptio n o f inferio r intelligence , on e o f th e fe w qualitie s rarely ascribe d t o th e stereotypica l Jew , al l o f thes e attribute s ca n b e found i n Rosenberg' s an d Fiedler' s description s o f th e Jew-Villain i n m y chapter 2 . Millett's exploratio n o f th e relationshi p betwee n anti-Semitis m an d misogyny i n the Third Reic h is especially relevant here. She demonstrate s that th e Naz i regim e attempte d "probabl y th e mos t deliberat e attemp t ever mad e t o reviv e an d solidif y extrem e patriarcha l conditions " (217) . The Naz i "Gleichshaltung " o r "bringing-in-line " o f th e feminis t orga nizations whic h ha d bee n s o prominen t i n pre-Naz i German y an d th e policies o f bannin g wome n fro m highe r educatio n an d th e professions , excluding them fro m lega l or political office , an d prohibiting femal e con traception an d abortio n wer e al l part o f a profoundly misogynis t syste m which underpinned "th e male supremacist temperament of the Nazi state" (223). Gottfrie d Feder , a prominent Naz i ideologist , verbalize d thi s sys tem whe n h e linke d feminist s an d Jews i n a n unhol y alliance : The Jew has stolen woman from u s through th e forms o f sex democracy. We, th e youth, mus t marc h ou t t o kil l th e drago n s o that w e may again attain the most holy thing in the world, th e woman a s maid and servant. 6 The unhol y allianc e o f Jew an d femal e agains t victimize d Arya n appear s repeatedly i n th e wor k o f al l thre e author s i n thi s study . Millet t quote s Hitler himsel f o n thi s subject : "Th e messag e o f woman' s emancipatio n is a messag e discovere d solel y b y th e Jewish intellec t an d it s conten t i s stamped wit h th e sam e spirit." 7 Millett's analysi s of texts convinced her , a s my ow n researc h convince d me, tha t racis m an d anti-Semitis m ar e components o f th e sam e system a s misogyny an d canno t b e neatl y separated :

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[OJne i s forced t o conclud e tha t sexua l politics, whil e connecte d t o economics and other tangibles of social organization, is, like racism, or certain aspects of caste , primarily a n ideology, a way o f life, wit h influence ove r every other psychological and emotional facet o f existence. It has created, therefore, a psychic structure, deepl y embedded i n our past [.] (229) While Millet t finds Freud' s identificatio n o f femal e dissatisfactio n an d longing accurate , sh e firmly disagree s wit h hi s locatio n o f tha t dissatis faction i n femal e anatom y (th e peni s env y theory) . Sh e attribute s thi s mistake to Freud's phallic assumptions an d points out Freud's intellectua l debt to Otto Weininger, a contemporary Viennes e author whom sh e calls "a misogynis t thinker " (22) . Weininger wa s no t onl y a misogynis t bu t als o a tormente d an d self hating Jewish anti-Semite . A Protestan t conver t an d th e so n o f a n anti Semitic Jew , h e wa s th e autho r o f th e acclaime d best-selle r Sex and Character (1903) . I n Freud and Vienna 1900 (1991) , Hanna h Decke r describes th e linkag e betwee n Weininger' s self-hatre d a s a Jew an d hi s misogyny: Weininger argued that a woman is pure sexuality, contaminating a man "in the paroxys m o f orgasm" . .. [E]ven th e mos t superio r woma n wa s im measurably below the most debased man, just as Judaism at its highest was immeasurably below even degraded Christianity. Judaism was so despicable because it was shot throug h wit h femininity . A s women lacke d souls , so too di d Jews . Bot h wer e pimps , amora l an d lascivious . Bot h sough t t o make othe r huma n being s suffe r guilt . Wome n an d Jew s di d no t thin k logically, bu t rathe r intuitively , b y association.. . .Jews wer e even worse than women; Jews were degenerate women. Weininge r kille d himsel f be cause he felt h e could not overcome the woman an d the Jew in him. 8 Weininger wa s a self-hating Jew , bu t i n the texts we will examin e her e we will witness three Gentile authors almost equally intent on overcomin g and weedin g ou t th e loathsom e woma n an d Jew insid e themselves . Millett views misogynist literature as one of the primary vehicles of what Woolf calle d male socialization i n pathology (Millett , 71) . In Sexual Politics she brilliantly analyzes these vehicles: selected texts by male authors. In hi s two-volum e wor k Male Fantasies (firs t publishe d i n Germa n i n 1977 as Mannerphantasien) Klau s Theweleit concentrates on a particularly pathological grou p o f men , th e Germa n Freikorpsmen . Als o know n a s the Whit e Terror , thes e Germa n soldier s refuse d t o la y dow n thei r arm s after th e en d o f th e Firs t Worl d Wa r an d instea d carrie d ou t thei r ow n

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fight agains t force s o f th e Germa n revolutionar y workin g clas s durin g the "warless " year s betwee n 192 3 an d 1933 . Man y o f the m wen t o n t o become th e core of Hitler' s S A and ke y functionaries i n the Third Reich . In additio n t o murderin g countles s me n an d women , th e Freikorpsme n wrote copiou s volume s o f autobiography , novels , an d eye-witnes s ac counts. "We ourselves are the War," wrote one. "Its flame burns strongl y in us . I t envelop s ou r whol e bein g an d fascinate s u s wit h th e enticin g urge t o destroy." 9 A s thei r production s mak e clear , th e Freikorpsmen' s fear an d loathin g o f wome n ar e intimately linke d t o thei r hatre d an d fea r of communist s an d th e working class , an d ar e intrinsic t o thei r violence . Theweleit make s thes e connection s explicit . A s Jessic a Benjami n an d Anson Rabinac h pu t i t i n th e forewor d t o volum e 2 o f Male Fantasies, Male Bodies: Psychoanalyzing the White Terror, "i t i s Theweleit' s in sistence o n th e primac y o f violence—originatin g i n th e fea r an d hatre d of th e feminine—tha t distinguishe s hi s approac h fro m th e olde r social psychological models." 10 Perhaps because these are texts which ar e not "literary " in the ordinar y sense, th e soldie r males , a s Theweleit present s the m t o us , see m t o spea k openly fo r themselve s an d t o nee d littl e interpretation . Thei r desir e t o kill an d mai m women , fo r instance , i s b y n o mean s unconscious . I t i s openly felt and expressed and regularly carried out. I n Theweleit's words : Concealing the kinds of thoughts we've been discussing, the ones traditional psychoanalysis woul d cal l "unconscious," is the last thing on eart h thes e men would wan t t o do. . .. The "fea r o f castration " i s a consciously hel d fear, jus t a s the equatio n o f communis m an d rifle-woma n i s consciousl y made. (1: 89 ) Theweleit's Freikorpsmen , lik e Lewis , Williams , an d Greene , dem onstrate in their writing their desperate need to defend themselve s agains t female power . Lik e m y authors , the y divid e wome n int o tw o groups . On one side are the white virgins; on the other, th e "female communists, " "proletarian women, " "rifle-women, " o r "seductiv e Jewesses," al l pro foundly dangerou s t o men. "Th e sexualit y o f the proletarian woman/gu n slinging whore/communis t i s ou t t o castrat e an d shre d me n t o pieces " (1:76). Like m y thre e authors , th e Freikorpsme n "lac k an y secur e sens e o f external boundaries " (2 : 213). Thei r fea r o f wome n i s not onl y a fear o f murder an d castratio n a t thei r hands , bu t als o o f "tota l annihilatio n an d dismemberment" (1 : 205). When the y shoo t an d smas h women's bodies ,

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as the y d o agai n an d agai n i n thes e text s an d i n thei r lives , the y fee l tha t they ar e actin g i n self-defense , imposin g th e annihilatio n the y fea r o n their would-b e destroyers : Once s h e . . . is reduce d t o a pulp, a shapeless, blood y mass , th e man can breathe a sigh of relief. The wound in question here goes beyond castration , in which one can at least still identify th e body to which the wound belongs . What w e are dealing w i t h . . . i s the dissolution o f th e body itself . (1 : 196 ) In additio n t o thei r horse s an d thei r rifles , th e Freikorpsme n love d onl y each other . Bu t for them , a s for Lewis , Williams , an d Greene , actua l act s of homosexualit y wer e deepl y taboo . Thewelei t explains : It seem s increasingl y doubtfu l tha t term s suc h a s hetero o r homosexualit y can usefull y b e applie d t o th e men we are studying. Th e actual sexua l act is describe d i n thes e writing s a s a trancelik e ac t o f violence . . . they hav e little to do with a sexuality understoo d a s the desire for physical lov e wit h another person (femal e or male). These men seem less to possess a sexuality than t o persecut e sexualit y itself—on e wa y or another . (2 : 61) Like m y profile d author , thes e me n were cu t off an d isolated. T o them , the desir e fo r pleasur e wa s " a contagiou s disease. " T o ope n th e gat e t o pleasure, an d indee d t o feeling , mean s t o ope n onesel f t o lust , t o en gulfment, an d finally t o annihilation . A s Thewelei t put s it : "Insid e thi s man i s a concentratio n camp , th e concentratio n cam p o f hi s desires " (2: 6) . I wa s especiall y intereste d i n Theweleit' s explanatio n o f h o w th e Frei korpsmen's severa l hatreds—o f w o m e n , o f th e workin g class , an d o f communists—were subsequentl y combine d i n th e N a z i hatre d o f Jews . Just a s w o m e n , communists , an d th e workin g classe s embodie d th e lib eration o f dangerou s desire s fo r th e Freikorpsmen , s o Jew s playe d th e same rol e fo r th e Nazis, w h o use d th e concept o f a n alien rac e t o embod y this fea r i n on e entity : " t h e alie n rac e i s predominantly encode d wit h th e inexorably murderou s force s o f th e man' s o w n interior ; i t mus t therefor e be exterminated " (2 : 76). The Jewis h riflewoma n w h o , throug h a n appea l t o thei r desire , lure s men t o a blood y deat h provide s anothe r exampl e o f th e barrier s o f race , class, an d gende r embodie d i n on e image . Thi s prominen t figure i n th e Freikorpsmen writings , carrie s " t h e Jewis h p o x , " syphilis , o f whic h Theweleit writes :

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"[SJyphilis" is one name only for the dissolution to which a man falls prey if h e come s int o contac t wit h th e externa l incarnatio n o f hi s devouring , dead unconscious. But it is a particularly apposite name, a rich code, containing, a s it does, the corrosions of femininity, Jewishness, epidemi c disease, criminalit y (th e contagio n i s international ) an d emasculatin g death . (2: 16 )

In a passage fro m a novel o f 193 0 b y th e Naz i write r Erns t Salomon , Jews and females ar e embodied in one alien, sexual enemy: "During coitu s the mal e seme n i s full y o r partl y absorbe d int o th e linin g o f th e femal e uterus, wher e i t enter s th e bloodstream . A singl e ac t o f intercours e be tween a Je w an d a n Arya n woma n i s enoug h t o poiso n he r bloo d forever." 11 Theweleit's sens e of th e pitfalls o f hi s method doe s not alway s preven t him fro m fallin g int o them . O n hi s us e o f psychoanalyti c theory , h e writes: " I hav e attempte d t o avoi d supportin g m y ow n prejudice s wit h quotations fro m psychoanalyti c writer s an d hav e trie d instea d t o presen t typical specimen s o f th e writin g o f soldie r males , stickin g closel y t o th e text i n ever y case " (1 : 57). Male Fantasies succeed s brilliantl y whe n it s author doe s allo w th e text s t o spea k fo r themselves . Hi s overlitera l us e of objec t relation s theory , i n particula r o f Margare t Mahler's , i s muc h less successful an d lead s hi m t o severa l interpretations whic h see m t o m e incongruent wit h th e Freikorp s texts . In on e suc h reading , h e suggest s tha t th e rea l troubl e wit h th e Frei korpsmen i s arreste d development : the y go t stuc k i n "th e pre-Oedipa l struggle o f th e fledglin g sel f befor e ther e i s eve n a n eg o t o sor t ou t th e objects o f desir e an d th e odd s o f gettin g them." 12 Thi s theor y i s onl y valid i f on e accept s the idea of uniqu e developmenta l stage s in which on e can "get stuck, " rathe r tha n reasoning , a s do more recent objec t relation s theorists lik e Han s Loewald , Jessic a Benjamin , an d Nanc y Chodoro w that " 'Oedipal ' project s o f individuatio n an d moralit y an d 'pre-oedipal ' concerns wit h boundaries , separation , connection , an d th e transitiona l space continu e throug h life." 13 Theweleit' s belie f tha t th e Freikorpsme n have bee n emotionall y trappe d i n pre-Oedipa l infanthoo d assume s tha t infants ar e in fact bundles of rage and desire with no ability for mutuality : a belief whic h mos t recen t theorists , includin g Jessica Benjamin, Beatric e Beebe, Nancy Chodorow , an d Daniel Stern, have disputed. 14 Theweleit' s use of Melanie Klein' s theory o f how infant s perceiv e parts o f the mothe r rather tha n th e whol e t o explai n th e Freikorpsmen' s tendenc y t o attac k

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women's breast s relie s onc e again , o n a n overl y litera l interpretatio n o f Klein's theory, an d an outdated perceptio n o f infantile development . Th e fragmented objectificatio n o f th e femal e bod y whic h th e Freikorpsme n exhibit seem s t o b e quit e differen t fro m tha t o f a normall y developin g infant, wh o perceive s it s mothe r a s a whole rathe r tha n i n pieces . Fur thermore, i t seem s mor e logica l tha t th e Freikorpsme n shoul d attac k women's breast s becaus e the y ar e th e symboli c locatio n bot h o f depen dence on the mother an d of female sexualit y than because they were stuc k in a n infantil e stag e an d wer e onl y abl e to focu s o n on e par t o f a woman at a time. Theweleit's equation , withou t an y textua l evidence , o f th e Freikorps men's pathology wit h tha t of autisti c children i s also unconvincing. Afte r a lon g traditio n o f blamin g mother s fo r thei r children' s autism , expert s now believ e th e conditio n t o b e a result o f brai n damag e a t birth , rathe r than faulty parenting. While autistic children do in fact have faulty bound aries, s o d o sufferer s fro m man y othe r form s o f organi c brai n damag e and fro m schizophrenia . Finally , Theweleit' s ide a tha t i n thei r driv e fo r cleaner river s environmentalist s ar e reall y expressin g a driv e fo r purer , cleaner women i s simply silly . I n al l these cases, Theweleit compare s tw o like things and then uses an overly concrete interpretation o f early object s relations theor y t o sugges t causa l relationship s whic h ar e i n fac t highl y dubious. While Thewelei t doe s includ e a short an d ver y interestin g chapte r o n the Germa n militar y academy , h e minimizes th e effect o f suc h schooling , even though many of the Freikorpsmen attende d military boarding schoo l from a youn g age . Thewelei t als o minimize s th e effec t o f childhoo d trauma, bu t i t i s probabl e tha t mos t o f them , a s middle-clas s Germa n children, wer e brough t u p accordin g t o th e method s o f "poisonou s ped agogy" whic h Alic e Mille r describe s i n he r chapte r o n Adol f Hitler' s childhood i n For Your Own Good (1983) , whic h I wil l discus s late r i n this chapter. 15 I n hi s re-visio n o f Freud' s Schrebe r case , Willia m Nied erland describe s chillingl y an d convincingl y ho w suc h pedagogy resulte d in on e father' s barbari c bu t widel y accepte d child-rearin g practice s undergoing metaphori c reconstructio n i n th e son' s psychosis. 16 Davi d Shapiro also uses Niederland's work to explain how childhood experienc e can lea d t o rigi d personality . I believ e tha t Miller's , Niederland's , an d Shapiro's theories , whic h al l focus o n paterna l abus e coupled wit h denia l and whic h I wil l discus s late r i n thi s chapter , ar e a more usefu l too l fo r

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understanding th e pathology o f th e Freikorpsme n an d th e author s i n m y study tha n Theweleit' s us e o f objec t relation s theory . My final criticis m o f Theweleit' s stud y i s a stylisti c one . Whil e hi s nonconventional discursiv e styl e is part o f Theweleit's brillianc e an d par t of wha t give s hi s book s thei r impact , h e i s ofte n excessivel y rambling , repetitive, an d disconnected . I believ e tha t wit h prope r editin g thi s ver y uneven two-volum e boo k coul d hav e mad e on e super b volume . Despite thes e criticisms , Theweleit' s book s wer e tremendousl y usefu l to me. Theweleit, lik e Millett, insist s on the interconnection o f misogyn y and racism . H e explain s tha t hi s ow n understandin g "evolve d step-by step a s I rea d th e books , rathe r tha n fro m an y preconceive d theory, " a permission whic h enable d m e to allo w myself th e same unfolding (1 : 57). I learne d fro m bot h hi s us e o f an d hi s (i n m y opinion ) abus e o f psy choanalytic theory . Finally , th e fac t tha t th e Freikorpsmen' s system s strongly resemble d th e system s o f th e author s i n m y stud y pushe d m e toward th e historica l researc h whic h resulte d i n chapte r 1 of thi s book . The Rigid Personality, Diagnosis and Description: Leon Salzman, David Shapiro, and Otto Kernberg. I n my attempt to place my authorial system s somewhere withi n th e discours e o f normalc y an d pathology , I turned t o the diagnosti c categorie s o f thre e clinicians : Leo n Salzman , Davi d Sha piro, an d Ott o Kernberg . M y ai m wa s no t t o find a n appropriat e diag nostic label for eac h one of the authors but rather to examine the authoria l profile i n th e contex t o f clinica l diagnosti c systems—t o se e how th e tw o categories woul d cathect . A mor e playfu l imag e fo r thi s proces s woul d envision th e reader/criti c a s diagnostician an d th e composit e implie d au thor (Greene/Williams/Lewis ) a s th e patien t wh o ha s com e i n fo r a di agnostic interview . Sander Gilma n explain s th e nee d t o stereotyp e a s a (fruitless) attemp t to gai n control . Th e authoria l system s o f Greene , Williams , an d Lewi s are eac h characterize d b y rigidit y an d a preoccupatio n wit h control , boundaries, an d power . I n The Obsessive Personality (1968) , Leo n Salz man describe s hi s wor k wit h individual s wh o suffe r fro m a nee d fo r control an d a n overestimatio n o f thei r powe r t o contro l themselve s an d the universe . I n suc h people , wh o ar e usuall y men , "al l emotiona l re sponses mus t b e eithe r dampened , restrained , o r completel y denied." 17 However, "th e enormou s groun d swel l o f feelings " mus t g o somewher e and i s ofte n spli t of f fro m th e sel f an d attache d t o anothe r person , idea ,

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or grou p o f people . Salzman' s typica l obsessiv e clien t wa s a ma n wh o showed a n alternation o f grandiosit y wit h a nagging feeling o f doub t an d inferiority. Hi s nee d t o maintai n contro l cause d hi s relationship s wit h others t o b e dominate d b y manipulation , distortions , an d doubl e binds . While he was prey to intrusive homosexual thoughts, thes e thoughts wer e "symbolic o r metaphorica l statement s abou t hi s weaknes s an d inade quacy" rathe r tha n rea l homosexual desire s (29) . When suc h a man mar ried an d becam e dependen t o n hi s spouse , awarenes s o f hi s dependenc y needs wa s experience d a s a great threat . In Autonomy and Rigid Character (1981 ) David Shapir o als o emphasize s the suppressio n o f feeling s a s a component o f th e rigi d personality . Ac cording t o Shapiro , suc h rigidit y result s fro m a failur e i n th e cours e o f development t o internaliz e autonomy . A chil d wh o i s allowe d graduall y to becom e a n independen t agen t i n hi s worl d wil l b e abl e t o internaliz e the principle s o f adul t authority . Th e rigi d perso n wh o ha s bee n unabl e to internaliz e thi s authorit y must , o n th e othe r hand , constantl y an d forcibly impos e i t o n himself , ofte n throug h th e idealizatio n o f som e outward authorit y figur e o r institution. 18 Th e rigi d perso n i s abl e t o visualize o r experienc e onl y relationship s "betwee n superio r an d infe rior—the degradatio n o r humiliatio n o f on e b y another , th e imposin g o f will b y one , th e surrende r o f th e other " {Autonomy, 101-2) . Whe n h e feels inferior , ashamed , o r humiliated , hi s rigidit y hardens , a s doe s hi s attitude towar d thos e h e regard s a s inferior : Such persons—who, for certain rigid men, may include women in general, and eve n more , "effeminate " men—embod y wha t th e rigi d individua l i s ashamed of , defensivel y repudiates , an d therefore hates . He regard s them as unworthy o f respect. H e is disgusted b y them, sometime s outrage d b y them, eve n obsessivel y so ; and i f h e is also in a position o f actua l power or authority , h e may be driven t o punish them . Thi s contemptuous pun ishment of weakness or inferiority... i s what we call sadism. (Autonomy, 107)

In a statemen t tha t echoe s Theweleit , Shapir o reason s tha t fo r suc h men th e erotic is located no t i n one's ow n feeling s (thes e are inaccessible ) nor i n mutua l engagemen t bu t rathe r i n th e degradatio n o f th e other . Shapiro's discussio n o f th e sadis m associate d wit h rigidit y i s not con fined t o pathologica l individual s bu t applie s t o pathologica l institution s and societie s (lik e tha t o f th e Freikorpsmen ) a s well . H e mention s i n

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particular militar y organizations , givin g a s a n exampl e th e sadisti c prac tices o f Marin e boo t camp : "sadis m i s regularly associate d wit h an d jus tified b y pedagogical , moral , disciplinary , o r correctiv e purposes . . . sadistic behavio r i s ofte n suppose d t o teac h th e child , th e prisoner , th e subordinate, th e recruit, respec t fo r authorit y an d 'right ' values and stan dards" (Autonomy, 107) . In Autonomy and Rigid Character, Shapir o discusse s obsessive compulsives and paranoids as two types of rigid personalities. In an earlier book, Neurotic Styles (1965) , h e distinguishe s betwee n th e tw o types . The obsessive-compulsiv e typicall y operate s ou t o f " a compellin g objec tive necessity , som e imperativ e o r highe r authorit y tha n hi s persona l choice o r wish , whic h h e i s oblige d t o serve." 19 Obsessive-compulsive s are "intensely an d more or less continuously activ e at some kind of work " and ar e "mos t comfortabl e feelin g the y hav e thei r ow n li t Lie niche o r bailiwick in which they devote themselves to carrying out their established duties ordaine d b y highe r authorities " (Neurotic Styles, 41) . A s w e wil l see, suc h a description fits Charle s William s th e ma n an d i s reflecte d i n his authoria l system . The paranoi d person , als o mos t likel y t o b e male , i s hypersensitive , suspicious, an d hyperalert , wit h a rigi d an d biase d directivenes s o f at tention. H e i s constantl y i n a stat e o f tens e mobilization , sometime s careful an d controlled, sometime s read y for defensiv e counterattack . Par anoid type s experienc e disdain fo r humanness ; especially for softnes s an d femininity: "on e ma y easil y get th e impressio n tha t the y woul d prefe r a world tha t wa s completel y mechanized " (Shapiro , Neurotic Styles, 79) . Nevertheless, " a majo r categor y o f paranoi d delusion s ha s t o d o wit h being directl y controlle d o r immobilize d b y specia l o r supernatura l de vices, machines , o r power s possesse d b y enemies " (Neurotic Styles, 84) . Paranoid people , lik e obsessive-compulsives , ar e i n genera l extremel y aware of power and rank. Shapiro agrees with Salzman that while paranoid men ar e especiall y pron e t o obsessiv e worr y abou t homosexuality , the y are usuall y no t homosexual . I t i s th e longin g t o assum e wha t h e think s of a s the woman's will-les s eroticis m an d sexua l surrender , a s well a s th e desire t o "becom e th e instrumen t o f a stron g an d authoritativ e figure," which Shapir o give s a s th e reaso n wh y me n wit h paranoi d feature s s o often worr y obsessivel y abou t thei r ow n homosexualit y an d projec t thi s worry outwar d int o a hatred o f homosexual s an d effeminat e me n (Neurotic Styles, 155) .

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Wyndham Lewi s wa s a rigi d paranoi d personality , an d hi s authoria l structure reflect s suc h a paranoid system . Otto Kernberg' s descriptio n o f th e narcissisti c personalit y overlap s i n many way s wit h Shapiro' s an d Salzman' s description s o f th e rigi d per sonality. Kernberg' s narcissisti c patient s ar e marked b y a shallow emo tional lif e an d the inability t o believ e i n th e realit y o f other s genuinel y to car e abou t them . The y consequentl y suffe r fro m a constant an d tor turous interna l experienc e o f emptines s an d boredom. 20 The y alternat e between self-devaluatio n an d a pathological grandiosity : The interpsychi c worl d o f these patients i s populated onl y b y their own grandiose self, b y devaluated, shadow y image s of self an d others, an d by potential persecutors representing the non-integrated sadisti c superego.. . as well as primitive, distorted object images onto whom intense oral sadism has been projected.... The grandiose self permits the denial of dependency on others, protects the individual against narcissistic rage and envy, creates the precondition fo r ongoing depreciation.. . (282) Because the y ar e unable t o integrate o r synthesiz e "th e good an d bad introjections an d identifications" (34 ) they mus t constantl y spli t of f and project th e "ba d self " ont o others , who m the y the y the n despis e an d fear. "Good " others , thos e fro m who m the y expec t narcissisti c supplies , are idealized, bu t are depreciated an d treated wit h contemp t th e moment they fai l t o deliver (228) . Kernber g note s tha t suc h patient s ofte n admir e some publi c figure who m the y se e as an extension o f themselves . Whe n the admire d individua l reject s the m o r otherwis e fail s t o satisfy , "the y experience immediat e hatre d an d fear, an d react by devaluing th e forme r idol" (236). Kernberg's patients feel they had the right to control, possess, and exploi t others . I n lov e relationship s the y idealiz e an d lon g fo r th e love object , bu t thi s longing , whic h i s a defense agains t primitiv e rage , is liabl e t o rapi d breakdown , an d the n turn s t o rag e o r withdrawal . I n such personalities "the projection o f primitive conflicts aroun d aggressio n onto sexua l relations betwee n th e parents increase s distortin g an d fright ening version s o f th e primal scene , whic h ma y be extende d int o hatre d of al l mutual lov e offere d b y others." 21 Kernberg's typica l patient present s " a hungry enraged , empt y self , ful l of impoten t ange r at being frustrated, an d fearful o f a world whic h seem s as hateful an d revengeful a s the patient himself " (233).

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It i s eas y t o recogniz e th e Freikorpsme n i n thi s description , bu t i t i s also easy to recognize our composite profile. Onc e again Wyndham Lewi s appears t o b e a classi c narcissisti c personality , bu t Greene' s agonizin g emptiness an d boredo m an d Williams's sadisti c religious mentorshi p als o fit th e pattern. I n all the texts we will examine, male characters repeatedl y express thei r horro r an d disgus t a t th e prima l scene . I n addition , th e picture of an empty, self-absorbe d narcissist , wit h his alternation o f gran diosity an d self-hatre d an d hi s nee d t o spli t of f an d projec t hi s unac ceptable "female " self , i s deepl y congruen t wit h ou r authoria l profile . Modified Objects Relations Theory: Melanie Klein, Karen Homey, Dorothy Dinnerstein, Jessica Benjamin, and Nancy Chodorow. I f w e tur n t o Woolf, Millett , an d Theweleit, t o help us understand ou r profiled author , we ma y se e hi m a s a "normal " recipien t o f phallocentri c values . I f w e turn t o Salzman , Shapiro , an d Kernberg , o n th e othe r hand , w e migh t classify hi m a s a sufferer fro m a clinically diagnosabl e condition . I n th e next tw o section s o f thi s chapter , I wil l abando n classificatio n an d tur n to theories of development in order to understand why our profiled autho r turned ou t th e wa y h e did . In m y discussio n o f Kat e Millett , I mentione d Sigmun d Freud' s phal locentric viewpoint . Freu d sa w th e roo t o f th e male' s aggressio n i n hi s final identificatio n wit h hi s fathe r an d adoptio n o f hi s authorit y an d located th e formatio n o f tha t aggressio n i n th e Oedipa l stage . Whil e thi s theory offer s som e explanatio n fo r mal e repudiatio n o f female s an d fem ininity, i t doe s no t reall y explai n th e terro r o f wome n fel t b y th e me n i n our study . I n it s focu s o n th e fathe r i t als o fail s t o acknowledg e tha t i n our society most children ar e parented b y and identify wit h their mother s during th e importan t earl y years . Jea n Stockar d an d Miria m Johnso n write: Gynocentric theorie s sugges t a psychological explanatio n o f mal e domi nance that rests on the universal social assignment of mothering to women. To escap e fro m th e powe r o f th e mothe r an d th e intensit y o f thei r firs t feminine identification, male s create ways of coping that deny this identity in themselves and establish their own independent power. 22 Melanie Klei n an d Kare n Horney , tw o femal e psychoanalyst s wh o wrote i n the 1930 s and 1940s , were earl y gynocentri c theorist s wh o chal lenged phallocentri c Freudia n theory . Melani e Klein , arguabl y th e first

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object relation s theorist , posit s a model o f developmen t whic h speak s i n terms o f disembodie d parts , wit h a baby relatin g not t o it s mother i n he r entirety bu t rathe r t o "th e goo d o r ba d breast " o r "th e goo d vagina. " This tendency , Klein' s disconcertin g wa y o f attributin g incredibl y so phisticated powers of self-analysis t o infants, an d her inference that moth ers are to blam e for adul t pathology ha s led t o Klein' s dismissa l b y man y contemporary theorists. However, i f one interprets Klein's language symbolically rathe r tha n literally , he r theorie s ca n b e extremel y usefu l a s a n approach to the authors in this study. As Nancy Chodorow notes : "Klein turned psychoanalysi s fro m a psycholog y o f th e boys ' relatio n t o th e father t o a psychology o f th e relatio n o f th e mothe r i n childre n (people ) of bot h sexes . For Klein , children' s intens e reactions t o an d infantil e fea r of their mother, he r breast, her insides, and her powers, shape consequen t emotional life " (3) . Klein wa s als o th e originato r o f tw o concept s whic h I us e repeatedl y in this book : splittin g an d projective identification . I n Klein' s concep t o f splitting, th e infant split s off a hated o r resented aspec t of a needed objec t (the "ba d breast" ) i n orde r t o retai n i t fo r himsel f o r herself . Throug h projective identification , tha t badnes s i s the n projecte d ont o somethin g or someon e else , o r ont o a grou p whic h i s identifie d a s "Other. " I n "Notes o n som e Schizoi d Mechanisms, " Klei n writes : In psychotic disorders this identification o f an object with the hated parts of the self contribute s t o the intensity o f the hatred directed agains t other people. As far as the ego is concerned the excessive splitting off and expelling into the outer world o f parts of oneself considerabl y weaken it. 23 As w e hav e alread y seen , th e author s i n thi s stud y frequentl y us e projective identificatio n t o spli t of f th e despise d "female " par t o f them selves an d projec t i t ont o th e woma n an d th e Jew . Karen Horney, anothe r neglected female analyst who challenged the dominant discours e o f Freudia n theory , agree s wit h Klei n o n th e primac y o f the earl y motherin g experience . I n a pioneerin g paper , "Th e Drea d o f Women" (1932) , Horne y demonstrate s ho w th e youn g boy' s longin g t o be a woman , originatin g i n hi s primar y identificatio n wit h hi s mother , is challenge d i n a wa y whic h create s a terribl e "menac e t o hi s sel f re spect." 24 Sh e notes : "[AJccordin g t o m y experienc e th e drea d o f bein g rejected an d deride d i s a typical ingredien t i n th e analysi s o f ever y man "

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(357). Th e bo y react s wit h a drea d o f th e femal e an d move s "i n th e direction o f a heightened phalli c narcissism." Hi s tas k a t puberty i s "no t merely t o free himsel f fro m hi s incestuous attachmen t t o his mother , bu t more generally , t o maste r hi s drea d o f th e whol e femal e sex " (355) . Horney ver y accuratel y describe s th e dee p ambivalenc e show n b y ou r profiled author , wh o fel t tor n b y his conflicting need s regarding women , experiencing o n th e on e han d "th e violen t forc e b y whic h th e ma n feel s himself draw n t o the woman" an d on the other "hi s longing, les t throug h her h e migh t di e an d b e undone " (349) . While sh e reasons tha t thi s struggl e "leave s mor e o r les s distinct trace s in ever y man , an d giv e t o hi s genera l attitud e towar d wome n a mor e particular stamp, " a man wh o canno t resolv e th e conflic t "i s invariabl y a man whose whole attitud e toward wome n ha s a marked neuroti c twist " (356-57). Hi s attemp t t o cop e wit h hi s drea d an d t o regai n self-respec t may resul t i n a disparagement o f wome n o r a n objectifyin g glorificatio n of them . Hi s relation s wit h wome n ma y "tak e o n a sadistic tinge" (356). Of suc h me n Horne y writes : The simpl e cravin g o f love.. . is very ofte n overshadowe d b y thei r over whelming compulsion to prove their manhood again and again to themselves and others . A ma n o f thi s type.. . has therefor e on e interes t only : t o conquer.. .. We fin d a remarkabl e mixtur e o f thi s narcissisti c over compensation an d o f survivin g anxiet y i n those me n who, whil e wanting to mak e conquests , ar e ver y indignan t wit h a woma n wh o take s thei r intentions to o seriously , o r who cheris h a lifelong gratitud e t o he r i f she spares them any further proo f o f thei r manhood. (359 ) A ma n ca n als o "avoi d th e sorenes s o f th e narcissisti c scar " throug h a n inability to desire any woman who is his equal. Horney comments: "Fro m the prostitute o r the woman o f eas y virtue one need fea r n o rejectio n an d no demand s i n th e sexual , ethical , o r intellectua l sphere : on e ca n fee l oneself th e superior " (359) . For a reader familia r wit h th e wor k an d live s o f Lewis , Williams , an d Greene, thes e descriptions , base d o n th e analyti c encounter , ar e almos t uncanny—it i s a s i f th e author s i n thi s stud y ha d themselve s spen t tim e on Horney' s analyti c couch . Finally, Horne y make s th e connectio n betwee n thi s mal e struggl e an d male creativity . Sh e wonders whethe r th e nee d fo r master y o f hi s drea d of female s ma y b e "on e o f th e principa l root s o f th e whol e masculin e impulse t o creat e work—th e neve r endin g conflic t betwee n th e man' s

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longing fo r th e woma n an d hi s drea d o f her? " (349) . Lik e Millet t an d like me , whe n Horne y bega n t o loo k a t actua l text s (he r example s ar e poetry b y Hein e an d Schiller) , sh e foun d th e underlyin g them e o f th e dread o f wome n i n mal e text s rathe r overwhelming . "I s i t no t reall y remarkable (w e as k ourselve s i n amazement ) whe n on e consider s th e overwhelming mas s o f thi s transparent material , tha t s o little recognitio n and attention ar e paid to the fact of men's secret dread of women?" (350). A late r gynocentri c theorist , Doroth y Dinnerstein , i n The Mermaid and the Minotaur, believe s that it is female-dominated child-car e which "guar antees certai n form s o f antagonis m agains t women. " He r elucidatio n o f this antagonis m read s lik e a description o f bot h th e Freikorpsmen' s an d my authors ' attitude s towar d women : fury a t the sheer existence of her autonomous subjectivity; loathing of her fleshly mortality ; a deeply ingraine d convictio n tha t sh e i s intellectuall y and spiritually defective; fear that she is untrustworthy and malevolent.... an assumption that she exists as a natural resource, as an asset to be owned and harnessed, harveste d an d mined... 25 Dinnerstein als o stresse s th e man' s nee d t o kee p a rigi d boundar y between himself an d women; if he relaxes that boundary, "sh e can shatte r his adul t sens e o f powe r an d control ; sh e ca n brin g ou t th e soft , wild , naked bab y i n him " (66) . Th e fea r o f wome n i s thu s closel y linke d t o the fear of being infantilized, o f "sinking back wholly into the helplessness of infancy " (164) . Suc h frightene d me n fee l a "deep-rooted tendenc y t o renounce th e sensuous-emotiona l worl d o f earl y childhood , t o sea l of f the laye r o f personalit y i n whic h th e primitiv e eroti c flow betwee n th e self an d th e surroun d ha s it s source " (32) . The imag e o f bein g capture d b y a malevolent femal e an d transforme d into a n infan t i s a recurrin g on e fo r Lewis , and , i n a mor e symboli c sense, fo r th e othe r author s a s well . Th e rigidity , th e effor t t o sea l oneself off , an d th e terro r o f wha t migh t happe n shoul d th e vulnerabl e boundaries o f th e sel f b e penetrate d hav e bee n note d b y Thewelei t a s basic t o hi s subjects ' systems . I t i s als o ke y t o th e system s o f al l thre e of m y authors . In The Bonds of Love: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and the Problem of Domination (1988) , Jessica Benjami n use s what sh e calls her intersubjec -

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tive theory to explore the genesis of domination. Recognitio n o f the othe r is on e o f th e mos t importan t concept s i n he r theory , an d i s a necessar y ingredient for healthy development. Sh e demonstrates how Freudian psy choanalytic theory itself, like other male productions, embodie s male fea r of th e femal e an d th e nee d t o dichotomiz e an d spli t of f men' s "female " libidinal impulses . Benjamin i s mor e critica l tha n Thewelei t o f Margare t Mahler' s theor y of individuation . I n th e lat e 1960s , Mahle r describe d th e child' s gradua l separation an d individuatio n fro m a symbioti c unit y wit h th e mothe r and hi s o r he r movemen t towar d th e idea l o f autonomy . Benjami n sees thi s imag e o f a ladder , wit h symbiosi s wit h th e mothe r o n th e lowest run g an d successfu l separatio n o r autonom y o n th e highest , a s a mode l whic h i s stil l dichotomou s an d hierarchical . Instead , sh e offer s the imag e o f a n interactiv e system , wit h mutua l recognitio n o f th e other a s th e idea l en d goal . Thi s i s a n especiall y difficul t goa l fo r th e boy t o achieve : The bo y doe s no t merel y disidentif y wit h th e mother , h e repudiates he r and al l feminine attributes . Th e incipien t spli t betwee n mothe r a s source of goodnes s an d fathe r a s principl e o f individuatio n i s hardene d int o a polarity in which her goodness is redefined a s a seductive threat to autonomy. (136) When suc h mutua l recognitio n i s no t achieved , ther e i s "th e absenc e of a differentiate d sens e o f sel f an d other, " an d th e bo y i s unabl e t o establish an y relationship s othe r tha n thos e involvin g dominanc e an d victimization (73) . In a passage that brings to mind E. M. Forster's famou s phrase "onl y connect, " Benjami n describe s th e "desperat e anguis h o f those wh o fee l dea d an d empty , unabl e t o connec t t o themselve s o r t o others" as the result of a failure o f mutual recognition (19) . This resonate s most deepl y wit h Greene , bu t applie s i n varyin g degree s t o al l thre e o f the author s unde r discussio n here . Benjamin agree s wit h Dinnerstein , Klein , an d Wool f tha t whe n a bo y splits off th e "female" part of himself, the result is a hardening and rigidit y which sh e call s th e los s o f "inne r space. " Whe n suc h a bo y become s a man, h e lack s a sens e o f havin g th e sourc e o f goodnes s inside , an d ca n neither sooth e himself no r find a way to communicate hi s needs to some one wh o ca n hel p (Benjamin , 173) . Outwardl y stron g an d individuated , he i s inwardl y empty , inhabite d onl y b y " a ne w kin d o f helplessness ,

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one whic h ha s t o b e countere d b y a stil l greate r idealizatio n o f contro l and self-sufficiency " (174) . Nancy Chodorow' s boo k Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory wa s es pecially helpfu l t o m e i n providing a framework fo r objec t relation s the ory, whic h sh e defines a s "a se t of account s abou t th e constitution o f self in th e contex t o f primar y emotiona l relationships " (7) . Althoug h Cho dorow ha s move d t o a mor e decentere d an d multipl e stanc e tha n tha t held b y earlie r objec t relationist s Klei n an d Mahler , sh e writes : " I hav e yet to find a convincing explanatio n fo r th e virulence o f masculin e anger , fear an d resentmen t o f women , o r o f aggressio n towar d them , tha t by passes, eve n i f i t doe s no t res t with—th e psychoanalyti c account , first suggested b y Horney , tha t me n resen t an d fea r wome n becaus e the y experience the m a s powerful mothers " (6) . Like Benjamin , Chodoro w view s lif e no t a s a serie s o f stage s t o b e transcended bu t rathe r a s " a cours e o f transaction s betwee n sel f an d otherfs] that . . . . throughout lif e ar e renegotiated t o recreat e th e sens e of self an d other s i n terms o f connection , separation , an d i n between" (10) . In he r discussio n o f theoris t Han s Loewald , Chodoro w praise s hi s refusal t o privileg e eithe r consciou s o r unconsciou s processes , instea d capturing "th e wa y tha t unconsciou s processe s resonat e wit h consciou s and thu s giv e consciou s lif e dept h an d richnes s (12-13) . I t i s eas y t o fal l into separating these two realms into binary oppositions, but Chodorow' s theory i s fa r mor e congruen t wit h m y ow n experienc e o f th e creativ e process—as wel l a s with th e way I observed i t in operatio n i n the writer s in thi s study . Chodorow expand s o n Horney' s basi c scenari o fo r th e mal e inter nalization o f th e drea d o f women , concentratin g o n th e boy' s initia l identification wit h hi s mothe r an d desir e t o b e a woman . Sh e explain s that fo r bot h girl s an d boy s a cor e gende r identit y i s establishe d i n th e first tw o year s o f lif e concomitantl y wit h th e developmen t o f a sens e of self . Underlying. .. core mal e gender identit y i s an early, non-verbal , uncon scious, almos t somati c sens e o f onenes s wit h th e mother , a n underlyin g sense of femaleness tha t continually , usuall y unnoticeably, bu t sometime s insistingly, challenges and undermines the sense of maleness. Thus, because of a primary onenes s an d identification wit h his mother. . . the seemingly unproblematic sense of being male is an issue. A boy must learn his gender

IN SEARC H O F A PSYCHOANALYTIC THEOR Y 99 identity a s being not-female o r not-mother.. . . developmentally, th e maternal identification represent s and is experienced a s generically human for children o f both genders . (109 , 111) In a society where males have power an d cultura l hegemony, bu t begi n life wit h a primar y femal e identity , th e proble m o f achievin g adequat e masculinity i s a crucia l lif e task . Chodoro w quote s Margare t Mead : "[MJaleness in America [an d I would sugges t elsewhere] is not absolutel y defined, i t ha s t o b e kep t an d re-earne d ever y day " (Chodorow' s inter polation). 26 Societa l norm s enforc e gende r role s mor e fiercely fo r boy s and punis h the m mor e fo r transgressin g them . Chodoro w point s ou t th e existence, especiall y i n culture s wher e boy s spen d mos t o f thei r earl y lif e with women , o f mal e initiatio n ceremonie s whos e purpos e i s to exorcis e the femal e role , o r t o "brainwas h th e primar y feminin e identit y an d t o establish firml y th e secondar y mal e identity." 27 I n suc h societie s indi cations o f th e compulsiv e assertio n o f masculinity , includin g violen t be havior towar d women , mal e narcissism , an d phobi a towar d matur e women, ar e especiall y prevalent . Once again , thi s theory resonate s deepl y with ou r authoria l profile an d helped m e t o understan d th e incredibl e amoun t o f energ y whic h thes e authors see m t o devot e t o th e Sisyphia n tas k o f earnin g an d retainin g their manhood . W e wil l en d thi s chapte r wit h a discussio n o f th e mal e initiation ceremon y o f boardin g school , a rite which i s certainly designe d to accomplis h th e brainwashin g I describe d above . Finally, Chodoro w make s th e poin t tha t th e "drea d o f women " i s aroused by internal as well as external stimuli. As Benjamin an d Thewelei t also stress , "i t i s th e fea r o f tha t womanl y powe r whic h ha s remaine d within men-—th e bisexua l component s o f an y man' s personality " whic h poses th e primar y threa t (Chodorow , 40) . The Role of Trauma; or, Surviving Childhood: Alice Miller, Ellen Bass and Laura Davis, Mike Lew, and Lenore Terr. Object s relation s theor y can encompass pathological developmen t bu t is more properly concerne d with th e underlyin g why s an d how s o f norma l experienc e rathe r tha n attempting t o explai n wh y som e me n ar e more an d som e less whole tha n others. Thewelei t mention s severa l ex-soldier s wit h background s simila r to those o f th e Freikorpsmen wh o becam e pacifists instea d o f killers , bu t he doe s no t explai n wh y eac h grou p o f me n mad e th e choice s the y did .

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To addres s thi s questio n i t wil l b e usefu l t o tur n t o theoretician s wh o have concentrate d o n th e influentia l rol e o f traum a i n pathologica l adul t development. In For Your Own Good (1980) , Alic e Mille r identifie s hidde n cruelt y and abus e o f childre n a s th e caus e o f dominanc e an d aggressio n i n th e adult personality . A n abuse d chil d reasons , accordin g t o Miller , "[As ] what wa s don e t o m e wa s don e fo r m y ow n g o o d . . . I a m expecte d t o accept this treatment a s an essential part of lif e and not question it " (115). Such a chil d i s no t fre e t o hat e o r condem n hi s o r he r persecutors , bu t must instea d den y hi s or her ow n feeling s "a t th e high price o f surrende r of self (121) . He or she is forced int o the familiar inne r rigidity describe d by al l ou r theorists , an d i s force d t o projec t hi s o r he r ange r an d hatre d either inward , ont o th e self , o r outward . Throug h th e mechanis m o f repetition compulsion , th e child compulsively repeat s some form o f wha t he o r sh e ha s experienced . Lik e th e ide a o f a floatin g fea r an d loathin g which, when it cannot be felt or expressed at the source, must be projected either ont o th e sel f o r ont o othe r peopl e o r groups , th e concep t o f rep etition compulsio n wil l be extremel y helpfu l i n understanding th e fictio n in thi s study , i n which th e sam e scenarios, involvin g simila r stereotypes , are evoke d ove r an d ove r again . Miller illustrate s he r theor y throug h a discussio n o f th e childhoo d o f Adolf Hitler . Sh e describe s th e wa y i n whic h Hitler' s famil y structur e was th e prototype o f a totalitarian regime , wit h th e fathe r a s brutal rule r and th e mothe r a s oppresse d victim , wh o i n tur n act s a s oversee r o f th e children. Adol f i n particular was the father's scapegoat . Withou t recours e or an y chanc e to expres s his suffering, h e was forced t o den y it , splittin g it of f an d storin g i t up . Later , "throug h th e agenc y o f hi s unconsciou s repetition compulsio n [he] . . . succeeded i n transferring th e trauma o f hi s family lif e ont o th e entir e Germa n nation " (161) . While som e brutalize d children ar e abl e t o tur n t o th e othe r parent , i f no t fo r protection , the n at leas t fo r a witnes s wh o ca n provid e validation , Hitler' s mother , de pressed an d subjugate d herself , wa s unable to protect he r child. Afte r hi s father's death , Hitler' s teacher s wer e "onl y to o happ y t o tak e ove r fo r the fathe r whe n i t [came ] to disciplinin g th e pupil " (168) . The y wer e n o longer reall y needed , however ; th e bruta l fathe r ha d alread y bee n internalized. Miller cites the famous passage in Mein Kampf in which Hitler declares, "Wherever I went , I bega n t o se e Jews." H e quit e graphicall y describe s

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the wa y i n whic h h e redirecte d hi s bottle d u p hatre d towar d th e Jews , and th e relie f i t afforde d hi m t o d o so . Fo r Hitler , a s fo r othe r anti Semites befor e him , Jew s ha d becom e the bearer o f al l the evil and despicable trait s the child ha d eve r observed in his father... a specific mixture of Lucifer- like grandeur and superiority (world Jewry and its readiness to destroy the entire world) on the one hand and uglines s an d ludicrou s weaknes s an d infirmit y o n th e other . (Miller , 178) Hitler obviousl y coul d no t hav e carried ou t hi s Final Solution withou t enthusiastic cooperation , an d Mille r reason s tha t hi s experience s wer e shared b y million s o f othe r childre n wit h simila r upbringings. Fo r them , "the Jews coul d no w b e blame d fo r everything , an d th e actua l erstwhil e persecutors—one's own , ofte n trul y tyrannica l parents—coul d b e hon ored and idealized" (187). Jews, accordin g to Miller, provided th e perfec t scapegoat becaus e o f th e well-established histor y o f anti-Semitis m whic h made i t "th e onl y permissibl e discharge " o f "th e righ t t o hate " (166) . Like Shapiro' s exampl e o f militar y boo t cam p o r th e Freikorp s organi zation, Nazism provided a societally sanctioned and institutionalized con text fo r action : a group patholog y whic h fi t th e individual' s needs . Miller's belief tha t the secrecy an d denial accompanying abus e are even more damagin g tha n th e abus e itself i s a new an d mos t importan t insigh t to us here. Theorists lik e Gregory Bateso n an d R. D . Lain g have argued , along simila r lines , tha t i t i s no t abusiv e parent s o r traumati c childhoo d experiences pe r s e tha t ar e crazy - making , bu t instea d suc h experience s when accompanie d b y inconsistenc y an d denial . In The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse (1988), Elle n Bas s an d Laur a Davi s shar e man y o f Miller' s conclusions . Speaking to the survivors, th e authors write: "If yo u tol d someon e abou t what wa s happenin g t o yo u the y probabl y ignore d you , sai d yo u mad e it u p o r tol d yo u t o forge t it . The y ma y hav e blame d you." 2 8 Survivors o f sexua l abuse , whic h i s rarel y acknowledge d b y it s adul t perpetrators an d ma y no t b e consciousl y remembere d b y it s victims , experience menta l an d physica l numbing , a feeling o f leavin g one' s ow n body, th e sens e o f bein g divide d int o mor e tha n on e person , a desperat e need fo r control , an d th e nee d t o split , whic h Davi s an d Bas s defin e i n a differen t wa y tha n th e previou s theorist s as :

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a way of coping that allows a person to hold opposite, unintegrated views. . .. The child separates the father who m she depends on for lov e from th e father who abuses her. This allows her to preserve an image of the "Good" father but at great cost. Your reality was denied or twisted. .. . Rather than see the abuse or your parents as bad, you came to believe that you did not deserve to be taken care of, tha t you i n fact deserve d abuse . (42) Survivors o f suc h abus e are usually subjec t t o depression an d anxiet y an d are sometime s self-destructiv e an d suicidal . Fo r them , "memorie s ar e vague an d dreamlike , a s if they'r e bein g see n fro m fa r away " (72) . In Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Sexual Child Abuse (1988) , Mike Le w confirms Bas s and Davis' s findings o f th e effects o f abus e o n mal e survivors , an d add s tha t th e victi m rol e i s es pecially difficul t fo r me n i n ou r societ y wh o fea r emasculatio n o r trans formation int o something "les s than" male: "the victimized man wonder s and worrie s abou t wha t th e abus e ha s turne d hi m i n t o . . . h e ma y se e himself a s a child , a woman , gay , o r les s tha n human—a n irreparabl y damaged freak." 29 Som e survivors resort to broad parodies of "acceptabl y masculine" behavior i n order t o counteract thi s self-perception, spendin g their live s in a tireless exertio n t o prove themselve s "real " men . Lik e th e abused female , th e abuse d mal e learn s t o "hide , deny , an d contro l hi s emotions" (73). He is subject t o anxiety and to sometimes suicidal depression. Lik e th e rigi d me n Shapir o studied , "hi s perceptio n o f th e worl d is tha t ther e ar e onl y tw o kind s o f people , abuser s an d victims " (73) . Lenore Terr , wh o studie d th e effect s o n childre n o f on e terrifying event , such a s a kidnaping, a survived plan e crash , o r a traumatic molestation , also observe d psychi c numbing , depression , an d repetitio n compulsio n in he r subjects . Sh e quote s Selm a Fraiber g a s saying , "Traum a demand s repetition." 30 Throug h a n examinatio n o f th e textua l production s o f Alfred Hitchcock , Edga r Allan Poe, an d Stephen King , sh e demonstrate d how eac h on e o f thes e author s experience d a traumati c experienc e o f terror whic h h e reenacte d ove r an d ove r agai n i n hi s works . I wa s es pecially intereste d i n Terr' s report s o f childrens ' repetitiou s dream s an d play, whic h migh t b e exact repetition s o f th e traumati c event , modifie d repetitions, deepl y disguise d dreams , o r terro r dream s forgotte n upo n awakening. Keepin g in mind Chodorow' s injunctio n no t to separate con scious an d unconsciou s material , on e coul d vie w th e reproductio n o f

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traumatic event s in dreams, i n play, an d i n textual productions a s all part of th e sam e proces s o f reenactment . In he r stud y o f th e childre n wh o survive d a traumatic even t i n 197 6 in Chowchilla, California , i n whic h a busload o f childre n wer e kidnapped , terrorized, an d burie d i n a hol e befor e bein g restore d t o thei r familie s physically unharmed , Ter r als o witnesse d th e phenomeno n o f displace ment o f ange r ont o group s whic h ar e perceive d a s more vulnerabl e tha n the actua l object s o f th e anger . Severa l whit e Chowchill a children , wh o never spok e o f thei r ange r a t thei r (white ) kidnappers , who m the y stil l feared an d experience d a s powerfu l an d dangerous , develope d a hatre d and fea r o f black s o r Hispanic s afte r th e event . While non e o f th e author s i n thi s stud y suffere d th e kin d o f continua l abuse that Hitle r underwen t a s a child, an d none seeme d t o have suffere d the one overwhelmingly traumatizin g event which scarred Terr's subjects , each of them emerge d int o adulthoo d bearin g some of the scars of abuse d children whos e experienc e wa s denie d o r hidden . I wil l trac e Graha m Greene's history of abuse in chapter 6 and link it to the numbed, alienate d and despairin g me n wh o peopl e hi s fiction . Th e theor y o f abus e couple d with denia l hel d b y Miller , Bas s and Davis , an d Le w i s also most helpfu l in understandin g th e Englis h publi c schoo l experience . The Public School Experience: Group Trauma and the Enforcement of Ideology. I n what he calls his "Theory o f Permanent Adolescence, " Cyri l Connolly claim s tha t "th e experience s undergon e b y boy s a t th e grea t public schools , thei r glorie s an d disappointments , ar e s o intens e a s t o dominate thei r live s an d t o arres t thei r development." 31 Graha m Green e and Georg e Orwel l bot h g o s o fa r a s t o explai n thei r entir e opu s a s a way t o compensat e fo r th e traum a o f publi c school , whil e Christophe r Isherwood, onl y half-humorously , attest s t o th e lastin g effec t o f th e au thority figure s i n hi s publi c schooling : "I f th e Nazi s go t ove r here , I should b e terrifie d o f them , o f course ; bu t I coul d never , a t th e deepes t level of m y consciousnes s tak e the m quit e seriously . No t a s seriousl y a s I too k m y firs t headmaster." 32 An d i n hi s famous discussio n o f th e dan gerous influenc e o f th e publi c school , W . H . Aude n concludes : "[T]h e best reaso n I hav e fo r opposin g Fascis m i s tha t a t schoo l I live d i n a Fascist state." 33 It is impossible t o rea d fiction b y Britis h mal e writers o f th e 1930 s an d

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the 1940 s without acknowledgin g th e tremendous influenc e o f th e publi c school experience . Thi s influenc e appear s eve n i n th e work s o f thos e writers like Charles Williams who did not attend public school. The public school "system " embodied , encoded , an d enforce d th e linke d attitude s toward wome n an d Jew s investigate d i n thi s study . A t th e ris k o f sepa rating th e inseparable , I wil l examin e thi s experienc e firs t i n term s o f it s traumatic impac t an d the n i n term s o f th e ideolog y i t valorize d an d promulgated. For th e me n who , i n th e 1930 s an d 1940s , describe d thei r experienc e of bein g sen t awa y t o school , preparator y an d publi c schoolin g wa s almost inevitabl y a traumatic experienc e which lef t permanen t emotiona l scarring.34 It s survivor s resor t t o term s suc h a s torture , slavery , con centration camps , an d Gestapo , mor e usuall y associate d wit h dictator ships tha n schooling , t o describ e thei r experience . An d ye t publi c schooling i s no w an d ha s bee n fo r th e mos t par t reserve d fo r th e members o f th e dominan t clas s an d i s considere d a badg e o f privilege . To g o throug h wha t feel s lik e tortur e an d b e tol d yo u ar e privilege d to d o s o i s a n exampl e o f Alic e Miller' s poisonou s pedagogy— a widel y unacknowledged an d thu s doubl y harmfu l instanc e o f th e societall y accepted abus e o f children . Being sen t awa y t o schoo l wa s a particularl y bruta l exampl e o f th e severing o f th e ti e t o th e mothe r an d thing s femal e describe d b y Jessic a Benjamin an d a n exampl e o f th e mal e initiatio n rite s Chodoro w cite s a s particularly prevalen t i n societies in which th e father i s largely absen t an d parenting i s carrie d ou t b y th e mothe r and/o r othe r females . To judg e fro m autobiographica l evidence , mos t middle - an d upper class English boy s wh o cam e t o adulthoo d i n th e thirtie s an d fortie s ha d distant an d remot e fathers , themselve s emotionall y scarre d product s o f the publi c schoo l system . Th e boy s wer e brough t u p i n earl y childhoo d largely b y thei r mother s an d b y femal e servants : nurse s o r "nannies " whose jo b wa s t o loo k afte r thei r needs . Thei r earl y schoolin g wa s inev itably b y wome n teachers , an d i n som e case s th e first par t o f thei r live s was spen t i n a wholly femal e society . Boardin g schoo l mean t a n abrup t and tota l severanc e fro m thi s femal e nurturing ; a sudden immersio n i n a world whic h wa s ofte n physicall y withou t wome n an d totall y withou t warmth o r nurturance. I n addition, th e new male world quit e consciousl y set itself u p a s an exorcism o f femininity . Orwel l i s particularly poignan t in hi s descriptio n o f thi s sudde n severanc e fro m home :

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Your hom e migh t b e far fro m perfect.. . bu t a t least it was a place ruled by love rather tha n by fear, wher e you di d not have to be perpetually o n your guar d agains t th e peopl e surroundin g you . A t eigh t year s ol d yo u were suddenly taken out of this warm nest and flung int o a world of forc e and fraud an d secrecy. 35 Greene and Lewi s both wrote of the shock an d ange r they felt when thei r formerly all-powerfu l an d protective mothers could o r would no t protec t them fro m thi s bruta l ne w world . Going awa y t o school , th e initiatio n rit e use d t o transfe r middle - an d upper-class boy s fro m th e "soft " femal e worl d t o th e "hard " masculin e world t o whic h the y woul d hencefort h belong , differe d fro m initiatio n rites i n othe r tribes , studie d b y Mead , Chodorow , an d others , i n tha t this on e lasted , no t fo r a fe w hour s o r days , bu t (excep t fo r th e week s of holiday ) fo r eigh t o r nin e years . I t i s no t surprisin g tha t boy s i n thi s situation fel t th e nee d t o d o mor e tha n disidentif y wit h thei r mothers : they needed to repudiate them and all their feminine attribute s (Benjamin , 136). The hatre d an d loathin g o f th e woman an d thing s femal e whic h w e find i n al l th e work s o f fiction i n thi s thesi s ma y wel l hav e it s root s a t least i n par t i n thi s repudiation . Most male initiation rite s in other societies, while separating boys fro m the nurturin g femal e world , provid e alternativ e pleasure s i n th e for m o f warm mal e bonding an d th e mastery o f ne w adul t tasks , a s well as sexua l and materia l privileges . Agai n i n contrast , youn g boy s sen t t o boardin g school receive d n o benefit s excep t th e greatl y delaye d gratificatio n o f enforcing th e sam e pattern o f abus e o n younge r boy s a t a future date . I n exchange fo r femal e nurturance , the y wer e give n int o th e car e o f a hier archic, repressive , an d dominatin g authorit y whic h place d the m unde r the arbitrar y rul e o f olde r boys , prefects , staff , an d headmaster . Thi s system, reproduce d i n som e wa y i n mos t o f th e work s o f fiction i n thi s thesis, di d it s bes t t o preven t th e child' s ow n interna l developmen t o f a sense of himself as an independent agent in his world (Shapiro, Autonomy, 73). A s Hug h Walpol e pu t i t in the introductio n t o hi s schoolboy novel , Jeremy at Crale (1927) , th e publi c school , "catche s personalit y b y th e throat an d choke s it." 36 E. M . Forster , Graha m Greene , Georg e Orwell , Hug h Walpole , Ev elyn Waugh, Stephe n Spender , Aldou s Huxley, Somerse t Maugham, an d Cyril Connolly ar e only a few o f the legion of men who wrote eloquentl y of th e persecutio n an d suffering the y underwen t a t school. 37 Commo n

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elements i n thei r description s ar e systemati c an d accepte d bullyin g an d beating, ver y ofte n wit h a sexual element , b y bot h olde r boy s an d staff ; a rigid an d feuda l syste m o f hierarch y i n which olde r boy s use d younge r ones a s slaves ; a denia l o f physica l an d menta l privac y whic h attacke d the roo t o f a boy' s autonom y an d sens e o f himsel f a s a n individual ; isolation an d loneliness ; a lac k o f physica l nurturance ; an d th e dail y experience o f hunger , cold , an d filth. Thes e unacknowledged abuse s cer tainly constitut e th e kin d o f traumatizin g mistreatmen t identifie d b y th e theorists i n th e previou s section . Graham Green e describe s th e schoo l wher e hi s fathe r wa s headmaste r and fro m whic h h e trie d t o escap e throug h suicid e attempt s a s "a savag e country o f strang e customs an d inexplicable cruelties : a country i n whic h I was a foreigner an d a suspect, quit e literall y a hunted creature." 38 Thi s country, whic h hi s critic s name d "Greeneland, " woul d appea r i n al l hi s fiction. In Enemies of Promise (1938) , Cyri l Connolly , wh o call s th e prepa ratory schoo l syste m a n "incubatio n o f persecutio n mania, " describe s a feudal syste m whic h permanentl y ruine d hi s nerve s an d whic h turne d him, a t leas t temporarily , int o a sadist . I n tha t school , youn g boys , systematically torture d an d beate n wit h rubbe r tubing , develope d "suc h a feelin g o f persecutio n tha t w e bullie d eac h othe r t o forge t it." 39 Afte r being "broken unde r th e strain of beatings a t night an d bullying by day, " Connolly i n tur n becam e a bully. Th e languag e h e use s t o describ e thi s is significant : We now becam e th e ruler s o f Chamber , i n whic h Godfre y Meynel l was the Hitler, Highworth the Goering, and I the Goebbels, forming a Gestapo who bullied everyone we could and confiscated their private property. (183) As with other torture, the effects wer e long-lasting. Ten years after leavin g school, Connoll y wrote , "[T] o thi s da y I canno t bea r t o b e sen t fo r o r hear o f anyone' s wantin g t o se e m e abou t somethin g withou t acut e ner vous dread" (183). His classmate Orwell wrote to Connolly upon readin g the essay : " I wonde r ho w yo u ca n writ e abt . St . Cyprian's . It' s al l lik e an awful nightmar e t o me." 4 0 Nine years later, i n 1947 , Orwell di d allo w himself t o remembe r St . Cyprian' s an d wha t h e ha d learne d there : a deepe r grie f whic h i s peculiar t o childhoo d an d no t eas y t o convey : a sense of desolat e loneliness an d helplessness, o f bein g locked u p not only

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in a hostile worl d bu t i n a world o f goo d an d evi l where th e rule s wer e such that it was actually not possible for m e to keep them. 41 The description s o f beating s an d othe r sadisti c activit y nearl y alway s contain element s o f sexua l abus e b y thos e i n power , simila r t o th e kin d described b y Le w an d Davi s an d Bass . Stephe n Spende r describe d th e effects o f on e o f th e tw o preparator y school s t o whic h h e wa s first sen t at th e ag e o f nine : I was like all the other boys from th e preparatory school , sadistic . . . . We had.. . deeply and instinctively realized tha t the head master was sadistic. It would have surprised m y parents to have known that they might just as well hav e ha d m e educate d a t a brothe l fo r flagellant s a s a t th e schoo l referred to. 42 The abuse d chil d Mille r describe s i s told an d believe s tha t hi s beating s are for his own good. Similarly , th e English public school boy, sometime s sent of f t o schoo l a s young a s five years old , ha d n o wa y o f trustin g hi s own perception s o r receivin g validation o f the m fro m others . H e arrive d at schoo l excite d t o ente r thi s ne w adventur e an d ful l o f it s romanti c myth a s conveyed b y hi s father , wh o ha d disowne d o r spli t of f hi s ow n painful memories , an d by popular boys ' books suc h as Thomas Hughes' s Tom Brown's School Days (1857 ) an d Kipling' s Stalky and Co. (1897) . The ne w world' s strictl y enforce d tabo o agains t complainin g t o adult s prevented hi m fro m expressin g hi s ow n misery . In Abinger Harvest, E . M . Forste r describe s thi s bottlin g u p o f th e emotions whic h create s me n wit h "undevelope d hearts" : "[I]t i s not tha t the Englishma n can' t feel—i t i s tha t h e i s afrai d t o feel . H e ha s bee n taught a t publi c schoo l tha t feelin g i s ba d form." 43 Like Miller' s futur e mas s criminal s an d Shapiro' s futur e rigi d men , unhappy boy s reasone d tha t sinc e schoo l wa s a good thing , the y them selves mus t b e bad . I t i s n o wonde r tha t th e ke y words , ofte n repeate d in all the descriptions o f school life, ar e betrayal, shame , an d humiliation . Besides developin g self-loathing , boy s a t public schoo l wer e force d t o deny thei r ow n feeling s an d individualit y "a t th e hig h pric e o f surrende r of self " (Miller , 121) . The surrende r o f sel f i s emphasize d ove r an d ove r again i n account s o f schoo l life , whic h stres s th e malleabilit y o f th e ne w boy a t schoo l an d th e nonexistenc e o r loosenes s o f hi s boundaries : a n issue fo r eac h o f th e thre e author s i n thi s study . I n John Reed' s words : "Moral sleigh t o f han d lef t th e unprepare d boy s i n a formless conditio n

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upon whic h the authorities could impress at will their pet beliefs like seals on warm wax " (71) . And a s George Orwel l put s it , "th e weakness o f th e child i s tha t i t start s wit h a blan k sheet " (Such, 241) . Later , Orwel l describes a young bo y o f seve n o r eigh t bein g sen t of f t o pre p schoo l a s "jelly-like"—a strikin g imag e fo r th e lac k o f autonomou s boundarie s which w e observ e i n eac h o f ou r authors . As all the theorists emphasize, "th e enormous ground swell of feelings " which ar e a residu e o f unacknowledge d abus e d o no t simpl y disappea r (Salzman, 30) . Throug h th e mechanis m o f repetitio n compulsion , th e adult mus t someho w expres s an d repea t th e abus e h e o r sh e ha s experi enced an d denie d a s a child . Especiall y whe n acknowledgmen t o f th e abuse i s neve r full y achieved , th e anger , hatred , an d fea r ar e projecte d onto the self or the outer world. Give n all this, it is perhaps not surprisin g that ex-public schoo l boys made so much use of clearly designated "Oth ers" i n thei r writing , whethe r thes e other s wer e Jews , women , gays , members o f th e workin g class , peopl e o f color , o r foreigners . Th e sur prise, i n fact , ma y b e that , unlik e th e Freikorpsmen , the y wer e abl e t o use suc h a benign activit y a s fiction writin g t o expres s thei r projections . While i t i s no t alway s separabl e fro m th e psychologica l imprintin g which i t accompanies , th e importanc e o f th e ideologica l syste m whic h i s reproduced an d enforced o n both the overt and covert level through public schooling cannot be underestimated. Virgini a Woolf identified Cambridg e and Oxfor d a s th e seat s o f mal e trainin g i n dominance , bu t boy s wh o attended thes e universitie s a s th e culminatio n o f a publi c schoo l caree r had lon g sinc e integrate d suc h teachin g int o thei r valu e systems . Boy s who ha d bee n transferre d fro m thei r hom e environment s t o school , de prived o f thei r sense of autonom y an d individuality, i n a state like "jelly " or " a blan k page, " wer e i n a particularly vulnerabl e condition , idea l fo r ideological programming. I t will be worthwhile to end, then, with a closer examination o f th e values transmitte d a t preparatory an d publi c schools , as reflected i n severa l novel s abou t schoo l life . Rudyard Kipling' s Stalky and Co. (1897 ) take s plac e i n a schoo l whic h prepared boy s fo r th e militar y rathe r tha n i n a n ordinar y publi c school , but i t i s mentioned ove r an d ove r agai n b y th e author s i n thi s stud y an d their peer s a s perhaps th e most influentia l o f th e schoolbo y novels . Rea d by almos t al l schoolboys o f thi s er a befor e the y wen t awa y t o school , i t served, i n Eagleton' s terms , bot h a s socia l cemen t an d a s a n instrumen t

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of ideologica l control . Stalky and Co. feature s thre e fun-loving , brave , virile, an d sexuall y innocent friend s wh o neve r expres s thei r feelings , th e most profound o f which is a deep love for thei r country . The y exemplif y the value s o f Thoma s Arnold' s "Muscula r Christianity, ,, a syste m de signed t o for m a schoolbo y int o "a n Englis h gentleman.. . o f mora l strength." 44 On a more cover t level , however , th e boy s inhabi t a world governe d by a homoeroti c an d sadomasochisti c cod e i n whic h beating s pla y a n important role . The head, a much-loved authorit y figur e wh o ha s prove n himself throug h outstandin g braver y i n th e wa r an d throug h savin g th e life o f on e o f "his " boys , regularl y beat s hi s students , wh o enjo y thi s activity tremendously, linin g up for punishment . I n anothe r situatio n th e roles are reversed, wit h ou r heroes , wh o hav e been aske d b y th e friendl y school "padre" to intervene in the bullying of some smaller boys, gleefull y assuming th e position s o f sadisti c torturers : The method an d silence of the attacks was breaking their nerves. Between each new torture came the pitiless, dazing rain of questions, and when they did no t answe r t o th e point, Isabella-coloure d handkerchief s wer e thrus t into their mouths. 45 At th e en d o f thi s highl y eroti c effort , th e torturin g heroe s "wer e al l dripping wit h excitemen t an d exertion " (177) . In contras t t o boy s an d men , wome n i n Stalky and Co. ar e see n a s either untouchabl e virgin s o f th e boys ' own class , o r working-class, gro tesquely voluptuou s figures , inten t o n sexuall y entrappin g th e boys . Th e virgins (sister s o f othe r boy s an d th e daughte r o f th e head ) ar e too nobl e even t o thin k about , le t alon e t o touch , whil e kissin g th e othe r kin d o f girl is both immora l an d disgusting , a s becomes eviden t i n a scene wher e the gang of three sets up a bookish youn g prefect t o be kissed by a vulgar local gir l i n a pub i n orde r t o shame , frighten , an d humiliat e him . Despite th e revulsio n agains t women , an d th e profoundl y homoeroti c content whic h ha s mad e thi s boo k a favorite wit h ga y me n eve r sinc e it s publication, th e boys are established a s particularly heterosexua l ("virile " and "red-blooded") , an d Kiplin g inform s u s severa l time s tha t late r i n life the y wil l marry. 46 Homosexuality , o n th e othe r hand , (referre d t o obliquely in Stalky an d other school books as "beastliness") is the cardinal sin—one o f th e two misdeed s tha t th e belove d headmaste r punishe s wit h automatic expulsion . (On e assume s tha t th e othe r si n i s masturbation ,

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although Kipling , wh o wa s writing fo r a young audience , neve r refer s t o it, eve n obliquely. ) Embedde d i n thi s system , wit h it s homoeroti c an d sadomasochistic subtext , it s aggressiv e heterosexuality, an d it s overt dis approval o f homosexuality , i s a subtext o f th e loathin g o f women , wh o are separate d int o untouchabl e goddesse s an d whores . I t i s a subtext w e will mee t agai n an d agai n i n th e novel s o f Lewis , Williams , an d Greene . In additio n t o a n ideolog y o f sexualit y an d gende r roles , Stalky and Co. enforce s an d valorize s secrec y an d hypocrisy . Orwell , whos e nove l 1984 I believ e refer s mor e directl y t o hi s schoolin g tha n i s generall y acknowledged, name d thi s kin d o f hypocrisy , whe n internalize d an d adopted on a national level, "double-think." As we have seen, Alice Miller is eloquen t o n th e poisonou s effect s o f suc h double-thin k o n menta l health, an d i n chapte r 1 we sa w numerou s example s o f i t i n th e publi c school boy s wh o gre w u p t o hol d governmenta l an d civi l servic e posts . Stalky and Co. als o deliver s message s abou t blood , which , whethe r good or bad, will inevitably out. The three boys range from solidl y middle to uppe r class , bu t al l ar e fro m "old " families , an d Kiplin g treat s for eigners, th e workin g class , an d "socia l climbers " wit h contempt . Thi s ideology, i n which anyon e differen t (women , Jews , th e working classes , the non-English ) i s considere d alie n an d no t full y human , i s eviden t i n two paralle l "humorous " incident s i n whic h th e boy s shoo t a drunke n working-class ma n an d a cat . Th e ca t dies , th e ma n doe s not—an d th e two shootings ar e both regarde d a s harmless pranks which give boys wh o must lear n t o carr y gun s late r o n som e usefu l experience . There ar e n o Jewis h boy s a t Kipling' s prototypica l school , an d th e only mentio n o f Jew s come s whe n th e boy s successfull y star t a row b y posing t o a naive an d upstar t maste r a s moneylenders, callin g eac h othe r "cold bloode d Jew " an d "filth y Shylock " (126-29) . Th e jok e i s o n th e master, whos e ba d breedin g prevent s hi m fro m recognizin g tru e Englis h gentlemen, fo r who m suc h alie n behavio r a s moneylendin g woul d b e impossible. Th e mythi c connotation s o f th e Jew ar e use d i n thi s cas e t o sort ou t tru e fro m fals e Englis h gentlemen . Another characteristi c o f th e grou p o f thre e i s thei r abilit y t o repres s their feelings . I n a n interestin g encodin g whic h oppose s th e alie n rac e and alie n femininit y wit h th e mal e cod e o f th e suppressio n o f feelings , the boy s ar e horrifie d a t a sentimenta l speec h b y a n M.P . "bor n i n a gutter an d bre d i n a boar d school " i n whic h h e voice s thei r unspoke n but hol y feeling s abou t patriotism . Th e boy s hav e learned : "th e lesso n

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of thei r race , whic h i s t o pu t awa y al l emotio n an d tra p th e alie n a t th e proper time . . . . The reserv e o f a boy i s tenfol d deepe r tha n th e reserv e of a maid , sh e bein g mad e fo r on e en d onl y b y blin d nature , bu t ma n for several " (242-43) . Virginia Wool f note d ho w suc h value s lea d t o th e enthronemen t o f war, an d i n a n Afterwor d describin g a schoo l reunio n tha t take s plac e years later , Kiplin g assure s u s tha t th e boy s i n questio n hav e gon e o n t o lead live s a s courageou s Empir e builders . Stalky , th e particula r her o o f the book , ha s becom e a fearless wipe r ou t o f thos e "Fuzzies " (o r blacks ) who d o no t uphol d th e prope r Englis h value s an d a protecto r o f thos e who do . Lest w e dismis s th e ideolog y i n Stalky and Co. a s peculia r t o Kipling' s nationalistic an d militaristi c worl d o f 189 7 and t o th e militar y schoo l h e attended a s a boy, i t must b e noted tha t the values I have identified abov e can b e found i n an y writing abou t th e public schoo l experienc e fro m th e nineteenth centur y t o th e present. I n Graha m Greene' s autobiographica l A Sort of Life, fo r instance , h e recall s hi s sadomasochisti c relationshi p with a boy calle d Carter : " I admire d hi s ruthlessness , an d i n an od d wa y he admired what he wounded in me. Between the torturer and the tortured arises a kind o f relationship " (82) . In Hug h Walpole' s Jeremy at Crale (1927) , th e youn g hero' s boyis h inarticulateness an d disgus t a t expressed emotio n ar e much lik e the qual ities of th e gang of three in Stalky. Walpole' s hero , lik e the gan g of three , remains "pure" : he is allowed a platonic worship o f a slightly olde r boy , but whe n a muc h olde r on e touche s hi m an d show s inclination s t o b e "soppy" h e reject s hi m firmly . Jeremy at Crale boast s on e Jewish char acter, a bo y name d Scholdz , who , Walpol e tell s us , i s ostracize d o r "barred," "no t s o muc h becaus e h e wa s a Jew a s that h e wa s a worm, a sneak, a dirt y skunk , a 'scat. ' " 4 7 Unlik e anothe r blon d an d blue-eye d victim o f bullyin g i n th e book , wh o refuse s t o tel l o n anyone , Schold z has complained t o the adults. H e is a stereotypical Jew, whos e experienc e at school "ha d reduce d hi s soul to a fine stat e of crawling an d subsequen t sycophancy" (148). A similar Jewish bo y appears in Simon Raven's mem oir, The Old School (1986) , an d i n thi s cas e too Rave n carefull y explain s that h e wa s ostracize d no t becaus e o f hi s Jewishness bu t becaus e o f th e other boys ' natura l reactio n t o "extrem e uglines s o f a kind unfamilia r t o Anglo-Saxons":

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the troubl e wa s tha t a combinatio n o f th e mos t distressin g feature s o f underfed an d overgrown pubescence with such Levantine characteristics as blubber lips , bulbou s nostril s an d greas y black hair was so appalling that all instincts of decency in the beholder were from time to time wiped out. 48 As i n Stalky and Co., th e valu e bein g taugh t i s no t onl y contemp t for th e alie n bu t hypocrisy . Whil e th e schoolbo y world s o f Kipling , Walpole, an d Rave n ar e obviousl y highl y anti-Semitic , tha t anti Semitism, lik e th e loathin g o f women , mus t neve r b e openl y acknowl edged. I t i s no t difficul t t o mak e th e lea p fro m thi s attitud e t o tha t o f the Britis h governmen t durin g Worl d Wa r II , which , whil e proclaimin g their sympath y fo r th e Jewish plight , seale d th e escap e route s fo r thes e same Jews . Unlike Stalky and Co., Ale c Waugh' s The Loom of Youth (1917) , written when he was seventeen and had just been expelled from Sherborn e School fo r "unnatura l practices, " wa s designe d t o expos e rathe r tha n t o glorify th e value s taugh t a t publi c schools . The Loom of Youth wa s violently condemne d an d banned , supposedl y becaus e o f it s homosexua l theme. I n fact , th e homosexualit y i s s o carefull y handle d tha t I ha d t o read th e boo k severa l time s t o find th e scen e i n question , an d th e boo k itself i s fa r les s homoeroti c i n it s conten t tha n Stalky and Co. I t wa s assuredly no t th e book's innocuou s ga y scene but the positive acceptanc e of homosexuality , alon g wit h th e youn g author' s effor t t o expos e hi s school's hypocrisy , whic h cause d th e uproar. Significantly , me n who ha d attended Waugh' s ow n school, Sherborne , wer e most invested in bannin g The Loom of Youth. As a ne w bo y a t "Fernhurst, " Gordon , th e her o o f The Loom of Youth, i s expose d t o an d reflect s o n th e value s aroun d him . Thes e include th e usua l hierarchica l an d sadisti c prefec t system , a one-side d and doltis h worshi p o f games an d athleti c prowess , an d a prevalent , but taboo , homosexuality . Gordon' s happies t hour s a t Fernhurs t ar e those spen t wit h a love d younge r boy , an d h e realize s tha t th e dange r lies no t i n th e sexua l ac t bu t i n discovery : "Tha t wa s th e on e unfor giveable sin—t o be found out." 49 Althoug h Gordo n himsel f i s not foun d out, anothe r boy , Jeffries, is . "Fernhurs t taugh t m e everything," Jeffrie s complains. "An d no w Fernhurst , tha t mad e me what I am, turn s aroun d and says , yo u ar e no t fit t o b e a membe r o f thi s grea t school ! An d I have t o go " (60) . Waugh's acceptanc e o f hi s youthfu l homosexualit y wa s th e exceptio n

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to th e rule , an d par t o f wha t hi s contemporarie s foun d s o shockin g i n his book . I t come s a s n o surpris e tha t man y o f th e me n wh o passe d through this system of double messages and hypocrisy grew up with som e degree o f confusion , repression , shame , an d fea r abou t thei r sexuality , whichever directio n i t took . Man y wh o late r becam e homosexual , lik e E. M . Forster, wh o remained a virgin unti l h e was over forty , represse d their sexualit y fo r years out of learned fea r an d shame, whil e others , lik e the authors in our study who successfully achieve d the heterosexual ideal, never learne d t o regar d wome n a s huma n beings . Some , bot h ga y and straight, becam e secretly attache d t o the ritualistic, fetishisti c sexua l practices whic h wer e s o great a part o f public schoo l life . George Orwell' s essa y "Such , Suc h Wer e th e Joys, " first publishe d posthumously i n 195 4 and probabl y writte n aroun d Ma y 1947 , is especially interestin g t o u s her e becaus e o f Orwell' s late r linkin g o f hi s own earl y anti-Semitis m (traceabl e i n th e fiction h e wrot e durin g th e 1930s) to the trauma he received an d the values he learned in preparator y and publi c school . Orwel l fel t tha t h e ha d manage d t o retai n som e measure o f autonomy , "a n incorruptibl e inne r self, " throughou t hi s experience a t St . Cyprian' s preparator y schoo l (Such, 39) . In hi s effor t to recove r psychicall y an d morally , fro m St . Cyprian's , fro m Eton , and finally fro m hi s five year s i n th e Burmes e Civi l Police , whic h h e experienced a s an extensio n o f publi c school , Orwel l wage d a desperat e inner struggl e t o hold o n to thi s incorruptibl e inne r self , wit h it s hatre d for th e hierarchica l an d oppressiv e value s h e ha d bee n taught . A t th e same time , an d les s successfully , h e struggle d wit h th e nee d t o escap e the self-hatred , humiliation , an d self-disgus t h e ha d learne d a s a vic timized smal l boy . "Such, Suc h Wer e th e Joys," it s titl e take n fro m Blake' s poe m "Th e Echoing Green, " paint s a devastatin g pictur e o f St . Cyprian's , whic h both Orwel l an d Cyri l Connoll y attende d fro m th e ag e o f eight , an d which Orwel l call s "Crossroads " i n the essay . I hav e alread y describe d Orwell's miser y a t school. Whe n th e the homesick eight-year-ol d bega n wetting th e bed , h e wa s publicl y shame d b y th e sadisti c headmaster' s wife an d beaten b y the headmaster. Hi s asthma to o was diagnosed a s "a moral disorder, cause d by overeating" (Such, 32) . Other memorie s of the "squalor and neglect" include constant hunger and inedible food, a human turd floatin g i n th e bath , th e "filthy , dilapidate d lavatories , whic h ha d

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no fastening s o f an y kin d o n th e door s . .. a sort o f compoun d o f sweat y stockings, dirt y towels , faeca l smells " (Such, 35) . Much o f th e essa y i s writte n i n a ton e o f outrage . Orwel l angril y questions th e assumption : "tha t a little bo y o f eigh t o r te n shoul d b e a miserable, snotty-nose d creature , hi s fac e almos t permanentl y dirty , hi s hands chapped , hi s nail s bitten , hi s handkerchie f a sodde n horror , hi s bottom frequentl y blu e wit h bruises " (Such, 32) . However, lik e th e abuse d childre n describe d b y Le w an d b y Bas s an d Davis, Orwel l als o internalize d hi s abuse . Lon g afte r leavin g schoo l h e continued to believe that he smelled and was "preternaturally ugly" (Such, 52). " I wa s an unattractive boy, " he assures his reader. Eve n more poign ant i s thi s indirec t portrai t o f himsel f a s a child: "Eve n a creature tha t i s weak, ugly , cowardly , smelly , an d i n n o wa y justifiabl e stil l want s t o stay alive and be happy afte r it s own fashion " (Such, 52) . In their studies , Bass an d Davis , Lew , an d Ter r al l cit e suicida l depressio n a s on e o f th e symptoms o f th e victim s o f abuse . Th e self-hatre d an d despai r Orwel l internalized a t preparatory school were so profound a s to make him doub t his ver y abilit y o r righ t t o survive : "Unti l I wa s abou t thirt y I alway s planned m y lif e o n th e assumptio n no t onl y tha t an y majo r undertakin g was bound t o fail, bu t tha t I could onl y expec t to live a few years longer " (Such, 52) . In additio n t o self-hatred , Orwel l learne d that , a s Le w put s it , lif e consisted o f abuser s an d victims : Virtue consiste d i n winning: it consisted i n being bigger, stronger , hand somer, richer... than other people. .. . Life was hierarchical and whatever happened wa s right. There was [sic] th e strong, wh o deserved t o win and always did win, and there were the weak, who deserved to lose and always did lose, everlastingly. (Such, 50 ) In "Such , Suc h Wer e th e Joys " an d man y othe r works , Orwel l rec ognizes an d attempt s t o unlear n th e contemp t h e was taught fo r foreign ers, Jews , an d member s o f th e workin g class . H e neve r recognize s tha t his contemp t fo r homosexual s and , greates t o f all , hi s contemp t fo r women, stemme d fro m th e sam e source. 50 Alice Mille r discusse s th e adul t nee d t o den y a child' s experienc e o f abuse, explainin g i t a s a way adult s manag e t o spli t of f th e pai n o f thei r own childhoo d abuse . Sh e note s tha t man y biographer s wh o "hav e dif ficulty identifyin g wit h th e child . . . quite unconsciousl y minimiz e mis -

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treatment b y th e parents " (153) . Miller' s theor y i s helpfu l i n tryin g t o understand th e widesprea d dismissa l o f th e man y expose s o f th e publi c school system. Valentine Cunningham, fo r example , who also mocks ga y writers for thei r arrested development , scoff s a t the "inflated i d e a . . . tha t life a t you r pre p schoo l an d publi c schoo l w a s . . . seriousl y endangerin g and traumati c an d testing. " I n hi s otherwis e fascinatin g an d informativ e book o n th e literary scen e of th e thirties, Cunningha m dismisse s th e lin k among publi c schools , concentratio n camps , an d fascism , callin g i t a "conventional piece of schoolboy and youthy exaggeration" (119). Similar denial an d silencin g greete d th e publicatio n o f "Such , Suc h Wer e th e Joys," which Orwel l dared not publish durin g his lifetime bu t which wa s found amon g hi s paper s afte r hi s deat h an d publishe d i n 1952 . Orwell's biographer , Bernar d Crick , devote s a n entir e chapte r t o ver y dubious proof tha t Orwel l was fabricating i n what h e calls the "virulent " essay. He questions every detail, down to the famous "turd " i n the baths, using a s evidenc e Orwell' s (censore d an d corrected ) letter s hom e fro m school and letters by, an d interviews with, th e many people who objecte d to th e essay' s publication . Amon g thes e ar e Orwell' s first literar y exec utor, Si r Richar d Rees , wh o advise d Sony a Orwel l no t t o publis h th e essay, claiming, "[I] t is such a bad piece of writing, far below G's standar d . . . h e wa s alread y pas t hi s bes t whe n h e wrot e it" ; an d Andre w Gow , Orwell's tuto r a t Eton , wh o wrot e t o Sony a advisin g tha t th e essa y b e suppressed, callin g it shocking an d monstrousl y unfair. 51 Orwell' s child hood friend , Jacinth a Buddicom , objecte d no t onl y t o th e besmirchin g of th e school' s imag e bu t t o tha t o f th e man : "Th e pictur e painte d o f a wretched littl e neurotic, snivelin g miserabl y befor e a swarm o f swankin g bullies, suspectin g tha t h e 'smelt ' jus t wa s no t Eri c a t all " (Crick , 42) . Crick also quotes at length one Colin Kirkpatrick, o f Salisbury, Rhodesia , "a ver y eminen t Ol d Cyprianit e whos e memor y seem s excellent, " wh o wrote, " N O T TRUE ! YOU SOD ! LIBEL! " i n th e margin s o f Orwell' s essay (23) . Cric k introduce s a rebuttal b y Mrs . Wilke s (th e headmaster' s wife) an d finally question s Orwell' s evidenc e o n th e ground s that , afte r all, h e was no t like d a t school , an d a n unpopula r bo y migh t b e prone t o lying. H e concludes : "Th e Englis h uppe r clas s ten d t o exaggerat e th e effect o f thei r schoo l days , whethe r fo r bette r o r worse. . . . [B]oy s o f hi s class expected t o go away to school and can have been under no illusions " (20, 33) . Crick's attemp t t o discredi t "Such , Suc h Were th e Joys" i s apparentl y

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an effor t t o rescu e 1984 b y showin g tha t th e totalitaria n worl d Orwel l created i n tha t boo k wa s no t a reproduction o f hi s schoo l experience , a s so man y critic s hav e maintained . H e evidentl y feel s tha t n o boo k whic h arose fro m "childhoo d traum a a t St . Cyprian's " coul d b e a "rationa l work o f political reflection" (365) . In fact, i t is just such efforts a s Crick' s at separation an d silencing which Orwell is attacking in "Such, Suc h Were the Joys, " a s wel l a s i n suc h essays a s "Shootin g a n Elephant " (1936) , "Notes o n Nationalism " (1945) , an d "Anti-Semitis m i n Britain " (1945) . In thes e essay s h e assert s agai n an d agai n tha t th e ideolog y taugh t i n public schoo l lead s directl y t o totalitaria n regimes , imperialism , racism , and anti-Semitism . Orwell' s expos e o f th e publi c schoo l syste m i s a n effort t o brea k tha t ver y Britis h "conspirac y o f silence " whic h h e fel t characterized bot h th e publi c attitud e towar d th e Holocaus t an d th e at titude o f th e Britis h lef t towar d Stalin' s labo r camp s an d hi s polic y o f mass murder. Orwel l might well have connected th e British officials wh o complained o f to o muc h tim e spen t o n "wailin g Jews" an d censore d th e news o f thei r fat e an d th e critic s wh o attempte d t o censo r th e snivelin g of th e "wretche d littl e neurotic " wh o wa s tryin g t o tel l th e trut h abou t what happene d t o hi m a t school . While Orwell' s analysi s stop s shor t o f sexua l an d gende r dynamics , Christopher Isherwoo d describe s the way in which th e sexual and gende r imprinting he received at public school was directly connected to a system of value s h e call s fascisti c an d le d t o th e worshi p o f war . Hi s analysi s illustrates, i n a wa y Millet t an d Wool f woul d approve , tha t value s in volving war and dominance cannot finally be isolated from thos e involving sexual an d gende r programming . Isherwood' s analysi s o f hi s ow n un conscious an d fantas y proces s allow s u s valuable insigh t int o th e uncon scious processe s an d production s o f th e writer s i n m y study . I n Lions and Shadows (1938 ) h e describe s hi s schoolbo y preoccupatio n wit h "th e complex o f terror s an d longing s connecte d wit h th e ide a 'War. ' " Fo r him, "War " wa s associate d wit h a test—"of you r courage , o f you r ma turity, o f you r sexua l prowess"—whic h ende d wit h th e question , com pulsively pose d t o himself , "Ar e yo u reall y a man?" 52 H e manage d t o convert thi s obsession , whic h h e foun d to o anxiety-provoking , int o on e which wa s se t i n hi s schoo l rathe r tha n o n th e battlefield . Slowly , h e began t o evolv e " a cul t o f th e publi c schoo l system"— a comfortin g an d romantic drea m ver y simila r t o th e visio n i n Stalky and Co., whic h ha d in par t inspire d it :

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In thi s daydream , th e centra l figure, th e drea m I , wa s a n auster e youn g prefect called upon unexpectedly to captain a "bad" house, surrounded by sneering critic s an d ope n enemies , fighting slackness , mora l rottenness , grimly repressin g hi s ow n romanti c feeling s towar d a younger boy , an d finally triumphin g over all obstacles, passing the tests, emerging,—a Man. (Lions, 77) In describin g hi s daydream , Isherwoo d muse s tha t a cleve r Englis h fascist migh t hav e converte d hi m "insid e hal f a n hour " a t tha t tim e i n his life : "th e ruler s o f Fascis t state s d o no t sneer—the y profoundl y understand an d mak e us e o f jus t thes e phantasie s an d longings " (Lions, 78-79). E. M . Forster , too , understoo d tha t th e racism , anti-Semitism , an d woman-hating whic h wer e al l part s o f th e publi c schoo l ideolog y wer e inseparable: al l par t o f on e dehumanizin g package . I n hi s essa y de nouncing anti-Semitism , "Je w Consciousness " (1939) , h e remark s o n how wel l hi s preparator y school , wit h it s cul t o f sister - an d mother hating, prepare d hi m fo r "anti-Semitism . . . . now th e mos t shockin g o f all things. . . assailing th e huma n min d a t it s source." 53 Of th e thre e author s i n thi s study , Wyndha m Lewi s wa s expelle d from Rugb y afte r tw o years , an d Charle s Williams' s parent s coul d no t afford t o sen d hi m t o publi c school . Onl y Graha m Green e attende d public schoo l fro m th e ag e o f te n on , an d eve n h e ha d a yea r off , thanks t o th e nervou s collaps e brough t o n b y th e schoo l experience . Nevertheless, th e publi c schoo l syste m o f value s extende d t o eac h o f the authors . Lewis' s labe l a s a Rugb y ma n wa s a n extremel y importan t part o f hi s identit y an d on e h e constantl y referre d to . Charle s William s bitterly regrette d hi s lower-middle-clas s origins , an d became , a s Val entine Cunningha m point s out , "mor e devote d a n honorar y Oxonian " than man y wh o actuall y attende d publi c schoo l an d Oxfor d (137) . An d Graham Green e continue d t o write almos t compulsivel y abou t hi s publi c school i n nove l afte r novel . Th e publi c schoo l syste m di d not , o f cours e create it s ow n value s anew , bu t instea d reproduce d an d conducte d th e values o f th e dominan t clas s t o it s youn g males . I t woul d accordingl y be overl y simplisti c t o plac e al l o f th e patholog y w e fin d i n th e wor k of ou r thre e author s a t th e polishe d an d ornamente d door s o f Britain' s public an d preparator y schools . Bu t th e publi c schoo l syste m o f value s did exten d fa r beyon d it s obviou s boundaries . Th e inne r rigidit y an d inability t o feel , th e attachmen t t o hierarchi c system s o f dominanc e an d

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subjection, th e inabilit y t o regar d eithe r th e opposit e se x o r thos e wh o are differen t fro m onesel f i n term s o f nationality , class , race , sexua l preference, o r religio n a s full y human—al l thes e ar e qualitie s inheren t in th e publi c schoo l ideology , an d al l ar e eviden t i n th e wor k o f Lewis , Williams, an d Greene .

F O U R

The Molten Column Within: Wyndham Lewis

Introduction: Why

Study Wyndham Lewis

One coul d argu e tha t t o begi n th e mai n bod y o f thi s boo k wit h a n in depth examinatio n o f th e lif e an d wor k o f self-proclaime d "Enemy " Wyndham Lewi s hardly promises a balanced approach . A s Fredric Jameson put s i t i n hi s Fables of Aggression: The polemic hostility to feminism, the uglier misogynist fantasies embedded in his narratives, th e obsessiv e phobia agains t homosexuals , th e most extreme restatements of grotesque traditional myths and attitudes—such fea tures, release d b y Lewis' s particula r sexua l politics.. . are no t likel y t o endear him to the contemporary reader. 1 Were thi s a n attempt a t a balanced surve y o f authoria l attitude s durin g this tim e period , I woul d certainl y begi n wit h anothe r author . A s i t is , the extrem e natur e o f Lewis' s syste m make s hi m a n ideal first autho r fo r this study. Hi s attitudes, while more intense in their expression, an d ofte n closer t o th e surface , ar e not , i n fact , differen t i n essenc e fro m thos e I will g o o n t o explor e muc h mor e briefl y i n th e ensuin g chapters , whe n I tur n t o Charle s William s an d Graha m Greene . Wyndham Lewis , a s eve n hi s mos t sympatheti c critic s ar e force d t o admit, wa s a rigid , narcissisti c ma n whos e lif e an d wor k bot h exhibi t a marked tendenc y toward paranoia. While his biographer, Jeffrey Meyers , insists that he could not have "led such a carefully organize d and intensel y productive existenc e i f h e wer e paranoi d o r suffere d fro m persecutio n mania," 2 sufferer s fro m a paranoid personalit y disorde r ar e i n fac t ver y often drive n an d ambitiou s peopl e wh o accomplis h a grea t dea l i n a n outward sense , an d whos e mai n difficultie s occu r i n thei r relation s wit h 119

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others an d thei r feeling s o f chroni c unhappines s an d discontent. 3 Whil e Lewis's personality disorde r never prevented him from writin g and paint ing, it did stop him from eve r concentrating full y o n one project a t a time and fro m livin g in an y kin d o f comfort , ease , o r happiness . O f th e man y people who had known Lewi s whom Meyer s interviewed whil e research ing his biography , ever y on e excep t hi s wife mentione d hi s "persecutio n complex." Julia n Symons , a clos e frien d an d admirer , i s typica l i n hi s memory o f hi s friend' s "inne r rage , a t th e condition s o f life , th e natur e of society , th e dullnes s o f othe r people." 4 Anothe r friend , Joh n Roth enstein, commented : "A s a talke r h e wa s largel y defensive , expressin g his suspicion s tha t thi s perso n o r tha t ha d plotte d o r wa s plottin g t o d o him a n injury " (Meyers , 201) . Wyndha m Lewi s habituall y sa t wit h hi s back t o th e wal l t o watc h fo r enemies . H e constructe d secre t door s an d keyholes i n hi s homes , an d eve n whe n i n dires t poverty , alway s main tained severa l different home s an d concealed hi s various addresses . Lewi s fought compulsivel y with everyone—especially with those who attempte d to hel p hi m o r t o becom e clos e t o him . Lik e Kernberg' s narcissisti c borderline patients , Lewi s wa s unabl e t o perceiv e o f other s a s real . Hi s shadowy worl d wa s populate d largel y b y hi s "ow n grandios e self , b y devaluated shadow y image s o f sel f an d others , an d b y potentia l perse cutors representin g th e non-integrate d sadisti c superego " (Kernberg , 282). Lewis's wor k reveal s a similarl y narcissisti c paranoi d system . A t it s base i s a conspiracy spearheade d b y women—i n leagu e wit h (dependin g upon the occasion) feminine homosexual men, Jews, children, nonwhites , members o f th e workin g class , communists , an d variou s othe r groups . The whit e male , especiall y th e whit e mal e artis t an d geniu s (o f who m Lewis himsel f ma y b e th e onl y exampl e o f hi s time) , i s th e victi m an d designated prey of this conspiracy. Unless he keeps up a constant vigilance and maintain s a tireles s an d aggressiv e self-defense , h e wil l soo n fin d himself turne d int o a helpless infan t a t th e merc y o f a woman wh o wil l swallow hi m up , engul f an d obliterat e him , o r transfor m hi m int o on e of he r ow n kind . In thos e o f Lewis' s book s upo n whic h I will concentrat e here , writte n between 192 6 and 1939, the alliances involved in the conspiracy constantl y shift an d regroup , wit h on e grou p o f "Other " takin g cente r stag e onl y to be replaced by another, bu t the basic plot remains the same. Wyndha m Lewis ofte n calle d himsel f th e "Enemy. " I n fact , hi s stance , reflecte d

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both i n hi s lif e scrip t an d i n ever y on e o f hi s published works , i s that o f a victim , desperatel y defendin g himsel f agains t th e enem y worl d whic h surrounds an d besiege s him . Whe n hi s friend s begge d hi m t o sto p bitin g the hand s tha t fe d him , hi s inevitabl e explanatio n wa s tha t h e ha d n o choice bu t t o mak e th e first mov e i n orde r t o defen d himsel f agains t th e attack tha t h e kne w wa s coming . Lewis is a prime example of the male socialization i n violence describe d by Millett and Woolf and discussed in chapter 2. Like one of his temporary mentors, Marinetti , Lewi s linke d wa r wit h ar t an d beauty . Valentin e Cunningham describe s hi m a s th e write r who did more than any other... t o carry over a war-time violence into art and criticism, an d to make that toughness fashionable, wh o thought of his typewriter a s a machine-gun, wh o declare d tha t ar t wa s "like" war, wh o sought by his published preachments to "leave upon your retina a stain of blood[.]" (64) Lewis's particula r process a s a write r als o make s hi s wor k especiall y accessible fo r th e purpose s o f thi s study . Th e imag e h e use s mos t ofte n to describ e tha t proces s i s tha t o f a volcano , eithe r immediatel y befor e or in th e ac t of eruption . Whethe r h e produced fictional text s o r didacti c books o f criticis m o r politica l theory , hi s writin g wa s a n expressio n o f the "molte n colum n within." 5 Thoug h man y critic s feel tha t Lewis' s rea l ability wa s a s a painte r rathe r tha n a s a writer , th e mani c forc e o f hi s need t o nam e hi s obsession s coul d no t b e harnesse d t o paintin g alone , but neede d th e release of words. Lewis' s autobiographica l persona , Tarr , the eponymou s hero , give s hi s frien d a lectur e o n th e "dail y ooze " o f sex: [Y]ou must listen. I cannot let you off befor e you have heard, an d shown that you understand. I f you do not sit and listen, I will write it all to you in a letter. YOU WIL L BE MADE TO HEA R IT! 6 This urgency allowe d Lewi s little time for deliberatio n o r revision, an d material whic h othe r author s migh t hav e remove d i n th e proces s o f re vision, o r censored i n the first place, is all here, availabl e for ou r scrutiny . Lewis wa s als o hi s ow n mos t franti c critic . H e regularl y organize d friends t o revie w hi s book s an d ofte n reviewe d the m himsel f i n othe r books or i n special pamphlets an d magazines he printed fo r tha t purpose . Each negativ e revie w wa s a personal insul t whic h mus t b e countere d i n

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print. Whe n publi c opinio n wen t agains t hi s publishe d views , o r whe n those view s bega n t o change , h e wrot e ne w book s an d article s i n whic h he justifie d an d explaine d himself . I n som e o f thes e revisionis t texts , including The Jews, Are They Human (1939) , The Hitler Cult (1939) , and Rude Assignment: An Intellectual Biography (1950) , Lewi s attempt s a kind o f self-study , reinterpretin g hi s earlier books o n th e sam e subject . Neither o f th e othe r author s i n thi s stud y fel t th e pressur e t o undertak e this kin d o f revisionis t self-analysis . Wyndha m Lewis , i n man y way s a most unappealin g author , i s thu s th e perfec t subjec t fo r thi s book .

A Man Only His Biographer Could Love: Wyndham Lewis and Jeffrey Meyers Wyndham Lewi s expounded upo n his political beliefs very freely, writin g books an d pamphlets eve n when he had scanty information o n the subjec t or whe n h e kne w tha t revealin g hi s view s woul d har m hi m personally . He had a different attitud e when it came to revealing details of his personal life, especiall y thos e involvin g hi s relation s wit h wome n o r anythin g t o do wit h hi s childhoo d an d youth . Hi s tw o openl y autobiographica l works, Blasting and Bombardiering (1937) , a n account o f his World Wa r I experience , an d Rude Assignment (1950) , eac h shed s som e significan t light on his life an d thinking, a s do his collected letters , which als o reveal significant pattern s i n his ideas and relationships. Bu t on the whole Lewi s carefully avoide d wha t h e calle d "th e ver y dar k cavern " o f hi s earl y lif e {Rude Assignment, 126) . Fortunately , Jeffre y Meyers' s well-researche d biography, The Enemy (1980) , illuminate s thi s darkness . Meyers regard s hi s subject a s "a genius, " "th e mos t importan t painte r of th e twentiet h century, " an d "on e o f th e mos t livel y an d stimulatin g forces i n modern Englis h literature." 7 He finds Lewi s "more sympatheti c than menacing " an d identifie s wit h him , finding tha t "Lewi s an d I ha d . . . a simila r physique , quarrelsom e temperament , hatre d o f publishers , capacity fo r wor k an d commitmen t t o intellectual life. " On e o f Meyers' s acknowledged aim s in hi s biography i s to "restor e Lewis' s reputation." 8 It ma y b e tha t th e developmen t o f a certai n degre e o f sympath y an d even identificatio n i s necessary i n orde r t o writ e a n excellen t biography . Nevertheless, I found Meyer s disturbingly eager to justify Lewis' s stance s in everythin g fro m hi s support o f Hitle r t o hi s conviction tha t "Blooms bury" wa s a grou p o f pueril e coward s whos e mai n ai m wa s t o destro y

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the caree r o f on e Wyndha m Lewis . Meyer s tend s t o tak e Lewi s a t hi s own word , justifyin g hi s subject's mor e dubiou s attitude s b y citing Lew is's idealis m o r hi s philosoph y o f artisti c creation . On e exampl e ou t o f many i s his acceptance o f Lewis' s post fact o explanatio n tha t hi s suppor t of Hitler was in fact a pacifist effor t whic h came out of his desire to avoi d another war . Thes e rationalization s distor t ou r pictur e o f Lewi s an d ar e reminiscent o f th e earlie r critics' efforts t o justify Dicken s b y quotin g hi s own philo-Semiti c statements . The y als o allow Meyers to avoi d an y psy chological interpretatio n o r explanation s an d t o remai n fo r th e mos t par t on th e surfac e o f hi s complicate d an d deepl y trouble d subject' s psyche . Lewis, wh o advocate d a concentratio n o n th e surfac e rathe r tha n th e "intestines" o f hi s subject s an d wh o wrot e "Giv e m e th e outsid e o f al l things, I am a fanatic fo r th e externality o f things," would doubtles s hav e appreciated his biographer's approach. 9 However, i t is an approach whic h I find limiting , an d whic h I hav e attempte d t o challeng e here . Despite hi s own admiratio n fo r Lewis , Meyer s never hesitates t o shar e other, les s glowing opinions held by his contemporaries, an d a disturbing portrait o f the artist seems at times to emerge in spite of the valiant rescu e efforts o f his biographer. Whil e my own evaluatio n o f Lewi s is obviousl y quite differen t fro m Meyers's , I hav e grea t admiratio n fo r hi s research , and I a m i n deb t t o hi m fo r muc h o f th e informatio n (thoug h no t it s interpretation) i n thi s chapter . Meyers' s chronolog y o f Lewis' s life , hi s careful an d painstakin g footnotes , an d hi s reference s t o othe r source s such a s review s o f Lewis' s wor k wer e als o invaluabl e t o me . M y ow n discussion will , o f necessity , b e limite d t o thos e part s o f Lewis' s lif e which seem most relevant to the issues at hand. For a more comprehensiv e discussion of Lewis's life, including his career as a visual artist, a thorough study o f th e evolutio n o f al l hi s publishe d work , an d a n accoun t o f hi s illness an d late r years , I recommen d th e reade r t o Meyers . The Vortex of Betrayal: Wyndham

Lewis's

Life

Psychoanalytic theory , whic h purport s t o explai n al l of huma n behavio r in terms o f childhoo d experience , ha s alway s been (an d i s still) especiall y susceptible t o projectiv e interpretations . Fo r example , Virgini a Woolf , whose girlhoo d inces t experience s ha d bee n s o traumatic an d whose ow n father s o invasive , interprete d psychoanalyti c concept s suc h a s infantil e fixation an d th e Oedipa l comple x t o refe r t o th e incestuou s desire s o f

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"fathers" fo r thei r daughters. 10 Similarly , psychoanalysi s wa s invariabl y associated i n Wyndham Lewis' s mind with the idea of mother-son incest . He applie d hi s ow n bran d o f obsessiv e an d angr y ruminatio n t o thi s theme, ofte n suggesting , wit h som e confusion , tha t Freu d himsel f wa s responsible fo r unhealth y mother-so n relationships . I n th e ligh t o f hi s childhood experience , i t is not surprising that Lewis's concern abou t "th e incest theme " le d hi m t o projec t i t ont o Freud—a s wel l a s onto assorte d Others. Percy Wyndha m Lewi s wa s bor n o n a yach t i n Canad a i n 1882 , th e same yea r a s James Joyc e an d Virgini a Woolf , thre e year s befor e Ezr a Pound an d six years before T . S . Eliot. Lewis' s American father, Charles , married hi s Englis h mother , Anne , whe n sh e wa s sixtee n an d h e wa s thirty-three. Charles , who never worked afte r h e left th e American army , was a n errati c an d distan t ma n whos e mai n activit y wa s sailing , perhap s because i t too k hi m awa y fro m hi s famil y fo r prolonge d periods . Th e marriage was stormy, an d Charles' s reputation fo r lechery , whic h his son would inheri t an d surpass , wa s soo n established . Charle s elope d wit h a housemaid i n 1893 , when Perc y wa s eleve n an d th e famil y wa s livin g o n the Isl e o f Wight . Fo r Ann e Lewis , thi s wa s th e las t straw . Althoug h Charles soo n abandone d hi s mistres s an d appeale d fo r a reconciliation , she refuse d al l hi s attempts . Apparentl y gla d t o b e ri d o f he r husband , she accepte d a smal l stipen d fro m hi m an d establishe d a hom e fo r he r adored so n wit h a loyal female relative . Th e entir e househol d functione d around th e need s o f youn g Percy , a s h e wa s the n called . A s hi s letter s to he r mak e clear , Perc y an d hi s mothe r ha d a stron g an d exclusiv e attachment whic h allowe d fo r n o othe r me n i n th e mother' s life , an d n o women i n th e son' s durin g hi s mother' s lifetime , excep t fo r a serie s o f despised an d objectifie d sexua l partners . Before finding a new family , Charle s repeatedl y wrot e abjec t letter s t o both hi s wif e an d hi s son . On e suc h lette r t o th e twelve-year-ol d Perc y begs him to intercede with his mother, blame s himself, bemoans his lonely fate, an d accuse s Ann e o f cruelt y an d o f excessiv e attachmen t t o he r mother (Meyers , 5) . It is normal for an y child to blame himself o r hersel f in th e even t o f a parental separation , an d a n appea l o f thi s kin d lai d a n especially stron g burde n o f responsibilit y o n youn g Percy , wh o mus t have fel t tha t h e ha d quit e literall y wo n hi s mothe r an d destroye d hi s father. A t th e sam e time, h e must hav e experienced hi s mother, wh o ha d demonstrated he r powe r t o expe l his father an d no w require d he r so n t o take hi s plac e wit h her , a s bot h omnipoten t an d dangerousl y engulfing .

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It i s not surprisin g tha t Lewi s wa s preoccupie d wit h th e them e o f inces tuous relationship s betwee n mothe r an d son , o r tha t h e spli t of f o r pro jected the very concept of such relationships onto any "Other" available — Freud himself , "non-europeans, " o r women . In hi s right-win g politica l tract , The Art of Being Ruled (1926) , Lewi s speaks o f th e husban d an d wif e a s natura l enemie s an d o f th e so n an d mother a s natura l allie s an d friends . H e reasons , "I t i s perhap s a s wel l to ad d tha t al l th e freudia n oeudipus-comple x propagand a ha s greatl y assisted thi s situation." 11 I n hi s defens e o f th e beleaguere d whit e race , Paleface (1929) , h e agai n blame s Freu d fo r creatin g th e "incest-theme " and goe s o n t o assur e u s tha t thi s them e doe s no t appl y t o him , a s i t i s "inappropriate t o th e europea n communities , o n who m n o sever e reli gious restriction s o f rac e o r o f cast e hav e bee n imposed." 12 Ove r an d over again , Lewi s paint s a picture o f a powerless mal e child , th e victi m of th e tw o force s o f Jewish Freudianis m an d feminism , which , i n leagu e together, inten d t o forc e hi m t o fulfil l th e Oedipa l script : [T]his sam e figure—the highl y educabl e sensitive child—has alread y bee n stirred up against papa by his feminist mama , an d is pondering already, if he is a reader of Freud, i f he shall slay and eat him. {Art, 287) Lewis's clos e ti e wit h hi s mothe r an d wha t h e mus t hav e experience d as her expulsio n o f hi s fathe r mad e th e nee d t o "escap e fro m th e powe r of th e mothe r an d th e intensit y o f th e first feminin e identification " a n even mor e pressin g tas k (Johnso n an d Stockard , 222) . Th e longin g t o return t o th e feminin e worl d i n whic h h e ha d bee n a pampere d an d worshiped youn g princ e was als o a powerful forc e an d on e which woul d have t o b e forcibl y destroye d i f i t wer e no t t o overwhel m him . Horne y describes th e longin g o f th e youn g boy , whos e primar y identificatio n i s with his mother, t o be a woman, o r as Chodorow puts it, his "underlyin g sense o f femaleness " (9) . I n th e appropriatel y name d Doom of Youth (1932), i n The Apes of God (1930) , an d indee d i n al l of hi s othe r works , Lewis argue s tha t mos t men , give n hal f a chance, wil l attemp t t o retur n to th e womb—tha t is , t o a primitive femal e (an d female-dominated ) in fancy. I n Rude Assignment, Lewi s describe s thi s powerful longing , onc e again projecting i t onto Freud: "The great influence o f the psychoanalyti c doctrines o f th e Unconsciou s (th e desir e t o retur n bac k int o th e wom b type of suggestion ) has had the effect o f leading an entire generation bac k to th e frontier s o f primitiv e existence " (194) . For Lewis , bot h childhoo d an d femininit y woul d becom e object s o f

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the most rigid splitting off. Dinnerstei n mentions men's terror "of sinkin g back wholl y int o th e helplessnes s o f infancy " (164) , an d thi s wa s a par ticularly potent fea r fo r Lewi s al l of his life. Lik e the Freikorpsmen, wh o saw th e desir e fo r huma n pleasur e a s a contagious disease , Lewi s neede d to "renounc e th e sensuou s emotiona l world o f earl y childhood " i n orde r to "sea l of f th e laye r o f personalit y i n whic h th e primitiv e eroti c flow between th e sel f an d th e surroun d ha s it s source " (Dinnerstein , 32) . Indeed, Lewis , lik e Shapiro' s paranoi d patients , aspire d t o becom e a machine an d proclaime d hi s goa l o f writin g i n a way whic h transcende d all human emotion . Lewis hardl y sa w his fathe r afte r 1900 , th e year Charle s pai d hi s son' s fees a t Rugb y school . I n letter s t o hi s mother , Lewi s refer s t o hi m fa cetiously a s th e "Paren t Ove r th e Water " an d "Ol d Rip " an d discusse s possible ways the two o f them migh t "extract " mone y fro m him. 13 Afte r his father's death , Lewis wrote about him more sympathetically and began to identif y wit h him , callin g hi m "tha t odd-man-ou t i n a society o f go getters." 14 After bein g educate d a t hom e an d a t a series o f pre p schools , a t non e of whic h h e remaine d mor e tha n a fe w months , th e thirteen-year-ol d Lewis wa s sen t t o Rugby . Whil e th e stor y o f th e man y pre p school s remains untold , i t i s probable tha t neithe r mothe r no r so n coul d endur e prolonged separations , an d tha t Lewis' s mothe r withdre w hi m fro m school whe n h e wa s unhappy . Lewi s ha s als o alway s kep t silen t o n hi s Rugby experience , bu t clue s ar e available . Th e intelligen t bo y cam e a t the botto m o f hi s clas s of twenty-six . Hi s schoo l report s describ e hi m a s lazy, lethargic , sluggish , an d thoroughl y idl e (Meyers, 8) . Meyers point s out that "his lethargic school report was a striking contrast to the demoni c energy o f hi s maturity, " bu t fail s t o not e tha t th e repor t read s lik e a description o f clinica l depressio n (Meyers , 8) . Afte r tw o years , Lewi s was expelle d fro m Rugb y fo r failin g t o work , a rare occurrence there . I n an earl y draf t o f a chapte r i n Rude Assignment, whic h h e late r delete d from th e final copy , Lewi s describe s Rugb y i n term s o f beatings : " I . . . was frequently beate n by my house master, both for idleness and breache s of th e rules . H e use d t o rus h u p an d dow n hi s dar k study , lashin g a t m e with hi s whistling cane." 15 H e concludes , " I lef t Rugb y afte r abou t tw o years o f kickin g ball s an d bein g beate n fo r lac k o f work " {Rude, Ap pendix, 250) . Beatin g take s a prominent rol e i n al l his schoo l memories . Much later , Lewi s "proudly " tol d Marshal l McLuha n tha t h e wa s th e

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first Rugb y ma n t o receiv e si x beating s i n on e da y (Meyers , 7) . Also , i n an unpublished "vitae " he wrote whe n applyin g t o teac h i n a n America n university i n 1949 , h e writes : "Scarcel y di d I lear n t o spell , certainly . Masters noticin g this , an d pretendin g i t was m y fault , too k advantag e o f the fac t t o bea t m e unmercifully . The y gav e m e a not e t o han d t o m y Housemaster. Whe n h e rea d i t h e bea t m e too . Bu t I understoo d i t wa s their fun , an d bein g quit e healthy , didn' t mind " (Meyers , 8) . Behind th e casua l dismissal , on e ca n perceiv e th e miser y o f a bo y brought u p i n a n adoring , exclusivel y femal e househol d a s hi s mother' s beloved companion , thrus t int o a n atmospher e wher e hi s homesicknes s and depressio n mad e hi m see m stupid , an d wher e h e wa s constantly , sometimes ritualistically beaten. While Lewis shies away from direc t statement, th e implicatio n i s tha t th e master s i n questio n go t sexua l enjoy ment—"their fun" — fro m beatin g young boys. Aware of the prominenc e and sexual connotation of beatings in such "homosexual" boarding schoo l novels a s Alec Waugh's The Loom of Youth (whic h h e attacke d savagel y in hi s ow n Doom of Youth an d elsewhere) , Lewi s describe s hi s ow n beatings i n a flat, neutra l tone , stressin g hi s immunit y fro m suc h form s of sexuality. Lik e the abused children Alice Miller describes, whose denial festers an d i s reborn i n thei r late r sadism , Lewi s neede d t o den y hi s ow n pain an d abus e (and certainl y an y sexual feelings relate d t o it) at all costs. Yet th e boardin g schoo l experienc e undoubtedl y lef t it s mark . Lewis regarde d wome n a s a specie s apart . Heterosexua l activity , wa s a compulsiv e an d addictiv e nee d fo r hi m an d fo r th e mal e character s i n his fiction, an d hi s relationship s wit h hi s man y sexua l partner s wa s on e "between superio r an d inferior—th e degradatio n o r humiliatio n o f on e by another , th e imposin g o f wil l b y one , th e surrende r o f th e other " (Shapiro, Autonomy, 102) . Homosexuality , o n th e othe r hand , wa s a despised an d abhorre d tabo o fo r whic h Lewi s fel t obsessiv e rag e an d horror. A t th e sam e time , a s w e shal l see , homosexua l fantasie s whic h featured Lewi s in a submissive rol e in relation t o a masculine hero playe d a prominent rol e i n hi s work . In th e final versio n o f Rude Assignment, Lewi s eliminate s th e beatin g episode, substitutin g a sentenc e mor e characteristi c o f hi s archenemy , George Orwell . Publi c school , Lewi s says , "cause d a boy t o b e conten t for th e res t o f hi s days , t o fee l tha t h e is 'playing th e game, ' obliviou s t o what th e particula r gam e happen s t o be " (119) . While earl y experience s ca n hel p explai n ou r adul t attitudes , the y can -

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not, o f course , ultimatel y determin e them . I n bot h Orwel l an d Lewis , the experienc e o f publi c schoo l le d t o a lifelon g resolv e neve r t o "pla y the game, " an d a n obsessio n wit h th e role s o f victi m an d oppressor , dominant an d dominated . However , Orwell' s resolutio n involve d a system in which he defended o r rescued an identified oppresse d Other agains t the oppressor , while , a s we hav e seen , Lewis' s mor e narcissisti c syste m featured himsel f a s th e over t aggresso r bu t actua l victim. 16 After hi s expulsion fro m Rugby , Lewis' s mother, wh o ha d notice d hi s talent fo r drawing , sen t hi m t o th e Slad e Schoo l o f Art . Her e h e me t Augustus John , on e o f th e first o f a serie s o f fathe r figures who m h e would worship , the n cruell y reject . A t th e Slade , Lewis' s talen t wa s appreciated, but , in a pattern which would be repeated with later authorit y figures, h e ha d repeate d conflict s wit h th e school' s administratio n an d left afte r tw o years , withou t completin g th e course . H e the n embarke d on a n extende d tri p t o Europe , wher e "graduall y th e devastatin g effec t of Englis h schoo l lif e wor e off." 17 I n a rare sta b a t self-analysi s i n Rude Assignment, Lewi s describes a "psychological factor " whic h he feels ma y have contribute d t o hi s stron g reactio n agains t "civilization. " H e men tions that , havin g lef t schoo l early , h e wa s younge r tha n hi s contempo raries. H e describe s himsel f a s havin g remained, beyon d th e usual period, congeale d i n a kind of cryptic immaturity. I n m y socia l relations th e contact s remaine d fo r long , primitive . I recognized dimly this obstruction; was conscious of gaucherie, of wooden responses—all fairly common symptoms of course. It resulted in experience with no natural outlet in conversation collecting in a molten column within. This trop-plein would erupt; that was my way of expressing myself. (126) As we have seen, these "wooden responses " and primitive social relations are typica l o f me n wh o hav e neve r know n mutua l recognitio n an d wh o consequently fee l "dea d an d empty , unabl e t o connec t t o themselve s o r to others " (Benjamin , 136) . Lewis's letter s t o hi s mothe r fro m abroa d are , a s Rober t Chapma n writes admiringly, "remarkabl e in their candour." 18 The y shed light bot h on Lewis' s relationshi p wit h hi s mothe r an d o n wha t woul d b e a n en during pattern o f relationships with women. 19 Fro m Holland , alon g with detailed report s o n hi s bowel s an d packet s o f dirt y laundr y fo r he r t o wash, h e send s hi s mothe r th e stor y o f th e landlord' s daughter , whos e bosom he has stroked. Shortl y afterward, i n a letter with marked paranoi d

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content, h e report s tha t he r parents , who m h e ha s hear d quarreling , ar e plotting t o marr y hi m t o thei r daughter : I thin k tha t I a m often th e subjec t o f thes e disputes—also, whic h i s very unpleasant, th e people here talk about me in a disagreeable way in the next room. . .. I really have a most absurd dread of the very thought of marriage; I fee l lik e packin g u p an d flyin g t o th e Britis h Consu l fo r protection . (Letters, 14) As Chapma n acutel y notes : "This incident . . . presents th e lodger a s victim, a n unwitting catalys t i n a situation whic h almos t engulf s him " (17) . Lewis's nex t relationship , wit h a Germa n woma n name d Ida , laste d longer bu t followe d th e sam e pattern . I n 1905 , h e write s t o hi s mothe r of a German lad y wh o came round to see me one day and to my unquenchable amazement asked me to kiss her, and threw herself into my arms and kissed me with unabated vigour for thre e hours; well I'm ver y glad.. . it save s me a lot o f troubl e and expense to have a very beautiful an d nicely bred mistress. (Letters, 18) During th e cours e o f thi s relationship , whic h bega n wit h Lewi s a s th e childlike, passiv e recipient o f femal e passion , h e appear s t o gro w smalle r and smalle r a s Ida grow s larger . Unabl e t o disentangl e himsel f fro m thi s engulfing female , h e writes to his mother o f his inability to leave or forge t Ida, despite "a hopeless feeling" in her presence. Caught , a s Horney says , between "th e violen t forc e b y whic h th e ma n feel s himsel f draw n t o th e woman" an d "th e drea d les t throug h he r h e migh t di e an d b e undone " (349), h e writes : " I suffe r ver y muc h abou t al l o f this , an d spen d man y hours o f grea t despondence ; I don' t se e an y prospec t o f thi s feelin g passing" (Letters, 27) . Month s later , h e writes : " I don' t lik e he r a t al l and avoi d he r a s much a s possible: it naturally i s a cause o f grea t annoy ance, he r presence , bu t the n i f I hadn' t tha t I shoul d hav e another " (Letters, 33) . Lik e th e paranoi d me n describe d b y Salzma n an d th e nar cissistic borderline me n describe d b y Kernberg , Lewis' s awarenes s o f hi s own dependenc y o n Id a fills hi m wit h ange r an d despair . Nevertheless , he i s unable t o conceiv e o f lif e withou t a woman t o provid e sustenance . In a late r letter , h e identifie s wit h hi s fathe r a s a ma n persecute d b y women: " I thin k I ma y g o a step farthe r tha n m y augus t father , an d sa y there ar e 'to o man y bitche s i n this world*', I'v e ha d a lesson i n th e matte r of women , suc h a s I shan' t forge t i n a hurry" (Letters, 35) . Anne Lewis , presumably on e o f th e "bitches " hi s fathe r ha d complaine d about , ap -

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parently di d no t objec t t o he r son' s statement . I n hi s nex t lette r t o he r on th e subject , Lewi s wishe s Id a a t th e botto m o f th e se a an d explains : "[HJappily I have a tender feelin g i n anothe r direction , whic h ma y ripe n into covetousness : the n farewell . . . german" {Letters, 36) . I n th e end , Lewis childishl y pleade d wit h hi s mothe r t o visi t Id a an d en d th e affai r for him , whic h sh e proceeded t o do. Meyer s writes, rathe r nonchalantly : In Novembe r 190 8 Lewis' mothe r sen t fiv e guinea s t o Ida , wh o wa s expecting Lewis' baby the following month. When the infant was born, Lewis disowned it , lef t Id a an d returne d t o England , establishin g a pattern h e would repea t with his later illegitimate children. H e once told Kat e Lechmere that he had accidentally dropped and killed Ida's baby... though this was probably no t true.. . (Meyers 22) "I a m your s ever, " Lewi s signe d hi s letter s t o hi s mothe r durin g thi s period, reassurin g he r o f hi s continuin g allegiance . Meyers quote s Lewi s a s complainin g abou t "hi s abnorma l addictio n to sex " (Meyers , 89) . Sexualit y fo r him , a s fo r hi s fictional heroes , wa s a compulsive need which had little to do with attraction or choice. Lewis' s character Tar r i s certainl y speakin g fo r hi s make r whe n h e explain s tha t artists "discharg e themselves " b y satisfyin g thei r bodil y appetite s an d when h e calls sex with hi s Germa n mistress , Bertha , a "milking process " {Tarr, 219) . Thi s metaphor , i n whic h Lewi s picture s himsel f a s a femal e domestic animal , dependen t o n hi s "milker " t o reliev e him , appear s throughout hi s work an d reveal s hi s self-disgus t a t his ow n dependency , as well a s th e resentmen t h e fel t fo r th e wome n who m h e needed . In hi s sexua l addictio n an d hi s close , thoug h ambivalent , relationship s with women , Lewi s differ s fro m th e Freikorpsmen , wh o foun d sexua l release in killing , no t i n intercourse, wh o tende d t o b e celibate, an d wh o found thei r primar y relationship s an d thei r proo f o f masculinit y withi n a male group . Fo r Lewis , wh o woul d hav e found participatio n i n suc h a group intolerable, unremitting sexual activity served as a continuous proof of his masculinity. H e often boaste d about his many attacks of gonorrhea , which cause d year-lon g period s o f illnes s an d indirectl y le d t o hi s death , and which , a s h e wa s seldo m completel y fre e fro m it , on e imagine s h e may hav e transmitte d t o som e o f hi s sexua l partners . I n hi s letters , h e refers t o hi s friends ' wive s an d mistresse s a s "cunts " an d "sickenin g bitches." Hug h Porteu s note d Lewis' s combinatio n o f lecher y an d hos tility to Porteus's Jewish girlfriends an d affectionately remember s a paint-

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ing a t th e doorwa y o f on e o f Lewis' s residences , showin g " a shrewis h female face , th e lip s neatl y sew n togethe r wit h jagge d stitche s o f blac k cobbler's thread . Thi s I learne d t o rea d a s a reminde r tha t n o wome n were allowe d t o ente r here " (Meyers , 203) . Like hi s paranoia , Lewis' s misogyn y wa s on e o f th e characteristic s noted b y ever y contemporar y Meyer s interviewed , mal e o r female , ap proving or disapproving—with th e one outstanding exception of his wife. Jameson comment s o n th e "obsessiv e sexis m an d misogyn y whic h ca n go unnotice d b y n o reade r o f Lewis' s w o r k . . . s o extrem e a s t o b e vir tually beyon d sexism, " an d thi s qualit y wa s a s eviden t i n hi s lif e a s i n his wor k (Jameson , 30) . If Lewi s ha d ambivalen t an d contradictor y feeling s abou t se x an d women, he felt no ambivalence for what he called "breeding" and for chil dren themselves . Lik e th e me n i n Kernberg' s study , Lewi s fel t disgus t a t "the prima l scene, " whic h h e evoke d tim e an d agai n i n hi s fiction . I n a rather strange grouping, Meyers comments on his "almost Swiftian disgus t about bodily functions an d newborn infants, " a disgust which he explain s in terms of Lewis's ideology: "sex and birth emphasized th e horrifying di chotomy o f mind an d body" (Meyers , 89) . A more satisfying explanatio n can b e foun d i n Lewis' s ofte n reiterate d fea r o f regressio n int o infancy , coupled with his need to be supreme in his mother's and in his other wom en's affections . I n a strikin g instanc e o f Miller' s repetitio n compulsion , Lewis abandoned his five illegitimate children in a manner even more tota l than that in which his father ha d abandoned him , leavin g each woman be fore she gave birth and never seeing or contacting any of them. In 1908 , Lewi s returne d t o England , wher e h e entere d int o a perio d of energ y an d fam e an d becam e a sta r o f th e avant-garde . H e create d numerous mural s an d stag e sets , founde d a group, whic h hi s frien d an d mentor Ezr a Poun d name d "Th e Vortex, " tha t produce d tw o issue s o f a magazine, Blast (191 4 and 1915) , and wrote his first novel , Tarr (1918) . During thi s tim e he fell unde r th e influence o f F . T . Marinetti , who m h e had first hear d lectur e i n Londo n i n 191 0 and whos e futuris t movement , "an extraordinar y premonitio n o f th e woman-despisin g necrophili a o f fascism" (Oldfield , 12) , I discusse d briefl y i n chapte r 2 . I n Blasting and Bombardiering (1937) , i n a n earl y effor t t o eras e his ow n fascis t connec tions, Lewi s denied any connection with Marinetti, bu t in fact the futuris t movement, wit h it s glorificatio n o f violenc e a s necessary "hygiene " an d its contemp t fo r femaleness , provide d th e philosophica l underpinning s

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for Vorticis m an d fo r Blast, a s well as for Lewis' s politica l writing o f th e 1920s and 1930s . Lewis' s public brea k with Marinett i i n 191 4 was simila r to hi s brea k wit h othe r mentors : Augustu s John , Walte r Sickert , Roge r Fry, Sturgi s Moore , Ezr a Pound , an d T . S . Eliot , t o nam e onl y a few . The list of mentors whom Lewi s managed t o attract an d the n viciousl y turned o n is at least as numerous an d as renowned a s his list of mistresses. He wa s particularly viciou s to anyone who helped hi m financially . I n th e collected letter s on e sets a pattern o f initia l warmt h an d gratitude , fol lowed quickl y b y feeling s o f mistrus t an d suggestion s tha t th e frien d o r benefactor migh t be about to betray him; and then by a venomous attack , repeated unti l th e friend finall y withdraws , a t which poin t Lewi s accuse s him o f betrayal , disloyalty , venality , an d othe r sins , an d instruct s hi m to sta y awa y fro m the n on . I n a patter n typica l o f th e narcissisti c bor derline personalit y a s described b y Kernberg , ove r an d ove r agai n Lewi s ejected th e father wh o had abandoned hi m to the clutches of his mother. 20 Only thos e wit h th e remarkabl e abilit y t o ignor e hi s insults wer e abl e t o continue t o suppor t hi s work , althoug h mos t o f thes e discontinue d an y personal relationship. 21 Lewi s longe d fo r a strong an d carin g fathe r an d found plent y o f me n wh o wer e eage r t o pla y tha t rol e fo r th e toug h genius, a s h e wa s known . However , h e wa s to o terrifie d o f hi s ow n homosexual leaning s t o tolerat e suc h patronag e fo r long , an d th e ideal ization o f thes e fathe r figures soo n gav e way t o rage . W e hav e see n ho w his dependenc e o n wome n cause d hi m t o experienc e the m a s threatenin g and consequently t o defend himsel f agains t them with grea t hostility. Th e same patter n existe d wit h thos e me n wh o attempte d t o hel p hi m financially o r i n othe r ways . Meyers, eage r t o prov e tha t Lewi s wa s no t i n fac t paranoid , explain s that "th e sever e and degradin g poverty h e suffered durin g his entire adul t life account s i n larg e measure fo r Lewis ' suspiciou s characte r an d hostil e behaviour" (Meyers, 87) . He also mentions Lewis's "fierce an d ultimately self-destructive nee d t o sacrific e peopl e fo r ideas " and praises th e way h e "successfully separate d th e degradin g povert y an d squalo r o f hi s dail y existence fro m hi s exalte d intellectua l an d artisti c life " (Meyers , 120) . Again, h e explain s tha t Lewis' s bizarr e behavio r towar d th e en d o f hi s life, includin g hi s chroni c secretivenes s abou t hi s addres s an d telephon e number, wa s merel y a n attemp t t o avoi d creditor s (Meyers , 11) . Whil e it i s true tha t Lewi s experience d chroni c poverty , I would sugges t tha t i t was not povert y whic h create d hi s behavior , bu t rathe r tha t hi s paranoi d

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behavior create d an d sustaine d hi s poverty. Whil e Lewis' s book s consis tently los t money fo r hi s publishers an d neve r supported hi m financially , he wa s a n extraordinar y portrai t painte r wh o wa s widel y admire d an d could hav e mad e a goo d livin g paintin g portrait s o f thos e i n th e artisti c and literary world. Instead , jus t as he insulted th e patrons who attempte d to help him financially, h e insulted an d degraded hi s subjects durin g thei r sittings. A s i f thi s wer e no t enoug h t o alienat e them , h e consistentl y se t one price an d afterwar d demande d mor e mone y tha n ha d originall y bee n agreed upon. 22 Th e sam e wa s tru e fo r hi s literar y career , i n whic h h e consistently alienate d admirer s an d reviewers . Mos t o f hi s contemporar ies, eve n thos e wh o dislike d him , agree d tha t Lewi s wa s a man o f grea t energy an d talent . I t too k wha t amounte d t o a concerte d campaig n o n his par t t o achiev e hi s stat e o f chroni c need . Typical o f thi s campaig n wa s hi s battl e wit h "Bloomsbury, " a grou p whose "members " embodie d hi s obsession s wit h effeminat e men , en gulfing women , Jews , an d leftists . Engage d a s a n artis t fo r th e Omeg a workshop, Lewi s accused Clive Bell of stealing a commission for the Ideal Home exhibitio n whic h Lewi s claime d was meant fo r him . I n th e round robin tha t h e circulate d afte r th e event , Lewi s accuse s th e worksho p members o f bein g feminin e an d havin g t o cal l hi m i n "t o d o th e roug h and masculin e work " {Letters , 49) . The Bloomsbur y grou p continue d t o be a focu s fo r hi s rag e throughou t hi s life . H e projecte d hi s persona l failures ont o them , believin g tha t i t was thei r schemin g whic h prevente d him fro m eve r attainin g critica l o r financial succes s i n England, an d con stantly attacking the group's financial privilege, their homosexuality, thei r feminism, an d thei r pacifism . I n Blasting and Bombardiering h e speak s venomously o f "th e Bloomsburies, " wh o spen t th e wa r year s under the wings of powerful pacifist friends .. . haymaking... in large sunbonnets . . . disgustingly robust.. . all... of militar y age . . . . Yet they ha d money and we hadn't; ultimately it was to keep them fat and prosperous— or thi n an d prosperous , whic h i s even worse—that othe r peopl e wer e t o risk their skins. (184-85 ) Lewis himsel f joine d th e arm y i n 191 6 and, betwee n repeate d bout s i n hospital du e t o hi s venerea l diseases , spen t mos t o f th e wa r i n th e nort h of Englan d attemptin g t o becom e a n officer . H e wa s sen t t o Franc e i n May o f 191 7 and staye d o n th e front unti l October 1917 , when h e gaine d a post a s a war artist .

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Unlike th e Freikorpsmen , whos e nee d fo r wa r wa s s o extrem e tha t they created thei r own war when none was available, Lewi s found neithe r fulfillment no r releas e i n battle . H e di d not , however , see m t o fee l th e horror an d despair some of his contemporaries did . I n Blasting and Bombardiering, Lewi s confesse s tha t i t was hard fo r hi m t o fee l th e realit y o f war. Speakin g through his fictional "mask, " Cantleman , h e notes: "[T]h e news [o f war ] brough t int o relie f a nove l syste m o f things . Everythin g was goin g t o b e delightfull y different" (67) . Referrin g t o hi s "disinvo luture" (sic) in both ar t an d war, Lewi s explains: "My attitud e t o the wa r was unsatisfactory... I experienced non e of the conscience-prickings an d soul-searchings, non e of the subtle anguish, o f so many gentleme n whos e . . . books poure d ou t simultaneousl y upo n th e marke t abou t te n year s ago" (Blasting, 7) . While muc h o f thi s i s a pos e (reader s ar e expecte d t o conclud e tha t Lewis, wit h hi s stif f uppe r lip , actuall y fel t mor e tha n th e word y gentle men), it does speak to the emptiness, numbing, o r inner rigidity identifie d by ever y on e o f ou r theorists : th e sam e "woode n responses " Lewi s re ferred t o i n Rude Assignment. Lewi s explain s hi s ow n "disinvoluture " or inabilit y t o fee l th e realit y o f huma n deat h i n wa r b y confessin g tha t "people see m t o m e t o b e rathe r walkin g notion s tha n rea l entities " (Blasting, 8) . Thi s inabilit y t o conceiv e o f other s a s real , a mar k o f th e narcissistic personality , i s a persisten t them e fo r th e mal e character s i n Lewis's novel s an d othe r prose , wher e th e idea of human being s a s either machines o r puppets , incapabl e o f rea l feeling , occur s agai n an d again . This characteristi c metapho r wa s clearl y base d o n Lewis' s ow n cut-of f and mechanized experienc e of self. All his fictional character s ar e marke d by a strangely wooden , rathe r surrea l quality , a trait whic h ma y b e les s a consciou s stylisti c choic e tha n a n inevitability , give n Lewis' s manne r and limit s o f perception . A s Julia n Symon s put s it , "H e sa w me n an d women a s machines walking, thei r appendages of ears, nose, hands, stuc k oddly on , thei r activities , fro m speec h an d eatin g t o excretio n an d cop ulation, stutteringl y awkwar d an d comic " (2) . If war was not as devastating for Lewi s as for others , it was not withou t its ill effects. Th e stronges t emotio n whic h come s through i n his descrip tion o f hi s wartim e experiences , a s i n mos t o f hi s writing , i s persona l betrayal. Fo r Lewis , th e wa r wa s th e instrumen t whic h "robbe d m e o f four years , a t th e momen t when , almos t overnight , I ha d achieve d th e necessary notoriet y t o establish mysel f i n London a s a painter" (Blasting,

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13). I n a characteristi c metaphor , h e describe s th e war—an d life—a s a male frien d wh o ha s mortall y betraye d him : Life was good and easy, and I called Life "friend. " F d never hidden any thing from him, and he'd never hidden anything from me. Or so I thought. I knew everything. H e was an awfully intelligen t companion , w e had the same tastes (apparently) an d he was awfully fon d o f me. And al l the time he was plotting up a mass-murder.... It took me some time to realize this fully. Bu t from th e very beginning of the War I got wise to it, i n fits an d starts. {Blasting, 64 ) Lewis's fathe r die d te n day s afte r th e Armistice , leavin g hi m nothing . About thi s even t h e write s bitterly : "ho w h e go t ther e [Philadelphia , where h e died ] i s unimportant—excep t i n s o fa r a s I wa s cheate d o f m y patrimony" {Blasting, 211) . Lewi s di d fee l cheate d o f hi s patrimony, no t only financiall y bu t i n a muc h large r sense . Meyer s suggest s tha t thi s monetary deprivatio n wa s th e caus e o f hi s subsequen t povert y an d con sequently o f hi s increasingl y paranoi d behavio r afte r th e wa r (Meyers , 87). Bu t Lewi s woul d probabl y hav e squandere d an y inherite d wealt h a s he di d al l other possibilitie s o f financial gain . Th e feelin g o f havin g bee n cheated an d betraye d wa s no t onl y a concret e realit y bu t a lif e stance . Wyndham Lewi s suffered fro m a far deepe r wound tha n coul d hav e bee n repaired, a s Meyer s suggests , b y th e inheritanc e o f a house i n America . Far mor e devastatin g wa s th e deat h o f hi s mothe r i n 1920 , th e onl y event o f whic h Lewi s speak s wit h rea l emotio n i n hi s autobiographi cal books . A fe w month s befor e hi s mother' s death , Lewi s me t Glady s Anne Hoskins (alway s called "Froanna " b y Lewis) , a n eighteen-year-ol d working-class woman , wh o modele d fo r hi m an d becam e hi s mistress . Soon afte r hi s mother died , h e moved i n with thi s secon d Anne , an d sh e became hi s lif e partner , althoug h h e alway s maintaine d othe r residence s and relationship s wit h other , mor e powerfu l an d intellectua l women . Lewis marrie d Ann e Lewi s te n year s later , t o facilitat e a passpor t t o Germany fo r her . Sh e wa s twent y year s younge r tha n he , a s Lewis' s mother had been twenty years younger than his father, bu t unlike Lewis' s mother, wh o di d no t tolerat e he r husband' s promiscuity , "Froanna " accepted hi s othe r relationship s an d eve n th e fac t tha t h e continue d t o father children with other women during their marriage, though he denied children t o he r an d threatene d t o leav e her shoul d sh e have any . Sh e also accepted Lewis' s need to own her as his exclusive property an d lived wit h

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him i n purdah , apparentl y no t allowe d t o leav e th e hous e withou t him . Lewis neve r mention s th e existenc e o f a wif e i n hi s autobiographica l writing. I n discussin g a move they mad e together, h e invariably use s " I " and not "we. " Most o f Lewis's close friends an d his mistresses, includin g those who ofte n visite d hi s flat , neve r kne w o f hi s wife's existence . Eve n some o f thos e wh o ha d know n hi m fo r thirt y year s wer e surprise d t o learn tha t h e had bee n marrie d whe n Meyer s reveale d th e fac t durin g hi s interviews with them. Hug h Porteus, one of Lewis's closest friends, "sa w Froanna's disembodie d hand s appea r throug h th e serving hatch fo r man y years before h e actually me t her" (Meyers , 100) . Others hear d he r "scut tling int o th e nex t roo m o f thei r tin y fla t whe n a visito r approached " (Meyers, 100) . While Hug h Porteu s call s Ann e Lewi s " a masochisti c doll, " Meyer s praises her as "a placid woman who prided herself o n her ability to endur e adversity" (Meyers , 100) . Sh e certainl y neede d thi s ability . I n 1939 , "Froanna" accompanie d Lewi s o n hi s self-impose d remova l t o Canada , where the y live d togethe r i n gri m exil e fo r si x years. Afte r hi s retur n t o England, hi s blindnes s force d hi m t o brin g he r mor e int o th e ope n t o assist an d nurs e him , an d man y peopl e learne d o f he r existenc e fo r th e first time . Ann e remaine d devote d t o Lewis , wa s heartbroke n whe n h e died, an d neve r complaine d abou t hi m befor e o r afte r hi s death. Sh e was the on e responden t t o den y hi s misogyny . Meyer s report s tha t sh e "ex pressed surpris e whe n someon e suggeste d tha t Lewi s seeme d hostil e t o women an d replied : 'Wa s Lewi s anti-women ? Som e cheek, a womanize r like that! ' " (Meyers , 100) . In hi s marriage , Lewi s wa s abl e t o replicat e hi s relationshi p wit h hi s mother, wit h himsel f a s th e adore d cente r o f a female universe . H e wa s also abl e t o handl e hi s fea r o f dependenc y o n hi s wif e b y maintainin g a nonreciprocal, dominatin g relationshi p wit h her—on e whic h fe w othe r women woul d hav e tolerated. A s Meyers claims , Anne Lewi s was indee d his idea l companion . Just a s Lewis' s misogyn y wa s muc h mor e consisten t an d basi c t o hi s work tha n wa s hi s anti-Semitism , s o th e qualit y o f hi s real-lif e relation s with Jews wa s much les s definitive tha n wer e thos e he had wit h women . Some o f hi s friends, severa l of th e women h e had affair s with , an d man y of his patrons wer e Jews. Whil e he turned o n eac h one of them , accusin g them o f betraya l an d venality , h e acte d i n th e sam e wa y wit h al l o f hi s friends an d patrons , an d thei r Jewishnes s doe s no t appea r t o hav e bee n

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a focu s o f hi s recriminations. 23 Lewi s make s occasiona l derogator y ref erences t o Jew s i n hi s letters , thoug h thes e ar e no t muc h wors e tha n Virginia Woolf's scornfu l reference s t o he r Jewish relation s i n her letter s and do not approach the venom in Evelyn Waugh's. 24 From 192 6 through 1938, th e perio d i n whic h h e expresse d th e mos t anti-Semitis m i n hi s writing, h e retaine d Jewis h friend s an d correspondents . However , bot h Lewis's writin g durin g th e 1930s , whic h ofte n amounte d t o Naz i prop aganda, an d som e o f hi s politica l activitie s plac e hi m squarel y i n th e virulently fascis t an d anti-Semiti c cam p o f hi s frien d Ezr a Pound . In 191 6 Lewi s ha d volunteere d a s a gunne r i n th e Roya l Artiller y i n order "to defen d civilizatio n agains t German barbarism, " but his wartime experience taugh t hi m tha t th e Germa n soldier , "lik e mysel f wa s a n in strument" (Blasting, 187) . After th e war, h e identified wit h th e German s and increasingl y sa w German y a s a mal e "enemy " o r "outsider " lik e himself. I n a conciliator y lette r o f 1925 , T . S . Elio t urge d him , "[I] t would b e in your ow n interes t t o concentrat e o n on e boo k a t a time an d not pla n eigh t o r te n book s a t once " (Lewis , Letters, 151) . Bu t durin g the ten years which followed, Lewi s seemed less able to follow thi s advice than eve r before . While workin g o n The Art of Being Ruled, h e becam e particularl y interested i n Adol f Hitler , an d i n 193 0 Time and Tide, a woman-owne d and edite d feminis t weekly , whos e editor s ma y no t hav e know n wha t they wer e gettin g into , commissione d Lewi s t o d o a series o f article s o n Hitler an d finance d th e first o f man y trip s h e woul d mak e t o German y in th e nex t seve n years . I n Berli n h e becam e enamore d o f Hitle r an d th e Nazi movement . Hitler, th e book whic h resulte d from thes e articles, wa s a panegyric t o Lewis' s ne w hero , whos e Mein Kampf, easil y availabl e a t that tim e i n Englis h a s wel l a s German , Lewi s ha d neglecte d t o read . Hitler wa s publishe d i n Englan d i n 193 0 and translate d an d publishe d i n Berlin i n 1932 . I t wa s th e boo k whic h mos t damage d Lewis' s reputatio n and th e one which ha s been mos t responsibl e fo r hi s label as a fascist an d an anti-Semite . Th e anti-Semitis m i n Hitler di d not , however , com e ou t of nowhere. I t had appeared in his attacks on Jewish writers like Gertrud e Stein an d Marce l Prous t i n The Art of Being Ruled (1926 ) an d i n hi s defense o f th e whit e race , Paleface (1929) . Cunningha m point s ou t tha t even before th e publication o f Hitler Lewi s habitually labele d his enemie s "Untermenschen," an d tha t h e admire d pilots , a "ne w rac e o f men " whom h e habituall y contraste d wit h thos e "gutter-people, " th e Jew s

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(Cunningham, 88 , 190) . I n a letter h e wrot e t o Time and Tide i n 1931 , Lewis compare s Berli n afte r dar k t o Golder s Green , a predominantl y Jewish are a o f London , an d mock s th e Time and Tide correspondent , who ha d writte n abou t Naz i persecution , a s a "keen hearer " wh o selec tively hear s "th e groan s o f thos e struc k b y truncheon s an d s o o n . . . but always a Communist groans , neve r a Nazi groans " {Letters, 199) . Hitler wa s no t Lewis' s first politica l idol . Lik e othe r narcissisti c men , he idealized a series o f prominen t figures, who m h e saw a s extensions o f himself, the n devalued . W e hav e note d hi s embrac e o f Marinett i an d hi s movement. Visitin g Ital y i n 1922 , a s th e gues t o f hi s the n lover , Nanc y Cunard, h e ha d greatl y admire d Mussolini' s marc h o n Rome , an d ha d followed hi s progres s enthusiasticall y thereafter . Meyer s explain s tha t Lewis wa s "fascinate d b y th e ar m o f authority " an d tha t h e sa w first Mussolini an d the n Hitle r a s possibl e savior s o f ar t an d o f artist s lik e him, wh o wer e a t present bein g trample d b y th e "masses " (Meyers , 85) . Shapiro describes how the longing to "becom e the instrument o f a strong but authoritativ e figure" i s ofte n couple d wit h phobi c hatre d o f homo sexuals in rigid men, and indeed it was during this same period that Lewis' s hatred o f homosexual s too k o n a phobic quality . Lewis's earlier anti-Semitism is matched and even surpassed in the other political book s whic h h e wrote betwee n 193 0 and 1938 : Doom of Youth (1932), Left Wings over Europe (1936) , an d Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! (1937) , a s well a s in hi s nove l The Apes of God (1930) . Th e sam e period saw Lewis's close association with Oswald Mosley's British Unio n of Fascists, an association which would last until 1938 . In a German essay of 1937 , on e o f si x h e wrot e fo r Naz i journal s betwee n 193 7 an d 1939 , he praise d Mosley' s "grea t politica l insigh t an d qualitie s a s a leader " (Meyers, 191) ; and Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! is full of reference s to England's wrongful persecutio n o f the heroic Mosley and angry mock ery o f th e Publi c Orde r Ac t o f 1937 , a governmenta l measur e intende d to cur b BU F violence . Als o i n 1937 , si x month s afte r th e star t o f th e Spanish Civi l War , Lewis' s profascis t articl e " 'Lef t Wings ' an d th e C 3 Mind," whic h echoe d Ezr a Pound' s theor y o f th e internationa l Jewis h control o f bank s an d finance, appeared , wit h a n articl e b y Pound , i n th e first issu e o f Mosley' s British Union Quarterly. Unlike th e Freikorpsmen , Lewi s wa s n o joiner . H e neve r actuall y became a member o f Mosley' s party , an d while he was enthralled i n tur n by Marinetti , Mussolini , Mosley , an d Hitler , eac h o f thes e violen t en thusiasms wa s followe d b y a later stron g rejection . A s i n th e cas e o f hi s

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literary patrons, hi s intense need for a male authority o r father figure wa s countered b y a n equall y intens e homophobi c reactio n an d th e nee d t o reject an d repudiat e eac h on e o f hi s idols . I n 1937 , Lewi s an d hi s wif e went t o Berlin , hi s sevent h tri p t o Germany , an d tw o year s late r h e somewhat ambivalentl y recante d hi s suppor t o f Hitler . Th e publicatio n of th e ambiguou s The Jews, Are They Human? i n Marc h 193 9 signale d this change . Meyers seem s unsure whether Lewis' s shif t wa s a matter o f convictio n or convenience . H e credit s Lewis' s visi t t o German y wit h openin g hi s eyes t o th e realit y o f Nazis m an d assert s tha t Lewi s "fel t a persona l revulsion fo r th e Right-win g peopl e wh o trie d t o tak e hi m u p afte r th e Hitler book , an d regrette d hi s hast y conclusion s an d politica l error s a s much a s th e har m h e ha d suffere d fo r espousin g them " (Meyers , 245) . Meyers also acknowledges, however, tha t "critics and friends who noticed the chang e i n Lewis' s politica l view s i n 1938-3 9 inevitabl y wondere d about th e sincerit y o f hi s clumsily expresse d recantation " (Meyers , 245) . Perhaps, Meyer s admits , ther e wa s indee d a "pragmati c sid e t o hi s re cantation, a n ineffectua l attemp t t o rehabilitat e himsel f an d achiev e pop ularity" (Meyers , 246) . Meyers i s onl y on e o f man y moder n critic s wh o sugges t tha t Lewis' s "superficial formulations " i n Hitler an d hi s othe r openl y fascis t book s were merel y a natural mistak e whic h gre w ou t o f hi s hatre d o f war , an d that h e supported fascis m ou t o f "ignoranc e o f it s true characte r an d tru e danger." H e point s ou t tha t Isherwood , Sartre , an d Churchill , amon g countless others , als o praised Hitle r a t one time an d argue s tha t th e poo r judgment an d stubbor n individualit y whic h cause d Lewi s t o hol d o n t o his belief s a littl e longe r tha n the y di d cause d hi m t o b e unfairl y an d permanently "tainte d an d condemned " (Meyers , 192) . In a review i n th e 1969 issu e o f Agenda devote d t o Lewis , C . H . Sisso n claime d tha t th e real fault i n Hitler "la y i n the stupidity o f his readers," who shoul d hav e read i t "with les s hostility an d more understanding." 25 I n the same issue, Martin Seymour-Smit h claim s tha t Lewi s sa w Hitle r a s "a comi c figure" and that his "unfortunate" boo k was consistently misunderstoo d b y crit ics who misse d hi s "suprem e subtlety." 26 Whil e Fredric Jameson, unlik e Seymour-Smith, disapprove s o f Lewis' s book s o f th e thirties , h e feel s that Lewis' s suppor t o f fascis m i s understandabl e i n tha t i t stem s fro m his primary attitud e towar d "th e mor e centra l positio n o f Communism " (184). I woul d disagre e wit h bot h thes e views . Lewis' s fascis t opinions , in -

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eluding hi s anti-Semitis m o f th e 1930s , canno t b e explaine d awa y a s a side effec t o f a more centra l hatre d o f communis m o r a s a n unfortunat e and foolish mistak e that anyone might have made. M y own view is closer to tha t o f Willia m Chace , wh o reason s tha t Lewis' s politica l attitude s were th e natura l outcom e o f hi s indifferenc e t o others : thos e "mess y complexities o f human being s (human s who ruinousl y resolv e themselve s into entitie s Lewi s foun d deplorable , suc h a s 'women,' 'negroes, ' 'jews, ' 'pacifists,' 'feminists, ' an d lover s o f 'jazz')." 27 Chac e cite s Lewis' s over whelming narcissism , reproduce d b y th e character Arg o i n his play "En emy of the Stars," who declares, "Anything but yourself i s dirt. Anybod y that is " (Chace , " O n Lewis' s Politics, " 151) . Lewis' s extrem e attitude s of th e 1930 s canno t b e separate d fro m th e res t o f hi s thinkin g an d de velopment. Hi s fea r an d hatre d o f women , a s well a s his sense of himsel f as a beleaguere d an d victimize d mal e fighting t o defen d himself , mad e Lewis a natura l candidat e fo r Marinetti's , Mussolini's , Mosley's , an d finally Hitler' s woman-hatin g an d life-destroyin g philosophies . Fo r th e Freikorpsmen i n Theweleit' s study , th e fea r o f engulfin g wome n wa s inextricably linke d t o fea r o f th e masse s an d o f socialism . Fo r Wyndha m Lewis, who fought with words rather than with guns, the links are equally inextricable. Th e narcissis t Lewi s sa w hi s idol s a s extension s o f himself . When Britis h publi c opinio n turne d agains t Hitler , wise r Britis h sup porters o f Hitle r switche d thei r allegiance . Lewis , th e victimize d male , felt personally attacked . Hi s unpopular defens e of Hitler was a movement of self-defense . Perhaps becaus e th e member s o f th e literar y establishment , man y o f whom ha d share d Lewis' s enthusias m fo r Hitle r a few years earlier, wer e now eage r to disown thei r ow n forme r opinion s an d to banish thos e wh o served a s uncomfortable reminder s o f thes e mistakes, Lewis' s book s vir tually stoppe d sellin g i n Englan d afte r th e publicatio n o f Hitler. Hi s commissions fo r portrait s als o finally petere d out . Fo r perhap s th e first time, th e "enemy " ha d a reason beyon d hi s ow n alienatin g behavio r t o feel himsel f persecuted . I n 193 9 Lewi s formall y denounce d th e Nazi s i n the revisionis t The Hitler Cult> but thi s book , lik e th e revisionis t The Jews, Are They Human ? , contains so much undermining o f its own over t message tha t on e ca n safel y conclud e tha t Lewis' s sympathie s ha d no t entirely changed . Fo r reason s whic h were , then , bot h politica l an d financial, h e an d hi s wif e lef t Englan d fo r Canada , o n 2 Septembe r 1939 , one da y befor e Englan d declare d wa r o n Germany . Th e si x year s i n

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Canada, describe d i n Self Condemned (1954) , wer e th e lowes t poin t i n Lewis's life . Althoug h h e made the decision t o leave, he regarded himsel f as unfairly an d cruell y banishe d an d fel t tha t Englan d ha d betraye d him . Lewis neve r regarde d himsel f a s a n anti-Semit e an d resente d th e im plication tha t h e wa s one . I n The Jews, Are They Human? h e present s himself a s one o f th e few objectiv e voice s on th e subject o f anti-Semitis m and a s a longtime frien d o f th e Jews. I n contrast , h e woul d neve r hav e publicly presented himself a s a friend o f homosexuals, socialists , children , feminists, o r eve n women. Suc h a stance would hav e placed hi m i n close r proximity tha n h e coul d hav e tolerate d t o th e rejecte d an d split-of f part s of himself. Lewis' s hatred o f Jews thu s never had the phobic, obsessiona l quality w e find i n hi s misogyn y o r hi s homophobia . I t wa s onl y whe n Jews were identified a s a fit object o f hatred b y his current mal e authorit y figure tha t the y too k o n th e prominen t positio n the y hel d i n Lewis' s obsessional structur e durin g th e 1930s . Whe n h e rejecte d Hitler , anti Semitism wa s pu t o n a back burner , an d unlik e th e object s o f hi s othe r obsessions, Jews wer e no t prominen t i n an y o f th e book s h e wrote afte r his retur n fro m th e Unite d State s an d Canad a i n 1945 . Lewis returned t o England a n ill and broke n man , hi s health destroye d by the brain tumor which pressed o n his optic nerve and caused complet e blindness b y 1956 . Hi s illnes s di d no t preven t hi m fro m continuin g t o write—during thi s period h e produced seve n mor e books—o r fro m con tinuing t o d o battle . H e die d i n 1957 , no t o f th e brai n tumo r bu t o f chronic kidne y failur e cause d b y hi s gonorrhea-relate d urinar y diseas e (Meyers, 371) . H e wa s survive d b y th e faithful Ann e Lewis , who nurse d him unti l th e end .

To Swallow or Be Swallowed: The Didactic Books, 1926-1937 The Structure Revealed: Th e Ar t o f Bein g Rule d (1926) and Palefac e (1929). "YO U WIL L B E MAD E T O HEA R IT, " Lewi s wrot e t o hi s friend. Perhap s mor e than th e two othe r writers i n this study, hi s writin g was the result o f a conscious nee d fo r expressio n s o pressing that h e use d the metapho r o f a volcan o threatenin g t o erup t t o describ e it . Jus t a s volcanic flow respect s no boundaries, th e force o f Lewis's preoccupation s flowed ove r and broke the boundaries between genres . Lewis's "didactic " writing, poorl y researched , ful l o f persona l an d familia l scenario s an d seemingly unmotivate d eruption s o f rage , ofte n read s mor e lik e fiction;

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while hi s modernist , nonrealis t "fiction, " wit h it s one-dimensional , sur real characters , it s lac k o f linea r plan , an d it s frequen t pause s fo r didacti c explosions o f exposition , crosse s th e borde r int o didacti c prose . F o r thi s reason, I hav e chose n t o discus s Lewis' s nonfictio n an d fictio n text s together i n thi s chapter . Like man y peopl e w h o se e themselve s surrounde d b y conspiratoria l forces, W y n d h a m Lewi s fel t a pressin g nee d t o mak e other s se e th e connections whic h wer e s o blindingl y clea r t o him . I n Paleface, th e b o o k he wrot e t o protec t an d rescu e th e whit e race , h e explain s thi s mission : The majorit y o f peopl e ar e deepl y unconsciou s o f th e affiliation s o f th e various phenomenon s o f ou r time , whic h o n th e surfac e loo k s o ver y autonomous an d eve n hostile, y e t . . . the y ar e often closel y an d organicall y related t o on e another . I f yo u tes t thi s yo u wil l b e surprise d t o fin d ho w many things do belong together... i t is our business, especially , i t appears, mine, t o establis h thes e essentia l liaisons , an d t o la y bar e th e widel y flun g system o f cable s connectin g u p thi s maze-lik e an d destructiv e syste m i n the mids t o f whic h w e live—destructive , tha t is , o f cours e t o somethin g essential tha t w e shoul d clutc h an d b e carefu l no t t o lose[. ] (142 ) The didacti c book s whic h Lewi s wrot e betwee n 192 6 an d 193 7 represen t his effor t t o publiciz e an d expos e thi s we b o f connection s o r "liaisons. " While Jew s d o no t figur e explicitl y i n The Art of Being Ruled (1926 ) (except, a s i n th e attack s o n Gertrud e Stein , Marce l Proust , an d Kar l Marx, a s representatives o f th e types Lewi s hated most) , th e b o ok contain s the firs t complet e versio n o f th e syste m w e wil l trac e i n al l o f hi s book s of th e 1920 s an d 1930s . I t i s accordingl y w o r t h considerin g her e a t som e length. The Art of Being Ruled wa s publishe d t o critica l acclai m i n 1926 . In hi s discussio n o f th e book , Julia n Symon s attempt s t o explai n w h y Lewis wa s " n o t merel y neglecte d bu t positivel y ostracized . . . the mos t hated write r i n England " (9) : " T o plac e suc h a lo w valu e o n h u m a n lif e as such , an d t o mak e th e assumptio n tha t som e live s ar e important , mos t of n o interes t o r value , outrage d th e conventiona l belief s o f Lewis' s o w n time, an d eve n mor e th e pietie s o f o u r s " (7) . Although Symons' s summar y o f th e belief s Lewi s expounde d i n The Art of Being Ruled i s accurate , hi s m e m o r y o f th e book' s receptio n seem s faulty. The Art of Being Ruled ma y hav e bee n receive d wit h privat e outrage, bu t publicl y Lewi s wa s neithe r silence d no r condemned . Judgin g from it s highl y positiv e reception , Lewis' s b o o k wa s a n accurat e p r o -

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duction o f a t leas t on e dominan t discourse . W . A . Thorpe , i n Criterion (edited by T. S . Eliot), called the book a plea for "th e political sovereignt y of th e intellect, " praise d Lewis' s "penetration, " an d compare d hi m wit h Aristotle i n hi s belie f tha t "som e shoul d rul e an d other s b e ruled." 28 I n Calendar, Edgel l Rickwor d praise s Lewis' s goa l o f "arrestin g th e deg radation o f th e value s o n whic h ou r civilizatio n seem s t o d e p e n d . . . an d of re-assertin g th e term s o n whic h th e lif e o f th e intellec t ma y regai n it s proper ascendanc y ove r emotiona l an d economi c existence." 29 In The Art of Being Ruled, Lewi s outline s his theory o f th e rul e of th e few grea t me n ove r th e mediocr e mass . H e praise s Mussolini' s Italy , where, a s he supposes , "al l th e humbu g o f a democratic suffrage , al l th e imbecility that is wastefully manufactured , wil l henceforth b e spared these happy p e o p l e . .. al l the clumsy and gigantic characteristic shams of anglosaxon lif e wil l hav e n o paralle l i n suc h a regime" (370) . But th e politica l them e whic h i s th e over t purpos e o f thi s boo k i s surprisingly har d t o locate . T o rea d The Art of Being Ruled i s a bewil dering activit y unti l on e give s u p o n th e over t messag e an d concentrate s instead o n th e subtext , whic h explode s fro m ever y chapte r i n a kind o f furious, free-associativ e process . Thorpe , whos e Criterion revie w dem onstrates that Lewis's preoccupations, rathe r than being a bizarre produc t of individual pathology, wer e openly shared by at least one contemporar y reviewer, addresse s thi s subtex t openly : "Mr . Lewi s examine s wit h grea t skill this fungus o f delusion—feminism , inversion , th e aping of th e child , the masculisatio n [sic] o f wome n an d th e effemisatio n [sic] o f men " (63) . While Fredric Jameson consider s bot h The Art of Being Ruled an d Paleface highl y unfortunate an d Julian Symons admires them, thes e two mod ern critic s agre e a s t o th e rea l impor t o f th e tw o books—an d agre e tha t it ha s littl e d o t o wit h eithe r fascis m o r democracy . Jameso n see s the m as: " a variet y o f register s i n whic h a singl e theme , th e los s o f realit y i n modern life , o r i f you prefe r a somewhat franke r version , th e systemati c undermining o f th e Europea n Whit e Mal e Wil l i s implacabl y pursued " (123). In Julia n Symons' s view , th e book s describ e th e insidiou s proces s i n which: "th e advanc e o f feminism , closel y linke d wit h th e developmen t of homosexuality, i s eroding and will finally destro y th e family a s a factor of socia l importance " (7) . Once identifie d a s th e book' s rea l theme , thi s subtex t i s presente d a s a sequenc e o r proces s whic h i s recapitulate d agai n an d agai n in , t o us e

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one o f Lewis' s chapte r titles , " a viciou s circle, " whic h begin s befor e th e birth o f th e mal e chil d an d continue s throughou t hi s lifetime . Lewis , lik e Kate Millett , view s th e nuclea r famil y a s " a circl e o f self-perpetuatio n and self-fulfillin g p r o p h e c y " (Millett , 53) , bu t whil e Millett see s this circl e systematically dominatin g an d crushin g th e female , Lewi s identifie s th e male a s it s victim . Th e parents , w h o ma y hav e begu n wit h a n illusio n o f romantic love , quickl y find tha t the y ar e natura l adversaries : The ste p fro m a beneficen t activit y t o a malevolen t on e i s imperceptible . All love. . . could b e sai d t o tur n t o hate . . . thi s romance ca n becom e a rage.. . this romance of destruction ca n easil y pas s ove r int o sadis m an d homicide[.] (Art, 256 ) O n c e th e romanc e i s gone , i t i s a onl y questio n o f w h o wil l engul f o r devour w h o m : [L]ove ca n onl y exis t o n th e surface . A n inc h beneath , an d i t i s no longe r love bu t th e abstrac t rag e o f hunge r an d reproduction , o f whic h th e swal lowing o f th e oyster , o r th e swallowin g o f th e mal e b y th e femal e epira , is a n illustration . (260 ) Lewis the n free-associate s fo r som e page s o n th e repulsivenes s o f th e oyster, whic h h e clearl y associate s wit h th e femal e genitalia . H e quote s Samuel Butler , "[W]h o woul d kis s a n oyster? " (253) , an d reflects , " M e n dislike th e appearanc e o f a n oyster , a s the y dislik e th e appearanc e o f th e underneath o f thei r t o n g u e . . . but the y find i t lovel y t o eat" (254) . Men , reasons Lewis , ar e repulse d b y female s (an d thei r genitalia ) bu t draw n compulsively t o them . Repulse d o r not , the y mus t consum e th e femal e or b e consume d b y tha t large r an d mor e powerfu l entity : "I coul d ea t you! " on e love r say s t o anothe r a t th e paroxys m o f thei r lubricity. An d indeed , i f on e wer e considerabl y smalle r tha n th e other , a s in the case of the male of the epira, tha t no doubt would happe n very often . (254) In th e nex t chapter , Lewi s turn s t o th e masses : tha t bowling foaming mob, whic h desire s th e real and living blood o f th e lon e artist . Thi s thought, lik e mos t others , bring s hi m bac k t o th e oyste r an d th e epira , and tha t "abstrac t rag e of hunge r an d reproduction " (260) . Withou t spec ifying w h o th e p r o n o u n " t h e y " refer s to , h e quote s Julie n Benda' s Belgapbor:

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Let u s lear n t o recogniz e also , i n thei r wil l t o instal l themselve s insid e things, a kind o f thirs t t o sexuall y invad e everything—t o violat e an y inti macy, an d mi x themselve s i n th e mos t intimat e recesse s o f th e bein g o f everything met . (260 ) What Lewi s i s tellin g u s urgentl y an d repeatedl y i n thi s book , jus t a s he di d i n hi s o w n lif e script , i s tha t whil e h e depend s o n w o m e n an d o n sexual unio n wit h the m fo r hi s survival , tha t connectio n i s also , an d literally, life-threatenin g t o him . T o fee l s o dependen t o n a bein g deter mined t o engul f o r swallo w on e u p i s indeed a no-win situation , especiall y for a narcissis t lik e Lewis , whos e greates t fea r i s dependenc y (Kernberg , 235). N o w o n d e r h e conclude s thi s chapte r wit h th e statemen t tha t re ligion an d science , th e ostensibl e " t o p i c s " o f th e chapter , bot h prophes y " t h e suicid e o f ou r race " (Art, 261) . After th e mal e child' s birt h hi s mothe r immediatel y choose s hi m a s " h e r friend , fo r w h o m sh e keep s he r bes t affection, " an d wit h th e ai d o f "freudian oedipus-comple x propaganda " sh e attempt s t o tur n hi m agains t his fathe r (Art, 285) . I n a passag e whic h strikingl y recapitulate s hi s o w n perceived history , Lewi s explains : The chil d a s a symbo l an d objec t o f worship , wit h exclusiv e claims , i s a woman-value, then . Tha t i t shoul d a t onc e develo p a n antagonis m fo r th e adult o r "th e man " i s natura l enough , seein g tha t a t th e tim e o f it s birth , the woma n wa s engage d i n a "war " o f freedo m wit h "th e man. " (286 ) The mal e chil d i s n o w subjecte d t o a barrag e o f persuasio n an d p r o p aganda intende d t o forc e hi m t o giv e u p hi s role . Lewis , w h o , lik e th e Freikorpsmen, repeatedl y conflate s clas s an d gende r i n thi s book , envi sioning w o m e n an d th e masse s joine d togethe r agains t th e lone , intellec tual male , tell s u s o f th e "insidiou s an d disgracefu l proposa l mad e t o ma n w h e n i n the war o f th e sexes, turned int o a class war, h e has been defeated " (272). H e eve n present s u s wit h th e gis t o f th e proposa l itself : / will show you how you can just step aside an d avoi d al l further labou r o r anxiety. Yo u wil l neithe r b e ric h no r "great " no r beautiful , no r anythin g troublesome o f tha t sort . Wh o want s al l that? Yo u can , i f you wan t to , b e eternally i n th e positio n o f a littl e silent , giggling , craft y child ; o r o f a n imbecile that n o on e takes seriously, an d o f who m nothing is expected, an d in who m ther e i s n o ambitiou s vanit y tha t ca n b e wounded , o f who m n o martial virtu e i s expected , no r lover' s absur d devotion—wit h th e extrava gant claim s o f th e over-indulge d woman , overestimatin g he r sex-leverage . Nothing o f al l that ! Woul d yo u lik e t o b e a woman} I t sound s a come -

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down bu t why ? Sh e ha s th e bes t o f it ! There i s alway s som e foo l t o loo k after her . Sh e is outside the life of bustle, boring business, mechanical wor k done to get money (t o keep her)—war, politic s and all the rest of the solemn rigmarole—almost a s much a s the chil d is . (272 ) Lewis i s describin g th e p h e n o m e n o n whic h C h o d o r o w identifie d a s "the mal e longin g t o retur n t o th e origina l sens e o f onenes s wit h th e m o t h e r . . . a n underlyin g sens e o f femalenes s . . . that continuall y . . . un dermines th e sens e o f maleness " (9) . F o r Lewi s suc h underminin g i s constant an d pervasive , an d t o giv e i n t o i t i s a fat e wors e tha n death . A man, Lewi s tell s u s emphatically , "does not want, if he can possibly help it, to be a man, no t a t leas t i f i t i s s o difficult." Margare t Mea d wrot e that th e masculin e rol e mus t " b e kep t an d re-earne d ever y d a y " ( C h o dorow, 40) . I n a simila r statement , Lewi s assert s tha t a man : "i s made , not b o r n : an d h e i s made , o f course , wit h ver y grea t difficulty . F r o m th e time h e yell s an d kick s i n hi s cradle , t o th e tim e h e receive s hi s las t kic k at school , h e i s recalcitrant " (280) . Men ar e a specie s a t risk . O f thos e w h o manag e t o surviv e th e kick s of publi c school , mos t are , lik e th e epir a Lewi s dwell s on , "willingl y eaten. . . devoured b y it s mat e i n th e mids t o f it s tumescence " (282) . I t is n o wonde r tha t the y ar e recalcitran t an d lon g t o retur n t o th e safet y of female-dominate d infanc y o r t o choos e th e easy , passiv e lif e o f women . But th e wea k ma n w h o give s i n t o th e "insidiou s p r o p o s a l , " unlik e th e victimized bu t stil l "erect " hero , wil l b e sorry . Lewis' s portrai t i s devastating: At thirty-five , forty-five , fifty-five, und so weiter, yo u find the m stil l luxuriously an d rebelliousl y prostrate ; stil l lisping , an d sobbing , spread eagled o n thei r backs , helples s an d invitin g caresses , lik e a bald-stomache d dog. (280 ) T o avoi d thi s fate , a mal e mus t assum e th e paranoi d stanc e describe d b y Shapiro an d th e othe r theorist s i n chapte r 2 . H e mus t b e eternall y vigilant , trust n o one , constantl y fight hi s longin g fo r softnes s an d tenderness , eradicate vulnerabilit y i n himself , an d despis e i t i n w o m e n an d othe r suspects. I n fac t h e mus t ac t jus t a s Lewi s himsel f di d al l hi s life . Foremost o f th e enemie s h e mus t fac e is , o f course , th e w o m a n w h o is s o eage r t o devou r him . Sh e lie s i n wai t fo r he r foe : By turn s maudli n an d vicious , crue l lik e a child , inconsiderate , wit h n o disciplined sens e of "fairness, " livin g on he r mimeti c sens e solely... [wit h

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her] narrow specialist intelligence, the sterility of her mind, like the potential fecundity o f he r body . (276-77 ) In leagu e wit h he r i s th e male' s othe r mos t bitte r enemy , " t h e turncoat , or 'turn-sex ' mal e feminizin g invert " (275) . I n th e sam e wa y a s he threat ened Shapir o an d Salzman' s rigi d patients , thi s enem y present s a majo r threat t o Lewis , w h o devote s mor e tha n hal f hi s b o o k t o malignin g him . F o r Lewis , th e connectio n i s obvious . " T h e h o m o , " h e states , "i s th e legitimate chil d o f th e suffragette " (244) . Inver t an d w o m a n unit e i n thei r c o m m o n goa l o f destructio n o f th e man . The male-invert.. . i s hostile t o man y thing s t o whic h th e averag e woma n is hostile.. . th e stupider , mor e excitabl e an d aggressiv e kin d o f woma n will reveng e hersel f o n thos e thing s toward s whic h sh e has alway s bee n i n a positio n o f veile d hostility . I t i s ofte n sai d tha t th e mal e inver t shelter s himself behind—use s an d acts through—women . Bu t i t woul d b e equall y true t o pu t i t th e othe r wa y around . (245 ) Lewis take s car e her e t o excep t th e "male-pol e typ e o f invert, " w h o m he describe s sympatheticall y i n wha t sound s lik e somethin g o f a self portrait. A s oppose d t o th e "feminizing " invert , th e " m a l e - p o l e " typ e has " p r i d e . . . ofte n enormou s i n hi s maleness . I f perhap s over-fin e an d even mad , h e ca n mee t o n equa l term s th e mal e o f an y othe r species " (238). Lewis' s hatre d i s reserve d fo r thos e member s o f " t h e rulin g mal e sex" w h o , i n a n "instinctiv e capitulatio n o f th e will, " hav e renounce d their identit y (269) . In Lewis' s nightmar e world , th e carefully impose d distinction s betwee n men an d w o m e n , childre n an d adults , whic h "substitut e fo r an d mak e unnecessary a n objectiv e relationshi p wit h th e externa l w o r l d , " hav e dis appeared, an d emotion , onc e safel y seale d of f a s femal e baggage , ha s infected th e whol e (Shapiro , Autonomy, 76) . Everythin g exist s withi n a giant, swallowin g femal e m o u t h : The "passions, " "intuitions/ ' al l th e feature s o f th e emotiv e life—wit h which wome n wer e formerl y exclusivel y accommodated—ar e enthrone d on al l hands , i n an y plac e reache d b y socia l life ; whic h i s increasingl y (i n the deca y o f visibl e publi c life ) everywhere... . Firs t th e s a l o n . . . wil l b e pitched nex t doo r t o th e nursery ; the n graduall y th e connectin g doo r wil l become a large folding-door; an d the n a t length al l septum o f an y sor t wil l disappear. Th e precieuses ridicules, dresse d i n bab y frocks , wil l b e o n th e floor wit h thei r dollsf. ] (242-43 )

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The paranoid framework o f The Art of Being Ruled closel y recapitulates the themes o f Lewis' s ow n earl y history a s he experienced it . Hi s parent s were indee d antagonist s wh o seeme d t o b e engage d i n a wa r o f powe r which resulte d i n th e fathe r "sprea d eagled. . . inviting caresses"—a s much at his mother's mercy as a "bald-stomached dog. " Although Lewis' s early role as his mother's partner was deeply threatenin g to his own sens e of autonomy , onc e a t school , wher e h e wa s beate n an d despised , tha t safe woman-dominated lif e mus t hav e indeed beckone d sweetly , offerin g an insidiou s proposa l t o retur n t o th e helples s engulfmen t o f female dominated childhood . A s Shapir o an d ou r othe r theorist s hav e empha sized, th e longing to assum e what the y envisio n a s the woman's passivit y and sexua l surrender an d th e desire to becom e th e instrument o f a strong and authoritative figure ar e among the reasons that heterosexual men wit h paranoid feature s ar e draw n t o homosexuality , worr y obsessivel y abou t their ow n homosexuality , an d ofte n projec t tha t worr y outwar d ont o a hatred o f homosexuals , especiall y effeminat e ones , wh o mos t accuratel y embody thei r ow n desire . The Art of Being Ruled i s th e first boo k i n which Lewis demonstrates his fascination fo r the object who seems always to be waiting in the wings of his nightmare: the loathsome feminine inver t it i s hi s lifewor k no t t o become . It i s eas y t o se e ho w wome n an d childre n too k o n thei r threatenin g role withi n Lewis' s symboli c framewor k an d ho w th e connectio n wit h feminine homosexual s wa s forged . I t i s perhaps mor e difficult t o under stand the connection betwee n this framework an d Lewis's choice of Mussolini an d fascism . I n thi s contex t i t i s helpfu l t o remembe r th e Freikorpsman wit h hi s terro r o f femal e engulfment , th e "concentratio n camp o f hi s desires, " an d hi s encodin g o f th e dangerou s crow d o r mas s with equall y dangerou s wome n (Theweleit , 2 : 6). For Lewi s too, wome n and invert s wer e i n collusio n wit h th e "howlin g foamin g mob" — stil l a vague an d nonpolitica l entit y i n The Art of Being Ruled bu t clearl y as sociated i n Lewis' s late r book s wit h socialist s an d communists . Face d with suc h a dangerou s arra y o f enemies , th e lon e ma n crave s a stron g father o r hero , who , b y providin g protection , migh t allo w a t leas t a temporary respit e fro m persecution . Unlik e mos t men , whos e natura l position i s prone, ther e stand s "th e abnorma l o r exceptiona l man , who m we worshi p a s a 'hero ' an d whos e unnatura l erectnes s arouse s almos t more hatre d tha n surprise " {Art, 281) . While , a s th e las t par t o f thi s sentence reveals , Lewi s view s himself a s suc h a persecuted hero , h e als o

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longs fo r on e t o rescu e hi m s o tha t h e ca n "ge t som e sor t o f peac e t o enable u s t o w o r k " (369) . Suc h a her o wil l creat e a worl d saf e fro m th e invasive threa t o f w o m e n , i n whic h th e amoun t o f fraternizatio n wit h them i s strictly limite d t o physica l necessity , an d i n whic h " t h e nightmar e 'sex' wil l no t forc e peopl e int o eac h other' s societ y fo r life , whe n hal f a n h o u r woul d answe r th e p u r p o s e " (217) . Eventually, I believe , a considerable segregatio n o f wome n an d me n mus t occur, jus t a s segregation o f thos e who decid e for th e active, th e intelligen t life, an d thos e wh o decide.. . fo r th e lowe r o r anima l life , i s likel y t o happen, an d i s very muc h t o b e desired . (199 ) Without fascism , " t h e mos t powerfu l an d stabl e authorit y tha t ca n b e devised" an d th e onl y syste m whic h promise s suc h a separation, th e resul t will b e " t h e exterminatio n o f th e whit e race " (370 , 275) . In Paleface (1929 ) Lewi s expand s o n thi s threatene d exterminatio n o f " t h e white race"—clearly , a ter m fo r whit e men only . Th e b o o k contain s a lengthy attac k o n D . H . Lawrence , a writer w h o share s man y o f Lewis' s obsessions abou t w o m e n bu t w h o m Lewi s viewed a s a race-traitor becaus e of hi s glorificatio n o f sensualit y an d th e emotion s an d hi s worshi p o f Mexican Indians . Th e attac k o n Lawrenc e i s a revealin g projectio n o f Lewis's o w n sens e o f " t h e essentia l l i a i s o n s . . . connecting u p thi s maze l i k e . . . system" {Paleface, 142) . (1) The Unconscious ; (2 ) the Feminine ; (3 ) The Communist ; thos e ar e th e main principles o f actio n i n the mind o f Mr . Lawrence , linke d i n a hot an d piping trinit y o f rough-stuf f primitivism , an d freudia n hot-se x stuff . (180 ) In Paleface, Lewi s identifie s th e nonwhite' s "primitive " univers e wit h it s " h th e similarl y mindless , emotional , "consciousness in the abdomen' wit universe o f th e woman . A s h e put s it : I woul d rathe r hav e th e leas t ma n tha t thinks tha n th e averag e ma n tha t squats an d drum s an d d r u m s . . . . I woul d rathe r hav e a n ounc e o f huma n "consciousness" tha n a universe ful l o f "abdominal " afflatu s an d ho t un conscious "soulless, " mystica l throbbing . (196 ) In a theor y whic h demonstrate s th e centralit y o f Lewis' s affectio n fo r N a z i doctrines , h e explain s tha t th e dar k races , lik e th e invert , shar e wit h w o m e n th e desir e t o engul f an d destro y th e whit e man . Intermarriage , or miscegenation , i n whic h th e whit e ma n link s wit h a bein g w h o en -

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compasses bot h darknes s an d femininity , i s a particularly letha l danger . In expoundin g upo n thi s idea , Lewi s implies , thoug h h e neve r directl y alludes to , th e existenc e o f blac k females . A s a rule , blacks , lik e Jews , seem t o exis t fo r Lewi s onl y i n th e mal e gender . A s a n alternativ e t o miscegenation, Lewi s urges a purely European melting pot, as "practically all europea n intermarriag e present s n o proble m a t all " (278) . Just as , i n The Art of Being Ruled, Lewis' s nightmare consisted of a terrible mergin g of men , women , inverts , an d children , an d hi s idea l worl d wa s on e i n which wome n woul d b e segregate d fro m men , her e i n Paleface h e ad vocates a splitting-of f fro m hi s ne w Other , th e objec t o f hi s projectiv e identification: "W e should. . . see les s an d les s o f suc h othe r kind s o f men, between whom an d ourselves there is no practical reason for physical merging, no r fo r spiritua l merging , o r eve n man y reason s agains t both " (258). The alternativ e is , onc e more , a terrible collusion—thi s tim e betwee n blacks, women, an d Russian Communists. In a particularly vivid paranoid image, Lewi s repetitivel y ruminate s abou t "Blac k an d Re d Laughte r i n Russia" an d visualize s blacks , Russians , an d wome n meetin g t o laug h a t and plot agains t white men (286) . He warns: "Let th e usual Black Laugh ter, o r Re d Laughter , directe d a t u s g o on : bu t le t i t becom e a thing o f the past fo r u s t o remai n a s its amiable , accommodatin g an d self-abasin g butts" (271) . Inverts are , o f course , i n o n th e plo t a s well . Th e ma n who , lik e Lawrence, worships the primitive dark races rather than guarding his own white mal e identit y "ha s grow n t o desir e t o b e a woman an d ha s take n obvious step s t o effec t thi s transformation. " Th e actua l physica l trans formation int o a female i s alread y fa r gon e i n Lewis' s fantas y world : [T]he widespread phenomenon of male inversion [is]... an example of the form tha t thi s collaps e wa s taking . A s th e starc h wen t ou t o f them , th e males relapse d int o wha t i n Sodo m ar e technicall y calle d "bitches " i n a process of almos t physiological transformation . (156 ) Paleface present s u s wit h essentiall y th e sam e obsessiona l framewor k we find i n The Art of Being Ruled, wit h th e "mazelik e network " o r paranoid syste m whic h i n tha t boo k include d women , children , homo sexuals, and the masses, now expanded to include, and indeed focus upon , blacks. Th e tw o book s illustrat e Gilman' s mode l o f th e "mutabl e an d constantly shifting " stereotypica l flu x (Difference and Pathology, 23) .

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Read together , the y provide a frightening an d illuminatin g illustratio n o f the psychologica l proces s throug h whic h racia l prejudic e ca n b e con structed—and reconstructed . The book' s critics , however , wer e neithe r frightene d no r illuminated . Just a s Lewis' s late r anti - Semitis m woul d b e ignore d b y contemporar y and eve n modern critics , th e blatan t an d virulent racis m i n Paleface wen t unmentioned i n bot h positiv e an d negativ e contemporar y review s o f th e book. The reviewer from th e Times Literary Supplement praise d the book, commenting blandly , "I t seem s t o hi m [Lewis ] vita l t o comba t th e ide a that the white races are done an d the coloured i n the ascendant." 30 Othe r reviewers an d commentator s concentrate d o n th e attac k o n D . H . Law rence, approvin g o r no t dependin g o n thei r view s o f tha t author. 31 Re becca West, who criticizes the book for it s "exaggeration an d distortion, " is th e onl y on e t o hin t a t it s racism , thoug h sh e claims , "[TJher e i s n o one who ca n more deepl y thril l on e b y a vivid an d novel vision." 32 Onc e more, Lewis' s obsessiona l syste m se t him a t one rather tha n a t odds wit h the dominan t discours e o f hi s society . Meyers, i n one of his more farfetched rescu e efforts, describe s Paleface in term s o f Lewis' s oppositio n t o "th e spuriou s an d sentimenta l expro priation o f Africa n culture " an d hi s rejectio n o f "th e fashionable , art y assumption tha t th e emotiona l an d sensuou s lif e o f th e blac k rac e wa s superior t o th e white " (Meyers , 143) . He , however , doe s admi t tha t (i Paleface seemed racist " (Meyers , 150 ; m y italics) . Paleface ', i n whic h Lewis's focus shifted fro m wome n and homosexuals to blacks as the feare d and hate d Other , pave d th e wa y fo r Lewis' s nex t shift—t o a racist anti Semitism i n Hitler. Jews Join the Plot: Hitler (1930), Doom o f Youth (1932), Left Wing s ove r Europe (1936), and Coun t Your Dead: They Are Alive! (1937). To today' s reader, Hitler (1931 ) read s lik e a piece o f Naz i propaganda , loade d wit h a kin d o f sneering , particularl y offensiv e anti-Semitism . Upo n it s pub lication, however , th e Times Literary Supplement no t onl y describe d th e book a s brillian t an d persuasive , bu t als o praise d Lewis' s treatmen t o f and attitud e towar d Jew s i n it—a n attitud e tha t th e reviewe r clearl y shared. Mr. Lewi s get s on t o firme r ground . .. when h e expound s upo n th e rea l character o f Hitlerit e anti-Semitism . H e remind s th e Britis h publi c tha t

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"the vulga r Jew o f th e Britis h caricaturis t i s largel y a reality i n Centra l Europe. . .Jews dominat e Germa n life. . .he [Hitler ] logicall y want s t o eliminate them." 33 None o f th e othe r review s mentione d hi s attitud e towar d Jews . Jus t a s Hitler's ow n openl y proclaime d anti-Semitis m ha d no t mad e hi m un popular wit h th e Englis h peopl e i n 1930 , Lewis' s suppor t o f tha t stanc e was not eve n considered wort h mentionin g b y hi s reviewers i n that year . Instead, i t fit neatl y int o th e prevailin g discourse : th e "anti-Semitis m o f tolerance" describe d i n chapte r 1 , whic h blame d Jews (i n particula r for eign o r unassimilate d Jews ) fo r anti-Semitis m whil e congratulatin g it s adherent o n hi s o r he r lac k o f anti-Semitism . However , othe r aspect s o f Lewis's suppor t o f Hitle r wer e les s acceptabl e t o hi s Englis h reviewers . His perceive d lac k o f patriotis m an d hi s suppor t fo r a leade r wh o wa s gradually bein g acknowledge d a s th e enem y earne d hi m th e disappro bation which his anti-Semitic stance did not, an d several reviewers labeled him gullibl e an d eve n narcissistic. 34 However , th e stron g disapprova l which Lewi s eventuall y earne d fo r Hitler cam e wel l afte r it s publicatio n date. I t i s importan t t o remembe r tha t i n 1930 , whe n th e boo k wa s published, i t cause d n o majo r sti r an d wa s considered , o n th e whole , perfectly acceptable . While Lewis had referred contemptuousl y t o Jews in Blast, no . 1 (1914) and i n th e stor y "Cantleman' s Sprin g Mate " (1917) , the y ha d no t s o fa r emerged a s a major obsession . Wit h th e publicatio n o f Hitler, th e Jew s took thei r plac e among Lewis' s galler y o f miscreants . I n Hitler, a s in th e subsequent books in which Jews played a prominent role, Lewis envision s only mal e Jews. T o hi m a Jew was , b y definition , a man who , lik e th e invert, straddle d th e lin e betwee n masculinit y an d femininity . Femal e Jews, wh o coul d no t b e fit int o thi s formula , di d no t exis t i n hi s as sumptive universe . The first par t o f Hitler i s devoted t o a description o f th e "Jewis h city , Berlin," which is controlled by a cabal of Lewis's favorite people: "tarts," "niggers," "inverts, " an d "jews. " Berli n i s " a reall y first clas s mauvais lieu . . . thrown u p b y th e War ou t o f th e earth's bowels , a s it were, fro m sweated cellars , traps , an d gutters." 35 Like th e Russia n communist s an d th e black s wh o mocke d th e whit e man wit h thei r "Re d an d Blac k Laughter " i n Paleface, thi s ne w caba l enjoys playin g a particularly viciou s tric k o n th e unsuspecting mal e tour ist, on e which , lik e th e "insidiou s proposal " o f The Art of Being Ruled,

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is designe d t o blu r th e essentia l boundarie s betwee n mal e an d femal e an d to forc e th e persecute d ma n t o abando n hi s masculinit y an d becom e a child o r a homosexual . Th e femal e tar t w h o m th e trustin g touris t pick s up i n orde r t o asser t hi s masculinit y ma y tur n ou t t o b e a man ! Lewi s describes i n som e detai l hi s o w n experienc e o f bein g tricke d i n thi s way , concluding tha t th e touris t w h o ha s suc h a n experienc e wil l profi t fro m it b y hencefort h remainin g o n guar d agains t al l w o m e n : [T]he feminin e wil l neve r neve r b e quit e th e sam e fo r hi m again.. . i t wil l have cause d hi m t o regar d wit h a certai n sceptica l squint , al l specificall y feminine personality . Thi s m a y . . . b e o f grea t us e t o h i m . . . i n th e sub sequent conduc t o f hi s life . (Hitler, 25-26 ) Lewis gleefull y cite s on e hundre d an d sixt y suc h establishments , and , with grea t relis h an d fascination , describe s "ever y variet y o f Perversion " which exist s withi n them . I n Meyers' s view , h e i s "utterl y repelle d an d absorbed wit h th e grotesqu e frisson o f sexua l degeneracy " (Meyers , 187) . But, i n a pattern whic h wil l reoccu r i n The Apes of God, Lewi s become s threatened b y th e forc e o f hi s o w n attraction . I n orde r t o safel y spli t i t off fro m himself , h e need s anothe r figur e w h o wil l authoritativel y rep resent hi s divorc e fro m th e scene . H e find s hi m i n th e y o u n g N a z i , a triumphant representativ e o f th e erec t whit e male . Th e N a z i avoid s al l such places . The y ar e fo r hi m the squintin g misbegotte n paradis e o f th e Schiebertum. "J u de verrecke! " he would n o doub t mutte r o r shout , i f h e go t int o one . Soone r o r late r h e would desir e t o . . . roll thi s nigger-danc e luxury-spo t u p lik e a verminou s carpet an d dro p i t int o th e Spree—wit h a heartfelt Pfui ! a t it s bi g sodde n splash. (Hitler, 27-28 ) Meyers writes , wit h n o apparen t irony , " T h e sam e pervers e spectacl e that revolte d Lewis , w h o hate d homosexualit y an d praise d Hitle r fo r promising t o extinguis h vice , attracte d th e Left-win g Auden , Isherwoo d and Spende r t o B e r l i n . . . i n th e earl y 1930s " (Meyers , 187) . I n fact , th e same phenomeno n tha t dre w Lewis , Auden , Isherwood , an d Spende r t o Berlin—its ope n acceptanc e o f homosexuality—als o attracte d Lewis . Most o f th e res t o f th e b o o k i s devote d t o a descriptio n o f Hitler , w h o m Lewi s clearl y sees a s a n extensio n o f himsel f an d whos e N a z i ideology h e equate s wit h hi s o w n position , a s a defens e agains t th e fem inizing aggressio n o f communism. 3 6 Whil e h e acknowledge s tha t Berli n is a violen t city , h e characterize s th e violenc e a s a process i n whic h " t h e

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Communists hel p th e polic e t o bea t an d shoo t th e Nazis, " rathe r tha n the revers e (16) . Similarly , th e Hors t Wesse l son g portray s a typica l ambush b y "th e marxis t gang s [which ] tak e thei r order s fro m Moscow " (19). Th e Nazi s themselve s g o unarmed , excep t i n respons e t o "extrem e provocation an d i n fac e o f th e certaint y o f deat h i f the y ar e no t i n a position t o defen d themselves " (20) . Lewis doe s no t ignor e Naz i anti-Semitis m i n thi s book . Callin g i t "Judenfrage," h e explain s i t a s th e German' s "dee p anima l antipathy " against "a gli b metropolitan produc t whose ancient an d dissimila r cultur e seems t o threate n th e integrit y o f hi s ow n traditiona l ideals " (34) . H e goes o n t o describ e i t a s a "hard-headed " resolv e t o " 'kee p out ' a t al l costs th e 'alien ' who m th e peasant-min d suspect s (whethe r rightl y o r wrongly, an d n o doub t sometime s i t i s one , sometime s th e other ) o f having design s upo n it s patrimony " (34) . As w e hav e seen , Lewis' s accusatio n tha t hi s fathe r ha d cheate d hi m of hi s patrimon y implie d tha t throug h hi s abdication , hi s fathe r ha d robbed him of the ability to feel confidence in his masculinity, thus forcin g him t o maintai n a constant vigilanc e agains t th e alie n force s whic h wer e in leagu e fo r tha t prize . H e interpret s "th e German's " antipath y fo r th e Jew a s th e sam e thing : a fierc e defens e agains t thos e alien s wh o "hav e designs" on his patrimony o r manhood. I n line with th e discours e o f th e time, Lewi s distinguishe s betwee n Englis h Jews , wh o ar e "disinfecte d and anglicised, " an d thos e o f German y an d America : The anti-semitism tha t doe s exist [in the United States ] is sustained solel y by th e extremel y ba d manner s an d barbari c aggressivenes s o f th e easter n slum-Jew immigrant, dumpe d into America yearly in such great numbers. That i s more eve n tha n huma n beings . . . the mos t stoica l an d patien t of all the animal creation—can comfortabl y bear . (36) He approvingl y quote s Goebbels on the Jewish control of "Jazz, Nigger dances an d simila r amusement s (whic h ar e completel y alie n t o us) " an d concludes, "[I] t i s onl y fai r t o th e Nationalsocialis t t o sa y tha t th e Je w has ofte n len t colou r t o thos e accusations " (80) . Even th e sanitize d Jew o f Englan d i s a would-be woman , an d a dom inating and engulfing one : "the brilliant an d bossy Hausfrau o f this stoli d English hubby " (41) . Th e Germa n Je w to o i s "Feminine , an d i n man y ways ver y unpleasant—al l peopl e hav e thei r ba d sides " (41) . Th e co y tone continues , a s doe s th e associatio n o f Jew s an d women , i n Lewis' s

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recommendation t o th e Englis h Hitlerite , a t leas t whe n a t home , t o ex press his anti-Semitis m i n a lowered voic e an d accompan y i t with denial : The Hitlerit e mus t understan d tha t whe n h e is talking t o a n Englishma n or a n America n abou t "th e Jew " (a s h e i s prone t o do ) h e i s ap t t o b e talking about that gentleman's wifel Or anyhow Chacun sonjewl i s a good old English saying. So if the Hitlerite desires to win the ear of England he must lower his voice and coo (rather than shout) Jude verreckel i f he must give expressio n t o suc h a fiery intolerant notion . Therefore— a pinc h o f malice certainly, bu t no "antisemitism" for th e love of Mike! (42) Lewis's recommendatio n her e is accurate enough ; we have seen this low ered voic e an d unname d anti-Semitis m i n th e Foreig n an d Hom e Offic e memos in chapter 1 and in the code of the English public school describe d in chapte r 3 . Havin g solidl y cemented,th e tw o concept s " J e w " an d "Woman," Lewi s then appeal s to his fellow Englishme n i n a call for mal e solidarity wit h thei r Germa n brothers , agains t th e alie n aggresso r an d Other—the Woman-Jew : "[SJtil l allow a little Blutsgefuhl t o have its way . . . towards thi s othe r min d an d bod y lik e you r own—i n favou r o f thi s brave an d ver y unhapp y impoverishe d kinsman . D o no t allo w a mer e bagatelle o f a Judenfrage t o stan d i n th e wa y o f that! " (42) . Th e appea l of "Blutsgefuhl " i s state d eve n mor e clearl y later : [T]he doctrin e o f th e Blutsgefuhl . . . desires a closer an d closer drawin g together of the people of one race and culture,by means of bodily attraction. It mus t b e a true bodil y solidarity . Identica l rhythm s i n th e arterie s an d muscles, an d i n th e effectiv e neura l instrument—tha t shoul d provid e u s with a passionate exclusiveness, withi n th e brotherly bound s o f which we could liv e secur e fro m alie n interference , an d s o proceed wit h ou r wor k and our pleasures, whatever they may be. That is the big idea. (106-7 ) The rather passionatel y homosexua l conten t o f this passage by th e swor n enemy o f th e inver t i s notabl e here . Jus t a s i n The Art of Being Ruled, Lewis recommended th e segregatio n o f men an d women, excep t for brie f sexual contacts, a s the onl y wa y t o provide me n wit h safet y fro m femal e engulfment, her e the concept of "Blutsgefuhl" offer s a world o f brotherl y safety fro m "alie n interference, " a place wher e Lewis , tormente d b y hi s need fo r an d dependenc y o n wome n an d b y th e paranoi d vigilanc e re quired b y tha t need , coul d finally fee l on e wit h othe r "masculine " men , and d o hi s wor k i n peace . Hitler fo r th e mos t par t recapitulate s Lewis' s familia r system , wit h

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some importan t differences . Whil e i n The Art of Being Ruled Mussolin i and fascism offere d rathe r a pale and ineffective counte r to the far stronge r forces o f feminis m an d homosexuality , i n Hitler th e alie n force s ar e fo r the first tim e opposed b y a n equally stron g masculine counterforc e i n th e form o f Adol f Hitle r an d Nationa l Socialism . Lewi s bewail s th e Jewis h control o f th e bank s an d th e economy , preside d ove r b y "th e Je w Kar l Marx," but claims that Hitler's program offers a strong defense o f Europ e at a time whe n i t i s unde r threa t b y feminine , communis t Jews . I n The Art of Being Ruled wome n an d homosexual s bor e th e projective burden . In Paleface i t passe d t o th e "dark " races . I n Hitler, thoug h thes e othe r targets ar e no t forgotten , Jew s an d communist s togethe r bea r th e pro jective weight . I n Hitle r Lewi s find s " a sor t o f inspire d an d eloquen t Everyman" {Hitler, 33) . H e conclude s th e boo k wit h a n appreciatio n o f his hero : I myself a m content to regard him as the expression of the current German manhood— resolved with that admirable tenacity, hardihood an d intellectual acumen of the Teuton . .. t o seize the big bull of Finance by the horns, and take a chance for th e sake of freedom. (202 ) In 193 8 Virgini a Wool f woul d describ e Hitle r wit h a ver y differen t emotion bu t i n simila r term s a s "th e quintessenc e o f virility , th e perfec t type" o f manhoo d (Three Guineas, 187) . By 1932 , i n Doom of Youth, Lewi s ha s shifte d hi s terminolog y fro m "the whit e race " t o "th e arya n race. " H e continue s t o emphasiz e th e necessity t o kee p thi s entit y intact , for , jus t a s the epir a wil l swallo w it s mate, "[i] n intermarriage , wit h Je w o r Indian , i t i s th e othe r rac e tha t absorbs th e European , no t th e reverse . . . . With hi s 'borrowe d religion 5 and 'mongre l culture ' th e Je w wil l 'absorb ' spirituall y withi n hal f a n hour." 37 Doom of Youth contain s a horrifie d an d b y no w familia r accoun t o f how moder n youth s ar e infantilize d an d prevente d fro m achievin g man hood b y wome n an d feminize d homosexuals . I n it , Lewi s als o make s a bitter attac k o n Ale c Waugh , whos e Loom of Youth (1917) , whic h I examined briefl y i n chapte r 3 , h e satirize s i n hi s title . Lewi s repeatedl y attributes hi s own obsessiona l structur e t o Waugh , childishl y taunt s hi m by callin g him a homosexual an d a woman, an d eve n employ s on e o f hi s own bete s noires , psychoanalysis , t o labe l him— a "mother. " The characters Mr . Waug h create s ar e feminized, a s it were, t o an obsessional extent. . . Mr. Waug h mus t hav e th e sou l o f a nannie... I shoul d

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say that al l the feminine , materna l attribute s wer e excessivel y develope d i n him, a n d . . . thwarted... I thin k i t i s fair t o sa y tha t ther e i s something o f an obsessiona l natur e a t work ; I thin k tha t psychoanalysi s woul d revea l the fac t tha t motherhood i n it s mos t opulen t for m wa s wha t Mr . Waug h had bee n destine d fo r b y nature , an d tha t crue l fat e ha d i n som e wa y interfered, an d s o unhappil y h e becam e a man. (114 ) In fascis t German y an d Italy , unlik e i n Waugh's England , Lewi s asserts , youths ar e masculine . Thi s lead s Lewi s t o th e Jew , w h o "accordin g t o the standard s o f europea n masculinity—i s feminine—tha t i s clear e n o u g h " (117). Th e J e w i s als o childish : Indeed, tha t very racial longevity could scarcely have been compassed with out a cultivation o f al l tha t wa s primitive , immatur e an d emotiona l i n th e human being. . . . Cal l it a second—or a third—Childhood, i f you like : bu t there i t is—i t i s a n essentia l sl y buoyancy , beneat h a traditiona l mas k o f oppressive gloom . (118-19 ) Lewis conclude s thi s chapte r wit h a long quotatio n abou t h o w th e J e w , Albert Einstei n i s " m o t h e r e d " b y hi s wif e w h o act s a s " a dotin g paren t towards a precociou s child " (121) . Doom of Youth hardl y pretend s t o coherence . Dismisse d b y on e criti c as " a handfu l o f cutting s wave d i n th e fac e o f th e public " an d b y Meyer s as " o n e o f hi s shoddies t efforts, " i t wa s withdraw n b y hi s publishers afte r legal action s b y bot h Ale c Waug h an d Godfre y Winn , anothe r o f th e authors th e boo k attack s (Meyers , 215) . Left Wings over Europe (1936 ) an d Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! (1937) wer e writte n an d publishe d a t a tim e whe n suc h event s a s th e remilitarization o f th e Rhineland , th e annexatio n o f Austria , an d th e occupation o f th e Sudetenlan d ha d turne d Englis h publi c opinio n firmly against th e Nazis . Nevertheless , i n bot h books , Lewi s continue s t o prais e and exonerat e Hitle r an d t o blam e th e world crisi s o n "Jewis h financiers." In Left Wings over Europe, Lewis' s concentratio n i s o n th e conspirac y of Russia n Marxist s an d Jews , an d i n particula r o n th e destructio n o f Europe b y J e w r y : tha t "bir d o f p r e y . . . o f Internationa l Finance " (37) . As i n othe r popula r anti-Semiti c text s o f th e time , h e use s th e term s " u s u r y , " "internationa l cabal, " an d "internationa l finance" interchange ably fo r " J e w s . " 3 8 In a n interestin g historica l foray , h e accuse s " t h e ingeniou s Mr . Dis raeli" o f liquidatin g th e lande d societ y o f Englan d an d o f pushin g th e unsuspecting Englishma n int o "co-citizenshi p wit h th e Redski n an d th e Blackamoor, th e J ew an d th e Maori e [sic]" (35 , 44) . H e call s Mussolini' s

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invasion o f Abyssini a a war o f liberatio n an d accuse s Britain' s "leftist " government o f bein g i n leagu e wit h "a n oppressiv e internationa l cabal , which presume s t o condem n al l bu t a ver y fe w nation s t o a statu s o f economic serfdom an d inferiority i n order to be able to coerce and enslav e them" (302) . Lewi s name s member s o f thi s cabal : th e publishin g hous e of Gollancz , th e bisho p o f Durham , wh o "seem s t o b e enrage d b y th e elimination o f Jew s fro m Germa n publi c life " bu t doe s no t car e abou t his ow n miners , an d th e Russia n ambassador , Mr . Litvinov , who m h e accuses o f lookin g lik e a Jew: How can anyone in their senses and with a good pair of eyes in their head suppose... once he has had a good look at the photographs of Mr. Litvinov and hi s associates—tha t thes e men.. . are runnin g th e communis t inter national for anybody except their own sweet selves and their masters? (321) As in Lewis's earlie r books, the forces o f the oppressors ar e dauntingl y organized an d powerful . Internationa l Jewr y i s a "mone y king " wh o "goes abou t wit h hi s tai l betwee n hi s legs—furtively , an d ye t burstin g with a n enormou s sens e o f power—o f necessit y conceale d an d i n som e measure frustrated power . H e live s for power—therefor e h e is rancorou s and jealous " (318) . If Lewis' s syste m n o longe r belong s t o th e centra l o r dominan t English discourse , i t ha s nonetheles s foun d a friendly home . Rosenber g traces th e metapho r o f th e Je w a s cowerin g do g bac k t o medieva l texts, an d paragraph s almos t identica l t o th e on e abov e ca n b e foun d in anti-Semiti c tract s o f th e twentie s b y Joh n Wolf , Georg e Bolitho , Nesta Webster , Hilair e Belloc , an d G . K . Chesterton , a s wel l a s i n the pro-Naz i anti-Semiti c pres s o f th e 1930s . Moreover , Lewis' s not e of helples s victimizatio n a t th e hand s o f unscrupulou s an d powerfu l Zionist force s inten t o n shamefull y embarrassin g th e Britis h i s exactl y the not e w e hav e hear d i n chapte r 1 i n th e man y minute s an d letter s exchanged b y th e officer s o f th e Foreig n an d Colonia l Offices , through out th e war . Lewis's defens e o f Hitle r i n Left Wings over Europe ha s a similarl y wistful, almos t plaintive note. H e predicts that when ever y other countr y has turne d it s bac k o n England , "th e faithfu l Adol f wil l stil l b e there — offering he r his strong right arm (if she will not accep t his heart and hand ) for he r defens e agains t he r enemies " (331) . I n Rude Assignment (1950 ) Lewis describe d th e impuls e behin d hi s politica l book s o f th e 1930s :

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"With candour , an d wit h a n almos t crimina l indifferenc e t o m y persona l interests, I hav e give n mysel f u p t o th e stud y o f th e State " (69) . In 193 6 he portraye d Hitle r a s a similarly martyre d victim : This celibat e inhabitan t o f a modes t Alpin e chalet—vegetarian , nonsmoking and non-drinking, ha s remained the most unassuming and simple of men. He is a man in mortal danger, ever y moment of his life, wh o has sacrificed himself , literally , t o a principle, tha t o f nationa l freedom . Thi s man doe s no t confor m t o th e popula r conceptio n o f a tyrant. . .. He i s more like one of the oppressed! {Left Wings, 280 ) In th e review s o f Left Wings over Europe i n 1937 , we se e that, fo r th e first time , Englis h reviewers have become attuned, thoug h not necessaril y sensitive, t o th e issu e o f anti-Semitism . Th e Times Literary Supplement, which ha d defende d Lewis' s Hitler i n 1930 , no w foun d hi m guilt y o f Hitler worship an d claimed tha t "h e ha s learned hi s doctrines i n the Naz i school." Th e reviewe r stil l acquit s Lewi s o f anti-Semitism , however : "Perhaps th e fac t tha t Mr . Lewi s i s fre e fro m an y touc h o f anti-Jewis h feeling ha s caused hi m t o be unaware ho w completel y h e has adopte d th e Nazi outlook." 39 L . M . Horto n o f th e London Mercury foun d Lewis' s arguments reasonabl e fo r th e most part , claimin g that "no w a s always h e is wort h reading, " bu t rathe r self-righteousl y criticize d hi m fo r over looking the British incapacity to tolerate anti-Semitism: "There are certain moral scruple s particularly affectin g Englishme n whic h exist , whethe r h e approves o f them , o r not . Fo r instance , i t i s a fac t overlooke d b y hi m that Englishme n canno t tolerat e Germa n persecutio n o f th e Jew s an d suppression o f thought." 40 I n a scathing revie w in the Spectator, th e first openly t o accus e Lewi s o f anti-Semitism , E . H . Car r too k th e occasio n to condem n th e racis t right-win g "Die-Hards " wh o secretl y approv e Hitler's anti-Semitis m bu t ar e to o hypocritica l t o proclai m thei r own . Carr identifie s Lewi s a s a known racis t wh o support s German y becaus e of th e Nazis ' attitud e towar d coloured men, even including in that category (the Good British Die-Hard would not have gone so far himself, but it showed the right spirit) the Jews .. . Germany whic h ha d fo r s o long been merel y a territory inhabite d b y Huns, no w suddenl y becam e a White-Man's Paradise , a land fi t fo r Die Hards t o live in. 41 Lewis, say s Carr , ha s missed th e boat . B y now eve n th e Die-Hards hav e "shuffled of f afte r Mr . Churchill, " leavin g Mr. Lewi s alon e "agains t th e

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Red Menace " (234) . H e assure s th e reade r tha t thi s boo k shoul d suppl y him with "plenty of amusement." Even Meyers does not attempt to rescue Left Wings over Europe; h e call s i t "anti-democratic , anti-Communis t and anti-Semitic " (Meyers , 228) . Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! (1937) , whic h Meyer s feel s i s "su perfluous" an d Lewis' s wors t boo k (229) , continue s th e attack . Eve n more tha n i n Left Wings over Europe !, it is now th e Jews wh o receiv e th e full weigh t o f hi s paranoia . Perhap s awar e o f this , Lewi s declare s hi s impartiality: "I' m a s littl e pro-Germa n a s I a m a n anti-Semite." 42 H e assures us , " I hav e ofte n fel t compassio n fo r th e Je w (Thi s wa s befor e he becam e s o importan t an d bega n takin g hi s ow n par t s o effectivel y everywhere)" (41) . In this , probabl y hi s mos t virulentl y anti-Semiti c book , Lewi s wishe s that England , lik e Germany , ha d "bee n wis e [enough ] to understan d th e Jew. The n we should have no Jewish problem." As it is, "Some offsprin g of a n asiati c bazaar-tout " ha s becom e maste r ove r thos e o f th e bloo d o f Chaucer an d Shakespear e (43) . H e feel s tha t i n regar d t o th e Jews, Eng land, "coul d wit h advantag e tak e a leaf o f th e Germa n book " (44) . A s if this were not explici t enough, h e urges: "[G]ive me the hot pogrom ever y time. These new cold pogroms without a drop of bloodshed get me down " (341). Hitler i s once agai n agai n represente d a s the victim o f Britain' s "Hitle r complex." Lewi s warns us , " I wil l be thoroughly naughty " (83) , and th e tone of this book, whic h takes the form o f a dialogue between two equall y moronic publi c schoo l men , i s indee d writte n i n th e voic e o f a childis h bully. A t time s th e autho r eve n take s o n th e ton e o f a cranky chil d wh o is full y awar e tha t h e ha s gon e to o fa r an d wil l b e punished , bu t never theless feel s a compulsion t o continue : I can understand that Mr. Stalin should dislike Hitler, becaus e the latter is very rud e t o Communists . I ca n understan d M . Blu m dislikin g Hitler , because the latter is impolite to Jews. But... I cannot see what Mr. Baldwin should fee l s o incredibly deepl y about. (76 ) The sarcas m i s embarrassingl y crude : I can see we have to kill Hitler. . . . Look what he's done. (1) He's muzzled the Press. Monstrous ! (2) He sentence s Bolshie s t o death . Barbarous ! (3)

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He prevent s Jew s fro m makin g money . Cruel , I cal l it ! (4 ) He' s ap t t o seize Danzig, a n awfully prett y cit y on the Baltic. Abominable! (339) The publicatio n o f Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! marke d th e climax of Lewis' s anti-Semiti c writing. While not completel y absen t fro m the book , wome n an d invert s remai n i n th e background , takin g secon d place t o "Do n Mose s Rosenberg, " th e siniste r Marxist-Je w whos e poi sonous tentacle s reac h fro m Ne w Yor k t o Mosco w an d enfol d al l o f England i n their grasp . I n Count Your Dead, Jew s ar e inscribed wit h th e engulfing an d murderou s qualitie s o f wome n an d th e threatenin g ambi sexual qualitie s o f feminin e inverts . Bu t th e switc h o f symboli c prioritie s would b e onl y a temporary one .

A Martyr to His Country: Th e Jews , Ar e The y H u m a n ? (1939) and Th e Hitle r Cul t (1939) While Lewis' s politica l books , especiall y th e las t two , di d damag e hi s reputation (Julia n Symon s tell s o f a meetin g o f th e Lef t Boo k Clu b i n which a boycott was called of his work), h e has always had his defenders . I hav e alread y cite d som e o f th e defense s moder n critic s hav e mounte d for Hitler. Right-win g supporter s suc h a s Ezr a Pound , whos e appro bation probabl y di d nothin g t o hel p hi s friend's reputation , wer e alway s in evidence . T . S . Eliot , a more powerfu l right-win g ally , als o defende d Lewis agains t th e charg e o f fascis m an d afte r hi s deat h calle d hi m "on e of th e fe w me n o f letter s i n m y generatio n who m I shoul d cal l withou t qualification, me n o f genius." 43 Lately , th e Blac k Sparro w Pres s ha s reprinted severa l o f Lewis' s books , an d ne w edition s o f fou r mor e o f them, includin g Tarr an d The Art of Being Ruled (thoug h no t Hitler o r Left Wings over Europe), cam e out from tha t press in 1990. Never conten t to leav e hi s defens e t o others , Lewi s attempte d t o exonerat e himsel f fo r the opinion s expresse d i n th e book s w e hav e jus t examine d wit h tw o revisionist texts, The Jews, Are They Human f (1939) and The Hitler Cult (1939). The Jews, Are They Human? (it s titl e i s a parody o f Gusta f Renier' s The British, Are They Human f and hardl y a neutral choice) is a fascinating study o f th e proces s o f splitting . I n i t Lewi s confront s som e o f hi s ow n obsessional structure s i n a n unsuccessfu l attemp t t o reaso n himsel f ou t of hi s anti-Semitism . Thi s book , lik e Count Your Dead, i s written i n th e

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form o f a conversation, thi s tim e betwee n Lewi s himsel f an d a characte r he calls "the antisemite, " who appears , to any reader of the earlier books, to b e Lewis's alte r ego . Nevertheless, h e never acknowledge s an y past o r present relationshi p t o thi s "zealot. " Instead , h e declare s himsel f t o be , as " a perso n wh o ca n scarcel y b e suspecte d o f mercenar y intentions , o r of courtin g popularity, " i n a n idea l positio n t o conve y "a n attitud e o f common sens e regardin g th e Jew." 4 4 Interestingly, on e of the foremost characteristic s of this "rabbit-toothe d weakminded littl e man, " th e "antisemite, " i s his paranoid obsessiveness : he "catche s sigh t o f hi s enem y a t al l hour s o f th e day. " "O f cours e i f you ar e absorbedl y intereste d i n anything, " Lewi s remind s us , clearl y speaking fro m experience , "yo u see k opportunitie s o f bein g nea r it ; o f studying it , o r enlargin g you r knowledg e o f it " (Jews, 33-34) . Th e "an tisemite," then , i s ofte n surrounde d b y Jew s a s thoug h b y a kin d o f "animal magnetism." He is "a gentile of disordered mind who has become what h e is by broodin g upo n a bogey" (35). The "antisemite " also share s with Lewi s a curiou s tendenc y t o confus e Jew s an d women . "Sex generalities ente r a goo d dea l int o hi s hostil e analysi s o f th e Jew . Th e Jew, i t i s asserted , i s feminine-receptive rathe r tha n creative , over emotional . . . and h e i s a parasite too , a s th e woma n is " (61) . Lewis mention s a n "antisemite " wh o marrie d a Jewess: "horro r abet ting sensuality " (32) . H e cite s Ott o Weininger , a "Jewis h antisemite, " whose "mai n contentio n wa s tha t th e Jew s wer e th e female race. An d he wa s consume d wit h a ferociou s antipath y fo r al l females—a s wel l as bein g extremel y sensual . Yo u ma y imagin e hi s predicament . Even tually h e committe d suicide " (55) . I t is , o f course , hi s ow n predicamen t Lewis i s unconsciousl y describin g her e i n hi s ver y accurat e descriptio n of Weininger . Lewis's mai n objectio n t o th e "antisemite " i s hi s tendenc y t o driv e unsuspecting Gentile s t o the opposit e extreme : "At th e en d o f a grueling couple o f hours , o f intensiv e antisemitism , h e almost succeed s in turnin g one int o a pro-Jew" (28) . Onl y almost , however . Speakin g fo r himself , not for "th e antisemite, " he advises ignoring Jews a s a way to make the m disappear an d comments , fou r month s afte r Kristallnacht , o n th e Jew' s masochistic tendenc y t o dwel l o n hi s ow n trouble , whic h "h e ha s quit e got use d t o " an d ha s learne d t o enjoy , jus t a s man y Jew s "enjo y Her r Hitler" (21 , 55). H e dwell s o n th e smel l an d ba d manner s o f poo r Jews , on the intolerable ugliness of the Jew in general and the immediate distast e he provokes :

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To lack of grace, it is further felt , thi s swarthy stranger adds a bumptiousness, a push, a vulgar swagger, whic h is irresistibly provoking.... A man begins b y dislikin g instinctivel y a waddling strut... . Next h e resents th e arrogance so provokingly painted upon the "oily" countenance. .. (39-40) And yet , th e Jew ha s hi s goo d points . H e i s bright, ha s a pathetic desir e to be friendly, an d a strange way o f coming out o n top—so "le t us assur e him that he's all right with us, so long as he observes our laws and respect s our funn y littl e ways " (21) . Through th e us e o f a n alte r ego , "th e antisemite, " Lewi s approache s in The Jews, Are They Human? rea l insight into his own paranoid system . It i s possibly th e proximit y o f tha t insigh t whic h threaten s hi m s o muc h that i t lead s hi m t o undermin e hi s ow n consciou s inten t i n thi s book : t o demonstrate tha t h e i s no t i n fac t a n anti-Semite . The Jews, Are They Human?, a n attemp t t o dispe l hi s reputatio n a s a n anti-Semite , merel y cemented it . Onl y hi s faithful supporter , th e Times Literary Supplement, found The Jews, Are They Human? a s instructiv e a s Lewis' s previou s books. The reviewer commented: "In our usual rounds the Jew, especiall y if he be orthodox an d freshl y arrive d fro m som e Centra l Europea n State , strikes us often a s a grotesque figure, an d Mr. Lewis' book is most valuable in those chapters i n which h e expounds successfull y th e attitude i n whic h we shoul d regar d an d trea t thes e stranger s t o Englis h ways." 45 In The Hitler Cult (1939) , although h e appears truly disillusione d wit h his former hero , Lewis once again undermines his own attempts to defen d himself agains t th e charg e o f anti-Semitism . H e explain s tha t i n Englan d anti-Semitism ha s always been "[sic] a pastime—in th e nature of a parlour sport" an d that hi s understandable mistak e i n the former book s ha d bee n to assum e tha t i t wa s th e sam e i n Germany. 46 Furthermore , wh o coul d blame him fo r failin g t o fee l sympath y fo r a people who enjo y thei r ow n persecution? Lewi s explain s tha t hi s senses were not exactly afflicted b y what happened to this not very tactful member of society (as is the average Jewish bagman) in the way of insulting badinage .. . and anyway the latter seemed rather t o enter into the spirit of it. (17 ) Again, th e Jews are "a people .. . who have an exasperating idea that the y have bee n especiall y picke d ou t b y th e father " (19) . Just a s Lewi s ha d no t bothere d t o rea d Mein Kampf befor e writin g Hitler, h e wrote his recantation o f that book without botherin g to infor m himself o f th e fat e o f Europea n Jewry . The Hitler Cult appeare d i n December 1939 , afte r Lewi s ha d lef t fo r Canad a an d thre e month s afte r

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war ha d bee n declared . Bot h th e event s o f th e Kristallnach t pogro m an d the pligh t o f Jews i n th e Warsa w ghett o ha d bee n wel l publicize d i n th e British pres s a t tha t time . I n on e o f man y suc h report s fro m Germany , a Times corresponden t wrote , "[T]h e conditio n o f mos t Jews her e i s on e of misery , terro r an d despair. " Ignorin g this , Lewi s speak s o f "insultin g badinage" an d "col d pogroms " an d i n genera l reveal s a complet e igno rance o f curren t events . While , a s w e hav e seen , suc h determine d igno rance was not unusual amon g the British people at that time, it does stan d out i n a boo k whos e forma l purpos e wa s t o recan t it s author' s forme r support o f Nazism . In Rude Assignment o f 1950 , Lewi s mad e on e las t attemp t t o simul taneously disow n an d reclaim his earlier books an d to counter the various charges (o f racism , fascis t sympathizing , an d anti-Semitism ) whic h ha d arisen agains t the m b y tha t time . H e explaine d tha t Paleface containe d "nothing antipatheti c t o th e Red an d the Black" but was merely a n effor t "to attac k th e Paleface sentimentalizin g abou t th e dark skin. " That boo k was attacke d b y intellectuals , h e explains , no t fo r it s racism, bu t becaus e Lewis wa s no t "i n th e pro-Blac k racket " (Rude, 219-21) . Lewis exhibit s particular ambivalenc e abou t Hitler, th e book whic h h e felt t o b e th e caus e o f hi s ostracism . I n a chapte r o f Rude Assignment, which was suppressed whe n th e book appeare d i n 1950 , but was include d in the 198 4 reprint, h e calls his former theor y o f Hitle r a s a man o f peac e "painfully absurd " an d "a n inexcusabl e blunder." 47 I n th e sam e unpub lished chapter , however , h e quote s an d the n justifie s severa l o f hi s mor e offensive passages , includin g th e on e i n whic h h e first call s the Jew "th e brilliant an d boss y Hausfra u o f th e stoli d englis h hubby, " the n assert s that "th e Je w ha s ofte n len t colou r t o th e Naz i accusations " (256-57) . This passage , h e claim s i n 1950 , "shows , wit h I thin k judiciou s insight , the exact relation o f these two races , most unfortunately throw n togethe r at this juncture" (257) . I n th e final version o f th e book , Lewi s leave s ou t this chapter . Hitler's anti-Semitis m i s completely ignored , an d instea d o f regret fo r hi s blunder , Lewi s defend s a book, which , h e explain s i n hi s most grandios e manner , wa s intende d t o "brea k th e Europea n ostracis m of Germany , cal l in question th e wisdom o f th e Versailles Treaty an d ge t it revised . . . attempt t o establis h health y relationship s i n Wester n Eu rope" (224) . Similarly, Lewi s defend s Count Your Dead a s "a first rat e peace pam phlet" an d claim s tha t Left Wings over Europe, whil e mistake n i n man y

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ways, was "a violent reaction agains t Left-wing incitemen t t o war" (226) . Far fro m bein g anti-Semitic , al l thre e book s wer e effort s t o subver t th e very spiri t whic h le d "t o th e Gas-oven s a t Belsen " (73) . This , on e o f Lewis's fe w reference s i n al l his work t o th e fate o f th e Jews, i s precede d by another , mor e persona l referenc e t o a private versio n o f th e concen tration camps : "An y membe r o f thi s 'intelligentsia ' wh o challenge s th e system, i s relegated t o what i s little better tha n a concentration cam p an d condemned t o impotenc e i n thi s way " (23) . Lewis' s rol e o f beleaguere d male victi m whos e ver y manhoo d i s unde r attac k i s a n importan t foun dation o f hi s ow n system , an d h e i s reluctant t o assig n i t to anyon e else . As h e assert s ove r an d ove r again , "Th e persona l los s entailed.. . b y m y stand agains t wa r wa s incalculable " (225) . Unlike his friend Ezr a Pound, wh o befor e hi s death acknowledge d an d apologized fo r hi s anti-Semitism , Lewi s continue d t o den y hi s own , ad mittedly les s virulent attitude . I n an y event , b y 195 0 Jews ha d los t thei r central positio n i n hi s system . Instead , h e warn s o f "th e conjunctio n o f the woman an d on e o f thes e ubiquitou s pervert s [which ] boded n o goo d for th e norma l male " (Rude, 191 ) an d th e "epidemi c o f homosexualit y in Englan d sinc e Worl d Wa r I I . . . the feminisation , o r neutralisatio n o f the Whit e European . . . [and] th e feminis t [who ] ha d bee n followe d b y the feminisin g male " (182 , 188) . W e lear n onc e mor e ho w th e norma l male, wh o mus t "liv e coope d u p wit h a snarling woman , o r a slatternl y lazy one . . . who add s chil d afte r chil d t o th e household . . . half o f the m adopting th e habits o f scavenge r dogs, " would b e far happie r "i n a men's communal dwelling . . . liberated fro m th e crushin g responsibilit y o f sex , of fatherhoo d an d th e upkee p o f a dirty littl e 'castle ' " (190) . After Lewi s repudiate d Hitler , a s h e ha d repudiate d hi s othe r mal e heroes, Jews quickl y los t their focal plac e in his authorial structure. The y were relegated , wit h blacks , t o a categor y o f inferio r bu t unimportan t aliens. Wome n an d homosexual s ha d no w returne d t o thei r prope r sym bolic places—a s th e ke y object s i n hi s paranoi d obsessiona l system . Impartial Malignity:

"Cantleman's Spring and Tar r (1918)

Mate" (1917)

Even befor e The Art of Being Ruled o f 1926 , th e firs t didacti c boo k i n which Lewi s displaye d hi s system ; a loo k a t hi s earl y fictio n reveal s i t already full y formed . Thi s earl y fiction, lik e The Art of Being Ruled,

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contains n o majo r Jewis h characters , bu t present s th e scrip t i n whic h Jews woul d tak e a leading rol e i n th e openl y anti-Semiti c didacti c book s of th e lat e 1920 s an d 1930 s an d i n Lewis' s longes t fictional production , The Apes of God o f 1930 . A brie f loo k a t tw o earlie r works , th e shor t story, "Cantleman' s Sprin g Mate" (1917) and the novel, Tarr (1918), will reveal thi s pattern . "Cantleman's Sprin g Mate, " intende d fo r publicatio n i n Margare t An derson's Little Review o f 1917 , wa s foun d obscene , an d th e entir e issu e was suppressed. 48 Th e censors ' objectio n was , o f course , no t t o th e bru tality of th e sexuality in the story, bu t rather to its explicitness. The stor y takes plac e i n Englan d durin g th e Firs t Worl d War , an d it s hero , lik e Lewis at that time, i s in army training camp in the Northern countryside . (Lewis ofte n use d th e nam e "Cantleman " whe n writin g abou t himsel f a t this time; it seemed t o represent a fictional alte r ego.) The brilliant youn g man, walkin g alon e i n th e sprin g fields, notice s th e anima l kingdom' s "sex-hunger" a s well a s "the fac t tha t man y o f it s members showe d thei r fondness fo r thei r neighbour s i n a n embarrassin g way : tha t i s they kille d and at e them . Bu t th e weake r wer e s o use d t o dyin g violen t death s an d being eate n tha t the y worrie d ver y littl e abou t it " (304-5) . Here, nin e year s earlie r tha n it s appearanc e i n The Art of Being Ruled of 1926 , i s the epir a whos e habit s Lewi s explore d s o exhaustivel y i n tha t book. 49 Se x is a hunger which mus t be satisfied—but i n experiencing tha t satisfaction on e risk s bein g devoured . Perpetua l vigilanc e i s require d i n order no t t o giv e i n t o th e longin g fo r aggressio n whic h ca n resul t i n offering onesel f a s a meal. The youn g ma n rail s agains t hi s country , whic h i s preparin g t o sen d to war a person who is as close as might be found t o "the human entirely " and wh o i s endowe d wit h "mor e human , a s well a s a little mor e divin e understanding tha n thos e usuall y o n hi s lef t an d right " (306) . "Shoul d such allo w himsel f t o b e disturbe d b y th e quarrel s o f J e w s . . . ?" ask s this grandiose embodiment o f his author, echoin g the "Jews' War" them e (306). H e passe s a gir l an d dismisse s he r a s " a crud e marsh-plant, " bu t "he ha d hi s programme.. . h e woul d liv e u p t o hi s part " (309) . Cantleman hate s an d despise s no t onl y wome n bu t hi s fellow officers . The sprin g seaso n produce s "nothin g bu t idea s o f defiance " i n his mind , and h e understand s tha t "th e hypocris y o f Natur e an d th e hypocris y o f War wer e th e same " (309-10) . H e i s determine d no t t o ente r int o an y

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understanding wit h life , bu t instea d t o b e kille d o r t o "remai n i n i t unreconciled." Bu t his hard, rigi d surface i s threatened b y the appearanc e of th e girl , Stella : "Wit h a treachery worth y o f a Hun, Natur e tempte d him toward s her " (310) . Althoug h h e canno t b e deepl y attracte d t o a s lowly a creatur e a s sh e is , h e finds hi s nee d fo r he r deepl y humiliatin g and fantasize s revenge : He coul d thro w bac k Stell a wher e sh e wa s discharge d fro m (i f i t wer e allowable, now , t o chang e her int o a bomb) firs t havin g relieve d himsel f of this humiliating gnawing and yearning in his blood.... As for Stella . . . all women wer e contaminate d wit h Nature' s hostil e power an d migh t b e treated as spies or enemies. The only time they could be trusted. .. was as mothers. So he approached Stell a with as much falsity a s he could muster . (310) In thi s on e passage , Lewis' s syste m i s faithfull y recapitulated . Th e hero's rigi d an d carefull y maintaine d boundarie s ar e threatene d b y hi s sexual nee d a s wel l a s b y hi s humiliatin g emotiona l yearning . Equall y strong i s th e nee d t o "liv e u p t o hi s part " o r prov e hi s masculinity . Enraged by this need, a "humiliating gnawing and yearning in his blood, " he envision s changin g th e femal e wh o ha s provoke d i t int o a bomb an d hurling her a s a mass of explodin g fragments; a n image of extrem e phalli c violence muc h lik e thos e whic h Thewelei t foun d ove r an d ove r agai n i n the writin g (an d actions ) o f th e Freikorpsmen . A s Lewi s emphasize s i n his nex t paragraph , suc h annihilatin g hostilit y i s a defensiv e measur e against th e enemie s al l women , wit h th e possibl e exceptio n o f a mothe r in regar d t o he r son , ar e t o men . Th e falsit y Cantlema n muster s u p i s the necessar y defens e t o us e agains t suc h a n enem y o r spy , wh o canno t be simpl y avoided , becaus e sh e i s needed t o provid e sexua l release . Tha t release, whe n i t comes , i s a process o f dischargin g rage : That nigh t h e spa t out , i n gushe s o f deliciou s rage , al l th e lus t tha t ha d gathered i n his body.. .. H e .. . once more turned t o the devouring of his mate. He bore down on her as though he wished to mix her body into the soil, and pour his seed into .. . the brown phalanges of floury land. As their two bodies shook and melted together, he felt that he was raiding the bowels of Nature: he was proud that he could remain deliberately aloof, and gaze bravely... up at the immense and melancholy night.. . (310) Once again, on e short paragraph recapitulate s Lewis' s system. Lik e the Freikorpsmen, wh o describe d th e sexua l ac t a s " a trancelik e ac t o f vio -

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lence" and who "ha d littl e to do with a sexuality understood a s the desir e for physical love with another person" (Theweleit, 2:61) , Lewi s describes sexual intercours e wit h a woma n i n "Cantleman' s Sprin g Mate " a s a process o f release , no t o f desire , bu t o f rage . I t i s als o a devouring—th e male i n thi s cas e havin g triumphe d ove r th e engulfin g female . H e bear s down o n he r i n a murderous way , a s though h e wishe s t o mi x he r bod y into th e soil . Th e brow n phalange s sugges t a formatio n o f infantry , ground i n deat h int o th e soil , an d th e colo r brow n followe d b y th e "bowels o f Nature " sugges t feca l matter : h e i s no t onl y devourin g he r and killing her in an act of war bu t als o turning her bod y int o excrement . In th e en d Cantlema n feel s pride ; thi s ac t ha s allowe d hi m t o retai n hi s own boundaries , t o "remai n deliberatel y aloof. " A n intac t man , h e i s now abl e t o gaz e bravel y int o th e "immens e an d melancholy " femal e night withou t bein g engulfe d b y it . In th e las t paragrap h o f th e story , Cantleman , o n th e battlefield , re ceives a lette r fro m Stell a tellin g hi m tha t sh e i s pregnant . Instea d o f answering it, h e "beats a German's brain s o u t . .. wit h th e same impartia l malignity that he had displayed in the English night with his Spring mate" (311). If "Cantleman' s Sprin g Mate " i s a metaphorical accoun t o f Lewis' s ow n experience in arm y trainin g camp , hi s first full-lengt h novel , Tarr (1918) , is clearl y derive d fro m hi s earl y year s a s a n artis t i n Pari s an d hi s rela tionship wit h th e Germa n woma n Ida , abou t who m h e wrot e s o volu minously t o hi s mother . I n contras t t o th e suppressio n o f "Cantleman, " Tarr was published, a t Ezra Pound' s urging , b y Harrie t Weaver' s Egois t Press, an d i t receive d th e mor e favorabl e notic e tha n an y o f Lewis' s subsequent work . T . S . Elio t gav e i t a glowin g revie w i n th e Nation , calling Lewi s "[t]h e mos t fascinatin g personalit y o f ou r time, " a write r whose wor k reveale d "th e though t o f th e moder n an d th e energ y o f th e cave man."50 I n the Little Review, Poun d calle d Tarr "the most vigorou s and volcani c Englis h nove l o f ou r time " an d compare d Lewi s t o Dos toevsky. 51 Rebecc a Wes t als o mad e th e compariso n t o Dostoevsky . Sh e found th e characte r o f Kreisle r a "figure o f grea t moral significance " an d found Tarr " a beautifu l an d seriou s wor k o f art . . . with permanen t value." 52 Despit e thes e rav e review s b y hi s famou s friends , Tarr onl y sold si x hundre d copies , perhap s because , a s a wor k o f fiction, i t i s decidedly unreadable . Th e character s i n th e boo k ar e a s lifeles s an d un -

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likable as those i n al l of Lewis' s fiction, an d the plot i s overshadowed b y Lewis's sexis t an d violen t philosophizing . Tarr i s abou t tw o youn g an d strugglin g artist s i n Paris , on e Germa n and one English. The young Englishman, Tarr, like Cantleman, i s special. He i s "on e o f th e onl y peopl e wh o see, " ha s "grea t capacit y writte n al l over him, " an d is , lik e Lewis , "th e onl y chil d o f a selfish vigorou s littl e mother" (19 , 22) . Lik e Cantleman , Tar r i s abl e t o tak e wha t h e need s from women , whil e maintainin g a rigi d boundar y betwee n himsel f an d them. "I n thi s compartment o f m y life, " h e boasts t o hi s friend Butcher , "I hav e no t a vestig e o f passion " (14) . Tarr , lik e Cantleman , loathe s women, who , h e complains , instea d o f stayin g i n thei r place s an d pro viding safe receptacles for "th e passions, intuitions , al l the features o f th e emotive life " {Art, 246) , ar e pressin g an d penetratin g "everywhere — confusing, blurring , libelling , wit h thei r half-baked gushin g tawdry pres ence. I t i s lik e a slop an d spaw n o f childre n an d th e bawlin g machiner y of the inside of life, alway s and all over our palaces" (14-15). Tarr, whos e own softness an d vulnerability are rigidly sealed off, i s sickened by "wom en's psychi c discharge s whic h affecte d hi m invariabl y lik e th e sigh t o f a person being seasick" (52). He i s especially threatened b y the large, beau tiful Russian , Anastasia , wh o "alway s appeare d o n th e verg e o f a dar k spasm of unconsciousness . . . t o have on your hands a blind force of thos e dimensions! He s h u d d e r e d . . ." (221) . His only warm and uncomplicate d relationships ar e wit h othe r men , lik e hi s frien d Butcher , "th e sweetes t old kitten " (20) , wh o "wa s alway s surl y abou t women , o r rathe r men' s tenderness for them : he was a vindictive enemy of the sex" (27). Butcher , who refer s t o Tarr a s "the young master," adore s his friend, an d is read y to d o hi s bidding , i s not , o f course , a prope r se x object . Tar r need s a female mistress , bu t a s h e tell s hi s friend , h e onl y allow s himsel f "t o philander wit h little things " (25) . Accordingly , h e ha s chose n Bertha , a woman belo w hi m i n clas s an d education : " a hig h grad e arya n bitch , i n good condition , superbl y m a d e . . . a succulent , obedient , clea r peasan t type. . . with a nic e health y ben t fo r self-immolation " (24-25) . A s a n extra precaution , h e resolve s t o "gaz e o n Berth a inhumanly " (29 ) a s a "machine . .. t o take . .. t o pieces, bit by bit" (221). In a passage strikingly similar t o th e Freikorpsmen' s fragmente d objectificatio n o f th e femal e body, Tar r take s care not t o se e her as a whole person, bu t rathe r t o loo k only a t th e separat e "bits " o f her , a s when "th e dressin g gow n wa s hal f open an d on e larg e thigh , wit h ugl y whiteness , sli d hal f ou t o f it . I t

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looked dead , an d connecte d wit h he r lik e a ventriloquist's dumm y wit h its master " (43) . Tar r find s Anastasi a mor e interestin g tha n Bertha , bu t knows sh e would distur b th e rigi d boundarie s o f hi s world. I n a strikin g restatement o f Horney' s an d Chodorow' s theorie s tha t bot h me n an d women perceiv e th e femal e a s th e first , o r "genericall y human, " gende r (Chodorow, 11) , h e reasons : God wa s man , th e femal e wa s a lower for m o f life . Everythin g starte d female and most so continued: a jellyish diffuseness sprea d itself and gaped. .. . Above a certain level sex disappeared... everything below that line was female... he enumerated acquaintance s palpably belo w that absolute line: a lac k o f energy , permanentl y mesmeri c state , almos t purel y emotional , they all displayed it , the y were true "women. " (345) As i n The Art of Being Ruled, masculinit y i s no t a given . Me n ar e made, no t born , an d ar e constantl y a t ris k o f becomin g permeate d wit h that primordial "jellyish diffuseness" an d slipping back into womanhood . Association wit h Anastasia, wh o is "in ever y way too big" (344) and wh o fits neithe r th e rol e o f "housewife " no r tha t o f th e "mothe r o f men, " i s far to o dangerous . I do not understand attractio n for suc h beings... not being as fine as men . . . no t bein g a s fine a s housewives o r classica l Mother s o f Men.. . they appear to me to occupy an unfortunate position on this earth. No properly demarcated person a s I am, is going to have much to do with them[.] (26) Like Kare n Horney' s analysands , wh o wer e unabl e t o desir e wome n whom the y perceive d a s equals, Tarr know s h e cannot ris k a relationship with a woman a s powerful a s himself , wh o migh t threate n th e preciou s "proper demarcation " which keeps him intact (Horney, 359) . The phras e "jellyish diffuseness " i s the sam e one Orwel l use d t o refe r t o th e stat e of young boy s sen t t o schoo l fo r th e firs t time . Fo r bot h men , i t inscribe s the terro r o f dissolvin g boundaries . If Tar r represent s th e safel y sealed-of f par t o f Lewis , Kreisler , th e German, i s hi s alte r ego , th e rageful , psychoti c sel f tha t Tarr' s vigilanc e keeps a t bay , an d whic h Lewi s himsel f hovere d perilousl y nea r i n hi s own life . Paranoid , permanentl y enraged , an d alway s penniless , Kreisle r frantically beg s from th e acquaintances h e despises. Lik e Tarr, h e regard s women a s " a natura l resource.. . a n asse t t o b e harveste d an d mined " (Dinnerstein, 36-37) , bu t h e makes th e mistak e of turnin g t o the m i n hi s need, an d entrustin g the m wit h hi s emotions :

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[TJhere the y wer e al l th e time—vas t dumpin g ground s fo r sorro w an d affliction— a world-dimensioned Pawn-shop , i n which you could deposi t not your dress suit or garments, but yourself.... Their hope consisted, no doubt, i n the reasonable uncertainty as to whether you would ever be able to take yourself ou t again. (99) Kreisler fail s i n vigilance . H e believe s "i n th e efficacit y o f women " (100) an d "fall s i n love " wit h Anastasia . A s Tar r coul d hav e tol d him , "surrender t o a woman wa s a sort o f suicid e fo r a n artist " (221) . Whe n Anastasia reject s him , h e ca n neve r "tak e himsel f out " again . Withou t the neede d relief , th e volcan o self-destructivel y implodes . Kreisle r be comes mor e an d mor e bizarr e an d enraged , physicall y attackin g wome n at partie s an d callin g the m sows . H e rape s th e gentl e Berth a and , i n a n increasingly psychoti c state , challenge s Soltyk , a supposed riva l fo r An astasia's affections , t o a duel . H e arrive s o n th e scen e to o disorganize d to fight it , i n a state o f paranoi d homosexua l panic : He love d tha t man ! Na ja ! It wa s certainl y a sort o f passio n h e ha d fo r him! But mystery of mysteries!—because he loved him he wished to plunge a sword into him, t o plunge it in and out and up and down! Oh why had pistols been chosen? (290) Kreisler, wh o seem s t o hav e take n of f i n a ma d fligh t fro m Lewis' s unconscious, ask s th e horrifie d Solty k fo r a kis s an d the n "thrus t hi s mouth fort h amorously.. . a s though Solty k ha d bee n a woman" (292) . While o n th e consciou s leve l Lewi s probabl y intend s thi s ac t a s simpl y an ironi c attac k (t o approac h anothe r ma n a s a woman i s t o delive r th e worst possibl e insul t to him, th e equivalen t i n action o f Lewis' s textuall y labeling Ale c Waug h a "mother") , th e unconsciou s homosexua l activit y here, from th e plunging an d thrusting o f the sword t o the kiss, is evident. Kreisler proceed s t o kil l Soltyk , an d i n a state o f numbnes s i n whic h h e wonders "if it were not he that had died," wanders to the German border , where h e i s capture d an d humiliate d b y th e polic e (300) . I n th e cell , h e hangs himsel f an d i s finally "thrus t savagel y int o th e earth " (309) . After splittin g off , killing , an d finally thrustin g hi s troublesom e an d terrifyingly unpredictabl e alte r eg o deepl y int o th e earth , Lewi s offer s Tarr, th e safel y protecte d self , Kreisler' s spoils . Tar r inherit s Anastasia , whom he quickly cuts down to size by insult and humiliation, first leadin g her on , the n abruptl y refusin g he r sexua l advances , callin g he r a chea p whore an d offerin g he r twenty-fiv e francs . Charme d b y thi s treatment ,

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she shrinks int o th e proper womanl y shap e and will from no w o n follo w him docilely . Kreisle r ha s als o lef t Berth a pregnant , an d Tar r secretl y marries he r an d fro m the n o n "takes " he r "i n carefull y prepare d dose s of abou t a n hou r a day: fro m sa y hal f pas t fou r t o quarte r t o six " (315) . He maintains separat e establishments an d treats both women wit h carefu l falseness. Unlik e Kreisler , wh o ha s allowe d a woma n t o destro y him , Tarr prospers . I n proo f o f this , th e boo k end s wit h th e name s o f thre e more o f hi s conquests . Tarr's marriag e wit h Berth a i s much lik e the on e Lewi s himsel f woul d achieve wit h hi s "Froanna, " who m h e me t i n th e yea r o f th e book' s publication, kep t i n a separat e establishment , an d marrie d twelv e year s later. I n fact , w e ca n view Tarr, wit h it s spli t protagonists, a s a morality tale i n whic h Lewi s warn s himsel f o f th e dir e consequence s o f relaxin g his vigilance. Just a s in The Jews, Are They Human?, Lewi s used a n alte r ego, "th e antisemite, " to explor e his ow n mor e violent an d uncontrolle d feelings, s o Kreisle r fulfill s thi s functio n i n thi s earl y novel . Nightmares and

Dreams Come True: Th e Ape s o f G o d (1930)

Lewis spen t seve n year s o n th e mammot h The Apes of God, whic h h e published himsel f i n 193 0 in a 625-page first edition , weighin g i n a t five pounds. Apes, whic h appeare d i n th e sam e year a s Hitler, i s a conducte d tour o f th e literar y worl d o f Londo n give n b y th e artis t an d connoisseu r of young men Horace Zagreus to his besotted an d moronic Iris h protege , Dan Boleyn . I t contain s viciou s satire s o f mos t o f Lewis' s benefactor s and o f man y member s o f th e Bloomsbur y group , an d i t gaine d hi m countless enemies. T. S . Eliot had told Lewis, after readin g early chapters, "[Y]ou hav e surpassed yoursel f an d everything . I t is worthwhile runnin g the Criterion jus t t o publis h these " (Lewis , Letters, 140n . 1) . Eve n he , however, whe n face d wit h th e final product , fel t tha t Lewi s ha d bee n "breaking butterflie s upo n a wheel." 53 Lewi s was , a s usual , dissatisfie d with th e amoun t o f publicit y receive d b y hi s hug e book , whic h h e com pared t o Joyce' s Ulysses, an d h e wa s especiall y furiou s a t th e rejectio n by th e New Statesman o f a review o f The Apes of God b y hi s friend an d admirer Hug h Porteus . Convince d tha t "Bloomsbury " ha d suppresse d this and othe r reviews in an organized press boycott, h e characteristicall y published his own pamphlet, Satire and Fiction (1930), which he describes on the title page as "The Scandal of an Attempt t o Sabotage a Great Wor k

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of Art!" 54 Satire and Fiction i s a compilation o f (positive ) contemporar y reviews o f The Apes of God, includin g Porteus' s revie w an d others , a s well a s letter s i n prais e o f th e novel . Lewi s supplemente d thes e wit h a n explanatory essay o n th e meanin g o f art . Th e selecte d review s ar e inter esting no t onl y i n themselve s bu t becaus e the y giv e a good indicatio n o f the imag e Lewi s wishe d t o projec t i n th e world . The conteste d revie w b y Porteu s describe s Lewi s a s a "masculin e in telligence . . . which ca n surve y ou r generatio n fro m outsid e it s two mai n cults o f childishnes s an d femininity " (Satire, 16) . A lette r fro m Meyric k Booth applaud s hi s attac k o n "th e barbari c cult s which no w increasingl y dominate ou r socia l life : bac k t o childhood , bac k t o matriarchy , bac k t o emotion an d th e unconscious , back , i n short , t o almos t anythin g tha t i s sufficiently barbari c and irresponsible" (26). More negative reviews which complement th e self-imag e t o whic h Lewi s aspires , tha t o f a cruel , un feeling, an d powerfu l masculin e intelligence , ar e als o included . Richar d Aldington, fo r example , call s Apes "a n amazin g exampl e o f th e powe r and limitation o f pure intelligence" and comments , "Yo u hav e the feelin g that Mr . Lewi s woul d lik e t o kil l anybody . . . who enjoye d anythin g s o glandular a s a mere kiss " (32). Lewi s als o includes a review b y hi s frien d Naomi Mitchiso n i n Time and Tide, i n whic h sh e call s th e boo k a n "exceedingly wel l written , sometime s brilliantl y funn y col d bath, " an d adds: [H]e hates more thoroughly and efficiently tha n any writer living... at the moment he specially dislikes homosexuals of both kinds, the war generation still pretending to be young, messy-minded people such as Jews and Irishf.] (33)

The Jewis h Mitchison , whos e ton e waver s betwee n sarcas m an d admi ration, ma y hav e fel t som e discomfor t a t he r friend' s anti-Semitis m bu t declares herself pleased with his homophobia: "As for homosexuals, ther e are to o man y o f them—an d to o wel l please d wit h themselve s fo r an y stable society " (33) . While man y moder n critic s hav e foun d The Apes of God "virtuall y unreadable" (Jameson , 5) , other s agre e wit h Meyers' s evaluatio n o f th e book a s " a moder n Dunciad , a massiv e bu t sharp-edge d catalogu e o f literary evils that arrives from contemporar y urba n chaos" (Meyers, 160) . Both Meyer s an d Pau l Edwards , i n hi s afterwor d t o th e Blac k Sparro w edition, offe r "definitive " chart s tha t explai n which contemporar y figure

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Lewis intende d t o parod y wit h eac h portrait , bu t th e tw o hav e som e significant disagreements . Fo r th e purposes o f thi s study , identifyin g th e originals, whil e o f som e interest , i s les s importan t tha n wha t th e tex t reveals abou t Lewis' s paranoi d structur e a s it involves th e representatio n of Jews an d women . In The Apes of God Lewis is finally inside the all-male society he so wistfully envisione d in his polemical books. Though the book opens and closes with a Pope-like scene of an old and ugly woman making her artificial toi lette, an d ther e ar e several other mino r (equall y repulsive ) femal e charac ters, most of the book takes place in a homosexual world. Just as in Hitler, Lewis was drawn to the homosexual scene in Berlin, and led by the force of his ow n attractio n violentl y t o abus e tha t scene ; here effeminat e me n ar e the main subject s a s well as the main target s o f hi s system. 55 Perhap s be cause o f th e relativ e absenc e o f wome n i n th e book , an d becaus e i t wa s written durin g a time when Lewi s was increasingly under the influence o f Nazism, Jew s provid e th e othe r mai n focus . Th e book' s anti-Semitism , while sprea d throughout , i s most concentrate d i n th e section s o n Archi e Margolin, James Julius Ratner , an d Lionel and Isabel Kein. I will accord ingly focus on these chapters in the ensuing discussion. Archie Margolin , on e o f th e first character s o n th e scen e an d on e wh o makes appearance s throughou t th e book , i s a "jew-boy fro m th e slum " who i s waiting in the ancestral hall to "service " the aristocrat Dic k Whit tingdon. 56 Standin g i n a wing o f Dick' s famil y castl e (th e res t ha s bee n "rented t o ric h Jews"), Archi e listen s t o "sewe r people " singin g jazz — "accountfs] o f nigge r heavens—th e live s o f othe r idio t slaves , i n cotto n fields" (44 , 43) . I n Paleface, th e boo k i n which black s were th e targe t o f his projective energy , Lewi s reviled jaz z as primitive "Hottentot " music . In The Apes of God, jaz z serve s a s the musica l backdro p t o th e book , i n which "niggers " appear a s primitive an d childlike emblems, imbue d wit h stereotypical masculin e virility . Equall y despicabl e bu t fa r mor e danger ous i s the feminize d mal e Jew, wit h hi s links with communis m an d hig h finance an d hi s secre t contro l o f th e world . I n The Apes of God, a s s o often i n Lewis' s work , historica l an d mythi c stereotype s ar e tailore d t o fit hi s particula r needs . I n th e characte r o f Archie , h e combine s variou s stereotypical attribute s o f th e Jew, makin g hi m a figure bot h despicabl e and powerful. Th e impoverished slu m dwelle r is also a "sham-yid," wh o cleverly and shamelessly uses the familiar stereotypes established by Dick ens an d Shakespear e t o ingratiat e himsel f wit h hi s keeper :

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[H]e mad e hi s eye s shin e obligingly , a s he gaze d int o th e foolface , wit h the pleased glitter expected, at the thought of gain. . .. —After considerin g for a moment, Arch looked archly up . . . and in the most sinister growling guttural h e yet employe d h e repudiate d hi s bloo d relatio n absolutely. . . " . . . he' s what you'd call awful, Dick , is my brother Isadore, he's a proper old shark.. .. He sells tin watches to poor kids like Ethel, the old Skylark— I mean Shylock—..." (46-47 ) Sander Gilma n note s tha t stereotypica l signifier s ma y b e incorporate d within a wor k o f ar t i n a wa y whic h i s eithe r naiv e o r quit e consciou s (Gilman, Difference and Pathology r, 26) . I n thi s case , Lewi s i s no t onl y conscious o f th e historica l powe r o f hi s stereotypes : h e attribute s thi s consciousness t o his character a s well. Par t o f thi s Jew's powe r lie s in hi s very modernis t awareness . I n Lewis' s construct , instea d o f bein g th e victim o f literar y stereotypes , Archi e i s the consciou s an d maliciou s ma nipulator o f them . I n his self-naming, Lewi s deconstruct s th e word "En emy," hi s self-endowe d titl e reversin g th e word' s usua l meanin g an d changing it t o mea n "persecute d victim. " Similarly , her e he deconstruct s the construc t o f Je w a s victim . Self-parodying , sel f conscious , an d ma nipulative, Archi e i s far fro m powerless . Like th e female , whos e softnes s mask s he r letha l powers , Archi e i s effeminate. Hi s croakin g voic e "i s il l assorte d wit h th e feminin e gol d o f the crimpe d hea d an d th e insignificanc e o f th e body " (45) . Jus t a s th e behavior o f similarl y abjec t wome n i n othe r Lewi s text s mask s thei r intentions, Archie' s groveling , sycophanti c behavio r ha s a dangerous ul terior purpose : to us e an d destro y "th e happ y Britis h mal e dupe," Dick . He surveys the ancestral castle, plotting its destruction and , symbolically , the destructio n o f Britis h (whit e male ) civilization : "Thi s cultur e wa s dead a s mutto n bu t it s grea t carcas s offende d him—i t woul d tak e a hundred year s t o melt. H e grinne d an d yawned" (43) . Archie is not onl y the feminize d inver t an d th e Jew bu t als o th e despise d an d feare d child : "His slightnes s wa s delicious—h e rejoice d i n hi s nea t pygm y stature . I t was th e chil d height! " (42) . Archie Margoli n appear s agai n late r i n th e book , dancin g monkeylik e on th e tabl e t o pleas e hi s ne w mentor , Horac e Zagreus . Wit h Zagreu s too, h e play s th e fool , reassurin g hi m o f hi s clas s privileg e an d safet y while al l th e tim e stealthil y plottin g hi s extinction . Even mor e tha n Berth a i n Tarr, wit h he r "health y ben t fo r self immolation" (24) , Archie' s masochis m i s a t hear t a tric k t o foste r de -

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pendence i n hi s love r an d thu s t o gai n hi s ow n ends . "D o yo u lik e a servant Horace?" he asks suggestively. "Servant s ought to be kept down! " (429). A s w e sa w i n chapte r 1 , th e theor y o f Jewis h masochis m wa s popular wit h Britis h anti-Semite s o f th e period , wh o reasone d tha t in herently masochisti c Jew s virtuall y compelle d helples s Gentile s t o met e out th e punishmen t the y required . Throug h hi s espousa l o f th e theory , Lewis manage s t o retai n th e Jew , lik e th e woman , a s a n emble m o f despised weaknes s and o f frightenin g strength . Thi s textua l doublenes s allows Lewi s himself , th e rea l centra l figure o f th e book , t o continu e t o retain hi s ow n doubl e rol e as strong, masculin e aggresso r an d conspired against victim . Thi s strateg y fits neatl y wit h tha t o f th e Hom e Offic e administrators wh o felt tha t the Nazi persecution wa s a plot by "whinin g Jews" t o ear n public sympath y an d mak e them (th e administrators) loo k bad. Like Ratner, th e other Jewish homosexual in the book, Archi e is rotten through an d through , i n a decidedly femal e way . H e embodie s th e mos t loathsome aspect s o f th e femal e body . Gilma n note s tha t i n Renaissanc e Europe, mal e Jew s wer e believe d t o menstruat e "an d thu s share d wit h women th e abilit y t o contaminat e throug h th e menses." 57 Archie , too , seems to have menstrual periods: "Margolin stretched himself and yawned out o f hi s pink-and-whit e doll-lung s o f saw-dust. . . (stretching hi s mouth-muscles, displayin g his midget boxer' s reac h with curled-u p fists) in orde r t o expe l th e period-hea t tha t wa s druggin g hi s tissues " (429) . In m y earlie r discussion , I mentione d Lewis' s simultaneou s aversio n to an d belie f i n th e power s o f psychoanalysis , whic h h e associate d wit h mother-son inces t an d endowe d wit h frightening , almos t supernatura l powers. H e picture d psychoanalysi s a s a Jewish sp y networ k wit h un canny mean s o f gainin g knowledge, whic h coul d an d would revea l secre t unpleasant truth s abou t people . H e ofte n recommende d i t to his enemie s for tha t purpose , a s when h e suggeste d tha t psychoanalysi s woul d revea l Alec Waugh's effeminac y an d hi s true vocation a s a mother. I n The Apes of God, th e Jewis h analys t Dr . Frumpfsusa n i s see n i n leagu e wit h hi s homosexual patient , Matthe w Plunkett , a characte r bot h Meyer s an d Edwards agre e is based on Lytton Strachey , who m Lewi s often identifie d as a prime example of the feminine inver t and to whom, i n 1926 , he wrote a strangel y seductiv e letter , suggestin g a n incognit o meetin g "i n a n un frequented par t o f town " (Meyers , 109) . The "Jewis h witc h doctor's " advic e t o th e homosexua l Plunkett , wh o

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has com e t o hi m fo r "extroverting, " i s t o tr y "overmatching"—tha t is , to tak e o n a mentall y an d physicall y diminutiv e w o m a n . Thi s advic e i s identical t o Tarr' s decisio n t o confin e himsel f t o philanderin g wit h "littl e things" (Tarr, 125 ) an d als o fits Lewis' s choic e t o marr y th e small , u n educated, an d submissiv e Froann a rathe r tha n N a n c y Cunard , Iri s Barry , or an y o f th e mor e powerfu l an d intellectua l w o m e n wit h w h o m h e ha d affairs. 58 Frumpfsusa n advise s hi s patient : In choosin g a friend , ascen d a step . I n choosin g a wife , descen d a step . When Froggie-would-a-wooing-go , whe n Froggi e is you, m y dea r boy , h e must ste p down , a s man y step s a s ther e ar e beneat h him—eve n unt o th e last! To b e frank wit h yourself , M a t t h e w . . . a n animated dol l is all.. . you can reall y hop e t o tak e on . (83 ) Frumpfsusan furthe r urge s hi s proteg e t o "learn how to bully! ...... be rough!" (87) . H e the n offer s anothe r comfortin g piec e o f informatio n particularly relevan t t o Lewis , w h o , lik e Salzman' s rigi d mal e clients , Kernberg's borderlin e patients , o r Lewis' s dar k alte r ego , Kreisler , i n Tarr; alternate d period s o f grandiosit y i n whic h h e proclaime d himsel f a genius wit h naggin g period s o f self-doub t an d inferiority : "Inferiority feeling ma y resul t fro m a n actua l superiority . Th e handica p o f genius , isn't i t ? " (85) . As i n The Jews, Are They Human ? Lewis dispel s hi s o w n approachin g insight wit h invective . W h e n Matthe w Plunket t ask s th e docto r i f h e i s himself a n invert , Frumpfsusa n respond s b y linkin g "inversion " t o Jewis h masochism: I a m a Jew.. . . When I possess suc h a first-class sourc e o f "inferiority " a s that, i n th e eye s o f m y fellow-men , wha t nee d hav e I o f an y other ? Doe s it not pu t al l and an y i n th e shad e a t o n c e ? . .. I am a Jew. I a m immune[. ] (86)62 Impressed an d envious , Plunket t asks , " Y o u canno t suppl y m e h o m e o pathically wit h suc h a counter-complex a s that, t o eclips e al l complexes? " (86). W e hav e see n h o w Lewi s projecte d hi s ow n masochis m ont o th e Jew. H e r e Plunket t attempt s t o d o th e sam e thing . It i s interestin g t o not e a t thi s junctur e h o w muc h Lewis' s mal e J e w differs fro m th e powerfull y sexual , castratin g J e w i n th e phallocentri c Freudian m y t h whic h Fiedle r evoke s i n " W h a t Shal l W e D o A b o u t Fa gin?" Th e dange r i n Lewis' s persona l myt h i s no t fro m a virile , hetero sexual fathe r w h o ma y castrat e th e so n an d stea l th e covete d femal e prize ,

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but rathe r fro m th e femal e herself , wh o lik e th e Jewish psychoanalyst , has the almos t magi c power t o penetrat e everywher e i n her man y guises . Here w e find he r i n the effeminat e mal e Jew/invert, whos e purpose i s t o swallow th e male , o r t o rende r hi m helples s an d begging , a fawning , stomach-up dog . A late r sectio n o f th e book , "Che z Lione l Kei n Esq., " i s base d o n Lewis's patrons , Viole t an d Sydne y Schiff , wh o bough t Lewis' s wor k and consistently supporte d hi m financially. I n this section, Zagreu s take s Dan t o visi t Isabe l an d Lione l Kei n an d make s numerou s mockin g ref erences t o thei r Jewishness . Afte r callin g hi s hos t "a n impuden t ol d Whore" an d referrin g t o hi s hostess' s ninetee n face-lifts , he r paraffi n injections, an d her obesity, Zagreu s tells Dan that Isabel Kein comes fro m "the famou s Coven t Garde n misfi t shop , Lazarus . . . the mendican t leper" (306) . Hi s mai n attack , however , i s on th e Kein s a s patrons o f th e arts. Sydney Schiff wa s an admirer o f Proust an d a translator of his work , and after muc h ugly banter about Proust's Jewishness and homosexuality , Zagreus resort s t o th e ol d imag e o f th e engulfin g femal e epir a whic h swallows it s mate : "Bu t wha t generall y i s tha t interest, abou t whic h w e hear s o much ? A n 'appetit e fo r people ' woul d describ e it ? You r 'self feeling' grow s fa t upo n th e people yo u ca n intellectually devou r o r dom inate" (254) . Lewi s experience d "self-feeling " i n anyon e bu t himsel f a s a powerful threa t of domination an d engulfment. Th e theme of devourin g cannibalism i s seconded b y a French writer , Vernede , anothe r ungratefu l protege an d gues t o f Kein's . "Always I fin d mysel f afraid— I a m afrai d tha t h e will swallo w ze m up ! .. . When I see some new person at his house, I am frright-tent a t zee way Li open s hi s eyesl And—his mowss! " H e mad e saucer s o f hi s eye s an d mouth, lik e a nurse engaged in an an account of the story of Red-Riding hood.. . "[H]e devour s zem, h e sucks sem in—he inhales zem ! (314—15) In "Littl e Re d Ridin g Hood, " a classic story abou t th e childhoo d fea r of engulfment , th e chil d enter s th e roo m unsuspectingl y t o find th e bi g bad wol f an d th e benevolen t grandmothe r merge d fo r a n awfu l momen t in a combine d an d disguise d wolf-grandmothe r figure wit h enormou s features, especiall y th e mouth : "Th e bette r t o ea t you with! " Wyndha m Lewis, fo r who m th e bi g ba d wol f wa s indee d female , coul d no t hav e come u p wit h a better myt h wit h whic h t o embod y hi s adul t terror . Zagreus agree s with Verned e abou t thei r commo n benefacto r an d add s

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to th e pictur e b y likenin g hi m t o a louse , o r "bloodsucker, " a familia r literary metapho r fo r th e Jew. " I alway s feel more anxiety for th e object s of Kein' s parasitic interest when th e stage of the first breathles s inhalatio n is over . Whe n h e ha s thoroughl y warme d himsel f unde r th e ski n an d begins t o mak e himsel f a t home " (315) . In creatin g Shyloc k an d hi s blood y demand , Shakespear e referre d t o the myth , embodie d i n th e cultur e b y medieva l dram a an d ballads , i n which th e Je w kidnap s (an d sometime s castrates ) smal l boy s an d use s their bloo d i n hi s rites . Lewis' s image , base d o n th e sam e castratio n fea r and the same cultural reference, i s tailored t o fit his own paranoid syste m with it s ever-presen t yawnin g femal e mouth . Th e Schiff s refuse d t o b e offended an d continued to help Lewis financially well after the publication of The Apes of God, supportin g hi m throug h a n especiall y lon g an d debilitating bou t o f gonorrhea . Perhap s the y ha d afte r al l some touc h o f the masochis m Lewi s project s ont o al l Jews. The Jewish characte r wh o take s u p th e mos t spac e i n th e The Apes of God (indee d h e take s u p ove r thre e hundre d pages , an d I will b e abl e t o mention onl y a smal l fractio n o f hi s appearance s here ) i s Julius Ratner , the Jewish homosexua l writer. I n the Afterword, Pau l Edwards identifie s him as John Rodker, 59 bu t Meyers identifies hi m a s James Joyce, a match which I find more convincing. Lewi s was exactly Joyce's age , and Lewis' s initial friendship an d intense admiration for the relatively unknown autho r was soo n replace d b y a bitte r env y o f hi s success . H e mocke d Joyce' s class background , repeatedl y calle d Ulysses "mechanical " an d "dead, " and eve n accuse d Joyce o f anti-Semitism , claimin g that h e had "certainl y contributed nothin g t o th e literatur e o f th e Jew, fo r whic h tas k h e i s i n any case quite unsuited" (Meyers, 140) . Lewis was not alone in associating Joyce wit h Jews : i n 194 0 the Swis s Alie n Polic e refuse d th e Joyces per mission t o ente r th e countr y o n th e ground s tha t the y wer e Jewish , a claim which James Joyce refuted. 60 Finally , thoug h this identification wa s certainly unconscious , Ratner , wit h hi s grandiosity , hi s homosexuality , his professio n a s a second-rate , derivativ e writer , an d hi s virulen t self hatred maske d b y concei t an d self-aggrandizement , als o evoke s Lewi s himself—or a t leas t tha t hidde n an d despise d sid e o f himsel f whic h h e spent s o muc h franti c tim e an d energ y keepin g unde r wraps . Whomever Lewis had in mind, he seems to have consulted the catalogue of anti-Semiti c type s i n hi s creatio n o f thi s character . Ratne r i s a homo sexual, a coward , a pervert , a scavenger , a plagiarist , a cheat , an d a n

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arriviste. Hi s "history " link s psychoanalysis , homosexuality , an d ste reotypical Jewish traits : R's career opened not long before the War when he emerged from th e East End, with Freud for his talmud and... manoeuvered sexually up and down. During the War he went away. That over, he marched out upon what was left o f life.. . a promised lan d (purifie d b y bloodshe d an d war-debts) la y stretching to the horizon. (137 ) In hi s us e o f th e Jew-as-anima l metaphor , Lewi s add s severa l ne w entries t o Rosenberg' s impressiv e inventory. 61 Ratne r ha s th e teet h o f a wolf an d th e gum s o f a rabbit. H e i s a one-eyed cyclops , a boar wit h a single yellow fang , a dung beetle , a rat, a lizard, a fish, an d a n octopus . Even th e notoriou s Protocols of the Elders of Zion com e int o pla y wit h heavy-handed reference s t o "< # Lost Tribe" an d t o "th e elde r [of ] th e Mediaeval Zion " (165) . Ratne r i s als o th e Jew a s moneylender, pornog rapher, pervert , masochist , communist , filth y disease-carrier , an d child killer. H e gloat s a t th e memor y o f th e pornograph y h e ha s sol d a t grea t profit. Hi s fee t ar e planted "t o plac e th e hol y cit y a t Mosco w instea d o f Mecca" (153) . In on e o f th e mos t bizarr e passage s i n th e book , mor e reminiscen t o f Charles Williams , th e nex t autho r I shal l discuss , Zagreu s excite s Ratne r by invoking a kind of Yiddish-tinged black magic and claiming that amon g other repulsiv e objects , h e own s a box containin g a phallus, take n fro m a chil d kille d o n "th e Moor. " A t th e mentio n o f this , "Ratner' s coun tenance wa s lighte d wit h th e sultr y covetousnes s o f th e dun g fly " (340) . In fact , Zagreu s ha s bee n leadin g hi m o n an d no w mock s him : "Poo r Julius! Nothing doing!—I'l l make up for i t one of these days. . . . I'll have a Sex-morse l there , yum-yum—certainl y I have ! I'v e bee n keepin g i t especially fo r you : if you wil l stand up o n your hin d leg s and beg nicely " (341). Like Stella, who m Cantlema n grind s int o th e groun d lik e fecal matter , the Jew Ratner is continually associated with excrement. Zagreus instructs Dan: "D o no t omi t t o fee l som e compassion—suc h a s yo u woul d ex perience, i t ma y be , i f yo u me t a dung-beetle an d i t ha d jus t ha d wha t i t believed t o be the last ball of excrement take n awa y from it " (138) . Whe n naive Da n meet s Ratner , "h e believe d tha t h e smelt—ther e wa s a smell " (169). Then h e realizes wher e th e smel l comes from : "H e ha d neve r see n a Jew before—and , h e hope d fro m th e botto m o f hi s grea t Iris h hear t that h e migh t neve r se e on e again! " (171) .

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Our firs t vie w o f Ratner , whic h involve s a great dea l o f excretor y an d other loathsome detail , catche s him waking up in bed, bod y rotting , eye s caked an d filthy , rattlin g an d "movin g hi s nec k a little , circumspectly , like a snake" (145) . Lewis' s ow n particula r preoccupation s soo n emerge . Ratner keep s a captive charwoman , Mrs . Lecher , an d pay s he r t o pla y a revolting an d incestuou s gam e o f infan t an d mother . "I t i s love, i t i s th e woman loving , alway s lovin g th e luck y an d s o lovabl e 'grea t baby ' tha t all Ratner s lovingl y are " (148) . Lewi s pursue s thi s them e doggedl y fo r pages: No I shaaan t Mrs . Lochore ! Joo waile d i n teasin g gritt y growl , ver y pleased—very ver y Spoiltbo y a t this, very Naughty-man.. .. Beneath th e crafty swolle n eyes of the salaried british bonds-woman foster-mother, h e cuddled his pillow openly. For two pins he would pluck a pis-en-lit in his bed, unde r th e ol d grog-blosso m nos e o f he r h e would . Becomin g ver y siamese-kittenish Joo cooed, with the runculation of the matutinal catarrh. (146-47)

Once ou t o f bed , "Joo " boast s o f venerea l disease , whic h unlik e hi s creator, h e i s not viril e enoug h t o possess . H e feel s tha t "th e Ol d Mus e wanted t o excret e a little " an d type s a fe w page s o f pueril e borrowe d prose, "thi s obscen e diarrhoe a o f ill-assorte d vocables, " the n turn s o n himself wit h "tha t bitte r Conscience.. . o f th e las t o f th e pur e pre-Wa r Jews" an d recognize s hi s writin g a s th e secondhan d feca l matte r tha t i t is (159-62) . Later , h e bring s a pimply woma n t o hi s fla t wher e hi s nee d to prov e hi s masculinit y force s him , agains t hi s inclination , t o "cli p an d peck an d glu e th e lip " (164) . Ratner' s filth goe s han d i n han d wit h hi s masochism an d cowardice . Befor e settin g of f fo r Lor d Osmund' s party , Zagreus spit s thre e time s i n hi s face , "fo r luck, " an d Ratne r accept s i t without a murmur. Spittle , lik e excretion , play s a n importan t rol e here . Ratner himsel f spit s "wit h th e stealt h o f a cat" an d feel s tha t "everyon e was repelle d b y an d ha d a down o n hi s spittle " (446) . At the "Great Lente n Frea k Party" a t Lord Osmund' s house , attende d by al l o f Bloomsbury , Ratner' s disguis e i s the "Spli t Man. " Thi s image , signaling a n awarenes s o f inne r doubleness , wa s a n importan t on e fo r Lewis's rival , Joyce, a s well a s fo r anothe r o f Lewis' s particula r targets , Gide. Suc h doubleness , whic h woul d late r becom e a signatur e o f th e modern mal e antiher o an d a sign o f hi s intelligenc e an d awarenes s i n th e face o f a n absur d world , ha s a deepl y negativ e connotatio n fo r Lewis , who wa s unabl e t o integrat e hi s ow n "goo d an d ba d introjection s an d

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identifications" (Kernberg , 34) . The "split-man" disguis e represents Rat ner's impotenc e an d hi s abilit y t o "onl y half-live—th e eterna l imitatio n person." I t i s als o indicativ e o f hi s half - manhoo d a s a homosexual an d his half-humanit y a s a Jew. After a n attack o f indigestio n "whic h woul d hav e to be blasted ou t th e morning-after wit h charge s o f pin k femal e pills , nothin g less, " Ratne r retreats to the kitchen, a setting which combine s a medieval vision of Jew as devi l wit h Lewis' s loathin g o f th e femal e reproductiv e syste m an d o f women: The heat of this nether cook-house foun d favo r wit h his chilly bones, his body took like a duck to water to the hell-heat. He drew near to the distant fireplace, betwee n the pillars, a whipped under-devil or sub-demon scheduled to play a domestic animal part, of an unwanted doctore d cat , spinally sectioned black-side d an d white sided... . It was the cheer of th e period fire, i n the period-kitchen. (422 ) Near the end of the book, Ratne r is threatened b y Starr-Smith, a fascist Blackshirt who has stormed the party to save the day. Although the sorely tempted Blackshir t doe s hi s bes t t o restrai n himself , Ratne r masochisti cally tease s an d coaxe s hi m int o violence . I n on e o f th e uglie r passage s of anti-Semitis m tha t I hav e encountered , Lewi s tell s u s clearl y tha t th e Jews invite d an d enjoye d pogroms : [T]he pogromed animal of another day came out, and the grinning face was frankly use d a s a bait... to draw blood—a n auto-bloodletting—h e ogle d the other invitin g a good stif f blo w and the Blackshirt fel t i t being drawn out o f hi m b y tha t hypnoti c fish-eye.. . he starte d bac k a s h e fel t tha t infernal attraction.. . [S]everal full second s he held bac k but Ratner' s ey e had the better of the argument. Steadil y it milked away at him in puissant glances of seductive insult—drawing the famous violence out of him. (596) Needless t o say , Ratne r i s beate n u p an d enjoy s it . Zagreus i s eventuall y unmaske d a s himsel f a n "ape, " thu s allowin g defenders o f Lewi s suc h a s Pau l Edward s t o argu e that , becaus e o f thi s "disclaimer" w e a s reader s ar e t o understan d tha t Lewi s stand s behin d none o f Zagreus' s statements . I n fact , th e narrativ e styl e o f The Apes of God doe s not depen d i n the least o n anythin g s o subtle as the establishe d fictional devic e o f a shifting narrativ e viewpoint . A s anothe r loo k a t th e quotations abov e shoul d mak e ampl y clear , th e reade r i s never urge d t o filter statement s throug h th e questionabl e min d o r consciousnes s o f a n

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unreliable narrator and to emerge with his or her own conclusion. Instead , in a departur e mor e typica l o f a polemical essay , al l th e narrativ e stem s from on e eruptin g consciousness—tha t o f Lewi s himself , wh o shout s a t his reader: YOU WILL BE MADE TO HEA R IT ! (Tarr, 9) . The frenzie s of anti-Semitis m i n th e boo k ar e no t s o easil y rationalized . As if Lewis's authorial omnipresence were not enough, h e several times refers t o himsel f b y nam e withi n th e text , callin g himsel f th e "solitar y high-brow pur-san g Lewis " (401 ) an d referrin g t o hi s ow n "war-jargo n of germa n peace-politics " (402) . H e i s als o quit e consciousl y self referential i n th e characte r o f Pierpoint , a n off-stag e "genius " who m Zagreus worship s an d constantl y quotes , an d whos e philosoph y i s pre sented in an "Encyclical" and a series of long "broadcasts" which in many places closel y ech o The Art of Being Ruled. O n on e occasio n only , th e remote Pierpoint becomes strangely human, a s Lionel Kein discusses him: Isabel and I will never change in our regard for him—our deep regard! But there are things about Pierpoint which even his most devoted friend woul d find i t difficul t t o defend. . . . Poor Pierpoint ! I wish I could hav e helped him to—to, not to lay himself ope n to so much hostile criticism. What he will do now I really wonder.... He has no money. What I'm terribly afraid of is that he may—well really go under—a man like that depends so much upon the support o f a few friends—good friendsl (299) It i s a s i f Lewi s ha s slippe d fo r a momen t an d introduce d a realisti c portion o f hi s friends ' tal k abou t hi m int o hi s idealize d portrai t o f a masculine an d uncarin g genius , to o remot e an d nobl e t o eve n mak e a n appearance i n th e book . If Pierpoint , excep t fo r th e passag e above , i s a careful an d consciousl y idealized self-portrait , Da n Boleyn , wh o wa s probabl y intende d a s a parody o f Stephe n Spender , embodie s Lewis' s unconsciou s self-loathin g and hi s fea r o f infantilizatio n an d engulfmen t b y th e female . Dan' s tou r ends i n th e compan y o f heroi c fascist s wh o bea t u p Jews, bu t i t begins , as doe s Lewis' s paranoi d system , i n th e nursery . Earl y i n th e boo k a weeping Dan , havin g bee n rejecte d b y Zagreus , retire s t o th e hom e o f his motherl y friend , Melanie , who , i n typica l femal e fashion , take s ad vantage of his weakness, abusing him with her "army of maternal fingers. " You're only a child Dandarling aren't you now but a big baby, I'll be your nursemaid thi s tim e honey an d pu t yo u t o Bye-Bye , I kno w ho w t o d o

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that—no le t Melani e d o thi s fo r yo u . .. le t m e pull of f thi s jacket , an d th e little waisty . (107 ) Melanie force s Dan , w h o ha s n o w metamorphose d int o a n infan t wit h lolling head , t o li e d o w n wit h her , an d pursue s hi m wit h he r voraciou s female m o u t h . "Sid e b y sid e like mother an d n e w - b o r n infant . . . she hel d him. . . . His hea d rolle d away , t o escap e thes e attentions . Th e othe r m o u t h cam e afte r hi m a s i f i t ha d bee n h u n g r y " (107) . Advancin g o n he r "virgin victim, " Melani e i s "a s stron g a s a bo a constrictor " (108) . Sh e brings hi m t o a reluctant clima x i n a passage whic h capture s th e ful l exten t of Lewis' s horro r an d terro r o f femal e sexuality : Almost h e sho t hi s bol t o f terro r i n on e agon y afte r another . . . . Off wit h your lip s th e harlot-woman ! Of f wit h th e stick y an d shameles s mout h o f you! Hi s disgus t kne w n o bounds , h e spa t o n th e pillow. . . he . . . desired to vomi t upo n th e whol e machine , s o fel l an d rhythmi c an d untiring . H e was abou t t o cat—i n a moment h e would b e retching . An d the n hi s entir e body fel l dow n an d gaped , i t wa s sun k i n a hot wallo w o f ne w shame . . . had h e bee n sic k o r what , tha t ther e wa s thi s pulsin g agony ? (109 ) It i s perhap s n o wonder , afte r thi s rap e (fo r ther e i s n o othe r nam e fo r it) b y th e devourin g w o m a n , w h o first turn s hi m int o a n infan t an d the n violates him , tha t Da n Boley n (an d Lewis ) feel s a nee d t o withdra w fo r the res t o f th e b o o k t o a worl d o f homosexua l men . Such a withdrawal, has , o f course , it s o w n dangers . A t Lor d O s m u n d ' s party, a fire lashe s a t Dan' s loins , almos t castratin g hi m an d destroyin g his mal e costum e (425) . Zagreus , i n anothe r versio n o f th e "insidiou s proposal" i n The Art of Being Ruled, tell s him , " F o r th e res t o f th e evening you'l l hav e t o b e a gir l D a n " (425) . I n The Art of Being Ruled, Lewis reasone d tha t a ma n "does not want, if he can possibly help it, to be a man, no t a t leas t i f i t i s s o difficult" (280) . Lewis' s assumption , which, lik e al l his assumptions , i s base d o n hi s o w n experienc e o f reality , is tha t eac h ma n ha s a secre t homosexua l longing ; tha t is , a dee p desir e to giv e u p th e battl e an d passivel y allo w himsel f t o b e engulfe d by/eate n by/turned int o a female . H e r e th e passiv e an d obedien t masochist , Dan , feels terro r an d aversio n a t th e propose d transformation , bu t h e ha s n o choice. H e mus t (deliciously ) giv e in : All mus t g o b y th e boar d (se x h e woul d no t consen t t o thin k o f directl y but i t wa s sex mus t b e sacrifice d hi s se x whispere d an d h e coul d no t sto p it) i n suc h a n emergenc y al l ha d t o go . . . ye t h e woul d not , i t stoo d t o

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reason, choos e t o tak e a female part . Wha t ma n woul d wis h t o b e go t u p as a girl? N o ma n would . I t wa s th e las t thin g o f c o u r s e . . . (425 ) D a n i s transforme d int o a w o m a n i n a n appropriat e plac e fo r suc h a dire operation , " M r s . Bosun' s Closet. " Anothe r on e o f Lewis' s horribl e charladies, Mrs . Bosun , th e "perio d nurs e o f giganti c t o t s , " rule s Lor d O s m u n d ' s househol d fro m a suitably filthy boudoir , surrounde d b y suc h female trapping s a s "bloodbake d sheaths " (178 , 179) . Mrs . Bosu n strip s Dan, w h o i s once agai n trappe d i n th e nursery , an d h e feels th e ful l miser y of hi s victimize d masculinity : [GJirls lucky devils were protected... a t least had he been a girl there would have bee n n o questio n o f hi s bein g manhandle d . . . o r washe d dow n lik e a public stallio n wit h n o min d o f it s own . Sometime s t o b e a man wa s awfu l nothing short! . . . H e wa s full y aliv e t o al l th e dange r tha t h e ra n i n th e room o f thi s terribl e ol d lady . (438 ) Despite hi s feebl e effor t t o escape , "th e heart y ol d he n woul d hav e he r w a y " (181) , an d D a n i s onc e agai n rape d (thi s tim e symbolically ) b y a woman. N o t surprisingly , thi s idyl l i s interrupte d b y severa l chapter s o f abuse o f Ratner . D a n i s finally rescued , no t onc e bu t thre e time s b y th e Blackshirt , " t h e protector o f hi s y o u t h . " I f Mrs . Bosun' s Close t represent s Lewis' s sexua l nightmare an d th e punishmen t h e constantl y hold s ove r hi s o w n hea d a s the pric e o f indulgin g hi s " h o m o s e x u a l " desire , the n D a n ' s rescu e rep resents hi s drea m com e true . Dan fel t th e officiou s finger relax , th e pressur e o f th e arm s gro w les s oppressive. Throug h hi s tear-dimme d eye s Da n wa s jus t abl e t o perceiv e a new figure. . . wh o had thrust himself suddenl y into the picture. H e hear d himself aske d in a voice of the coldest command, i n accents that immediatel y dispelled th e treacherou s mist s o f period-illusion . . . Are you Da n Boleyn ? (468) "This i s a m a n !" th e Blackshir t proclaims , restorin g D a n t o hi s prope r status whil e simultaneousl y commandin g hi m t o retai n hi s passiv e role . " F o r th e remainde r o f th e evenin g yo u ar e t o regar d yoursel f a s unde r my charge " (473) . Starr-Smith , o r Blackshirt , "masculin e t o a fault" (563 ) and "occupie d wit h hi s private thought s a s a y o u ng ma n shoul d b e " (470) , n o w tell s Dan , " I hav e bee n lookin g fo r yo u th e entir e evening " (472) . Enthralled, D a n admire s hi s blac k moustach e an d "foun d h e wante d of f and o n t o pu t ou t hi s han d an d pul l it " (471) . Th e t w o y o u n g me n drin k

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champagne, an d Da n become s drun k an d mus t b e hel d i n Blackshirt' s strong an d masculin e arms . H e fall s aslee p and is awakened b y two othe r Blackshirts who seiz e him brutally , bu t h e is safe: "his head rolling upo n the boso m o f hi s ow n particula r Blackshirt.. . eve r s o comfortable , h e smiled. I f the y onl y knew! " (583) . I n gainin g hi s position o n th e lovin g male "bosom " o f th e Blackshirt , Da n ha s countere d th e los s h e suffere d at th e hand s o f th e fals e femal e "Bosun. " Unlik e th e destructiv e an d engulfing femal e bosun , thi s mal e rescue r provide s th e onl y moment s o f peace an d pleasur e i n th e 62 5 pages . Th e Blackshirt , "masculin e t o a fault," offer s femal e tendernes s withou t it s risks an d homosexua l adven ture withou t it s stigma . I f the y onl y kne w indeed ! Dan i s capture d b y Ratne r an d Zagreu s onc e more , an d rescue d onc e again b y Blackshirt , wh o beat s u p Ratner , defeatin g th e force s o f com bined Jewr y an d femininity . I n fac t th e boo k continue s fo r fift y mor e redundant pages , bu t th e clima x ha s bee n reached . Th e princ e ha s com e to th e rescue , th e force s o f Jewry an d femalenes s hav e bee n vanquished , and Da n rest s safel y o n th e "bosom " o f hi s heroi c friend , a ma n i n a man's world . A clos e readin g o f The Apes of God help s u s understan d why Lewi s wa s s o entrance d b y Mosle y an d hi s glamorou s Blackshirts , by th e Hitle r Yout h movement , an d finall y b y Hitle r himself , an d wh y he continued to sing his hero's praises after Hitler had ceased to be popular in England , eve n whe n suc h a stance mus t mea n hi s ow n ruin . Conclusion: The

Vicious Cycle

If m y discussio n o f The Apes of God doe s not rel y o n a linear movemen t of plot o r action , i t is because the book itsel f i s similarly nonlinear. Muc h more tha n Ulysses, th e modernis t tex t wit h whic h Lewi s repeatedl y at tempted t o clas s his own book , The Apes of God subvert s th e establishe d fictional conventions . Wit h n o movemen t o f plot , exclusivel y one dimensional parodie d characters , wh o ar e unreal an d unlikabl e an d wh o certainly never change or grow, its shape may be found onl y in the system which we identified firs t in The Art of Being Ruled an d which preoccupie d Lewis al l his life. A circular plot ha s no rea l beginning o r ending , bu t w e can joi n thi s on e i n th e nightmar e nursery , wher e a young bo y i s swal lowed u p b y a large and powerful woma n who m h e needs to escap e fro m but depend s o n fo r hi s survival . W e watc h hi m search , usuall y i n vai n for th e father-rescuer , wh o come s onl y i n rare fantasy, o r i n the guis e of

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homosexuals who , lik e the woman, ar e out t o captur e hi s precious man hood. W e watch hi m toughe n himself , learnin g to rejec t th e female com fort an d softnes s h e long s for , attackin g i t whereve r h e finds it , i n men , in women, o r in his own despise d self. We watch him search for a woman he can dominate enoug h t o feel saf e with, an d observe him in his difficul t journey a s The Enemy , battlin g friend s wh o betray , me n wh o tur n int o women, an d wome n wh o unit e wit h homosexuals , blacks , an d Jews, i n a plo t t o swallo w him , infantiliz e him , an d feminiz e him . W e see , too , how thi s system , whic h evolve d a s a survival mechanis m an d a means o f self-defense, a t time s diverge s an d a t time s merge s wit h th e dominan t cultural an d politica l discourse , leavin g th e "Enemy " a t first insid e th e mainstream, late r outsid e it , bangin g an d shoutin g a t th e exclusio n h e knew al l th e tim e wa s coming . In tracin g Wyndha m Lewis' s syste m throug h twelv e text s i n whic h h e tirelessly recapitulate s an d reinterpret s it , w e begi n t o understan d how , in this author , a s in th e Nazi s an d thei r predecessors, th e Freikorpsmen , the fear an d hatred o f women an d o f Jews was part of a deeply embedde d psychic structur e which , a s Kat e Millet t writes , wa s " a wa y o f lif e wit h influence ove r every other psychological and emotional facet of existence " (229).

F I V E

Charles Williams's Extrusion Machine

Introduction: The

Mechanisms of

Protection

Poet, novelist , an d theologia n Charle s Williams was a tremendously fertil e writer w h o produce d thirty-eigh t book s o f poetry , drama , biography , theology, religiou s scholarship , literar y criticism , an d fiction i n hi s fiftynine years . Hi s production s hav e a n outwardl y les s drive n qualit y tha n Lewis's, bu t hi s syste m i s equall y pervasiv e an d all-encompassin g an d i s reproduced i n virtuall y th e sam e for m i n al l the genre s i n whic h h e wrote . As w e hav e see n i n th e previou s chapter , W y n d h a m Lewis' s authoria l structure wa s essentiall y a paranoid an d narcissisti c one . H e sa w himsel f as th e victi m a t th e cente r o f a rin g o f conspirin g hostil e force s ben t o n the destructio n o f hi s masculin e autonomy . Williams , lik e Lewi s a nar cissist w h o sa w himsel f a s th e ke y figure i n hi s univers e an d ha d troubl e conceiving o f othe r peopl e a s full y real , embodie d i n hi s text s an d hi s lif e an obsessive-compulsiv e syste m whos e primar y goa l wa s t o "retai n control an d avoi d disaster." 1 Camero n an d Rychla k coul d b e describ ing Charle s William s i n thei r descriptio n o f th e obsessive-compulsiv e personality: The majo r conflict s dea l with problem s o f lov e an d hate , righ t an d wrong , cleanliness an d dirt , orderlines s an d disorder . Sadis m an d masochis m fin d free expressio n and . . . stron g feeling s o f guil t appear . . . . Magical thinkin g and superstitio n appea r more clearl y than i n the manifest symptom s o f an y neurosis... the patien t i s consciou s o f bein g i n conflict... . Sometime s al l feelings see m t o b e replaced b y a cold intellectua l detachment[. ] (203 , 207) Charles Williams was , i n the words o f a n ex-disciple, alway s "consciou s of th e necessit y o f holdin g a n infinitel y delicat e balanc e whic h i f lost , would precipitat e him int o th e realm o f m a d n e s s . " The complicate d scree n 188

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9

of dualit y throug h whic h h e filtered th e worl d wa s hi s mean s o f main taining tha t balance. 2 Although Williams was a devout Anglo-Catholic whos e Christian con victions pervade al l of his writing, hierarchica l structure s whic h originat e outside o f th e Christia n framewor k ar e eve n mor e centra l i n hi s ow n personal system . Fo r example , th e stor y o f Kin g Arthu r an d th e Hol y Grail play s a muc h large r par t tha n doe s th e stor y o f Jesus , whil e th e offices o f the Oxford Universit y Press provide a much more crucial setting than doe s Jerusalem o r an y othe r biblica l site . Numerology , magic , an d other methods associate d with th e occult also play surprisingly importan t roles i n thi s "Christian " worldview . Th e sayin g "Thi s als o i s Thou : neither i s thi s Thou, " a kin d o f magica l formul a o r incantatio n whic h Williams coine d an d quote d continuall y throughou t hi s life an d i n al l his writings a s a way t o war d of f evil , emphasize d th e "doubleness " whic h was a key t o hi s system, a s well a s his sens e o f th e mutability o f hi s ow n boundaries. 3 As Salzma n an d Shapir o stress , th e rigi d ma n suffer s fro m th e nee d t o control the universe and the grandiose fear that he might do so. Williams' s obsessive structur e enable d hi m t o spli t of f hi s ow n enraged , murderou s self, whic h h e experience d a s powerfu l enoug h t o tak e ove r th e worl d (the intentio n o f a t least on e mai n characte r i n eac h o f hi s novels ) an d t o subject i t t o constan t vigilanc e an d supervision . I n thi s structure , eac h person ha s two natures , a good an d a n evil one, an d a complicated trans ferral proces s i s necessary i n orde r t o separat e th e evil from th e good an d to embrace the latter while vanquishing the former. Th e system function s like a kin d o f extrusio n pres s int o whic h William s feed s th e molte n li bidinal metal s o f rage , hunge r fo r power , an d sexua l sadism : thos e dis owned part s o f himself. Insid e this press, various mechanistic operations , including rol e playing, arrangemen t int o rigi d hierarchies , exchange , co inherence, an d substitution, conver t these raw materials and extrude the m out i n th e for m o f Christia n goodness . Williams' s reassurin g o r self protective concept s inevitabl y hav e a double: an evil or frightenin g coun terpart whic h consist s o f th e sam e idea a s it exist s before th e mechanisti c "extrusion" operation . Williams's syste m offere d hi m a sens e o f autonom y an d contro l ove r what h e perceive d a s hi s ow n inne r chao s an d evi l an d ove r th e chaotic , frightening, an d invasive world. Gilma n emphasize s that stereotypes aris e from th e nee d t o contro l th e uncontrollabl e universe ; th e pathologica l

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personality, whos e boundarie s ar e more tha n ordinaril y shaky , "see s th e entire worl d i n term s o f th e rigi d lin e o f difference " an d consequentl y has an exaggerated need to stereotype (Gilman, Difference and Pathology, 18). Williams' s dualis m depende d o n jus t suc h a rigi d lin e an d encode d a particularly rigi d networ k o f projectiv e stereotypes. 4 Williams, like Lewis, desperately needed women while at the same time experiencing the m a s dangerously alien , intrusive , an d teemin g wit h evi l and repulsiv e femal e carnality . Thes e contradictor y need s cause d him , a s they cause d Lewis , considerabl e anguish . Throug h hi s system , William s manages t o distanc e o r disar m wome n a s needed . I t classifie s the m int o two categories : evil , graspin g bitche s wh o ar e instrument s o f th e devi l and Slave-Goddesses . Th e evi l wome n mus t b e hunte d dow n an d de stroyed befor e the y ca n achiev e thei r ai m o f destroyin g men , whil e th e Slave-Goddesses mus t b e worshipe d fro m a saf e distanc e an d punishe d for thei r ow n good . Kare n Horney' s neuroti c patients trie d t o cop e wit h their drea d o f wome n an d regai n thei r los t self-respec t b y eithe r dispar aging wome n o r glorifyin g the m i n a n objectifyin g way . Thei r relation s with wome n ofte n too k "o n a sadisti c tinge " (356) . Charle s Williams' s ritualized sadis m towar d wome n i s reflected i n his life an d i n all the text s we wil l examin e i n thi s chapter . Jews, wh o ar e once agai n less central to Williams than women , fit int o only on e category . Inevitabl y male , the y ar e symbol s o f th e Antichrist , containers fo r th e rage , greed , an d hunge r fo r powe r William s struggle d with an d disowne d i n himself . Lewis's system found a home or location first in mainstream misogynis t and racis t ideolog y an d late r i n th e ideolog y o f severa l define d fascis t groups. In contrast, Williams fit his dualistic obsessive-compulsive syste m into th e sociall y acceptabl e framewor k o f Anglica n Christianity . Suc h dualistic Christian concept s a s good an d evil, purity an d carnality, Chris tian an d Jew , heave n an d hell , Go d an d th e Devil , bod y an d sou l wer e of ke y importanc e t o Williams . H e utilize d Christia n vocabular y an d concepts to convert obsession into devotion, ritua l repetition into prayer , magical transaction s int o religiou s ritual , an d sadomasochisti c ritua l int o religious counseling . Th e obsessive-compulsive s describe d b y Shapiro , Salzman, an d Camero n an d Rychla k kep t thei r compulsion s secret . I n a far mor e successfu l adaptation , William s formalize d hi s mechanism s o f defense a s a unique Christia n philosoph y whic h h e impose d o n hi s ow n life an d th e live s of hi s willing followers, an d expounde d i n al l his work .

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1

A charismati c figure, William s serve d a s a guru, o r religiou s leader , t o a grou p o f disciples , mainl y women , wh o adopte d hi s syste m a s thei r own. T o som e others , a s wel l a s t o thos e follower s wh o late r becam e disillusioned, h e appeare d bizarr e an d distasteful— a cul t leade r whos e "Christian goodness " maske d a nee d t o dominat e an d contro l others , whom h e ben t t o hi s ofte n pervers e will .

Masculine Angel or Sadistic Anti-Semite: The Critical Reaction Like thos e wh o kne w him , critic s an d biographer s o f Charle s William s take no middle ground , tendin g eithe r t o the fervently enthusiasti c o r th e contemptuously wrathful . Highl y positive , ofte n dotin g essay s an d bi ographies hav e bee n writte n b y forme r pupil s o r protegees , b y member s of Williams's inne r circl e ("The Companion s o f the Co-Inherence"), an d by member s o f th e Oxford-base d grou p "Th e Inklings, " t o whic h Wil liams belonge d towar d th e en d o f hi s lif e an d whic h als o include d suc h right-wing Anglo-Catholi c luminarie s a s J. R . R . Tolkien , Doroth y L . Sayers, an d C . S . Lewis . Williams' s highl y individualize d an d romanti c Anglo-Catholicism an d his hierarchical and deeply conservative ideology , which champion s royalt y an d th e rul e o f th e elit e ove r th e mob , hav e attracted an d continu e t o attrac t suppor t fro m divers e individuals . Bot h Hilaire Bello c an d G . K . Chesterto n wer e prominen t admirers , a s wa s Ezra Pound . T o T . S . Eliot , William s "seeme d t o . . . approximate, mor e nearly tha n an y ma n I hav e eve r know n familiarly, . . . the saint." 5 Elio t personally champione d Williams' s wor k a s h e champione d Wyndha m Lewis's, bu t h e fel t a great dea l mor e persona l warmt h fo r William s an d mourned hi m a t his death . C . S . Lewis , wh o agree d a s to th e saintliness , called hi s frien d a "masculin e angel. " Williams's admirer s wer e no t al l politicall y conservative . O n meet ing Williams , who m h e partiall y credite d wit h hi s religiou s conversion , W. H . Aude n noted , "[F]o r th e first tim e in my lif e I felt i n the presenc e of persona l sanctity." 6 Th e left-win g America n Catholi c write r Jame s Agee als o foun d William s "on e o f th e ver y fe w contemporar y writer s who move s m e an d interest s m e t o read." 7 T o hi s followers , Williams' s work provide d an d stil l provide s religiou s comfor t an d sustenance . T o them, h e i s "on e o f th e mos t origina l an d spirituall y perceptiv e author s of ou r time, " whos e wor k "put s int o fres h contemporar y languag e th e

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age-old truth s abou t God , th e soul , th e mysti c experience , si n an d salvation." 8 Even today , William s an d hi s wor k continu e t o attrac t student s an d devotees. Regula r essay s about hi m appear , fo r example , i n the America n journal Mythlore, a journa l o f th e Mythopoeti c Societ y devote d t o th e works o f Tolkien , Lewis , an d Williams , an d i n th e publication s o f th e active Charle s William s Societ y i n Britain . Al l si x o f Williams' s novel s remain i n print i n accessibl e paperback editions , an d hi s work a s a whole seems t o exer t th e sam e cultis h attractio n a s h e himsel f di d whe n alive . To giv e on e example , a t th e smal l progressiv e universit y wher e I teac h at the time of writing (in 1990) , two female graduate students have chosen to concentrat e thei r researc h o n thei r favorit e author : Charle s Williams . Although on e i s a n observan t Je w an d bot h defin e themselve s a s radica l feminists, Williams' s attitudes toward Jews and women do not deter the m from reverin g th e ma n an d hi s work . In th e othe r cam p fal l thos e wh o se e Williams a s a modern exampl e o f the mos t shockin g an d virulen t anti-Semitism . I n 1962 , i n An Age of Enormity, Issa c Rosenfel d commente d o n Williams' s nove l All Hallows' Eve (1945) : "In a last minut e rescue , Bett y i s saved (sh e i s half English : it is worth th e trouble), Simo n is vanquished, Christia n lov e prevails ove r the Jewis h lus t fo r power , an d th e livin g an d dea d g o thei r separate , indistinguishable ways." 9 Edgar Rosenberg , wh o take s Williams rathe r mor e seriousl y tha n doe s Rosenfeld, call s hi m on e o f th e wors t o f th e moder n anti-Semite s an d comments wit h som e forc e o n All Hallows' Eve: The ghastly figure o f Cler k Simon... is a creature at once so acutely hor rible, s o minutely an d graphicall y defined , an d a t the same time so vastly distorted by the totemic and symbolic uses to which Williams puts him . . . that i n readin g th e boo k on e ha s th e impressio n o f dreamin g th e whol e thing.. .. Williams has recaptured som e of th e primitive sensation s o f religious frigh t tha t th e Je w mus t hav e inspire d i n hi s earl y sub-literar y manifestations.... Williams' appea l i s direct , instinctive , th e nineteent h century had nothing like it to offer. (290 ) Leslie Fiedle r agree s wit h thi s assessment , labelin g William s an d hi s cohorts "childish in their wickedness" ("Fagin," 417) . While the majorit y of Williams' s moder n supporter s hav e ignore d thes e accusations , other s have felt th e need t o defen d hi m agains t them. Thoma s Howar d employ s the ol d defens e o f authoria l intention ; Williams did not inten d t o be antiSemitic, consequentl y h e wa s not. 10

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Williams a t time s invite s th e suspicio n o f anti-Semitism. . . . Bu t anti Semitism i s fa r fro m hi s intention . H e use s all fact s an d characteristic s i n a highly "visionary " way , an d hi s sol e point abou t Judaism i s that i t neve r accepted th e Incarnation . H e n c e . . . i t ha s opte d fo r a divide d world . . . . If ther e i s a quarre l betwee n William s an d th e Jew s i t i s no t racial . I t i s solely theological.. . . Readers worr y abou t anti-Semitis m here , bu t thi s concern stem s fro m a misreading o f Williams ' intentions. 11 N a n c y - L o u Patterson , on e o f th e editor s o f Mythlore, whil e assertin g Williams's nobilit y o f intention , sorrowfull y admit s hi s anti-Semitism , concluding: The makin g o f a person o r o f a whole people int o "th e other" — th e targe t against whic h t o projec t th e shado w o f ou r ow n unacknowledge d weak nesses: thi s i s th e pi t continuall y se t a t th e fee t o f writer s wh o follo w th e Way o f th e Affirmatio n o f Images . . . . The power s wit h whic h writer s o f fantasy hav e t o dea l ar e real , bu t the y ar e i n eac h on e o f u s [and ] shoul d never b e attribute d t o anyon e else. 12

Life, Prose, and Poetry: T h e F i g u r e o f B e a t r i c e , W i t c h c r a f t , L e t t e r s t o L a l a g e , T h e R e g i o n o f t h e S u m m e r Star s Unlike th e othe r author s i n thi s study , Charle s William s ha s a s ye t at tracted n o majo r biographer , an d a t th e tim e I write , ther e exist s n o collected editio n o f letter s o r diaries . Muc h o f th e biographica l materia l which doe s exis t i s authore d b y Williams' s follower s an d tend s mor e toward hagiograph y tha n literar y biography. 1 3 Alic e Mar y Hadfield , th e only biographe r w h o ha d fre e acces s t o th e man y letter s William s wrot e to hi s secon d love , Phylli s Jones , wa s a colleagu e o f bot h William s an d Jones, a friend an d discipl e o f Williams's , an d on e o f th e foundin g m e m bers o f hi s group , " T h e O r d e r o f th e Companion s o f th e C o - I n h e r e n c e . " Glen Cavaliero , Ann e Ridler , Mar y M c D e r m o t t Shideler , an d Kathlee n Spencer, whil e als o William s enthusiasts , an d i n som e case s hi s persona l friends, ar e les s protectiv e o f hi s reputatio n an d thu s mor e helpful . Ca valiero als o edite d th e ver y revealin g Letters to Lalage (Lang-Sims , 1989) . Although h e woul d certainl y hav e bee n horrifie d a t m y conclusions , I believe tha t Charle s William s woul d hav e approve d o f th e approac h I wil l take i n thi s section , i n whic h I wil l discus s hi s lif e i n th e contex t o f thre e of hi s books , includin g religiou s scholarshi p (The Figure of Beatrice an d Witchcraft)^ poem s (The Region of the Summer Stars), an d letter s (Letters

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to Lalage). H e sa w hi s persona l life , th e publi c appearance s h e mad e a s a teacher an d a religious guru , hi s work a t th e Oxfor d Universit y Press , and hi s literary production s a s parts whic h forme d on e overweenin g an d congruent religiou s whole , a view which hi s friendly critic s als o adopt. 14 T. S . Elio t ca n b e sai d t o spea k fo r al l o f the m whe n h e write s o f "th e unity betwee n th e ma n an d th e work, " an d adds , " I ca n thin k o f n o writer wh o wa s more wholly th e sam e man i n his life an d hi s writing." 15 More recently , les s friendl y critic s hav e als o foun d unit y betwee n th e man and his work. Valentin e Cunningham wonder s what T. S . Eliot mus t have mad e o f th e "trouble d ecstas y o f violence " whic h run s throug h Williams's spiritua l thriller s an d hi s boo k o n witchcraft : Williams resort s repeatedl y t o naile d flesh , gnashing s o f teeth , th e blac k pangs of hell, the clashing turmoils of evil, to murders and suicides and to supernatural grisliness in his fictions, just as he was drawn to the torturous details of witchhunting—the red-hot iron plates, the beheadings and strangling. . .. I t was , a s we know , Williams' s ow n natur e t o tr y t o tam e th e nature of woman b y also offering punishment s t o the ladies who fell int o his clutches as a spiritual adviser . (68 ) Charles William s wa s bor n i n Nort h Londo n i n 1886 , t o lower-middle class parents, a n onl y so n wit h a sister thre e year s younger . Hi s parent s were deeply devout, prayed several times a day, and brought their children to the two Anglican churc h service s they attende d ever y Sunday . Charle s won earl y prais e fo r hi s religiou s devotio n an d hi s abilit y t o memoriz e church texts . Lik e man y othe r obsessive-compulsives , h e wa s a docil e child who was subject to occasional attacks of seemingly irrational tempe r in which the shell of goodness cracked open. 16 These "turns," as his sister called them, worsened when young Charles reached adolescence and were later labele d wit h th e convenient an d all-encompassin g ter m "neuralgia. " In Williams' s novels , th e good , Christia n character s ar e ofte n subjec t t o similar "turns. " As a child, William s earne d prais e fo r hi s religiosit y an d "goodness," whil e a s a n adul t h e wa s admire d an d eve n worshipe d fo r his saintl y qualities . Understandably , h e fel t considerabl e investmen t i n this imag e o f himself . Wit h fe w outlet s fo r hi s less-than-saintl y qualitie s of rage , aggression , envy , an d strivin g fo r power , William s spli t of f "hi s enormous groun d swel l o f feeling " an d projecte d the m ont o th e Other s in hi s dua l system : mos t particularl y wome n an d Jews (Salzman , 29) . When Charle s wa s eight , th e firm wher e hi s fathe r worke d a s a cler k

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closed down . A t th e sam e time , Walte r William s apparentl y receive d medical advic e tha t a countr y settin g woul d b e beneficia l fo r hi s failin g eyesight. A s Hadfiel d put s it , "i t ha d becom e clea r to Mar y tha t sh e wa s better a t controllin g th e famil y finance s tha n he r husban d an d tha t de cisions about the future woul d depen d o n her." 17 The family move d fro m London t o nearb y St . Albans , wher e th e mothe r opene d a n ar t suppl y shop an d th e father lapse d int o a permanent stat e of guil t and depression . Charles, wh o share d hi s father' s literar y an d historica l interests , hi s absent-minded clumsiness , an d hi s ba d eyesight , becam e hi s depresse d father's confidant . Although Walter Williams, unlike Lewis's father, wa s present through out hi s son' s childhood , hi s depression , guilt , an d passiv e inactivit y di d not provid e a hopefu l o r positiv e mode l o f adul t masculinity . Unlik e Lewis, whos e aggressio n alway s bubble d nea r th e surface , Williams' s equally powerfu l aggressio n remaine d forcibl y suppressed , emergin g only, bot h i n hi s text s an d i n hi s life , i n split-of f an d passive-aggressiv e stances, an d i n ritual activities . Whil e his sister Edit h helpe d i n th e shop , Charles withdrew into the hierarchal, rigidly defined "historical-romanti c world o f court s an d ceremonies " (Cavaliero , Charles Williams, 2) . Edit h Williams late r wrot e that , wit h th e fathe r frustrate d b y increasin g blind ness an d th e mothe r b y overwork , "ther e wa s boun d t o b e tensio n an d some disagreement " i n th e family . Sh e add s tha t thi s earl y traum a ma y have bee n partl y responsibl e fo r "th e nervou s explosion s whic h Charle s developed durin g hi s adolescence, whic h i n turn ma y hav e accounted fo r the shakines s o f han d whic h laste d fo r th e res t o f hi s life." 18 Al l wh o knew William s remembe r hi s shakin g hands , prominen t facia l tic s an d grimaces. T. S . Eliot recalls, "He was never still: He writhed and swayed " (Hallows, Eliot , xii) , an d Loi s Lang-Sim s describe s th e "constan t jerk y movement o f hi s limbs an d th e muscle s o f hi s face " (Lalage, Lang-Sims , 31). Thi s writhing , fo r whic h n o physica l facto r coul d b e found, ma y b e seen a s a parallel t o Lewis' s inne r volcano, whos e forc e ofte n cause d hi m to fee l tha t th e to p o f hi s hea d woul d explode . I t seem s possibl e tha t Williams, a n outwardl y swee t bu t inwardl y enrage d man , shoo k an d writhed wit h th e forc e o f hi s suppresse d anger . Unlike Green e an d Lewis , middle-clas s boy s wh o attende d publi c boarding schools , Charle s Williams attended th e local Abbey School. Fo r two year s h e commute d fro m hi s hom e t o Londo n University , bu t th e art sho p wa s doin g poorly, an d h e was force d t o leav e without a degree.

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A largel y self-educate d man , h e alway s rea d widely , an d afte r leavin g university, attende d lecture s a t th e Workin g Men' s College . Whe n h e began t o publis h hi s poem s an d scholarship , an d a s hi s book s acquire d a small bu t enthusiasti c grou p o f readers , h e becam e a part-time lecture r in bot h Londo n an d i n Oxford , speakin g o n Milton , Shakespeare , an d Dante, an d on his own literary-religious philosophy. H e alway s regrette d his lack o f a public schoo l education , an d hi s later identificatio n wit h th e Oxford Universit y Pres s include d a n enthusiasti c adoptio n o f th e publi c school an d Oxfor d value s whic h h e revere d s o much . A s Cunningha m puts it , "William s wa s a s devoted a n honorar y Oxonia n a s A. L . Rows e became th e epitom e o f Al l Soulishness " (137) . I n fact , hi s les s privilege d class statu s probabl y save d William s fro m wha t woul d hav e bee n a n excruciating experienc e fo r th e delicat e an d clums y dreamer , wit h hi s twitches an d compulsiv e behaviors . Th e imag e William s late r presente d to the world wa s of a saintly an d otherworldl y religiou s scholar , delicate , spiritual, an d bookish . H e preferre d th e compan y o f wome n a s disciple s and seeme d t o experienc e non e o f th e franti c nee d t o prov e hi s hetero sexuality o r th e counterphobi c avoidanc e o f effeminat e o r homosexua l men which characterized both of the other public school-educated writer s under discussio n here . A s w e hav e seen , eve n a writer, lik e Isherwood , who late r identifie d a s homosexual remaine d preoccupie d wit h th e "tes t of masculinity " h e wa s expose d t o i n publi c school . Charle s William s was spare d a t leas t thi s kin d o f agony . After failin g th e civi l servic e exa m an d spendin g a short tim e packin g books a t the Methodist Boo k Room, William s found a job as proofreade r at th e Oxfor d Universit y Press , wher e h e remaine d fo r th e res t o f hi s life. Proofreading , an d late r clos e editing , task s whic h requir e attentio n to "meticulous detail , extrem e orderliness .. . exact repetition o r systemi c doubting," provide d th e perfec t jo b fo r hi m (Camero n an d Rychlak , 207). Shapiro , too , note s tha t th e obsessive-compulsiv e i s "intensel y an d more o r les s continuousl y activ e a t som e kin d o f work . . . inasmuch a s the compulsiv e perso n identifie s wit h tha t regim e an d identifie s it s pur poses a s hi s own , h e feel s entitle d b y hi s wor k an d accomplishment s t o self-respect an d a sense o f persona l authority " (Autonomy, 83) . The Oxford Universit y Press (hereafter OUP ) became Williams's "ow n little nich e o r bailiwick, " i n whic h h e devote d himsel f t o carryin g ou t his "established dutie s ordained b y higher authorities" (Shapiro, Neurotic Styles, 41) . No t onl y th e painstakin g wor k h e performed , bu t als o th e

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Press's strictly defined hierarchica l structure, whic h included a fixed place for him , provide d th e containmen t an d safet y h e neede d s o badly . I n Katherine Spencer' s words : "H e genuinel y like d routin e an d th e clea r structure o f hierarchy ; the y seeme d lik e assurance s o f stabilit y i n th e midst o f wha t h e sense d t o b e a n uncertai n existence." 19 Lik e Lewis , Williams experience d "th e absenc e o f a differentiate d sens e o f sel f an d other" (Benjamin , 73) . For him , boundarie s o f sel f were shaky an d coul d dissolve a t an y time . Th e ritualize d an d orderl y routin e o f th e O U P provided hi m wit h a n outsid e structur e t o bin d an d contai n a self whic h he, lik e Orwel l an d Lewis , fel t coul d dissolv e a t an y tim e int o a jelly like diffuseness. The OUP, th e real center of Williams's existence, also provided a setting for th e myt h whic h ha d no w begu n t o dominat e hi s fantas y life . Hi s more genera l interes t i n king s an d court s ha d b y thi s tim e bee n trans formed int o a fantasy worl d base d upo n th e legen d o f Kin g Arthu r an d the Hol y Grai l (o r Graal , a s William s an d hi s follower s spelle d it) , an d the OU P wa s transforme d int o a latter-da y settin g fo r Kin g Arthur' s court. I hav e note d Williams' s success i n channelin g hi s obsessiv e counter measures in productive an d acceptabl e ways, an d this success was notabl e in hi s relationshi p wit h th e Press . Whil e hi s slownes s an d perfection ism disqualifie d hi m fo r promotio n t o a better-pai d editoria l position , his meticulou s wor k an d clockwor k presenc e (lik e othe r obsessive compulsives, h e was always on time and never took holidays) were prized by hi s employers , an d i n particula r b y th e Press' s publisher , Si r Hum phrey Milford . Shapir o note s th e grea t importanc e o f rigi d hierarchie s for th e obsessive-compulsive , wh o ha s bee n unabl e t o internaliz e auton omy an d mus t "constantl y an d forcibl y impos e i t o n himself , ofte n through th e idealization o f some outward authorit y figure o r institution " (Autonomy, 73) . William s worshipe d Milford , who m h e referre d t o i n one poe m a s "th e divin e John ou t o f heaven , grea t Sir " (Hadfield , 53) . Williams wa s als o abl e t o translat e hi s fantas y worl d int o quasi Arthurian poem s i n which th e world o f th e Press was used a s a metaphor for th e worl d o f th e Roun d Table , whic h i n tur n referre d t o th e Ne w Testament. Thes e poems were published b y the O UP an d achieved mino r successes. H e als o composed , fo r performanc e o n holiday s an d othe r occasions, a series of masques in which the employees of the Press actually played th e Arthuria n part s h e ha d privatel y assigne d t o them . William s

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himself directe d thes e masque s an d introduce d th e performances , activ ities which wer e source s o f grea t satisfactio n t o him . Cavalier o write s o f Williams a t th e press : Not onl y di d hi s fantas y worl d issu e i n poetr y an d fiction , i t wa s als o imposed upo n th e circumstance s o f hi s daily lif e an d i n du e cours e eve n upon the people who shared in them. He thus sought to combine the roles of bot h poe t an d magician... . He neede d a life wit h limitation s i n orde r to support the myth, and he fed his own experience of fellowship and sharing into the master pattern, treating the Press's Editor in Chief, Sir Humphrey Milford, a s though he were Imperial Caesar, and interpreting his own work and that of his colleagues as metaphorical enactments of divinely appointed law. (Lalage, Cavaliero , 4-5 ) Ridler describe s th e privatel y printe d masque s a s "a t onc e a game an d something t o b e take n seriously : the y [th e employees ] wer e actin g part s and ye t the y wer e bein g themselves" (xxvi) . Loi s Lang-Sim s foun d the m less benig n an d describe s Williams' s habi t "o f manipulatin g hi s friend s into fulfillin g th e role s create d fo r the m i n hi s privat e myth " (Lalage, Lang-Sims, 16) . Williams assigne d th e rol e o f Taliessin , th e king' s poe t an d lieutenan t to himself, a n identification biographer s suc h a s Ridler, Sibley , an d Had field accep t a s a charming whims y an d faithfull y adop t i n thei r languag e and references. 20 Mor e perceptively , Cavalier o suggest s tha t "Williams ' identification o f himsel f wit h Taliessin , th e king' s poet , wa s mor e tota l than h e himself wa s perhaps aware " (Lalage, Cavaliero , 4) . He add s tha t Williams's preoccupation with the myth amounted to an obsession, whic h enabled hi m t o distanc e himsel f fro m th e rea l peopl e i n hi s lif e (Lalage, Cavaliero, 5) . Thi s elaborat e concoctio n spu n o f Arthuria n legen d an d the OU P an d hel d togethe r wit h occul t an d Christia n ritua l enable d Charles William s t o liv e an d t o wor k productively , bu t i t coul d no t fill his inne r emptiness , an y mor e tha n hi s ritualize d an d hierarchica l rela tionships coul d finally concea l hi s inabilit y t o genuinel y connec t wit h others o r conceiv e o f the m a s othe r tha n projection s o f himself . Lik e Kernberg's narcissisti c patients , h e hi d a self whic h wa s hungr y an d en raged, "ful l o f impoten t ange r a t bein g frustrated , an d fearfu l o f a world which seemfed ] a s hateful... a s the patien t himself " (233) . At twenty-three, Williams met Florence Conway at a children's Sunda y school party . H e dedicate d hi s first boo k o f poems , The Silver Stair (1912), t o her , an d biographer s not e Florence' s bewildermen t whe n pre -

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sented wit h thes e poems , whic h Cavalier o describe s a s "ferven t bu t im personal, ful l o f ideas , bu t devoi d o f intimac y an d particularl y o f reference. Fallin g in love was the subject, no t the loved woman in herself" {Charles Williams, 2) . Kathlee n Spence r agree s tha t "th e subjec t o f th e sequence wa s surprisingly , no t love , bu t th e renunciatio n o f love " (13) . Williams preface d thi s boo k wit h a quotation fro m Yeats : It is love that I am seeking for , But of a beautiful unheard-o f kin d That is not in the world

(Hadfield, 16 )

When Florenc e aske d fo r mor e tha n obscur e poem s an d distan t wor ship, Charle s becam e increasingl y torture d an d indecisive . Durin g thei r nine-year engagement , h e made frequent reference s t o a horoscope whic h had bee n mad e fo r hi m whic h recommende d tha t h e remai n celibat e an d ruminated abou t whethe r h e shoul d i n fac t follo w tha t advic e (Ridler , xviii). In 1914 , when the war broke out, h e was rejected a s unfit fo r activ e duty because of his poor eyesight and probably also because of his nervous condition. Severa l of his friends wh o did serve were killed, an d he became devastated b y grie f an d guilt , claimin g tha t h e shoul d hav e die d instea d of them . A s a consequence o f thi s crisis , hi s marriag e wa s pu t of f again . Indecision an d ruminatio n ar e on e o f th e mos t commo n symptom s o f the obsessive-compulsiv e cycle . Attack s o f doub t an d ruminatio n ar e followed b y period s o f intens e guil t i n which th e suffere r feel s tha t h e o r she is worthless, has contaminated others , an d deserves punishment. Thi s in tur n i s followe d b y a serie s o f countermeasures , suc h a s compulsiv e hand-washing o r th e repetitio n o f numbers , phrases , o r privat e ritual s (Cameron an d Rychlak , 220) . Whil e undergoin g hi s lon g crisi s o f inde cision abou t marriage , William s wa s onc e agai n abl e t o find a sociall y acceptable measure of containment which provided hi m with a communal rather tha n a n isolatin g experience . Durin g hi s engagement , h e bega n t o study th e writing s o f A . E . Waite , a Christia n schola r o f th e occult . I n 1917, a few month s afte r hi s marriage , h e joined Wake' s "Fellowshi p o f the Rosy Cross," formerly th e "Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn." 2 1 Williams wa s a member o f thi s secre t group , whic h studie d freemasonry , Jewish an d Christia n mysticism , th e Kabbalah, th e Tarot, "black " magic, and Rosicrucianism , fo r eleve n years . Accordin g t o Spencer , th e grou p appealed t o hi s nee d fo r order , authority , an d obedience . Williams' s

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Christian devotee s ar e understandably defensiv e abou t thi s membership . All o f the m stres s tha t Yeat s himself wa s a member o f th e sam e grou p i n his late r years , tha t th e Orde r ca n b e viewed a s a branch o f Christianity , and tha t William s neve r lef t th e Anglica n church. 22 Bot h Ridle r an d Cavaliero, however , hav e found tha t Williams was more deepl y involve d than hi s friend s an d critic s wer e aware , an d tha t th e Order' s influenc e on hi s work wa s a very dee p one . Cavalier o maintains , "h e wa s involve d for ove r te n year s i n th e stud y o f occul t an d cabbalisti c lor e an d o f it s corresponding rituals ; fo r hi m th e wisdo m o f alchem y an d magic . . . provided a viable method of interpreting the spiritual laws of the universe" (Lalage, Cavaliero , 4) . Anne Ridle r mention s th e deligh t William s too k i n th e ritual s whic h he recite d fro m memor y rathe r tha n read , a s di d th e othe r celebrants . Her descriptio n o f a n initiatio n i n whic h "th e novic e i s threatene d wit h death b y a hostil e current.. . i f h e brok e th e oat h o f secrecy " suggest s that th e Orde r di d significantl y depar t fro m ordinar y Christia n practice s (Ridler, xxiii) . Nancy-Lo u Patterso n agree s tha t Williams' s participatio n was enthusiastic : "Charle s Williams , wh o wa s quit e enrapture d b y i t all , seems t o hav e accepte d everythin g int o hi s passionat e min d an d fro m i t fashioned hig h fantasies of his own, i n a sort of 'twentieth century Gothic ' style" (28). Patterson point s ou t that while genuine Jewish mysticism ca n indeed involv e th e ritua l pronouncemen t o f sacre d words , letters , an d numbers (an d eve n ritua l han d washing) , Waite' s versio n o f Kabbala h was no t i n fac t remotel y connecte d wit h Judaism. 23 Nevertheless , i t wa s labeled a s a Jewish rit e b y th e group . Jew s first claime d a n activ e plac e in Williams' s obsessiona l syste m durin g hi s involvemen t wit h th e Ros y Dawn. Occul t practices , associate d wit h sexua l guilt , terror , an d th e unholy assertio n o f power , ar e feature d i n eac h o f Williams' s novels ; always associate d wit h women , an d very ofte n wit h Jews. I n Shadows of Ecstasy (1933) , William s portray s th e occul t wit h admiration , bu t i n hi s later novels , h e condemn s th e blac k magi c h e ha s learne d an d carefull y splits of f th e rol e o f evi l magician , assignin g i t t o th e Jew. I n Williams' s most commo n plot , th e Jewish magician , workin g i n league with th e evi l woman, turn s hi s evi l power s o n th e goo d woman , punishin g he r sadistically. After nin e year s o f torture d indecision , Florenc e apparentl y pu t he r foot down , an d th e tw o wer e marrie d i n 1917 . Charles , wh o wa s thirty one, wrot e a poem abou t th e da y whe n "Ou r youn g virginitie s togethe r

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went." Expressivel y title d "Blac k Lette r Days, " th e poe m i s fille d wit h images o f doom , doubt , an d engulfment . "Adventurin g al l w e doubte d on a day, " William s writes , "Wh o shoul d ou r selfhood s mysticall y slay." 24 Even hi s disciple s agre e tha t sexualit y di d no t com e easil y t o Charle s Williams, wh o fel t a deep loathin g o f th e female' s "fleshl y mortality . . . a fea r tha t sh e i s untrustworth y an d malevolent " (Dinnerstein , 36-37) . Hadfield, abridgin g tactfully fro m Williams' s letters to a wealthy mentor , Alice Meynell, writes : "The firs t evening s i n th e flat , an d th e firs t night s . . . canno t hav e been easy . Charle s . . . self-described virgi n a t thirty, wa s . . . petrified i n practice" (26). Cavalier o comment s dryly , "[I] n domesti c matters hi s overpowerin g belie f i n a transcenden t myster y ma y hav e proved embarrassing " (Lalage, Cavaliero , 6) , and Anne Ridler concludes , "[H]is sens e of revol t agains t th e fles h wa s a t times very strong " (Ridler , xxiii). Biographer s agre e tha t Williams' s marriag e wa s alway s tempes tuous, an d th e birt h o f a so n di d no t improv e things . I n a ton e o f ill achieved lightness , William s wrot e o f tha t even t i n a letter t o hi s frien d John Pellow : In the Divine and only true World of Eternity there exist (we find) a spirit who no w thrust s himsel f int o Time... . I hav e n o consciou s chang e o f emotion: a child i s a guest o f a somewhat insisten t temperament , rathe r difficult t o ge t rid of , almos t pushing; a poor relation . .. . His littl e voice pulls at my ears; my heartstrings ar e unplucked. (Hadfield , 39 ) While Williams, unlik e Lewis , di d allo w hi s wife t o have one child , h e experienced hi s so n a s a n unwanted , pushin g guest , wh o deprive d hi m of the coveted maternal attentions. Lik e Kernberg's narcissistic borderlin e men and like Lewis, he felt a dislike of children an d a horror o f childbirt h and o f "th e prima l scene, " whic h h e presente d i n variou s distorte d an d frightening way s i n variou s texts . For Lewis children were a reminder of a time when he had been helpless, undefended, an d a t th e merc y o f women . Fo r William s the y functione d in additio n a s a symbol o f hi s inne r evil , unrestraine d an d unconverted . In hi s study o f th e occult , Witchcraft (1941) , fo r example , h e stresse s th e role playe d b y childre n i n th e accusation s o f innocen t peopl e an d com ments sarcastically : "Ther e i s a physical appearanc e o f innocenc e abou t many youn g children—no-on e wh o ha s ha d muc h t o d o wit h the m wil l suppose i t i s mor e tha n physical." 25

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Not onl y di d th e physica l aspect s o f marriag e prov e overwhelming , but William s discovere d tha t hi s goddes s wa s al l to o human—an d wa s not read y for enslavement . N o "Froanna, " Florenc e Conway lacke d aw e for he r husband' s spiritua l leadershi p an d resente d hi s absorptio n i n th e world o f th e OUP . Williams , lik e Kernberg' s narcissisti c patients , ha d unrealistically idealize d an d longed fo r hi s love object, rathe r than feelin g real empathy . Kernber g note s tha t suc h idealizatio n i s a mas k agains t primitive rag e an d i s liabl e t o rapi d breakdown , followe d b y rag e o r withdrawal. Soo n afte r th e marriage , William s withdre w physicall y an d emotionally fro m hi s wife , althoug h h e remaine d narcissisticall y depen dent o n her . H e rename d he r "Michal, " afte r David' s wif e wh o mocke d David whe n h e dance d befor e th e Ar k o f God ; sh e assume d th e nam e for th e rest of her life. I n Orientalism, Edwar d Sai d points ou t th e powe r of namin g a s a way t o redefin e an d objectif y th e "Other " (21-27) . I t i s notable that both Lewi s and Williams renamed th e women in their lives— and tha t bot h wome n becam e know n thereafte r b y thes e names . Whil e Williams's nam e fo r hi s wif e reflecte d hi s ange r a t her stubbor n individ uality, Lewis' s "Froanna " ( a contraction o f Fra u Anna ) was based o n hi s often-expressed conceptio n of her as a lowly German peasant "hausfrau. " In 1924 the Press moved its offices t o a grander building, an event heralded by a flood o f religiou s poetr y fro m Williams . Th e ne w buildin g boaste d a library, an d he fell romantically in love with the librarian, Phylli s Jones. He name d he r "Phillida " an d "Celia " an d addresse d al l hi s ne w poetr y and masques to her. This new, strictl y platonic love enabled him to finally detach himsel f fro m hi s wif e an d he r unwante d carna l demands . I n 193 0 he wrot e t o Phylli s Jones : "I t i s month s an d month s sinc e an y kin d o f married intercours e too k place— O ages . An d I a m not a t al l certain tha t this i s not don e fo r me . O n th e othe r hand , sh e ma y thin k m y natur e i s so and that' s that " (Hadfield , 86) . Williams treate d hi s lov e fo r Phylli s Jones a s a religious phenomeno n and a n occasio n t o practic e on e o f hi s mos t importan t mechanisti c op erations: transfer . I n thi s cas e th e ter m referre d t o th e transfe r o f lov e from th e specifi c o r carna l spher e t o on e mor e universa l an d godly . Hi s platonic worshi p o f Jone s continue d throug h he r affai r wit h anothe r married colleagu e at the Press and her eventual marriage; it lasted, i n fact , to th e en d o f hi s life . A s Hadfiel d romanticall y put s it , "H e coul d no t escape his choice t o lov e and serv e her fo r ever , thoug h sh e had remove d herself t o Java an d anothe r man' s bed " (127) .

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Williams coul d no t understan d wh y hi s wif e hel d a differen t vie w o f things. In his disquisition on romantic love, The Figure of Beatrice (1943), he explains the recoil that accompanies the loss of "the Beatrician quality " in th e first lov e object , wh o turn s ou t t o b e "no t alway s celestial " an d surprisingly "other." 26 I n addition, i f one marries the first love, one mus t contend wit h th e proble m o f "co-ordinatio n o f th e physica l an d menta l satisfactions" an d th e troublesom e "habit . . . of physica l intercourse, " which, whil e necessar y fo r th e production o f childre n an d th e "coinher ence o f marrie d bodie s (i f fortunate), " i s sur e t o en d romanti c lov e (37) . This symboli c "deat h o f Beatrice " clears the way for a new, mor e perfec t love: a "second image " toward whic h "w e mus t wholl y practic e passio n without concupiscence " (50). Such a second platonic passion i s not sinfu l on th e par t o f th e man ; th e onl y si n involve d i s o n th e par t o f th e first woman, whos e limitations lea d her into unbecoming femal e jealous y an d resentment. William s muses : "I f i t wer e possibl e t o creat e i n marriag e a mutual adoratio n toward s th e secon d image . . . and als o a mutua l limi tation o f th e metho d o f it , I do no t kno w wha t ne w libertie s an d power s might b e achieved " (50) . Florence Williams had no interest in joining a mutual adoration societ y for Phylli s Jones. Afte r hi s deat h sh e referre d t o William s alternatel y a s her lor d an d a s he r cros s an d spok e bitterl y o f Phyllis , o f Charles' s colleagues a t th e OU P who m sh e fel t ha d encourage d he r husband' s mental unfaithfulness , an d o f th e many othe r "predator y . . . chew-string gaseous" female disciple s who flocke d t o him i n adoratio n (Lalage, Cav aliero, 7) . Just a s Williams's "theory " in The Figure of Beatrice provided a textual justification fo r hi s loss o f interes t i n hi s wif e an d hi s platonic attention s to Phylli s Jones , a grea t portio n o f hi s wor k ca n b e see n a s a n attemp t to rationaliz e o r textualiz e hi s loathin g o f femal e sexualit y an d hi s terro r of his own "female " o r evi l nature. Ridle r describe s "hi s lifelong attemp t to develop a n adequate theology o f marriage," explaining that we all have "the nee d t o relat e ou r physica l natur e t o som e grea t principle o f order " (Ridler, xxv) . I n hi s first boo k o f theology , Outlines of Romantic Theology (1924) , Williams painstakingly goe s through eac h step of th e Com munion servic e "wit h sexua l lov e i n focus, " i n a n attemp t t o sho w tha t in making love to his wife, a man, i f he practices the principles o f "trans fer," nee d no t b e i n actua l contac t wit h th e carna l femal e body , bu t ca n instead mak e lov e t o o r receiv e th e bod y o f Christ—whic h i s universa l love (Hadfield , 43 ; Shideler, 75-85) .

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In Witchcraft (1941 ) William s i s more specifi c abou t th e natur e o f th e man's recoil from femal e otherness. This bizarre book, i n which he dwells at grea t lengt h an d wit h som e complacenc e o n th e tortur e o f femal e witches, wh o h e implie s deserve d thei r punishments , offer s a grea t dea l of informatio n abou t wha t William s calle d hi s ow n "darkness. " H e de scribes a "fairl y commo n experience " i n a passag e which , a s Kathlee n Spencer notes , "ha s th e rin g o f persona l experienc e abou t it , experienc e so compelling that Williams believed it to have been fairly common " (15). This i s th e momen t whe n it seems that anything might turn into anything else.. . one will be with a lover and the hand will become a different an d terrifying thing , moving in one's ow n lik e a maliciou s intruder , to o rea l fo r anythin g bu t fear... . There is in our human centre, a heart-gripping fear of irrational exchange, of perilous and malevolent change[. ] {Witchcraft, 77-7$) Like Lewis , wh o feare d tha t hi s fragil e mal e boundarie s migh t b e de stroyed, causin g him to turn into a woman o r child, Williams experience d a "heart-grippin g fear " o f th e maliciou s (female ) intruder , "to o rea l fo r anything bu t fear, " wh o woul d destro y hi s carefu l boundaries , causin g "irrational, perilous , an d malevolent " change . Th e wor d "exchange " stands for on e of the more reassuring (to the male) operations i n Williams system: a mechanism i n which the Slave-Goddess take s on the man's pai n or troubl e i n a kin d o f willin g an d joyfu l submission . I n th e paragrap h above w e se e th e convers e o f thi s concept , a s i t i s employe d agains t th e male b y th e malevolen t femal e o n th e othe r sid e o f th e divide . In hi s prefac e t o All Hallows' Eve, T . S . Elio t describe s Williams' s unusual relationship with the supernatural: "To him the supernatural wa s perfectly natural , an d th e natura l wa s als o supernatural.. . . Williams i s telling us about a world o f experienc e know n t o him: he does not merel y persuade u s t o believ e i n something , h e communicate s thi s experienc e that h e ha s had " (xv) . Williams' s descriptio n o f th e "Lamia " legen d i n Witchcraft convey s jus t tha t sens e of fel t experienc e an d eloquentl y sum s up hi s terro r o f wome n an d o f th e letha l tra p the y present : [T]he cruelt y o f he r blood-lus t change d he r fac e fro m th e beaut y whic h Zeus had loved to mere bestiality. And though there was only one of her, yet ther e wer e man y o f her ; th e horribl e ma d figur e o f creature s neithe r quite woma n no r quit e beas t wandere d throug h th e night . Witche s wer e like the Lamia; they were lamiae ... [who ] could take again the appearance

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of beautiful young women. . .. The y have amorous appetites, but their chief appetite i s for huma n flesh , an d the y ensnar e thei r intende d victim s with the bait of love. (60-61 ) Man's fea r o f th e lamia e an d othe r witches , William s tell s us , i s th e fea r of "a great and awful blasphemy—of th e sexual union of alien and oppose d natures" (35). At the end o f the book, h e makes anothe r attemp t t o nam e "the imag e o f a n almos t abstrac t perversion, " tha t thin g h e know s exist s "underneath al l the tales" : [T]he thin g whic h i s invoked i s a thing o f a different nature , howeve r i t may pu t o n a human appearanc e o r indulg e i n it s servant s thei r huma n appetites. It is cold, it is hungry, it is violent, it is illusory. The warm blood of childre n an d th e intercours e a t th e Sabbat h d o no t satisf y it . I t want s something more and other; it wants "obedience" it wants "souls" and yet it mines for matter . I t never was, and yet it always is. (310-11) The descriptio n o f th e lamiae' s bloo d lust , thei r nee d fo r "th e war m blood o f childre n an d th e intercours e a t th e Sabbath, " evoke s th e medieval bloo d libe l o f th e bloodthirst y Jew , whil e Williams' s musing s on th e awfu l blasphem y o f th e sexua l unio n o f alie n nature s evoke s the "specificall y 'Jewish ' crim e t o whic h th e German s hav e sinc e give n the nam e Rassenschande " (Rosenberg , 256) . A s Fiedle r perceptivel y notes, "bot h femal e witchcraf t an d Jewis h usury . . . reflect th e mal e Gentile's fea r o f los s o f potency " (Stranger, 125) . Finally , Horne y de scribes ho w th e ma n attempt s "t o ri d himsel f o f hi s fea r o f wome n b y rationalizing: "I t i s not . . . that I drea d her ; i t i s tha t sh e hersel f i s ma lignant, capabl e of any crime, a beast of prey, a vampire, a witch, insatiabl e in her desires" (347). It is easy to see how, through the train of association s which accru e aroun d a projectiv e stereotype , Williams' s prima l fea r o f the femal e wa s entwine d an d conjoine d wit h hi s fea r an d hatre d o f witches—and o f Jews . As w e hav e see n i n th e exampl e o f th e lamia , wome n wer e indee d "Other" for Williams: alien and dangerous creatures who hide their bestial nature beneat h a mas k o f femal e appea l an d us e th e mas k o f lov e t o conceal thei r appetit e fo r huma n (male ) flesh . W e ar e als o reminde d o f the cannibalistic , engulfin g wome n w e me t i n Lewis' s wor k an d i n th e works o f th e Freikorpsmen. 27 Fo r Williams , th e "almos t abstrac t per version" i s locate d i n th e sexualit y betwee n huma n ma n an d beastl y woman. An d neithe r th e mechanisti c operation s o f transfer , substitutio n

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or exchange , no r th e firm placemen t o f th e woma n i n a rol e o f Slave Goddess i s sufficien t t o restrai n th e beastlines s underneat h th e surface . As Theweleit an d Chodorow demonstrate , th e most threatenin g "beast liness" i s tha t whic h i s foun d withi n th e self. Fo r Shapiro' s rigi d men, and fo r Williams, wome n "embod y wha t th e rigid individua l i s ashamed of, defensivel y repudiates , an d therefor e hates " (Shapiro , Autonomy, 101-2). Unlike Lewis , whos e ope n suppor t o f Hitle r go t hi m int o seriou s trouble, William s remaine d serenel y unconcerne d wit h th e events o f the day an d emerge d unscathe d b y criticism . H e regarde d hi s foundin g o f the "Companion s o f the Co-inherence" i n late 1938, a s his contributio n toward th e "greate r Order. " Whe n wa r was declared , h e wrot e t o hi s friends i n the Order urgin g the m "t o kno w co-inherence , includin g th e enemy, includin g Hitle r an d h e wit h us , an d al l in Christ " (Hadfield , 176). N o mentio n wa s made o f co-inherenc e wit h th e Jews o f Europe , or o f Jew s a s anythin g bu t historica l an d religiou s symbol s o f th e Antichrist. In a n essay calle d "Th e Jews" writte n i n 194 3 and first publishe d a s a Time and Tide revie w of Jacques Maritain' s Redeeming the Time (1943) , Williams praise s Maritain' s conclusio n tha t th e Christian hate s an d execrates th e Jew becaus e o f th e Jewish nee d t o "quarre l wit h th e world " in whic h h e i s " supernaturally a stranger. " William s the n declare s tha t Christians an d orthodox Jews canno t in fact approac h "th e Jewish prob lem" excep t theologically. 28 H e recommend s extrem e courtes y towar d Jews, especiall y towar d Orthodo x Jews , a s good manner s ar e especially important "wheneve r w e ar e right" (163) . Suc h politeness , however , i s not easy : [T]he relatio n o f Israe l an d the Church—like i t o r like i t not—mus t be more intense . I t is something i n our blood whic h springs ; it is a hatred. .. . There is a Fact between us, and neither side can forget the Fact. When the Sabbath and Sunday com e we remember The Jew hears the Christian declaring tha t th e High an d Holy on e took flesh ; th e Christian sees th e Jew crucifying th e God-Man. Ho w at bottom can there be peace? (162 ) The phras e "too k flesh " evoke s th e cannibalisti c lamia , a s d o th e ref erences t o crucifixio n an d blood . Unlik e women , wh o were sometime s the recipient s o f hi s aggression , sometime s th e embodimen t o f it , mal e Jews wer e th e Antichrist , vessel s fo r Williams' s ow n suppresse d rag e

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and sexua l sadism . T o spea k o f Jews , i n 1943 , a s th e recipient s o f a natural "hatre d i n ou r bloo d whic h springs " i s mor e tha n negligent ; i t is reprehensible . Whil e William s pride d himsel f o n hi s politica l unin volvement, i t mus t hav e take n som e effor t t o ignor e new s whic h wa s available everywhere . Wyndham Lewi s produce d th e bod y o f hi s anti-Semiti c writin g be tween 192 6 an d 1938 , attempte d t o den y hi s anti-Semitis m i n 1939 , an d for the most part excluded Jews from hi s work after tha t date. In contrast , Williams wrot e All Hallows' Eve, hi s mos t blatantl y anti-Semiti c novel , in 1944 . An obsessiv e an d guilt y man , h e was not trouble d b y an y worr y or guil t abou t hi s textua l treatmen t o f a grou p h e neve r sa w a s human , or identified a s the victims of the Holocaust. I n Williams's bipolar system , with it s rigi d lin e o f differenc e (Gilman , Difference and Pathology, 18) , the Jew provided th e necessary counte r t o the Christian. N o oute r event s could chang e o r modif y tha t inne r reality . What di d troubl e hi m abou t th e war was the moving o f th e O UP fro m London t o Oxfor d i n 1939 . Williams move d t o Oxfor d wit h hi s belove d Press, leavin g Micha l an d hi s so n i n war-tor n London , bu t th e mov e shook th e foundation s o f hi s myth . H e wrot e t o Ann e Ridle r i n som e panic: "There is no-one (NO-ONE ) i n Oxford t o whom I can talk abou t Taliessin. Thi s i s a seriou s blow , an d I onl y foun d i t ou t yesterday " (Hadfield, 181) . In Oxford , William s bega n hi s associatio n wit h C . S . Lewis , J. R . R . Tolkien, an d th e othe r member s o f th e Inkling s group . C . S . Lewi s i n particular seem s t o hav e love d William s wit h som e o f th e enthusias m o f the femal e disciples , bu t fo r William s himsel f th e Inkling s associatio n remained peripheral . H e wa s unabl e t o becom e deepl y involve d wit h a group o f me n t o who m h e wa s n o guru , an d wit h who m h e wa s force d to b e simpl y Charle s Williams , no t Taliessin . Th e associatio n wit h th e Inklings, a s well a s his continue d literar y productivity , le d t o som e ma terial success . H e wa s nominate d t o giv e a serie s o f lecture s a t Oxford , where h e was awarde d a n honorary degre e i n 1943 , and hi s book s bega n to provid e hi m wit h a substantia l income . Thes e honor s di d no t mak e up fo r th e los s o f Taliessin . Th e final wa r year s i n Oxfor d wer e a mos t productive perio d fo r Williams , bu t als o a period o f grea t instability . H e became increasingl y tens e an d preoccupie d wit h geometrica l symbols , found hi s son' s temporar y presenc e i n Oxfor d agitatin g an d tormenting , and resorte d t o hi s ol d fits o f uncontrolle d tempe r (Ridler , xxxiv) . A s i n

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childhood an d adolescence , hi s " g o o d " sel f threatene d t o crac k open , revealing th e enrage d an d power-hungr y ma n beneath . H e wrot e t o hi s wife: " I wan t t o b e nic e an d good , bu t I' m no t feelin g s o a bit. . . . Ther e are well s o f hat e i n on e whic h ar e terrifying—well s o f suspicio n an d eve n malice" (Hadfield , 189) . Perhaps a s a wa y t o contai n thes e terrifyin g inne r well s o f hate , th e C o m p a n y o f th e Co-Inherenc e assume d a n increasingl y importan t p o sition i n hi s life , an d h e bega n t o attrac t a growin g numbe r o f femal e disciples. C . S . Lewi s commente d fondl y abou t hi s friend : " W o m e n find him s o attractiv e tha t i f h e wer e a ba d ma n h e coul d d o wha t h e liked , either a s a D o n J u a n o r charlatan. " Ann e Ridle r als o write s o f hi s rela tionship wit h student s an d disciple s a t thi s time : His friends , t o tease him, woul d cal l him promiscuous, an d perhaps woul d wish hi m t o b e mor e selective , bu t woul d the n recal l tha t th e saint s wer e not selective . An d i n fact , howeve r freel y h e seemed t o giv e of hi s energie s and eve n o f hi s persona l confidences , h e ha d alway s a certai n inne r de tachment. (Ridler , xxii ) Anne Ridler , w h o first me t William s i n 1918 , whe n sh e wa s a n admiring schoolgirl , an d wa s clos e t o hi m unti l hi s death , i s no t blin d to he r friend' s "impuls e towar d violence " an d eve n notice s " a certai n sadism i n a fe w o f th e Taliessi n p o e m s " (Ridler , xxxii) . Sh e feels , however, tha t th e struggl e agains t thes e impulse s mad e hi m a n eve n better spiritua l advisor : "[T]h e ver y difficultie s o f hi s natur e h e mad e a sourc e o f strength ; the y becam e a synthesi s o f power . . . . Those w h o came t o hi m fo r hel p fel t tha t n o experienc e coul d b e outsid e th e rang e of hi s understanding, n o si n o r miser y coul d defea t hi s reconcilin g p o w e r " (Ridler, xxxii) . Williams believe d i n disciplinin g hi s femal e follower s i n orde r t o "ex change" th e "maliciou s intruder " insid e the m fo r Christia n godliness . I n The Region of the Summer Stars (1944) , th e secon d volum e o f Arthuria n poems, inspire d b y Phylli s Jones , Taliessi n despairingl y lament s hi s o w n state: It i s a doubt i f m y bod y i s fles h o r fis h hapless th e woma n wh o love s me , hapless I—flun g aliv e where onl y the cold-lippe d merme n thriv e amon g starin g creature s

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of undersea, o r lost where the beast-nature s in a wood o f suicides lap at the loss of intellect. 29 Williams pictures himself here as a sexless, impotent, an d isolated creatur e of the deep. So inwardly empty he is scarcely human, h e is flung in amon g bestial wome n h e i s unabl e t o satisfy , an d flun g a s wel l int o hi s ow n bestial femal e nature , whic h threaten s t o explode , unseatin g hi s reaso n and leadin g hi m towar d " a woo d o f suicides. " Shapir o comment s that , for rigi d men, strengt h consists of "the capacity to struggle against, resist , and overcom e one' s ow n feelings.. . t o resis t doin g wha t on e actuall y wants t o d o o r desires . . .. Th e authorit y o f th e rigi d person' s will . . . estranges hi m fro m hi s ow n feeling s an d motivations." 30 Suc h a perso n is unable to experienc e o r eve n to visualize relationships othe r tha n thos e "between superio r an d inferior—th e degradatio n o r humiliatio n o f on e by another , th e imposin g o f wil l b y one , th e surrende r o f th e other . . . . This contemptuou s punishmen t o f weakness o r inferiority.. . i s what w e call sadism " (Shapiro , Autonomy, 107) . In a passage reminiscent o f Orwell' s sloga n i n 1984, "Freedo m i s Slavery," a slave girl in the poem i s given th e choice to b e set free afte r seve n years o f servitud e o r t o "compac t agai n with a free heart' s love, " tha t is , to freel y choos e t o remai n a slav e i n th e hous e o f Taliessi n (Stars, 29) . She observes how, in her mistress, Dindrane, who has also chosen slavery , "all circumstanc e o f bondag e [were ] blessed i n her body " (31) . The slav e girl the n become s "a t on e i n he r heart , servitud e an d freedo m wer e on e and interchangeable" (Stars, 31). Predictably, sh e too chooses her "newl y treasured servitude, " slavery , an d beg s for on e mor e thing , althoug h sh e is to o humbl e t o nam e i t openly : " . . . t o choose were insolence too much and of too strange a kind; my lord know s my mind." Her eye s were set upon him , companio n t o companion, pee r to peer He sent his energy wholly int o hers. . . Lightly he struck her face; at once the blast of union struc k her heart. .. . (46) The theme s o f ritualize d bondag e an d flagellation , touche d o n i n thi s poem, wer e als o rituall y enacte d i n Charle s Williams' s lif e an d ar e avail able t o u s i n th e constructe d tex t Letters to Lalage. Charle s William s wrote these letters to one of his disciples, twenty-six-year-old Loi s Lang -

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Sims, betwee n 194 3 an d 1944 , a t th e sam e tim e h e wa s completin g The Region of the Summer Stars. I n 198 9 Lang-Sim s publishe d th e letters , along wit h a commentar y o n the m writte n thirty-si x year s afte r thei r receipt, an d a n introductio n b y Gle n Cavaliero . (Sh e doe s no t includ e her ow n letter s t o Williams.) When rea d together , Region of the Summer Stars an d Letters to Lalage sho w tha t ther e i s indee d a "unit y betwee n the ma n an d hi s work " {Hallows, Eliot , xiii ) an d als o rais e "th e critica l question of . . . the nature of Charle s Williams's relationshi p wit h hi s disciples" {Lalage, Cavaliero , 7) . When sh e first me t him , Loi s Lang-Sim s foun d Williams' s magnetis m such tha t "i t turne d th e ugliness o f hi s voice an d feature s t o n o account " {Lalage, Lang-Sims , 32) . Sh e remember s th e first lette r sh e wrote t o th e fifty-seven-year-old autho r afte r havin g rea d The Figure of Beatrice, i n which sh e praise d th e boo k bu t complaine d tha t William s neglecte d th e individual perso n o f th e beloved . William s responde d wit h a seductiv e letter i n whic h h e invite d he r t o joi n " a Company. . . scattered an d un known t o each other. . . called the Co-inherence" {Lalage, Williams , 27). In hi s nex t letter , h e sen t he r th e "Promulgatio n o f th e Company. " Thi s document, writte n in pseudobiblical language, with much use of the royal "We" an d o f th e phras e "A s i t wa s said, " recommends : that its members shall make a formal ac t of union with it as of recognition of thei r ow n nature.... Its concern i s the practice of the apprehension of the Co-inherence both as a natural and a supernatural principle. .. the study of the Co-inherence of the Trinity, of the Two Natures in the Single Person .. . and on the active side, of methods of exchange, in the State, in all forms of love.... It concludes in the Divine Substitution o f Messias all forms of exchange and substitution and it invokes this act as the root of all. {Lalage, Lang-Sims, 30) The "promulgation " emphasize s eac h person's doubl e natur e an d pro poses a serie s o f device s wit h whic h t o transfor m o r rei n i n thi s doubl e nature. Wha t William s i n fac t ha d i n min d "o n th e activ e side " woul d become increasingl y clea r a s th e relationshi p continued . Lois Lang-Sim s describe s he r first meetin g wit h William s i n hi s offic e at the OUP, afte r th e exchange of severa l more letters: "He wa s standin g over m e i n a n attitud e tha t wa s someho w a t th e sam e tim e deferentia l and authoritarian " {Lalage, Lang-Sims , 31) . Sh e remember s he r con clusions afte r thi s first meeting , perhap s claimin g som e retrospectiv e insight:

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I felt tha t I had committed mysel f t o Charles, without i n the least under standing wha t th e commitmen t wa s goin g t o involve.. . I wa s awar e o f being enspelled... I knew even then that Charles was incapable of what I at leas t understoo d a s being a human relationshi p o n a personal basis . I sensed that he was totally identified with, and enclosed with, his own myth. (Lalage, Lang-Sims , 33) In a subsequent letter , Charle s call s Loi s a girl slave , assign s he r variou s tasks o f "substitution, " an d writes : "Yo u ar e engage d t o report—a s a mythical slav e o r schoolgir l should—yes ? o n you r fou r jobs . . .. I f yo u are lazy o r inattentiv e o r negligen t o r a t r u a n t . .. I warn yo u I will hav e you, frankly , pa y fo r it " (Lalage, Williams , 36) . H e conclude s th e nex t letter b y givin g he r passage s t o writ e over : "[A]n d a t th e en d yo u wil l add hal f a doze n times : 'an d I shal l hav e m y ear s soundl y boxe d fo r disobedience* (which you shall , next time you come) . And sen d it to me " (Lalage, Williams , 39) . The nex t lette r contain s a poe m h e ha s writte n fo r he r i n whic h h e refers t o "th e fre e tur n i n bondage " an d "freedo m livin g i n bondage " and call s her a "negligent slave " (Lalage, Williams , 40) . I n he r nex t visi t to hi m a t his offic e a t th e OUP , h e ceremoniall y strike s he r han d wit h a ruler an d sh e thank s hi m fo r it . Sh e has tol d hi m tha t he r favorit e nam e is Lalage , a Gree k nam e foun d i n Horace , an d i n th e followin g let ter Charle s suggest s a plot: Taliessi n own s a Gree k slav e gir l calle d La lage, wh o ha s carelessl y neglecte d he r wor k o f lightin g th e candles : "[Occasionally th e Lord Taliessin, wishing to write verse, found hi s ow n room dark—afte r whic h (a s migh t b e expected ) Lalag e spen t som e tim e in genera l discomfort , thoug h n o on e los t an y joy " (Lalage, Williams , 53). I n th e sam e letter , h e announces : "[I] t occurre d t o U s that . . . you were pre-designe d b y Almight y Go d t o b e o f us e t o God , t o Us , an d t o Our household " (Lalage, Williams , 52) . He inform s he r tha t Alic e Mar y Hadfield (th e autho r o f th e biograph y w e hav e cited ) wil l b e returnin g by se a from Bermuda , an d i t wil l b e Lalage' s jo b t o bea r he r seasicknes s "in exchang e fo r her. " In th e ensuin g correspondenc e th e master-slav e them e escalates , an d Williams repeats and formalizes hi s attitude of worshipful deferenc e com bined with authoritaria n command . H e informs her , "Wha t you nee d . . . is a sound thrashin g a t once " an d instruct s he r t o ti e a cord aroun d he r ankle: "afte r al l i f slave s wil l dither , the y mus t expec t t o b e chained " (Lalage, Williams , 58 , 60). H e refer s t o her ow n power ove r him, tellin g

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her, "[Y]ou — for al l your docility , hav e a certain lioness-effect calculate d to scar e m o s t . . . Masters? " (Lalage, Williams , 60) . Loi s Lang-Sim s comments: [T]he mythological structure within which Charles had enclosed me was a perfect globe , a bubble that must not be pricked.... Within that enclosure I possesse d him—o r fel t tha t I did—i n a particular manne r that.. . was delectablef.] (Lalage, Lang-Sims , 68) At thei r nex t meeting , William s tell s he r t o lif t he r skir t an d beat s he r with th e ruler . Next , "h e pause d i n fron t o f m e and , puttin g hi s arm s about me , hel d m e clos e t o hi m i n a strang e stillness " (Lalage, Lang Sims, 68) . Lang-Sim s explains , an d Cavalier o corroborates , tha t Charle s Williams was attempting throug h "exchange " to gai n access to her sexua l energy, whic h h e coul d conver t an d us e fo r hol y an d creativ e purposes . She add s tha t thi s us e o f he r wa s b y n o mean s unique : He onc e confessed.. . tha t hi s wor k demande d thes e practices ; onl y s o could hi s creativ e power s b e released . H e mad e thes e demand s because , from som e cause hidden dee p in his nature, h e needed the creative power that h e derive d fro m thei r fulfillment . Withou t tha t powe r h e coul d no t work. Essentiall y i t wa s a power derive d fro m th e consciousl y directe d holding i n chec k o f th e passions associate d wit h romanti c love . (Lalage, Lang-Sims, 17 , 70) Lois Lang-Sims had apparently contracte d fo r a rather more traditiona l sadomasochistic relationshi p i n which th e master's beatin g would endo w the subjec t wit h power ove r him. He r pla n had not include d ritua l drain ings o f he r energy , a proces s sh e describe s a s bot h exhaustin g an d ter rifying. Bot h sh e an d William s clearl y believe d i n thi s drainin g proces s in quit e a literal sense , describin g "electric " force s a s i n th e vocabular y of mesmerism. I n a more symbolic sense, the vampirelike image of a male draining energy from a female can be seen as an exact reversal of Williams's "lamia" image . Equally , tha t drea d ca n b e see n i n term s o f projectiv e identification, a s a projection o f Williams' s ow n rage . Desirin g t o engul f and "drain " wome n himself , William s disown s hi s desir e an d attribute s it to women, the n fears an d loathes the object of his projected need . Mor e concretely, the image serves as a metaphor for both Lewis's and Williams's materialist us e o f wome n "a s a natura l resource.. . t o be . . . harveste d and mined" (Dinnerstein , 236) . It is not reall y surprisin g tha t Loi s Lang Sims becam e seriousl y il l afte r he r las t visi t t o Williams .

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Upon he r recovery , som e weeks later , sh e wrote hi m a letter i n whic h she aske d t o b e calle d b y he r rea l nam e instea d o f "Lalage, " an d als o asked fo r som e acknowledgmen t o f hersel f a s a person . Williams' s re sponse was speed y an d severe . I n hi s next lette r h e writes: "You will . . . be awar e tha t a certain Risenes s work s i n you ; I wil l g o furthe r an d sa y that your You-ness is risen" (Lalage, Williams , 77). "Lalage" had insiste d on her individual identity and had stepped outside of his myth. He r "You ness" wa s intolerabl e t o Williams , wh o immediatel y an d angril y severe d the connection . Jus t a s Lewi s foun d hi s patrons ' "sel f feeling " unac ceptable (Apes, 245) , William s refuse d t o tolerat e thi s deman d fo r rec ognition i n hi s Slave-Goddess . Freud first mad e th e th e connectio n betwee n sadis m an d obsessiv e com pulsiveness i n 1913. 31 Shapir o note s th e highl y ideational , role-playin g aspect o f sadomasochisti c sexuality ; wha t Simon e d e Beauvoi r calle d "the will bent on fulfilling th e flesh withou t losin g itself i n it." 32 H e con cludes: "It i s to th e rigi d person—t o who m th e actuality o f sexua l aban donment i s inimica l t o th e will , t o self-control , an d t o self-respec t —that th e idea o f subjugatio n seem s s o erotic " (Shapiro , Autonomy, 131). Like Wyndha m Lewis , Charle s William s regarde d hi s ow n mothe r a s the sourc e o f powe r an d nurturanc e bu t sa w he r powe r a s annihilatin g to his father. Lik e Lewis, he felt unable to exist without th e all-importan t female an d wa s enrage d b y hi s ow n dependence . Lewi s manage d his conflictin g need s an d feeling s throug h compulsiv e heterosexual , genital sexuality , an d throug h a long-ter m relationshi p wit h a woma n he regarde d a s inferio r an d treate d a s hi s servant . Williams , wh o foun d genital sexualit y abhorrent , playe d ou t hi s need s throug h long-ter m pri marily nonsexua l relationship s wit h hi s wif e an d wit h hi s objec t of romanti c adoratio n and , i n a mor e ritualisti c fashion , wit h hi s dis ciples. Th e rigi d boundarie s o f thes e relationship s helpe d hi m t o con fine hi s ow n unacceptabl e libidina l impulse s an d asser t hi s fragil e boundaries whil e functionin g withi n th e saf e confine s o f hi s privat e myth. H e wa s abl e t o chastis e an d bea t dow n invasiv e an d evi l wome n as wel l a s th e evi l an d invasiv e femal e insid e himself , whil e simultane ously gainin g acces s t o th e femal e energ y o r forc e whic h h e s o badl y needed. A s Loi s Lang-Sim s said , "withou t tha t powe r h e coul d no t work."

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Theories a s t o th e reaso n fo r Williams' s prematur e deat h i n 194 5 ar e fittingly mystica l an d dichotomous . I n her commentary, Lang-Sim s sug gests tha t th e proces s whic h mad e he r il l wa s equall y debilitatin g fo r Williams, an d that indulging in similar activities with far too many youn g women le d t o hi s earl y death . Hadfiel d prefer s th e theor y tha t "h e ha d worn hi s threa d almos t through . H e wa s comin g i n t o 'peac e an d th e perfect end ' " (235) . Theorie s aside , Charle s William s die d a t th e ag e of fifty-eight o f a stomac h operatio n whic h ha d no t bee n expecte d t o b e serious, o n 1 5 Ma y 1945 , soo n afte r th e en d o f th e wa r whic h h e ha d hardly noticed . The Outrageous and

the Foul: Charles Williams's Novels

Between 193 0 an d 194 4 Charle s William s wrot e seve n novels , whic h represent onl y a fraction o f hi s enormous literar y output . I n thi s discus sion I wil l limi t mysel f t o th e thre e novel s wit h th e mos t prominen t Jewish characters: Shadows of Ecstasy (1933), War in Heaven (1930) , an d All Hallows' Eve (1945) . I n hi s introductio n t o All Hallows 3 Eve, T . S . Eliot protest s rathe r to o har d i n hi s effor t t o defen d hi s frien d fro m th e charge o f morbidity : The stones of Charle s Williams... are not like those of Edgar Allan Poe, woven out of morbid psychology—I have never known a healthier-minded man than Williams.. . had he himself no t alway s seen Evil, unerringly a s the contrast to Good... there are passages in his book and in other books . . . which would only be outrageous an d foul, (xvi ) Just a s Lewis's novel s an d didacti c book s al l recapitulate hi s paranoid , narcissistic system , Williams' s novel s recapitulat e th e obsessiona l syste m which w e hav e alread y observe d i n hi s poems , hi s scholarl y books , an d his life . Williams' s novel s ar e extremel y homogeneous , eac h on e em ploying th e sam e basi c plot. Al l utiliz e a n ostensibl y "Christian " frame work, an d al l ar e se t i n th e world s o f th e occult . Toda y the y woul d b e labeled religiou s fantas y o r scienc e fiction . W e hav e note d tha t othe r people ha d littl e realit y fo r Charle s Williams , asid e fro m th e function s they coul d perform , an d th e character s i n thes e novel s ar e one dimensional an d flat. A s in medieval morality plays and didactic religiou s novels lik e Pilgrim's Progress, character s i n thes e novel s serv e didacti c rather tha n realisti c purposes , wit h eac h characte r functionin g a s a rep -

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resentative o f som e Christia n o r anti-Christia n quality . Plac e an d tim e are vague an d undeveloped . Language , includin g dialogue , i s stilte d an d long-winded. A s i n Williams' s ow n life , ritualize d symbol s ar e far mor e important tha n an y representatio n o f oute r o r inne r reality . In six of the seven novels, the plot is identical. A male antagonist begin s an occul t operatio n t o wor k hi s wil l fo r powe r upo n th e world . Evi l forces gai n a foothold , bu t Christia n heroe s an d helper s arriv e jus t i n time t o restor e th e rightfu l hierarch y o f Christianity . Th e variatio n i n plot i n th e remainin g nove l i s slight. 33 I n al l o f them , a Christia n worl d of goo d i n whic h Williams' s mechanism s o f exchange , transfer , substi tution, an d co-inherenc e ar e practiced i s contrasted wit h a parallel worl d of evil , i n whic h th e sam e mechanism s exis t i n a distorte d o r twiste d form. Thoug h goo d wins in the end, mos t o f these books actuall y inhabi t the worl d o f evil—th e on e Elio t calle d th e outrageou s an d th e foul . Shadows of Ecstasy, thoug h publishe d i n 1933 , wa s actuall y writte n i n the earl y 1920 s and i s thus th e earlies t o f th e thre e novels I will examine . Like th e others , i t concern s a man wh o strive s fo r powe r ove r th e worl d and i s eventuall y defeate d b y th e force s o f Christianity . However , thi s novel depart s significantl y fro m th e other s becaus e i n it , William s con sistently privilege s th e force s o f th e Antichris t ove r th e force s o f Chris tianity. Th e novel, which Williams called "Th e Blac k Bastard" befor e hi s publishers wisel y rename d i t Shadows of Ecstasy, wa s writte n durin g Williams's membershi p i n The Fellowship o f the Rosy Daw n an d reflect s his enchantmen t wit h magica l a s opposed t o Christia n powers . Shadows of Ecstasy celebrates the powers an d theories of Nigel Considine, th e firs t and most appealin g of Williams's Antichrists. Considin e has mastered th e art of immortality , an d a s the boo k begin s he is embarking o n a n attemp t to tak e ove r th e worl d throug h occul t practices . Havin g previousl y en dowed a chai r a t Londo n Universit y i n "Ritua l Transmutation s o f En ergy," he has recently returne d t o Londo n t o giv e a lecture on the subjec t and t o observ e th e effect s o f hi s plan . H e ha s alread y take n contro l o f Africa, an d unde r th e nam e o f "Th e Hig h Executive " issue s a procla mation freein g African s fro m whit e rul e and invitin g all those who "exis t in th e exchange d o r unexchange d adoratio n o f love " t o com e forward. 34 If Europ e wil l no t submi t h e plans t o direc t Afric a t o defea t Europ e an d then th e res t o f th e world , whic h h e wil l the n rul e i n th e nam e o f lov e and freedom . A s th e peopl e o f Londo n tak e thi s in , a n Africa n king , Inkamasi, a former Christian , no w unde r Considine' s spell , show s u p i n

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Hampstead. A vicar , Caithness , appear s an d pledge s t o wi n Inkamasi' s soul back t o Christianity , an d the fight i s on. Next , w e learn of the deat h of Rosenberg , a ric h an d powerfu l Jew , wh o ha s lef t hi s wealt h an d collection o f jewel s t o hi s Orthodo x nephews . Considine , wh o ha s bee n gaining ground , assume s contro l o f bot h th e nephew s an d thei r jewels , but in an anti-Semitic riot in war-torn chaotic London, on e of the nephews is killed . Meanwhile, i n th e coz y famil y grou p heade d b y th e retire d surgeo n Sir Bernar d Travers , everyon e mus t tak e a sid e fo r o r agains t th e ne w order. Whil e Si r Bernard an d hi s so n Phili p rejec t it , a s does Philip' s evi l wife Rosamund , youn g Roge r Ingram , a disaffected teache r o f literatur e who admire s Considine' s devotio n t o ar t an d ha s hi s ow n yearning s toward th e transmutatio n o f energy , decide s t o follo w Considine . H e i s supported i n this choice by his wife, th e faithful Isabel , although sh e does not follo w Considin e herself . Considin e the n transport s Roger , th e re maining Jewis h nephew , Rosenberg , a ban d o f hi s follower s wh o hav e mastered some of his skills, and Inkamasi to a house by the sea. Caithness, still i n pursui t o f Inkamasi' s immorta l soul , follow s hi m there . I n th e end, Considine , aide d by Caithness , i s shot an d temporaril y thwarte d b y one o f hi s disciples , Mottreux , wh o ha s succumbe d t o gree d an d want s the Jew's jewels . Roge r return s t o Londo n an d hi s wife bu t feel s assure d that hi s leader' s magica l abilitie s wil l ensur e tha t hi s deat h i s no t per manent; he has merely withdrawn t o gather his forces fo r anothe r return . Shadows of Ecstasy's privilegin g o f th e occul t ove r Christianity , lik e Williams's membershi p i n th e Fellowshi p o f th e Ros y Dawn , cause d embarrassment, consternation , an d denia l amon g Williams' s Christia n critics. Mos t o f thes e eithe r reinterpre t th e endin g i n th e ligh t o f thei r beliefs an d Williams' s late r novel s o r dismis s it a s a mistake.35 Typically , Agnes Sible y write s o f th e ending : The reader now begins to understand religio n and love, or God as love to be a more certai n an d comprehensiv e powe r tha n Considine' s ecstas y o r Sir Bernard' s reason . B y ignorin g religion , Considin e fails , no t onl y i n ruling the will of Inkamasi, but in his whole attempt to dominate the world. (46) In fact , th e reade r understand s n o suc h thing . Considine , th e maste r of th e occul t an d th e figure aroun d whic h th e nove l revolves , i s a muc h more powerful , compelling , an d eve n likeabl e characte r tha n th e rathe r

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puny representativ e o f th e church , Caithness , wh o canno t sav e Inkamas i from bein g killed an d who allie s himself wit h Mottreux , th e Judas-figur e who betray s Considin e fo r a handfu l o f jewels . Eve n thi s migh t hav e been acceptabl e t o th e Christia n critic s i f William s ha d damne d th e An tichrist a t th e en d an d restore d th e prope r balance . Bu t Considin e i s neither condemne d no r punishe d a t th e en d o f th e book . A grandios e image o f William s himself , Considin e i s "ma n consciou s o f himsel f an d his powers, ma n powerful an d victorious, bol d an d serene, a culmination and a prophecy" {Shadows, 81) . Through his mastery of the transmutatio n of energy , h e ha s achieve d a n immortality tha t eve n Christ , doome d "t o look fo r resurrectio n i n anothe r world, " neve r mastered . Considine embodies the Williams system, not, like the later Antichrists, in it s twiste d form , bu t i n a thoroughl y majesti c way . H e share s wit h Williams an d wit h th e kin g Inkamas i a n "intens e appreciatio n o f roy alty"—what Caithnes s call s "th e makin g visibl e o f hierarchi c freedom , a presented momen t o f obedienc e an d rule " (184, 96). His "Proclamation " is ver y lik e th e "Promulgation " William s wrot e an d distribute d fo r th e Companions o f th e Co-Inherenc e i n 1939 , and Considine' s Inne r Circle , with it s emphasi s o n renunciation , love-exchange , an d obedienc e t o th e leader, resemble s Williams' s grou p eve n i n it s membership : "The Devotees," the Zulu answered. "It's a high circle of those who having achieved muc h choos e t o rende r thei r live s wholl y int o th e wil l o f th e Deathless On e tha t h e ma y us e them a s he pleases.. .. Most o f them . . . are women." (110) When Roge r ask s Considin e ho w h e ha s manage d t o defea t death , hi s answers invok e th e William s extrusio n press . I n Considine' s transmu tation, energ y i s transferre d fro m "poetr y o r lov e o r an y manne r o f ecstasy, into the power of a greater ecstasy" (73). Members of Considine' s Circle, lik e th e member s o f Williams' s orde r an d lik e William s himsel f with hi s female disciples , "hav e learne d t o arous e an d restrai n an d direc t the exaltatio n o f lov e t o suc h purpose s a s the y choose " (108) . Hi s fol lowers hav e "learne d b y th e contemplatio n o f beaut y i n ma n o r woma n to fill themselves wit h a wonderful an d delighte d excitemen t an d t o tur n that excitemen t t o deliberat e ends " (108) . Sexua l love , lik e religio n an d art, explain s Considine , i s onl y "th e shado w o f ecstasy. " I t i s th e tran scendence o f sexualit y which bring s rea l power—and immortality . Whe n Philip ask s Considin e ho w t o cop e wit h hi s sexuality , h e assure s him ,

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" Y o u ca n k n o w y o u r jo y an d direc t i t . . . . whe n y o u r m a n h o o d ' s aflam e with love " (72) . O v e r an d ove r again , Considin e tell s hi s admirin g discipl e Roger , h o w he ha s manage d t o us e w o m e n t o achiev e hi s ends : I mysel f carrie d ou t th e grea t experiment , an d I lai d m y imaginatio n upo n all the powers an d influences o f se x and lov e and desire.... I have gathere d from man y wome n al l tha t imaginatio n desired , an d I hav e change d i t t o strength an d cunnin g an d lengt h o f days. . . the delight s o f mer e bodil y love ar e but shadow s besid e th e ric h joy s o f th e transformin g imagination . (154) Like Williams, Considin e ha s managed t o transcend th e dreaded contac t with femal e carnality . I hav e endure d lov e an d transmute d it . I hav e found . . . tha t th e sensua l desires o f ma n ca n b e change d int o strengt h o f imagination... . I hav e transmuted masculin e se x into huma n life . I a m one of th e masters o f love . . . . No w I nee d lov e an d hat e n o more . (83 ) Considine, w h o speak s i n th e enigmati c phrase s suitabl e t o a n immortal , tells Roge r tha t i t al l starte d whe n a bo y wa s jilte d b y a girl : [T]he bo y said , "Wh y d o I suffe r helplessly ? Thi s als o i s I—al l thi s un utterable pai n i s I . . . . " Th e girl' s dea d lon g ago ; sh e wa s a pretty baby . . . . Then— a littl e l a t e r . . . th e bo y foun d anothe r gir l an d love d her . Bu t . . . h e remembere d th e vastnes s o f hi s p a i n . . . an d aske d himsel f whethe r love were not meant for something more than wantonness and child-bearin g and th e future tha t close s in d e a t h . .. h e poured physica l desir e and menta l passion int o hi s determinatio n o f life . The n h e wa s free . (202 ) In thi s passage , a man , sufferin g unde r th e wanto n an d overwhelmin g power o f w o m e n , invent s a syste m t o " t r a n s m u t e " hi s love , movin g i t from th e sordi d femalenes s o f "wantonnes s an d child-bearing " t o freedo m and a triump h ove r death , time , an d place : th e specia l enemie s o f th e obsessive compulsive . Th e w o m a n w h o cause d th e bo y t o suffe r an d mad e him helples s ha s bee n punishe d b y death . Speakin g i n Considine' s voice , Williams allow s himsel f th e cynica l contemp t o f "sh e wa s a pretty b a b y . " Considine invoke s th e magica l "Thi s als o i s T h o u , " bu t significantl y substitutes " I " fo r T h o u . I n th e othe r novels , suc h heres y wil l b e p u n ished, bu t i n Shadows of Ecstasy, Considine , th e embodimen t o f Wil liams's libidinal , power-hungr y self , i s sho t bu t doe s no t quit e die . Instead, h e leave s hi s b o d y an d i s las t see n i n Roger' s rap t vision , awak -

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ening in th e se a in a state of "shinin g lucidity " t o prepare hi s conquerin g return (223-24) . Like practitioners of the occult, Jews and blacks are treated more gentl y in thi s nove l tha n i n an y o f th e others . Inkamasi , "th e Zulu, " seem s t o be a genuine enough , thoug h rathe r comica l king, wh o die s nobly rathe r than b e subsume d b y Considine . Th e othe r blacks , however , referre d t o as "swarming negroes, " "screamin g Africans, " "thi s crow d o f bat s wit h negro faces, " i s loose d o n Londo n b y Considin e a s a warning o f thing s to com e an d a reminder o f th e whit e crowds ' ow n inne r savager y (187) . In thi s cas e black s serv e a s a n especiall y frightenin g embodimen t o f th e "mob," whic h fo r Williams , a s fo r Lewi s an d th e Freikorpsmen , share s some o f th e characteristic s o f women : i t i s a raging, uncontrolle d mass , threatening t o brea k boundarie s i f not controlled . O n th e othe r hand , i n Shadows of Ecstasy blacks , alon g wit h Jews , ar e als o th e victim s o f th e mob, whic h pursue s bot h th e tw o Rosenber g cousin s an d Inkamas i wit h cries o f "blood y niggers " an d "lows y ol d Jews" (138) . Jews, lik e blacks , pla y a doubl e rol e i n Shadows of Ecstasy. Th e Ro senberg cousins ' uncle , " a certai n Simo n Rosenberg, " owne d Afric a be fore Considine . H e has interests in "railways and periodicals and fisherie s and dye-works , i n Sout h Africa n diamond s an d Persia n oil s and Chines e silks, i n textile s an d cereal s an d patent-medicines , rubbe r an d coffe e an d wool" (Shadows, 21) . Rosenberg ha s made th e mistake o f seekin g powe r through th e collectio n o f materia l thing s an d ha s mad e a fetish o f deco rating hi s wif e wit h costl y jewels . Whe n sh e dies , havin g "externalize d in that adorned figur e al l his power an d possession," he has nothing mor e left an d commit s suicid e (28) . Incapable o f love , dominate d b y insatiabl e greed, an d with a finger i n every concern, h e is (Edgar) Rosenberg's "Je w as Parasite, " th e mise r wh o "threaten s th e surviva l o f th e bod y politic " (5). On th e other hand, th e two cousins, "devote d student s of Kabbalisti c doctrines," "fanatica l i n thei r visio n an d desire " (30 , 32) , are , lik e th e blacks, victim s o f th e craze d mo b wh o ar e both martyre d fo r thei r faith . Williams neve r ask s u s t o tak e Inkamasi' s kingshi p o r th e Rosenbergs ' religious devotio n seriously , presentin g the m a s comi c an d foolis h rep resentatives o f blacknes s an d Ol d Testamen t Jewry . Nevertheless , the y are see n a s victims rathe r tha n victimizers , unlik e th e othe r Jews i n Wil liams's novels . While Jews an d black s ar e not rigidl y fixe d stereotype s i n Shadows of Ecstasy a s they wil l b e i n th e late r novels , wome n hav e alread y assume d

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their se t roles . Rosamund , Roger' s sister-in-law , an d th e fiance e o f Si r Bernard's son , Philip , ha s a "deceitfull y sof t voice " an d generall y em bodies stealthy , feline , femal e evil : "Sh e wa s smal l an d dainty , an d sh e moved, a s i t were , i n littl e pounces . An d ye t sh e wa s s o strong ; i t wa s as if strengt h pretende d t o b e weak" (63 , 36). Rosamund refuse s t o kee p quiet i n th e compan y o f men , an d take s ever y opportunit y t o asser t tha t You-ness which s o repelled Williams when h e saw it "rise" in Lois Lang Sims. Sh e sneak s t o th e polic e an d report s Considin e whe n h e i s a gues t in he r father-in-law' s house , breakin g al l th e law s o f hospitalit y an d English good manners. When she calls Philip's name it is in a commanding tone whic h contain s "scor n an d hat e an d fear " (63) . Rosamund' s goo d sister, Isabel , keep s rememberin g a tim e whe n Rosamun d "ha d onc e secretly an d greedil y devoure d a whole boxful " o f chocolates , the n trie d to blam e Isabel . Rosamun d ha d bee n punishe d b y "appallin g physica l results," whic h ha d mad e he r guil t clea r (63) . Insid e Rosamun d ther e lives: "an octopus, the tentacles of which she had seen waving at a distance at n i g h t . .. a huge somethin g whose for m la y hidden i n the darkness an d the distance.. . a n octopu s tha t la y no t merel y without " (63) . "Appalling" an d "abominable " ar e Williams' s mos t frequentl y use d words fo r femal e carnality . Th e octopu s within , wit h it s invasiv e femal e tentacles, i s a recurrent symbo l whic h appear s i n Witchcraft an d agai n i n the titl e o f hi s verse dram a o f 1945 , The House of the Octopus. Lik e th e character Kreisle r i n Lewis' s Tarr, Rosamun d provide s a nightmar e o r warning vision of what might happen to Williams without a defensive sys tem—and withou t a well-defined outle t for hi s longings. I n her chocolat e orgy, she is a child "giving way to the thrust of its secret longing and vainly trying to conceal from others ' eyes the force of its desires" (135). Williams might have been talking of himself i n his description o f her need t o main tain an image of goodness and to keep a lid on her hidden self. She had cheate d hersel f fo r s o long , consciousl y i n childhoo d wit h tha t strange combination o f perfec t innocenc e an d deliberat e si n which makes childhood s o blameles s an d s o guilt y a t on e an d th e sam e moment; les s consciously in youth as innocence faded and the necessity of imposing some kind o f imag e of hersel f o n the world gre w stronger, til l now i n her firs t womanhood... her outraged flesh rebelled and clamoured from starvatio n for food . (135 ) Considine ha s "transmuted " hi s overwhelmin g sadosexua l urge s int o a method o f achievin g immortality . Rosamund , whos e urge s ar e equall y

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strong, ha s achieve d n o suc h mastery . "Powe r wa s i n he r an d sh e wa s terrified o f it " (135) . Sh e ha s evi l carna l longing s fo r th e blac k king , Inkamasi. Tryin g t o decid e whethe r o r no t t o marr y Philip , sh e finds herself stuc k i n an obsessive crisis much lik e Williams's ow n whe n h e fel t torn betwee n th e tw o wome n i n hi s life : "[N]o t bein g there , sh e wa s determined t o get bac k there . Sh e would ru n there , an d the n ru n away , till th e strait-jacke t o f tim e an d plac e imprisone d he r a s i t imprison s al l in the end who suffer fro m a like madness" (136). It is his own self-hatre d as wel l a s hi s loathin g o f wome n whic h William s expresse s i n Roger' s prescription fo r Rosamund : "Wha t sh e n e e d s . . . i s prussic acid " (137) . If Rosamun d i s Williams's evi l woman o r "lamia, " Isabe l i s his Slave Goddess. Cal m an d soothin g wher e Rosamun d i s shrill an d demanding , she, unlik e he r sister , know s whe n t o mak e hersel f scarce . Sh e tell s he r sister, "[A ] ma n need s yo u t o get awa y from, " an d explain s tha t wome n have les s nee d o f Considine' s transmutatio n service s becaus e the y hav e already "turned everythin g into themselves," which is also why they have "never mad e grea t art. " Whe n Roge r become s enviou s o f femal e power , she assure s him , "W e onl y liv e o n wha t yo u giv e us—imaginatively , I mean; you hav e to find th e greater powers" (55) . Unlike Williams's wife , who refuse d t o suppor t hi s lov e fo r othe r wome n n o matte r ho w trans muted, Isabe l warml y support s Roge r i n hi s nee d t o follo w Considine , although i t contradict s he r ow n value s an d als o mean s tha t h e wil l leav e her. Sh e explain s thi s t o Si r Bernard : I wanted hi m to, sinc e he wanted to. . .. More; for I wanted him to even more than he did, sinc e I hadn't myself t o think of and he had.... I want it—whatever he wants.... And then since I haven't myself to think of, I' m not divided o r disturbed i n wanting, s o I can sav e him trouble. (163) Amazed by this "triumphant contradiction, " Sir Bernard ask s Isabel what she get s ou t o f it , an d sh e explain s tha t i t make s he r utterl y happy : " O of cours e it' s dreadfull y painful , but—yes , utterly " (163) . I n The Figure of Beatrice, William s explained tha t mere renunciation i s not enough; on e must renounc e wit h pleasure . Isabe l fulsomel y illustrate s thi s principle : I'm a fool a t knowing things, but when there's somethin g in you tha t has its way, an d whe n Roger' s doin g what h e must do , an d I too— O ever y fibre of me' s achin g for hi m an d I can sin g for jo y al l through me . Isn' t that all the ecstasy that I could bear? Come and let's do something befor e it breaks my heart to be alive. (165)

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Fittingly, the "something" which Isabel proceeds to do consists of feedin g and offerin g shelte r t o som e weary refugee s passin g outside her window . Isabel's renunciation , Si r Bernard notices , "curiousl y agreed " with Con sidine's enthronemen t o f th e self: "They wer e bot h beyon d th e place s o f logic and compromise " (163). In this "match" ther e is only room fo r on e selfhood—the male's . The matched positions in a sadomasochistic system , with the woman a s slave and the man a s master, als o "curiously agree." 36 Shadows of Ecstasy, th e mos t cheerfu l o f Williams' s novels , end s wit h comfort al l around . Considin e i s killed , bu t no t permanently . Roger , who has experienced vicariou s ecstas y through followin g him , i s reunited with gentl e Isabel . Eve n Rosamun d survive s t o d o mor e mischief . Onl y the mos t expendabl e characters , th e Jew s an d blacks , ar e definitivel y killed. I n allowin g hi s aggressive , power-hungr y sel f no t onl y t o emerg e but t o triump h i n thi s nove l o f wish-fulfillment , Charle s William s achieved a fantas y escap e fro m hi s rigid , self-punishin g boundaries , hi s private "strai t jacket." It is noteworthy tha t Shadows of Ecstasy, th e mos t gentle and the least sadistic of al l the novels, is dismissed a s a minor effor t by Williams' s Christia n critics . War in Heaven (1930 ) begins wit h th e discover y o f a murdered bod y b y a young family man , Lione l Rackstraw, a worker i n the publishing hous e owned b y Gregor y Persimmons , specialis t in the occult. Persimmon s ha s just publishe d a boo k b y hi s fello w practitione r o f th e occult , Si r Gile s Tumulty, whic h claim s that th e Holy Graal , th e chalic e of th e Arthuria n legend, i s no w t o b e foun d i n th e Englis h paris h churc h o f Fardles . Si r Giles an d Persimmon s wan t th e Graa l i n orde r t o us e it s grea t powe r t o make contact with evil , but the Archdeacon o f Fardles, a mild an d saintl y man, i s determine d t o resis t th e evi l an d retai n th e chalic e fo r th e force s of good , synonymou s i n thi s nove l wit h Christianity . Th e Archdeaco n is aide d i n thi s ai m b y tw o youn g helpers , a n edito r fro m th e sam e publishing house , Kennet h Mornington , an d th e Roma n Catholi c aris tocrat th e Duk e o f Riding . Tumult y an d Gregor y ar e joine d b y their co-conspirators, a powerful , nameles s Gree k an d hi s master , th e Je w Manasseh. Whil e th e Graa l i s stole n an d restole n b y th e force s o f evi l and good, Gregor y obtains a foul ointment from Manasse h and the Greek , and wit h it s aid , embark s o n a nighttim e visi t t o th e lan d o f darkness . During hi s sojour n there , h e realize s tha t i n orde r t o wor k th e ultimat e evil, h e need s a child , an d fo r thi s purpos e h e choose s Adrian , th e so n

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of Lione l Rackstra w an d hi s swee t an d innocen t wife , Barbara . Afte r luring th e Rackstra w famil y dow n t o hi s countr y estat e nea r Fardles , Gregory take s advantag e o f Barbara' s proximit y t o attac k he r wit h th e ointment, sendin g he r int o a paroxysm o f wanto n madness . Jus t a s th e forces o f evi l seem t o b e gaining th e uppe r hand , th e ange l Preste r John , the true guardia n o f the Holy Graal , appear s o n the scene, cures Barbara , and claim s Adrian's sou l bac k fo r God . I n th e final conflict , th e Jew, th e Greek, Persimmons , an d Tumult y lur e th e Archdeaco n t o thei r slim y hole an d attemp t t o us e him , alon g wit h th e sou l o f th e murdere d man , Gregory's victim, in their ultimate rite, which will result in the destructio n of Christia n civilization . Bu t betwee n th e interventio n o f Preste r Joh n and th e Archdeacon' s seren e lov e an d faith , th e evildoer s ar e destroye d and th e Graa l returne d t o it s hol y place . Th e Archdeacon , exhauste d b y all the commotion, die s happily an d is welcomed int o his heavenly home . Through hi s us e o f th e O U P settin g an d o f th e Arthuria n legend , Williams locate s thi s boo k squarel y insid e his ow n structure , an d War in Heaven contain s two clearly delineated bu t parallel worlds o f foreign evi l and Christia n good , separate d b y th e William s extrusio n machine . Per haps becaus e William s wa s n o longe r involve d i n th e Fellowshi p o f th e Rosy Daw n a t th e tim e o f writing , h e thoroughl y condemn s th e force s of the occult in this book. Thes e forces ar e equated with the devil, show n up a s fa r weake r tha n th e force s o f goo d an d punishe d roundl y a t th e end. I t i s th e Christia n rathe r tha n th e occul t force s wh o practic e th e Williams syste m i n War in Heaven. Th e Archdeaco n especiall y i s ver y prone t o hum , "Neithe r i s this Thou " an d "Ye t thi s als o i s Thou" a s h e goes abou t hi s pleasingl y ritualize d tasks . Whil e h e love s th e Graa l fo r its hol y associations , h e know s i t i s onl y materia l an d tha t tru e powe r i s to be found i n the everyday exchanges of love and such larger substitution s as he himself contribute s whe n h e offers hi s body a t the en d o f th e book . This tim e i t i s th e grou p o f Christian s wh o joi n togethe r t o protec t th e Graal wh o for m a n orde r o f co-inherence , "a n arrange d order—peopl e whom w e ca n t r u s t . . . a n Order . . . . A ne w Table!" 37 While Williams consciously locates himself i n the character of the sweet and humbl e Archdeacon , th e figure o f Gregor y Persimmon s i s a les s conscious reflectio n o f his suppressed self . Gregory' s hatefulnes s ha s sen t his wife int o the asylum an d worn dow n hi s son. H e i s a mass of enrage d lust fo r power , whic h threatens , lik e Lewis' s volcan o o r Rosamund' s outraged flesh , t o erup t whe n h e meet s Preste r John :

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His finger s twitche d t o tea r th e clothe s of f hi s enem y an d t o brea k an d pound hi m int o a mass of fles h an d bone.. . his being was absorbed i n a more profoun d lust . I t aime d itsel f i n a thrust o f passio n whic h shoul d wholly blot the other out of existence. (154-55 ) The lus t fo r powe r i s eviden t i n al l o f Gregory' s speeches . Eve n whe n he is masquerading a s a benign neighbo r in an unsuccessful effor t t o tric k the Archdeaco n int o sellin g him th e Graal , h e betray s hi s gree d throug h talking o f hi s desir e t o sen d ou t " a sor t o f magneti c thrill " b y sendin g a friend th e chalic e (44) . As we have seen, Loi s Lang-Sim s repeatedl y use d similar languag e i n relatio n t o Williams , whos e hand , whe n i t touche d hers, "quivere d a s fro m a successio n o f electri c shocks, " an d William s himself ofte n describe d th e exchang e o f lov e as "electric" (Lalage, Lang Sims, 33) . Like Lewis' s fou l Jew , Juliu s Ratner , th e dun g beetle , Gregor y Per simmons has an excremental smell which he carries everywhere and which attaches to every object he touches. Kenneth Mornington comments, "I' m sure you've go t Gregor y here , i t smells like a dung-heap" (215). Lik e th e Archdeacon, wh o chant s ritua l prayer s an d lik e Williams himself , Greg ory i s obsesse d wit h ritualistic number s an d geometri c figures . Thi s i s especially evident in the scene in which he anoints himself with the magical salve, certainl y on e o f th e mor e "outrageou s an d foul " passage s whic h Eliot assure d u s William s include d onl y i n orde r t o highligh t th e good . After makin g hi s purchas e i n th e beastl y terrac e o f slim e whic h i s Manasseh th e Jew's natura l habitat , Gregor y goe s hom e t o hi s countr y estate t o appl y th e ointment , whic h ha s th e smel l "o f som e complet e decay." Thi s smel l remind s hi m o f hi s "powe r t o ente r int o thos e live s which h e touche d an d twis t the m ou t o f thei r securit y int o a slidin g destruction" (71) . H e open s th e ti n o f ointmen t whic h "seeme d almos t to suc k itsel f upwar d roun d hi s fingers, " and , chantin g th e "hierarcha l titles," mark s ritua l figures o n "th e chose n parts—th e sole s o f th e feet , the palms o f th e hands,the inne r sid e of th e fingers, th e ear s an d eyelids , the environ s o f nos e an d mouth , th e secre t organs " (73) . H e the n lie s naked o n hi s be d i n orgiasti c abandon : [TJonight th e powerfu l ointmen t worke d s o swiftl y upo n him , stealin g through al l his flesh with a delicious venom. . .. H e accepted th e union in a deep sig h o f pleasure.. . he lay give n up t o tha t sensatio n o f swif t an d easy motion towards some still hidden moment of exquisite and destructive delight.... Suddenly... there rose within him the sense of a vast and rapid flow, o f whic h h e wa s part, rushin g an d palpitatin g wit h desire . H e de -

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sired—the heat abou t hi s heart gre w stronger—to giv e himself out , t o be one with something that should submi t to him and from whic h he should yet dra w nourishment... . He wa s hungry—bu t no t fo r food ; h e wa s thirsty—but no t fo r drink ; h e was filled wit h passion—bu t no t fo r flesh . He expande d i n the rush of a n ancient desire ; he longed t o b e married t o the universe for a bride. (74-75 ) Although Gregor y doe s achiev e "th e wil d rhyth m o f tha t aborigina l longing" tha t night , hi s nee d fo r "somethin g tha t shoul d submi t t o hi m and fro m whic h h e shoul d dra w nourishment " i s no t ye t satisfie d (75) . He realize s tha t h e wil l no t manag e t o achiev e a final clima x unti l "thi s god als o wh o wa s himsel f an d no t himself " obtain s a child . H e recall s Lionel Rackstraw' s child , Adrian , an d thi s realizatio n doe s th e trick : Nailed, as it were, through feet and hands and head and genitals, he passed utterly into a pang that was an ecstasy beyond hi s dreams. (77) Williams's theorie s o f co-inherence , substitution , an d exchange , ar e here embodie d i n a sadomasochistic pedophilia c fantas y whic h bring s it s host t o orgasm . William s write s o f Christ' s crucifixio n a s th e first "ex change," an d Gregory' s experienc e i s a masochisti c parod y o f th e cru cifixion: th e imag e o f himsel f naile d "throug h fee t an d hand s an d hea d and genitals," together with the thought of the child, is what finally bring s him t o climax . Becaus e Gregor y an d hi s worl d ar e safel y spli t of f an d presented a s embodiments o f evil , William s ca n allo w himself t o reve l i n what h e himself experience d a s his own outrageou s an d foul self : powerhungry, enraged , an d sexuall y sadisti c (Hallows, Eliot , xvi) . Similarly, throug h Gregory , William s textualize s hi s rage and loathin g against the hated female. Although the child Adrian rather than his mother is his intended victim, when Gregory sees Barbara he cannot resist striking out a t her , slashin g he r wit h a shar p edg e o f th e electri c trai n h e ha s bought t o seduc e Adrian . Whe n sh e i s bleeding , Gregor y applie s th e ointment, knowin g tha t sh e wil l experienc e i t lik e "a n invader , a con queror, perhap s eve n an infernal lover . . . . Unless indeed sh e also becam e that" (161) . Gregory , wh o i s fa r to o fastidiou s an d repulse d b y femal e sexuality t o desir e actua l sexua l contact , achieves instea d a kind o f voy euristic rape , cappe d b y a ceremonia l bondage . Unde r th e influenc e o f the ointment , th e restraine d Barbar a erupts : Barbara, still moving in that wild dance, threw up her hand and, carelessly and unconsciously tore open her light frock an d underwear from th e breast downwards. It hung, a moment, ripped and rent, from the girdle that caught

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it together; then it fell lower, and she shook her legs free without checking the movement of the dance... . I t . .. neede d the three of them to bring her into som e sor t o f subordination , an d t o bin d he r wit h suc h materia l a s could be obtained. (161-62 ) The docto r manage s t o quie t Barbara' s oute r movement s wit h morphia , but her flagrant femal e sexualit y is still "working inward." Gregory , wh o realizes this , gloat s wit h som e o f th e feelin g Considin e displaye d whe n he tol d Roge r o f th e deat h o f th e "prett y baby" : Was the inne r bein g that wa s Barbara bein g driven deepe r int o tha t flo w of desir e which wa s the unity an d compulsio n o f man ? What a n unusual experience for a charming young housewife o f the twentieth century. And perhaps sh e also would no t be able to return. (164 ) When Gile s Tumulty arrive s o n th e scene, Gregor y tell s him gleefully : "Pity yo u weren' t here ; you' d hav e like d t o se e ho w Mrs . Rackstra w went on . Quit e unusual , fo r a n Englis h lady " (170) . In War in Heaven, rathe r than creatin g two women, a n evil and a good one, Williams manages to embody his need for " a rigid line of difference " (Gilman, Difference and Pathology, 18 ) by situating both types in Barbara Rackstraw. Th e Jew's ointmen t reveal s the "lamia " tha t William s know s is lurking beneat h th e surfac e o f tha t mos t sexuall y demur e o f beings , " a charming young Englis h lady. " Wha t ha s been reveale d i s an incarnatio n of shameles s an d frenzie d femal e sexuality , a n apparitio n s o hellis h tha t the shocke d docto r hasten s t o ge t away , an d Barbara' s lovin g husband , Lionel, who assumes that Barbara will harm her son, immediately worrie s about th e cos t o f removin g he r fro m him . "H e couldn' t affor d t o kee p Barbara an d a housekeeper. . . but. . . after suc h a n attac k sh e couldn' t for a long tim e b e lef t alon e wit h Adrian " (166) . Lionel ha s realize d wha t William s an d Lewi s bot h understood : tha t inside eve n the most lovin g mother ther e lives a murderous female , "ma lignant, capabl e o f an y crime . . . the personificatio n o f wha t i s sinister " (Horney, 349) . In th e goo d Christia n world , Barbar a Rackstra w i s on e o f Williams' s idealized Slave-Goddesses, concerne d only with the happiness of her male son an d child : exactl y suc h a wif e a s Alic e Mar y Hadfiel d woul d wis h to be . I n tha t hidde n worl d whic h th e ointmen t reveals , "anythin g ca n turn into anything else," and a seemingly loving, innocent gir l can change into th e fearsom e creatur e whic h live s beneat h he r surface .

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Gregory, lik e Williams' s othe r villains , i s especiall y draw n t o suc h "moments o f malevolen t change, " whe n soul s an d bodie s ar e invade d and penetrated . H e smile s i n pleasur e whe n h e come s u p wit h th e pla n to "marry " th e body o f th e dead devil-worshipe r h e murdered (th e bod y which wa s found i n th e Press office s i n the beginning o f th e book ) t o th e Archdeacon: "w e wil l marr y i t t o thi s priest , bod y an d soul , s o tha t h e shall liv e wit h i t b y da y an d b y night , an d com e indee d i n th e en d t o know no t whic h i s he " (213) . A s alway s i n Williams' s bipola r system , each "good " i s oppose d b y a n evi l whic h consist s o f virtuall y th e sam e thing reversed. Th e energy-draining ritua l Williams used with Loi s Lang Sims provided a n antidote agains t th e femal e "lamia. " Similarly , th e var ious mechanism s o f Williams' s extrusio n machin e provid e protectio n fo r the mal e bod y wit h it s vulnerabilit y t o invasion . Bu t thes e mechanism s when used by Gregory Persimmons have the opposite effect: the y destro y the bodil y boundarie s o f th e female . Th e ultimat e nightmar e fo r bot h Lewis an d Williams consist s o f bein g transformed foreve r int o their care fully hidde n an d split-of f femal e self . Fo r Lewis' s Kreisle r i n Tarr suc h a moment come s when, afte r givin g up hi s powers t o Anastasia, h e find s he "canno t tak e himsel f ou t again " (100) . Williams visit s a similar trans formation o n a female character , Barbar a Rackstraw . While Gregor y i s th e split-of f representativ e o f Williams' s power hungry sel f an d the main agent of the evil side of the dual structure, Gile s Tumulty's i s th e cynica l inne r voic e i n whic h William s mock s hi s ow n efforts a t goodness, or system-conversion. Tumult y find s the Archdeaco n one o f thos e religiou s extremist s wh o "wandere d i n a borderland.. . o f metaphysics, mysticism , an d insanity " an d understand s tha t fo r suc h people the whole world i s nothing bu t a sadomasochistic ritual : "[GJive n in th e Jew' s min d th e delusio n tha t h e love d th e world , wha t els e wa s the Passio n bu t masochism ? An d th e passio n o f th e communican t was , of course , a corresponding sadism " (83) . Thes e doubt s ar e expresse d b y evil Gile s Tumulty , wh o signal s hi s contemp t fo r Jesu s b y callin g hi m "the Jew," an d Williams doe s not inten d hi s reader to buy th e argument . Nevertheless, th e pleasurabl e grandiosit y o f Shadows of Ecstasy i s gon e here. Th e bipola r world s o f goo d an d evi l ar e frighteningl y close , an d even th e goo d worl d i s attende d b y a mocking inne r voice . This threa t o f th e collisio n o f th e goo d an d evi l world s an d th e dis solution o f th e wall which separate s the m appear s elsewher e in the novel. Lionel Rackstraw an d Kennet h Mornington , who , lik e Williams himself ,

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work a t "th e Press, " ar e bot h subjec t t o terrifyin g "spells " in which th e ground swel l o f evi l threaten s t o brea k throug h thei r carefu l Christia n boundaries. T o writ e th e scen e in which Gregor y fires Kennet h fro m hi s job, Williams evoke s one of his own "neuralgi c turns" and perhaps imag ines ho w h e himself woul d hav e fel t i f fired fro m th e Press , th e preciou s home o f hi s fantas y life : He wante d t o smash ; h e wanted t o strangl e Gregor y an d pus h hi m als o underneath Lionel' s desk; for th e sake of destroying he meant to destroy. The contempt he had always felt leapt fierce and raging in him; till now it had always dwelt in a secret house of his own. (134) Lionel Rackstraw , a less stabl e characte r tha n Kenneth , i s a man who , like Williams , feel s dependen t upo n hi s wif e fo r hi s sanit y an d bitterl y resents hi s dependence . H e require s Barbara' s seren e an d unselfis h lov e to cal m hi m dow n o n a daily basis . O n th e da y h e finds th e bod y unde r his desk, he has an experience which has "the ring of personal experience " about i t (Spencer , 46) . Upo n arrivin g home , h e finds tha t hi s boundarie s seem t o hav e vanished . "Hi s usua l sens e o f th e fantasti c an d dangerou s possibilities o f life , a sense which dwelle d persistently i n a remote corne r of hi s mind . . . —this sens e no w escape d fro m hi s keeping , an d instea d of bein g to o hidden , becam e to o universa l t o b e seized " (17) . Whil e i n this state, Lione l is subject t o a paranoid anxiet y attack . H e imagines tha t Barbara i s a whore wh o ha s jus t entertaine d anothe r lover , tha t Adria n is no t reall y a chil d bu t a horrible , prodigious , an d malevolen t ma n o f forty, an d tha t h e wil l b e poisone d b y hi s wif e wh o ha s u p t o no w concealed he r murderou s hatre d "unde r th e shelte r o f a peacefu l an d happy domesticity. " Finally : [I]t was not the possibility o f administered poiso n tha t occupied him, bu t the question whether all food, an d all other things also, were not in themselves poisonous. Fruit, h e thought, migh t be; was there not in the nature of things some venom which nourished while it tormented, so that the very air he breathed did but enable him to endure for a longer time the spiritual malevolence of the world? (18) Fantasies o f bein g poisone d b y chemical s i n th e air , b y food , water , and lif e itself , ar e commo n amon g obsessive-compulsiv e peopl e i n crise s when th e mechanism s o f compulsiv e hand-washing , ruminatin g ove r de cisions, o r numerical o r other repetition s ar e no longer sufficient t o stav e off th e massive unpredictability o f the world. 38 While under the influenc e

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of hi s "turn, " Lione l sees th e evi l Barbar a lurkin g beneat h th e goo d veneer, thu s anticipatin g he r late r malevolen t transformatio n whe n Per simmons attack s her . Throug h Lionel , William s textualize s hi s ow n rag e against women (specificall y agains t his wife, o n whom h e was dependent ) and hi s fea r o f thei r power . I n th e firs t episode , William s present s tha t rage an d fea r a s a n actua l projectio n i n Lionel' s disordere d mind , bu t i n the second , h e sadisticall y visit s hi s rag e upo n he r an d transform s he r into a dangerously malevolen t "lamia. " In War in Heaven, whil e th e Jew stil l hold s th e plac e carve d ou t fo r him b y centurie s o f myt h an d stereotype , h e ha s als o move d t o a mor e prominent place in Williams's own system. An unearthly magician figure , he move s betwee n Williams' s tw o world s and , a s an agen t o f malevolen t change, lure s unsuspectin g human s int o th e worl d o f evil . Th e firs t ref erence t o a Jew i n th e boo k evoke s th e imag e o f a carnal beast , existin g in a concrete version o f Williams's ow n agon y of indecisiveness—a limb o of torture. Tumulty warns Gregor y not to try the ointment: "Bette r leav e it a l o n e . . . a Jew i n Beyrou t trie d i t an d didn' t ge t back . Filth y beas t h e looked, al l naked an d screamin g tha t h e couldn' t fin d hi s way . Tha t wa s four year s ag o an d he' s screamin g th e sam e thin g still , unles s he' s dead " (64). The sadisti c brutalit y o f thi s first imag e of th e Jew i s followed u p wit h the informatio n tha t th e ointmen t i s t o b e foun d i n a chemist' s shop , located i n "on e o f thos e sudde n terrace s o f slim e whic h han g ove r th e pit o f hell , an d fo r whic h beastlines s i s to o dignifie d a name . Bu t th e slime wa s stil l onl y oozin g ove r it " (68) . Th e whol e neighborhoo d i s infected b y thi s slime . Eve n th e chocolate s i n th e swee t sho p ar e "mor e degradingly sensua l tha n th e ordinar y kind " (66). 39 Th e Gree k i n th e shop hesitate s a s he sell s Gregor y th e ointment : "[W]ha t wil l m y maste r say i f I mistake? " (67) . Afte r th e Archdeaco n ha s recovere d th e chalice , Gregory return s t o th e slim y shop , thi s tim e meetin g it s master, an d th e real originato r o f th e ointment : Manasseh , th e Jew . A s owne r o f th e ointment, Manasse h i s th e agen t o f th e othe r world . H e a t first agree s that th e Graa l mus t b e stole n back—s o tha t h e ca n destro y it . Because it has power... it must be destroyed. Don' t yo u understand tha t yet? They buil d an d w e destroy.... One da y we shall destroy th e worl d . . . t o destro y thi s i s t o rui n anothe r o f thei r house s an d anothe r ste p towards the hour when we shall breathe against the heavens and they shall fall. Th e only use in anything for u s is that it may be destroyed. (144 )

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In Manasseh , whos e nam e William s too k fro m th e Ol d Testamen t kin g of Israe l wh o wa s rumore d t o dea l wit h familia r spirit s an d wizard s and t o practic e othe r abomination s involvin g sacrifices , w e find th e stereotype o f the international financier merge d with tha t o f the medieva l demon. 40 H e approve s o f th e kidnappin g plot , an d agree s tha t instea d of destroyin g th e Graal , the y shoul d tak e i t an d th e chil d t o mee t th e devil i n th e Jewish kingdom s o f th e East , "th e hig h place s o f ou r god. " They wil l trave l b y "th e hidde n roa d t o th e East . . . the furnitur e shi p in Amsterdam o r the picture dealer in Zurich. . . th e boat-builder in Con stantinople an d th e Armenian ferry . . . the vortex o f destructio n i s in th e East" (152) . After bewitchin g Barbar a with Manasseh's ointment , Gregor y tell s her husband tha t th e onl y ma n wit h th e abilit y t o cur e he r i s Manasseh. A s Rosenberg suggests , Williams' s vie w o f Jews i s a medieval one , an d thi s use of Manasseh is reminiscent o f the years between 129 0 and 1664 , when Jewish physicians , th e onl y Jew s allowe d int o England , coul d b e sum moned, the n accuse d o f witchcraf t i f the y faile d t o cur e thei r patients . I t is Manasseh's ointmen t whic h activate s th e releas e o f femal e carnalit y i n Barbara, an d he arrives pretending that he intends to cure her but actuall y intent o n fixing he r i n her madness . H e intones , "[PJossessio n i s nothin g besides destruction, " an d i n a speec h reminiscen t o f Shylock , declares , "I must have my price. Unless I have it I will not act" (184). When Preste r John intervene s t o sav e Barbara befor e th e Jew ca n get his hands o n her , Manasseh grind s hi s teet h i n a ver y Shylock-lik e manner : " I don' t lik e her gettin g away . Sh e wa s o n th e ver y edg e o f destruction ; sh e migh t have bee n tor n t o bit s there —and sh e wasn't " (188) . Unlike th e nihilisti c Gree k an d Gregory , Manasse h i s neve r satisfied . Death itself onl y feeds his terrible greed. This quality disturbs even Greg ory, whos e evil , unlik e th e Jew's, i s human . H e begin s t o hav e secon d thoughts abou t hi s pla n an d i s alarme d a t wha t h e ha s unleashed : "n o power o f destruction s seeme d t o satisf y Manasseh' s hunger " (236) . When th e Archdeaco n arrive s a t th e shop , Manasse h catche s hi s ar m "with a little crow o f greed y satisfaction " an d fills the Graa l with blood , in preparation fo r a suitably medieva l ceremon y (240) . Indeed, Manasse h is on e o f th e medieva l Jew s Trachtenber g describes : a stand-i n fo r "th e mysterious, fearsom e evi l force s which . . . have menace d th e peac e an d security o f mankind.. . hi s inherited dread " (52) . The Archdeacon , no w prone on the floor, mus t fight three different force s or "shafts": Gregory' s

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human, Englis h evil ; th e Greek' s powerfu l rejectio n an d negativity ; an d the terribl e malevolenc e o f th e Jew. Thi s las t i s comprise d o f the knowledg e o f al l hateful an d separatin g an d deathl y things : madness and tormentin g diseas e an d th e vengeanc e o f gods . Thi s wa s th e hunge r with whic h creatio n prey s upo n itself , a supernatural famin e tha t ha s n o relish except for the poisons that waste i t . .. i t ran . .. o n a hungry mission of death. (241 ) Like othe r fictional an d mythi c Jews, Manasse h end s hi s day s "shakin g and writhin g o n hi s back, " presumabl y contemplatin g hi s final hom e (245). In it s final scene , War in Heaven return s t o th e worl d o f th e goo d i n a church servic e over which Preste r John officiates , usin g the Holy Graa l as his chalice. H e i s served b y Adrian, an d th e entir e cast o f goo d peopl e are i n attendance . Th e Archdeaco n dies , and , i n vivi d contras t t o th e death o f th e Jew , goe s peacefull y an d happil y t o hi s Maker . Barbara , whose feebl e femal e min d canno t follo w th e service , doe s tak e i n th e words: "[I]n the image of Go d created He him, male and female created He him, male and female create d H e them. ,, Th e very sound incline d he r every so slightly toward s he r husband ; he r han d wen t ou t an d foun d his , an d s o linked, the y watched til l the end. (253) The chaotic , hungr y force s o f Jewr y ar e defeated , an d femal e cupidit y has bee n subdue d an d tamed . Al l ha s returne d t o th e prope r Christia n hierarchy. Th e wa r i n heave n i s over . In th e prefac e t o All Hallows' Eve (1945 ) whic h Elio t wrot e i n 1948 , h e praises Williams for hi s portrait o f the Jew, Cler k Simon, who, h e writes, "is define d b y hi s functio n o f representin g th e single-minde d lus t fo r unlawful an d unlimite d power. " Elio t als o approve s Williams' s portrait s of th e tw o youn g women , Leste r an d Evelyn , whic h "revea l hi s under standing o f th e dept h an d intricacie s o f huma n nature " (xvii) . Williams' s portraits o f bot h Jew s an d wome n ar e indee d revealin g i n thi s book ; among othe r things , the y revea l th e inextricabl e connection s betwee n these tw o Other s i n th e William s system . All Hallows' Eve, whic h wa s publishe d twent y year s afte r Eliot' s The Waste Land, show s clea r trace s o f Eliot' s poem . On e o f it s sentences , "He di d no t kno w ho w grea t th e multitude s wer e wh o followe d thos e

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unreal Two ; no r ho w unrea l th e Tw o were, " eve n echoe s The Waste Land i n a kind o f stylisti c parody. 41 A s w e hav e see n i n chapter s 1 and 2, Elio t ofte n use d th e Jew a s a symbol o f society' s putrefaction , an d i n All Hallows' Eve, William s take s thi s symbolis m severa l step s further . In th e beginnin g o f th e book , whos e entir e actio n take s plac e o n Al l Hallows' Eve , a young woman , Leste r Furnival , finds hersel f wanderin g in a postwar London which bears a striking resemblance to Eliot's "unrea l city" in which " I ha d no t though t deat h had undon e s o many." 42 Lester , although sh e doe s no t kno w i t yet , i s on e o f th e undone ; sh e an d he r companion Evelyn , wh o i s wanderin g wit h her , hav e bee n kille d b y a plane that crashed int o Westminster Bridge . (I n The Waste Land Londo n Bridge i s featured. ) Whe n alive, Evely n wa s a n evil , sadisti c gir l whos e main pleasure i n life ha d bee n torturin g he r schoolmate , th e meek, slave like Bett y Wallingford . Leste r herself , thoug h no t intrinsicall y evi l lik e Evelyn, ha s bee n selfis h an d willful . Whil e sh e love d he r ne w husban d Richard Furnival , an d ha s eve n sacrifice d hersel f fo r hi m o n occasion , she did it proudly, rathe r than out of the kind of joyful sacrificia l exchang e practiced b y mode l wive s Isabe l Ingra m an d Barbar a Rackstraw . No w that i t i s to o late , sh e bitterl y regret s thi s an d trie s t o mak e u p fo r i t throughout th e boo k i n a serie s o f postmorte m visit s t o he r husband . Meanwhile, Richard , wh o work s i n th e Foreig n Office , an d hi s painte r friend, Jonatha n Drayton , cal l o n Bett y Wallingfor d an d he r mother , Lady Wallingford , t o sho w the m th e paintin g Jonathan ha s just finished of Lady Wallingford's belove d leader, Clerk Simon. Simon is a charismatic Jew wh o has been attractin g attentio n al l over the world, an d the portrai t is o f a siniste r beetl e holdin g swa y ove r a crowd o f othe r beetles . Lad y Wallingford i s understandabl y offende d an d forbid s he r daughte r fro m ever seeing her suitor, Jonathan, again . Later , Cler k Simon himself come s to Jonathan's studio to see the painting and finds that it suits him perfectly . Entering int o hi s min d a s h e return s t o hi s hall , w e lear n o f hi s ancien t antecedents, al l Jewish practitioner s o f th e occult ; an d als o tha t h e ha s already create d tw o image s o f himself , wh o ar e no w rulin g Chin a an d Russia an d wit h whos e ai d he plans to tak e over th e world. W e learn to o that Bett y i s th e daughte r o f a sinister unio n betwee n Lad y Wallingfor d and Cler k Simon , an d tha t h e create d he r fo r hi s ow n dar k purposes , although s o fa r h e ha s confine d himsel f t o takin g ove r he r bod y an d sending he r o n unhol y spyin g mission s throughou t dea d an d livin g London.

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On on e o f thes e missions , Bett y encounter s a repentan t Lester , wh o bitterly regret s he r offhan d treatmen t o f he r whe n the y wer e bot h aliv e and is determined to make up for it. They return together to Clerk Simon' s slimy hall , th e residenc e o f man y repulsivel y cripple d peopl e who m h e has temporaril y healed , an d wh o remai n ther e a s hi s disciples . Simo n attempts a final operation o n Betty, whose soul he must destroy t o obtai n the us e o f he r bod y fo r hi s final evi l plan , bu t Leste r interpose s hersel f in a courageous ac t of exchange. Stymie d by Lester , Simo n turns t o lesse r arts an d create s a deformed femal e bod y ou t o f hi s saliva . Climbin g int o this body , whic h sh e mus t shar e wit h th e repellen t Evelyn , Leste r visit s her ex-husban d an d Jonathan, wh o reclaim s Betty . They al l retur n t o th e hal l i n Holbor n jus t i n tim e t o intercep t Simo n in th e ac t o f busil y drainin g Lad y Wallingford' s blood , an d insertin g i t into stil l another femal e homuncula . Onc e again , th e goo d combin e thei r forces i n orde r t o defea t Simon . H e summon s hi s othe r tw o images , bu t they canno t hel p him , an d al l three disappea r i n a cloud o f fogg y blood . Lester goe s to heaven; Evelyn t o hell. Bett y finishes healin g th e cripples , who ar e i n nee d o f thi s servic e agai n no w tha t Simo n i s gone , an d the n marries Jonathan . All Hallows' Eve, lik e War in Heaven, contain s tw o clearl y delineate d but paralle l world s o f foreig n evi l an d Christia n good , separate d ou t b y the William s extrusio n press . A s i n th e earlie r book , Williams' s syste m exists her e bot h i n it s purifie d stat e i n th e goo d worl d an d i n it s unre generate stat e in the evil world. I n All Hallows' Eve, however , th e force s of evi l ar e no t sprea d aroun d a s the y ar e i n th e forme r boo k amon g Gregory Persimmons , Gile s Tumulty , th e Greek , an d th e Jew, bu t ar e instead completel y concentrate d i n th e hand s o f on e man , whos e powe r is repeatedl y identifie d a s th e powe r o f Jewry . Perhap s becaus e o f thi s concentration, th e tw o world s d o no t threate n t o coalesc e a s they di d i n the forme r book , bu t remai n i n safel y dichotomou s categories . In his essay of 1943 , Williams declared that the only way for a Christian to approac h a Jew wa s "theologically " an d talke d o f th e hatre d whic h "springs i n ou r blood " a t th e knowledg e tha t th e Jew ha s crucifie d th e God-Man ("Jews, " 1943) . The Christian Gregor y Persimmons's need fo r power an d hi s sadisti c behavio r towar d Barbar a Rackstra w wer e some what difficul t fo r William s t o disown , an d Gregory , unlik e th e immora l Jew Manasse h wa s subjec t t o nagging guil t an d ruminatio n muc h lik e his creator's. Cler k Simo n i s a far mor e remot e an d convenien t villai n tha n

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Gregory an d a safer containe r fo r th e author's disowne d an d feared gran diose, power-hungr y self . A s th e archetypa l Je w Villai n o r Antichrist , he stand s i n oppositio n t o Williams' s ow n Christia n identity . Williams , who constantl y proclaimed , "Thi s als o i s Thou , neithe r i s thi s Thou, " seems her e t o b e shoutin g a t th e to p o f hi s voice , "Thi s Je w i s not I! " We firs t se e Cler k Simo n a s th e repulsiv e beetl e i n th e paintin g b y Jonathan. Hi s beetl e followers compris e th e hated mo b o r mas s an d are , like Considine' s follower s i n Shadows of Ecstasy an d th e follower s o f Williams himself , largel y female . Lik e Williams , Simo n bot h need s an d despises them . "The y aren' t insects, " he tell s Jonathan, "the y ar e some thing less . .. . It's quit e goo d fo r the m t o b e hypnotized ; they'r e muc h happier" (57) . The last war, h e continues, was nothing compared t o wha t he ha s i n mind : "Th e war , lik e Hitler , wa s a foolery. I a m th e on e wh o is t o come , no t Hitler " (59) . It i s soo n clea r tha t th e destructio n thi s Jew intend s fo r th e Christia n world will indeed make Hitler's destruction loo k like foolery. I n additio n to minimizin g (almos t denying ) th e Holocaust , William s her e attribute s the rol e o f victim t o th e Gentil e an d tha t o f victimizer t o th e Jew. Fisch , Kernberg, an d al l th e object s relation s theorist s describ e th e proces s o f primitive projective identification , i n which th e patient "attribute s t o th e other a n impuls e h e ha s represse d i n himself " an d then , "unde r th e in fluence o f th e projecte d impulse, " experience s fea r an d loathin g towar d that Othe r (Kernberg , 17) . I t i s a smal l ste p fro m thi s reversa l t o th e implication tha t Hitle r wa s merel y an d justifiabl y defendin g hi s countr y against th e inexorabl e Jewis h hunge r fo r power . Indeed , William s con sistently develop s thi s them e throughou t th e book . When Simo n leave s Jonathan's studio , "th e Jewish qualit y i n hi s fac e seemed to deepen" (61). He represents "the second climax" of that augus t race, whic h ha d kille d it s ow n prophet : deception had taken them; they had, bidding a scaffold fo r the blasphemer, destroyed thei r predestine d conclusion , an d th e rac e which ha d bee n se t for th e salvation o f th e world becam e a judgment an d eve n a curse to the world an d to themselves. (62) Speaking from hi s "theological " point o f view, Williams , lik e the Britis h Union o f Fascists , i s labelin g Worl d Wa r I I th e "Jews ' War. " H e reasons tha t th e Jews , b y killin g Christ , no t onl y brough t upo n them selves th e punishmen t the y receive d i n Worl d Wa r II , bu t als o brough t

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5

down th e curs e o f th e wa r o n innocen t Christians . Becaus e o f th e crucifixion b y th e Jews o f thei r own , "ther e aros e i n Europ e somethin g which was neither... [Gentil e nor J e w ] . .. an d set itself to destroy both " (62-63). Simon remember s hi s birth , which , muc h lik e Lewis' s Ratner's , too k place "i n on e o f thos e hidin g place s o f necromancy " a t th e tim e o f th e French revolutio n (63) . Lik e Considine , Simo n ha s mastere d th e ar t o f living forever , bu t i n thi s boo k immortalit y i s a n ar t "private.. . t o th e high priestly r a c e . . . . Onl y a Jew coul d utte r th e Jewish, whic h wa s th e final, wor d o f power " (64) . I t take s a Jew, too , t o spea k wit h th e devi l as Simo n does , an d t o understan d hi s "hig h pipin g sound " (150) . Although Cler k Simo n i s th e mos t powerful , h e explain s tha t h e i s only th e lates t i n a lin e o f evi l Jews wh o hav e attempte d t o overthro w the world . Th e operatio n h e intend s fo r hi s daughte r Bett y wa s at tempted b y anothe r Jew , bu t "th e livin g thin g tha t ha d bee n bor n o f his feminin e counterpar t ha d perishe d miserably " (65) . Earlier , anothe r Simon, Simo n Magus , th e magicia n whos e histor y William s trace s i n Witchcraft, sle w a littl e Christia n bo y fo r th e sam e purpose . William s repeatedly identifie s Simo n with bot h th e older an d th e newer stereotyp e of Jewry: th e castrating mutilator o f th e medieval ballads an d the power hungry internationa l financie r o f th e Chester-Belloc s an d th e Protocols of the Elders of Zion. A s h e loom s ove r he r wit h a needle , preparin g to drai n he r blood , Simo n i s a personificatio n o f th e medieva l Jew . Lady Wallingfor d see s hi s grea t face : "th e fac e o f th e Exil e o f Israel , of th e ol d Israe l an d th e n e w . . . th e fac e o f al l exile , th e fac e o f th e refusal o f th e R e t u r n . .. i t seemed t o her a s imbecile as it had bee n in th e painting" (246) . Simon's mor e moder n fac e emerge s whe n w e lear n tha t th e Foreig n Office, itsel f unde r th e influenc e o f th e Jewish conspiracy , i s preparin g to offe r th e moder n worl d t o hi m an d hi s tw o images . Simon, lik e Williams' s othe r Antichrists , practice s th e evi l versio n o f Williams's system . I n his evi l and sadisti c concupiscence an d i n his gran diose greed fo r power , h e is a fitting containe r fo r Williams' s suppresse d self. Throughout th e book, Simo n shares Williams's own geometrical an d numerical obsessions , a s wel l a s hi s bodil y ones . Thi s i s especiall y no ticeable when th e clerk is under stres s an d rapidl y repeat s th e "backwar d intoned Tetragrammaton, " th e ke y t o power . Jus t a s in Shadows of Ecstasy William s attribute d hi s ow n forbidde n sexua l urges , includin g th e

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angry punishmen t o f femal e carnality , t o Gregory , her e thes e urges , i n a more extrem e form , ar e Simon's . Lik e Williams an d Considine , Simo n has avoide d sex , "excep t fo r rationa l purposes " (Shadows, 64) . H e i s disgusted b y femal e carnality , an d "grimace s ignorantly " a t th e though t of Jonathan an d Betty's love (Hallows, 65) . He intends Betty for "anothe r purpose." Th e operatio n h e plan s fo r her , whic h wil l b e th e mean s o f "his comin g emper y i n th e world, " ha s incestuou s a s wel l a s sadisti c elements (65) . The only scen e of genita l sexuality betwee n a man an d a woman i n an y of these three novels by Williams is the scene of Betty's conception. Lad y Wallingford, who , lik e Gregor y i s evi l bu t human , remember s th e oc casion wit h horror : She could hear a heavy breathing, almos t a panting, an d almost animal.. . it becam e s o low a moan tha t th e swea t brok e ou t o n he r forehead.. . a moan of... compulsion . The temperature of the room grew hotter; a uterine warmth oppressed her. .. . She had given herself to his will.. . the room was full of a great tension; the heat grew; she lay sweating and willed what hewilled[.](lll) "Since tha t night, " Lad y Wallingfor d remembers , "ther e ha d bee n n o physical intercours e betwee n them . She—eve n she—coul d no t hav e en dured it " (112-13) . I f on e examine s thi s sexua l passage ou t o f context , i t is curiously innocuous ; on e ca n imagin e a similar passag e i n th e wor k o f D. H . Lawrence , fo r example , a s a descriptio n o f successfu l retur n t o our los t anima l nature . Bu t fo r Williams , genita l sexualit y wit h woman , the alien , i s a horrifying, unclean , an d magica l act , rathe r lik e having se x with th e devil. Althoug h i t is Simon who control s Lad y Wallingford, th e scene i s pervade d b y a female, "uterine " heat . I n thi s scen e th e woma n and Jew literall y mingle, an d the Jew's evi l is subordinate t o the female's . Even th e evi l Jew coul d no t embar k o n suc h a scene fo r enjoyment , bu t only t o bege t a creature o f hi s own . Simon's need y dominanc e o f women , lik e hi s repugnanc e fo r thei r sexuality, echoe s Williams's own needs and habits. Simon's relations wit h his daughte r an d hi s mistres s consis t o f ceremonie s i n whic h h e inhabit s their bodie s an d compel s the m t o act : ritual s whic h gai n hi m th e powe r he need s t o "work. " A s th e force s o f goo d combin e an d thing s begi n t o go wrong fo r him , Simo n turn s t o eve r more bizarr e ways o f dominatin g women. Ou t o f hi s spittl e h e create s tw o differen t femal e figures , on e a

CHARLES WILLIAMS' S E X T R U S I O N M A C H I N E 2 3

7

deformed creature : " a littl e unde r tw o fee t hig h an d wit h th e hea d grad ually forming. . . more lik e a living india-rubbe r dol l tha n anythin g els e but the n i t did live . It was breathing an d moving" (194) . The othe r i s the "endoplasmic doll " whic h h e attempt s t o fil l wit h Lad y Wallingford' s blood, i n order , i n on e o f Williams' s mechanism s reversed , t o substitut e or exchang e he r fo r Betty . At th e en d o f th e book , whe n th e wall s o f Simon' s hous e tur n int o slime lik e th e wall s o f th e Jew' s hous e i n War in Heaven, hi s femal e creatures dissolv e int o thei r essence : revolting pool s o f femal e carnality . [T]he doll on the chair at once melted; it ran over the woman's han d an d wholly disappeared , excep t fo r a thi n fil m o f liqui d putrescenc e whic h covered them , pullulating as if with unspermed life . Sh e saw it and unde r it her hands still bloody; she shook them wildly and tried to tear at them, but the thin pulsing jelly was everywhere over them and her fingers could not ge t through it . (262 ) The othe r dol l too , melt s an d oozes , an d indee d th e Je w himsel f lose s all hi s boundarie s an d dissolve s int o a n oozin g clou d o f stinkin g blood . Williams's terro r o f dissolution , o f dissolvin g int o "jelly, " i s her e em bodied i n al l it s horro r an d i s visite d first o n th e female , the n o n th e Jew. The image s o f femal e "liqui d putrescence " i s a familia r on e i n th e Freikorps texts , an d Thewelei t identifie s th e lac k o f boundarie s an d th e terror o f dissolutio n a s basi c t o th e Freikorpsmen' s psychology . Sande r Gilman to o identifie s simila r imager y i n Zola's Nana, i n which th e pros titute Nan a die s o f smallpo x an d i s describe d a s suppurating , carrion , and putrefying : "Th e decayin g visag e i s th e visibl e sig n o f th e disease d genitalia throug h whic h th e sexualize d femal e corrupt s a n entir e natio n of warriors an d lead s the m t o th e collapse a t Sedan" (Gilman , Difference and Pathology, 105) . Rosenberg points ou t that Simon the Jew i s "both demiurg e an d beast , anti-Christ, a s well as satyr" (289) . His urg e for powe r involve s not onl y the anesthetizin g o f th e wil l bu t als o "th e Clerk' s ow n withdrawa l int o a preconsciou s area , sacramenta l an d bestial , shroude d i n secrec y an d hemmed i n b y powe r taboos " (Rosenberg , 289) . I n th e ligh t o f ou r discussion i t is clear that thi s are a is the world o f Williams's ow n rejecte d self, spli t of f an d distance d b y th e labe l "Jew. " Just a s All Hallows' Eve present s a more clearl y demarcate d worl d o f

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good and evil than do either of the previous novels, the portraits of women in thi s boo k lac k an y authoria l ambivalence . Ever y femal e characte r i n All Hallows 3 Eve i s portraye d i n sadomasochisti c terms , wit h th e evi l women actin g a s masochists i n relatio n t o th e mal e Jew an d a s sadists i n relation t o othe r women . Lad y Wallingford' s rol e i n relatio n t o Cler k Simon i s on e o f sexua l masochis m an d submission . Sh e i s hi s "instru ment," whos e onl y purpos e i s to b e used. Towar d he r daughter , o n th e other hand , sh e functions a s a cruel mistress, forcin g he r ritually t o enac t a rol e o f submissio n an d slavery . A t th e end , Lad y Wallingfor d move s from th e worl d o f evi l t o th e worl d o f good . T o protec t he r daughter , she interposes herself between Betty and Simon in an act of love-exchange. But i n th e cas e of thi s loathsom e female , th e two world s prov e t o b e no t all that different . Lad y Wallingford' s rewar d fo r goo d behavio r consist s merely o f a switc h o f masters . William s explain s tha t "sinc e i n tha t gif t she ha d desire d th e goo d o f another.. . sinc e sh e ha d indee d wille d t o give he r self, " sh e wil l b e rewarde d b y bein g allowe d t o spen d th e re mainder o f he r day s a s a paralyzed infan t completel y dependen t fo r foo d and car e o n he r daughte r Bett y (270) . A whining an d graspin g woman lik e Rosamund i n Shadows of Ecstasy, Lester's frien d Evely n i s draw n t o Simo n throug h "spiritua l suction. " Looking a t her , Richar d see s " a sligh t thin g an d s o ful l o f vilenes s tha t he almost fainted " (116) . Evelyn advance s toward Simo n with th e "semi bestiality o f he r movements " an d he r "muddle d an d obsesse d brain, " desperate t o giv e herself ove r t o evi l (173) . Evelyn' s prim e motiv e i n lif e has bee n th e abus e o f Betty . Indeed , he r desperat e nee d t o fin d Bett y and continu e t o abus e he r i s what keep s her , thoug h dead , alive . Evely n approaches Simo n a s a creature masochisticall y pantin g an d thirstin g fo r abuse. H e use s her , the n send s he r bac k t o he r persona l hell , wher e sh e will wande r alone , wit h n o objec t fo r he r sadism . The bes t woma n i n All Hallows' Eve, a s i n th e othe r novels , i s th e Slave-Goddess. Bett y Wallingford , wit h he r immaculat e soul , i s Wil liams's ultimat e woman , mor e highl y praise d tha n eve n th e docil e Isabe l Ingram i n Shadows of Ecstasy or th e unselfish Barbar a Rackstra w i n War in Heaven. Bett y i s s o profoundl y passiv e tha t sh e ha s n o sel f a t all . Docility, sweetness , an d cheerfulnes s ar e natural t o her , an d thes e qual ities, alon g wit h th e lo w intelligenc e whic h i s alway s a characteristi c o f Williams's Slave-Goddesses , mak e her accep t he r rol e of slav e and victi m to he r evi l parent s withou t eve r thinkin g o f escape .

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Someone had once told her that her mind wasn't very strong, and "indeed it isn't," sh e thought gaily , "bu t it' s quit e stron g enoug h t o d o what it' s got to do, and what it hasn't got to do it needn't worry about not doing." (79)

Fathered an d the n invade d (dominate d i s to o mil d a word ) b y Simon , Betty i s als o he r mother' s slave : "he r mistress-mother , he r mother mistress, tol d he r wha t t o do " (67) . I n a plot-twist whic h William s mus t have inserted fo r hi s own satisfactio n alone , a s it is unrelated t o anythin g else in th e novel , Lad y Wallingfor d ha s a habit o f takin g poo r Bett y ou t into th e countr y fo r a bi t o f sadisti c rol e playing ; callin g he r daughte r "Bettina," sh e abuse s he r an d force s he r t o pla y th e rol e o f a n under housemaid. Whe n Leste r remove s Bett y fro m he r evi l parents, sh e passes directly int o Jonathan' s control : "I' m no t ver y intelligent , an d I'v e go t a lo t t o learn, " sh e tell s him . "Jon , yo u mus t hel p me " (210) . Bett y models "Th e La w of Exchange " for Lester . Althoug h sh e had a t first no t wanted t o remembe r he r ba d time s a t school , "a s soo n a s she kne w tha t Lester wante d it , sh e too wante d it ; s o simpl e i s love-in-paradise" (132) . In th e beginnin g o f th e book , Leste r i s Williams' s mos t livel y an d assertive woman, describe d i n simila r term s t o thos e which hi s follower s used t o describ e Williams' s wife , Florence . W e learn tha t whe n aliv e sh e did no t lik e her husband , Richard , t o kee p her waiting, an d tha t sh e wa s capable, proud , an d fon d o f he r ow n way . Lester' s punishmen t fo r thi s unforgivable "you-ness " onl y begin s wit h he r death , whic h take s plac e before th e boo k begins . I t continue s whe n sh e meet s he r livin g husban d and realizes that she herself i s "dead, an d she had done it [asserted herself ] once to o often . Dead , an d thi s ha d bee n thei r parting " (6) . Lester' s enraging female assertiveness is further punishe d when she masochistically inserts hersel f betwee n Bett y an d he r sadisti c fathe r an d receive s hi s in vading needles and evil curses on herself. Next, he r "Riseness" is properly humiliated whe n sh e i s force d t o inhabi t th e bod y o f on e o f Simon' s deformed doll s fo r a final visi t t o he r ex-husband , wh o canno t bea r t o look a t her . I n th e en d o f th e novel , havin g attaine d a Betty-lik e will ingness t o sacrific e herself , Leste r fade s int o on e o f th e quie t dead . If th e femal e character s i n All Hallows 3 Eve provid e a n opportunit y for Williams, in the persona of an evil Jew, t o exercise his sadistic fantasie s against women , eve n suc h rituals d o no t provid e adequat e protectio n against femal e carnality . Jus t a s a voraciou s whor e lurke d behin d th e surface of the sweet English mother Barbara Rackstraw in War in Heaven,

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ugly carna l smell s an d image s lur k behin d th e sacrificial meeknes s o f all the women , goo d an d evil , i n All Hallows 3 Eve. A repulsiv e (female ) smell of fish hovers in Simon's dan k hall . The deformed an d anonymou s homunculae o r dolls , wit h thei r dan k palms , heav y hangin g hands , an d dead flesh (220 , 230 ) ar e femalenes s incarnat e and , a s w e hav e noted , finally mel t dow n t o th e putrescent essenc e o f femalenes s itself . Despit e its happy ending , i t is this foul an d female worl d whic h i s the real settin g of All Hallows' Eve. Conclusion: When

the Goddess Is a Slave

Women pla y a number o f part s i n Williams' s system . The y ar e hatefu l symbols o f hi s ow n libidinou s sel f o r idealize d lov e object s whic h h e bitterly resent s becaus e o f hi s dependence o n them . Th e evil one s mus t be destroyed , th e goo d one s enslave d an d suitabl y punished . Becaus e Williams does not need Jews as he needs women, Jews play a less complex role i n hi s system . Symboli c repositorie s o f hi s evil , split-of f self , the y are also instrumental i n releasing th e carnality an d evil which li e beneat h the femal e surface . Of th e two authors, William s seem s t o me to be the more dangerous . Wyndham Lewis' s anti-Semitism is disturbing but predictable. A clumsy, trampling elephant , Lewi s trumpet s hi s paranoi d visio n loudl y enoug h for us to get out of his way. In contrast, borrowin g from hi s own imagery of malevolen t transformation , w e ca n pictur e William s a s a hous e ca t which wait s unti l on e is asleep , the n reveal s pantherlik e fang s whic h h e plunges int o ou r neck wit h a sweet purr . Th e venom an d hatred towar d women an d Jews whic h Charle s William s reveal s is especially disturbin g because i t i s hidde n unde r th e saccharin e religiosit y an d gentl e loving kindness whic h ar e so central t o his self-image . Similarly, Lewi s warn s u s o f hi s misogyny b y loudl y proclaimin g hi s anger agains t women . Williams , o n the other hand , offer s wome n obei sance, gentl e attention , an d the appealing doctrine s o f co-inherenc e an d exchange. Onl y late r doe s on e realize tha t i n his system, th e Goddess i s a slave .

SI X

Escaping the Inner Void: The Early Novels of Graham Greene

Introduction: The

Cracked Bell

Graham Greene , lik e th e othe r tw o author s i n thi s study , experience d the world a s an evi l and dangerou s plac e in which constan t vigilanc e wa s necessary for survival. However, Greene , unlike either Lewis or Williams, located th e problem insid e as well as outside o f himself. A self-diagnose d manic-depressive, h e frequently referre d t o himsel f a s soiled good s o r a s a cracke d bell , image s whic h recu r i n hi s wor k t o indicat e a potentiall y fine ma n wh o ha s bee n damage d o r destroye d b y childhoo d trauma. 1 A hunted, guilt-ridde n ma n like the many hunte d an d guilt y men he create d in hi s fiction, Graha m Green e spen t muc h o f hi s life i n effort s t o outru n his pursuer—suicidal depression . Whe n overtake n b y "thi s horri d climb ing down, " Green e fel t himsel f t o b e inhabite d b y a "wriggling ger m o f misery" (Sherry , 158 , 276), a restless, depressiv e boredo m whic h threat ened, rathe r lik e Wyndham Lewis' s inne r volcan o an d Williams' s explo sive inner evil, to boil over or explode. Greene' s frequent suicid e attempt s as a boy, th e Russia n roulett e h e resorte d t o a s an adolescen t an d youn g man, hi s abasemen t a t th e alta r o f a loved woma n an d hi s conversio n t o Catholicism a t he r behest , hi s compulsiv e trave l int o dangerou s an d un known places , an d finally hi s many production s a s a fiction writer , wer e all mor e o r les s adaptiv e way s o f outrunnin g o r stayin g on e ste p ahea d of thi s intolerabl e feeling. Though Green e refers t o isolation an d loneliness, phobic terrors, guilt , and suicida l despair , h e mos t frequentl y resort s t o th e wor d "boredom " to describe s thes e states , a word whic h implie s a n absenc e o f inne r spac e or resources: an emptiness o r void. Greene' s chroni c an d torturou s bore 241

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dom i s typica l o f Kernberg' s narcissisti c borderlin e personality , a s is hi s nagging doub t an d inferiorit y an d hi s tendenc y t o idealiz e women , the n reject the m whe n the y becom e available . However , Green e lack s th e grandiosity whic h allowe d Lewi s an d William s t o pictur e th e worl d a s revolving aroun d them . Whil e neithe r Lewi s no r William s wa s capabl e of conceivin g o f othe r peopl e a s real , neithe r o f the m experience d thei r inability to connect as a problem. Greene , on the other hand, experience d a conscious and agonizing feeling of inauthenticity: "the desperate anguish of thos e wh o fee l dea d an d empty , unabl e t o connec t t o themselve s o r others" (Benjamin , 19) . Thi s sens e o f falsenes s an d o f alienatio n fro m a world whic h i s morall y a s wel l a s physicall y shabb y an d corrup t i s th e almost tangibl e atmospher e whic h al l of Greene' s character s inhabit , an d which critic s hav e named "Greeneland. " Thoug h outwardl y empty , i t is never a neutra l space , bu t i s instea d constantl y ope n t o habitatio n b y Greene's "Persona l Evil . . . that sends those ghastly dreams and whisper s things" (Sherry , 276). 2 Thi s persona l inne r evil , whic h Green e calle d original si n afte r hi s conversio n t o Catholicism , i s a corporea l qualit y which live s in , an d i s embodie d by , th e physica l existenc e o f th e body : it i s greed y an d lustful , cynica l i n it s needs , shameless , an d selfish . Greene i s mor e explici t tha n th e othe r author s abou t hi s traumati c childhood. A s I will attemp t t o demonstrat e i n thi s chapter , thi s traum a had it s root s i n hi s headmaste r father' s obsession s abou t homosexualit y and masculinity an d originated eve n before Graha m wa s sent as a boarder to hi s father's school , th e even t h e identifies a s the sourc e o f th e trauma . At school , Green e wa s stigmatize d fo r failin g t o liv e u p t o th e require ments of the male gender role and was devalued as a male and consequentl y as a huma n bein g (Chodorow , 22) . Hi s resultan t struggl e t o repudiat e his ow n "feminine " attributes , an d th e ensuin g "los s o f inne r space, " were particularl y fierce (Benjamin , 19) . No t onl y i s eac h ma n wh o live s in Greenelan d pursue d b y hi s ow n inne r emptines s an d evil , h e i s als o hunted b y th e constan t threa t t o hi s precariou s manhood . Thes e tw o needs, t o escap e boredom an d emptines s an d to compulsively prov e him self a man, wer e dominan t an d interlockin g theme s i n Greene' s lif e an d in his early fiction. Th e betrayals, guilt, doubleness, cowardice, and sexual inadequacy commo n t o the characters we will examine in the early novel s are inevitabl y th e result s o f failin g t o pas s on e o r bot h o f thes e tests . Greene's syste m ca n b e see n a s hi s attemp t t o outru n hi s tw o pursuin g monsters.

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This system , whic h divide s th e worl d int o tw o a s firml y a s d o Williams's an d Lewis' s systems , i s recapitulate d i n som e for m i n eac h of th e five book s I wil l examin e here . I n eac h one , a flawe d youn g man, pursue d b y a n internal o r externa l ba d fathe r an d strugglin g agains t his inne r emptiness , i s offere d a choic e o f tw o worlds : a goo d one , exemplified b y a th e lov e o f a virgina l woma n an d a substitut e o r alternative goo d father , an d a n evi l one , exemplifie d b y a whore, a ba d father, an d in most cases , a Jew. I n some cases this choice is coterminou s with th e tes t o f masculinit y th e youn g ma n i s set ; i n other s th e tes t undermines o r oppose s th e choice . Greene' s structure , lik e tha t o f th e other tw o authors , require s a stric t splitting-of f o f th e "woman " insid e himself. Fo r Greene , a s fo r Williams , wome n ar e eithe r virgin s o r whores. Th e whores , embodiment s o f selfishness , greed , an d sinfu l lustfulness, ofte n ac t i n collusio n wit h mal e Jews , wh o embod y man y of th e sam e characteristics . Th e virgins , outwardl y wea k an d self sacrificing, exer t deadl y pressur e o n th e her o b y challengin g hi m t o pass the two test s of goodnes s an d masculinity , an d ar e almost inevitabl y punished fo r thi s b y death . Greene' s Jews , direc t descendent s o f thei r literary forebears , shar e gree d an d perverse , lustfu l concupiscenc e wit h their colleagues , th e whores . I n additio n the y ar e avaricious , murder ously knife-wielding , an d cowardly . Together , th e Je w an d th e whor e tempt th e her o int o thei r world . For eac h o f th e thre e authors , mal e Jew s serve d a s a receptacl e fo r the part s o f themselve s the y foun d mos t unacceptabl e an d neede d mos t to disown . Williams , wh o di d no t atten d publi c school , fel t comfortabl e with hi s less-than-mach o imag e o f saintl y sweetness , bu t neede d t o disown hi s unacceptabl e aggressio n an d sadism . Hi s mal e Jew s wer e consequently aggressiv e sadist s i n a strictl y masculin e vein . Lewi s ac cepted an d enjoye d hi s aggression , bu t fel t terrifie d tha t h e migh t prov e insufficiently viril e an d "masculine. " Hi s Jew s wer e impoten t an d ef feminate cowards . Greene , lik e Lewis , experience d a constan t struggl e to maintain hi s masculinity, but , lik e Williams, found hi s own aggressio n and sexua l rag e unacceptable , experiencin g himsel f a s num b an d empt y rather tha n angry . Hi s Jew s combine d cowardic e an d effeminac y wit h sexual lustfulness . Th e stereotyp e o f th e cringing , self-loathin g hyper sexual Je w fit wel l wit h th e pervasiv e self-loathin g whic h accompanie d his depressions . The Freikorpsme n destroye d th e women the y classifie d a s whores an d

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preserved thos e the y classifie d a s virgins . I n Greene' s earl y novels , b y contrast, th e virgins ar e allowe d onl y a brief existence , whil e th e whore s and the Jews with whom the y collude live on forever. Bu t Greene under stood tha t t o spli t onesel f i n tw o an d destro y th e soft , feelin g par t i s a kind of death. I n killing off hi s good women, Green e simultaneously kill s off hi s male heroes' only chance for goodnes s and for a life which contain s the possibilit y o f genuin e feelin g rathe r tha n emptiness , connectednes s rather tha n alienatio n an d solitude . Me n ar e empt y bubble s o r balloon s which can be filled only by women. When the good women are destroyed, the me n ar e lef t t o thei r ow n evil . I n a world dominate d b y whore s an d Jews, th e bubbl e wil l invariabl y b e filled wit h evi l an d torment . Th e victimized ma n long s i n vai n fo r peace , bu t finds i t onl y throug h th e oblivion o f sleep , drink , o r death .

"Why Escape? Because I Don't Like Myself: The Early Life and Loves of Graham Greene The Sources. Unlik e Wyndha m Lewi s o r Charle s Williams , Graha m Greene wa s fascinate d b y hi s ow n psycholog y an d wrot e severa l book s in whic h h e attempte d t o fram e hi s life . A Sort of Life, (1971 ) an d Ways of Escape (1980) are autobiographica l sketches . The Other Man (1983 ) is a constructed text : a series of interviews with Green e by Marie-Fran$ois e Allain, edite d by Greene himself an d mostly concerned with his past life. 3 Greene's trave l books , Journey without Maps (1936 ) an d Lawless Roads (1939), als o offe r importan t autobiographica l material . Greene , wh o wa s a film buf f an d screenpla y writer , textualize s memor y a s a serie s o f il luminating image s o r flashbacks . Th e writin g o f A Sort of Life•, the mos t revealing o f th e memoirs, wa s Greene' s alternativ e to shoc k therap y dur ing one of his acute depressions (Other, 17) . In a description of the process of trying to recapture memory in order to write A Sort of Life, h e remarks, "[T]he fragment s remai n fragments , th e complet e stor y alway s escapes " (Sort, 33) . Fo r tha t "complet e story, " a t leas t o f Greene' s first thirty five years, I was lucky to be able to refer t o volume 1 of Norman Sherry' s excellent an d definitiv e biography , The Life of Graham Greene (1989) . While it would hav e been possible, thoug h more difficult, fo r m e to writ e about Greene' s childhoo d usin g onl y hi s ow n autobiographica l material , Greene wa s carefu l t o protec t th e peopl e i n hi s adul t lif e an d publishe d no suc h in-dept h recor d o f hi s marriag e an d othe r adul t relationships .

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Sherry worke d closel y wit h Greene , an d ha d acces s t o hi s otherwis e unpublished diarie s an d letters , an d I depende d o n hi s boo k fo r m y discussion o f Greene' s late r life , i n particula r hi s earl y relationshi p wit h his wife . Graha m Green e die d a s I complete d on e draf t o f thi s chapter , on Apri l 2 , 1991 , at th e ag e o f eighty-six . Perhap s volum e 2 o f Sherry' s biography wil l soo n b e forthcoming . Greene ofte n quote d th e line s "I n th e childhoo d o f Judas/ Chris t wa s betrayed." 4 Bor n two decades after Lewi s and Williams, into a generation which ha d begu n t o assimilat e th e Freudia n vie w o f huma n nature , h e was a Catholi c Freudian , whos e belie f tha t th e experienc e o f childhoo d determined adul t characte r coexiste d wit h hi s belief i n original sin . I n hi s famous essay o n Dicken s an d Kipling , "Th e Burde n o f Childhood, " h e notes: There are certain writers... who never shake off th e burden of their childhood. . .. All later experience seems to have been related t o those month s or years o f unhappiness . Life , whic h turn s it s cruel sid e to mos t o f u s at an age when we have begun to learn the arts of self-protection, too k these two writers b y surprise during the defenselessness o f earl y childhood. 5 Greene wa s quit e consciousl y speakin g o f himsel f a s wel l a s o f Dicken s and Kipling . I n A Sort of Life, h e describes Berkhamsted , th e small tow n one hou r fro m Londo n wher e h e gre w up : "Everythin g on e wa s t o become must have been there, for bette r and for w o r s e . . .. Her e in Berk hamsted wa s th e first mol d o f whic h th e shap e wa s t o b e endlessl y re produced" (15) . While our knowledg e o f the multiple forces whic h shap e personality make s i t difficul t t o trac e clea r correlation s betwee n specifi c childhood experience s an d late r life , Greene' s convictio n tha t hi s writing at least stemme d fro m hi s earl y lif e experience s ca n indeed b e borne out . It i s possibl e t o trac e mos t scene s i n th e earl y fiction t o hi s recorde d childhood experiences , whethe r o f dream s (afte r psychoanalysi s a t four teen, h e mad e a habi t o f recordin g them ) o r o f wakin g reality . I a m accordingly followin g Graha m Greene' s ow n lea d i n exploring hi s child hood a s a source o f th e all-encompassin g syste m tha t appear s i n his earl y novels. I will als o describe Greene' s courtshi p o f hi s wife Vivie n i n som e detail, a s this information has , i t seems to me, direc t bearin g on Greene' s treatment o f wome n an d o f romanc e i n th e earl y novels . Fo r a complet e and fascinatin g accoun t o f Green e a s a writer an d o f othe r aspect s o f hi s first thirty-fiv e years , I recommen d th e reade r t o Sherry .

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The Burden of Childhood. Graha m Green e wa s bor n i n 1904 , eightee n years after Charle s Williams and twenty-two years after Wyndham Lewis . He was the fourth chil d in a family o f six children. O f hi s birth, Greene' s sister recalled , "M y mothe r ha d a numbe r o f miscarriage s an d sh e ha d been appalled to find herself pregnant again" (Sherry, 3). Both of Greene' s parents wer e fro m soli d middle-clas s Englis h familie s wit h lon g recorde d lineages. Hi s father , Charle s Greene , wa s then housemaste r o f St . John' s house, Berkhamste d School , wher e h e woul d late r hol d th e offic e o f headmaster, an d his mother, Mario n Greene , was in charge of the house' s catering. I n A Sort of Life, Green e declare s tha t hi s unhappines s bega n at thirteen, whe n he became a boarder at his father's publi c school. Befor e that, hi s lif e wa s "luminou s wit h happiness. " Ther e coul d b e "n o lone liness t o b e experience d howeve r occupie d th e parent s migh t be, " i n a family o f si x children , numerou s aunt s an d uncles , an d man y servant s (72). I n The Other Man to o h e recall s "onl y happiness , a state o f con tentment" (30) . Bu t thes e cheerfu l statement s ar e undermine d b y th e memories Green e records of his childhood befor e thirteen . "Unhappines s in a child accumulates, " h e writes , "becaus e h e see s n o en d t o th e dar k tunnel" (Sort, 80) . An d "I n childhoo d eternit y ha s no meaning— a chil d has no t learne d t o hope " (Sort, 61) . I t i s mos t probabl e tha t despit e th e adult denial , Greene' s despai r an d hopelessnes s wer e i n evidenc e lon g before th e disastrou s boardin g schoo l experience . Hi s statement s ech o those o f th e abuse d childre n studie d b y Alic e Mille r an d b y Davi s an d Bass: these children canno t acknowledg e thei r ow n pain because it woul d mean blamin g th e parent s o n who m the y ar e dependen t fo r nurturanc e and survival . Green e avoide d tha t blam e throug h "identifyin g [himself ] as bad " (cf . Bas s an d Davis , 42) , throug h emotiona l numbing , an d through a dualisti c splittin g o f hi s childhoo d int o a tim e o f perfectio n while livin g wit h hi s parent s an d a tim e o f hel l afte r enterin g boardin g school a t thirteen . Graham Greene' s firs t memor y i s o f sittin g i n a pra m wit h a dea d dog lyin g a t hi s feet . Hi s firs t recorde d words , "poo r dog, " wer e connected t o thi s inciden t (Sort, 17 ; Journey, 31) . Althoug h Green e recounts thi s imag e i n a t leas t fiv e differen t places , h e hasten s t o disow n its effec t o n him : "Ther e wa s n o emotio n attache d t o th e sight . I t wa s just a fact . A t tha t perio d i n lif e on e ha s a n admirabl e objectivity." 6 Another earl y memor y whic h Green e reproduce s ove r an d ove r agai n in bot h hi s autobiograph y an d hi s fictio n i s o f a man "wh o rushe d ou t

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of a cottag e nea r th e cana l bridg e an d int o th e nex t house ; h e ha d a knife i n hi s hand ; peopl e ra n afte r hi m shouting ; h e wante d t o kil l himself" {Journey, 31) . Later , Green e remembere d th e ma n a s "havin g no hop e an d withou t Go d i n th e world." 7 Greene' s ow n feeling s o f despair an d isolatio n ar e eviden t i n thi s earl y identificatio n wit h a dea d dog an d a suicida l man . For man y youn g children , th e mothe r i s th e sourc e o f warmt h an d comfort. Mos t upper-middle-clas s mother s a t tha t tim e di d no t assum e the primary car e of thei r children, bu t Greene' s sh y and undemonstrativ e mother, Mario n Greene , i s described b y family , friends , an d schoolboy s at Berkhamste d a s "astonishingl y remote, " eve n b y th e standard s o f th e day (Sherry , 46) . While th e emotional bon d betwee n Mario n Green e an d her fourt h so n wa s clos e i n late r life , he r daughte r describe s he r a s a mother wh o neve r touche d he r children . Othe r respondent s remembe r her a s painfull y awkwar d an d silen t i n th e presenc e o f th e husban d t o whom she was strongly bound, an d who dominated her. In all of Greene' s memories o f hi s mother , a statemen t abou t he r coldnes s i s followe d b y a quick rebutta l i n which h e disowns he r faul t o r disclaim s his ow n pain . Thus, " I associat e m y mothe r wit h remoteness , whic h I di d no t a t al l resent" an d wit h " a particula r kin d o f wheate n biscui t wit h a very pal e pure unsweetene d flavor— I a m reminde d no w o f th e Host—whic h onl y my mothe r ha d th e righ t t o eat " (Sort, 19) . He remember s he r "remote ness, he r wonderfu l lac k o f th e possessive instinct, " whic h wa s achieve d with th e assistanc e o f a n ol d an d bad-tempere d nanny , wh o doe s no t appear t o hav e provide d a n alternativ e sourc e o f warmt h o r affectio n (Sort, 29) . H e tell s Marie-Fran^ois e Allain : My mother was very remote and showed no interest in our affairs.... Yo u saw a littl e noteboo k i n whic h sh e bega n notin g dow n th e ag e whe n I started t o walk, m y childhood illnesses , e t cetera. Sh e soon gav e it up—I suppose it bored her . Bu t I never suffered fro m he r indifference. (Other, 32-33) Sometimes th e denia l precede s th e statement : " I wa s ver y fon d o f her , though I realized tha t I could g o happily fo r month s withou t seein g her " (Journey, 33). 8 The patter n o f quic k denia l become s apparen t whe n w e set th e statement s i n tw o columns : a remoteness whic a biscuit whic

h I did not resen t h was pure/pale/unsweetened/ ou t o f reach

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her remoteness he her boredom I I was fond o f her I

r wonderful lac k of possessive instinct did not suffer fro m he r indifferenc e could go for month s without seein g her.

Like man y childre n o f tha t clas s an d time , th e si x Green e children' s only contac t wit h thei r mothe r wa s o n forma l evenin g occasions ; a s Greene pu t it , "Sh e pai d occasiona l stat e visit s t o th e nursery " (Sherry , 35). O f thes e visits , Green e remember s principall y hi s drea d o f a stor y Marion Green e rea d abou t childre n whos e parents ha d abandone d them : "[T]he murderer repente d an d left the m to die of exposure and afterward s the bird s covere d thei r bodie s wit h leaves . I dreade d th e stor y becaus e I was afrai d o f weeping " (Sort, 18) . Just a s the adul t Wyndham Lewi s looked fo r wome n wh o woul d offe r him th e sam e unconditional an d nonreciproca l nurturin g tha t hi s mothe r had give n him , th e adul t Graha m Green e me t wome n wit h al l th e forc e of hi s unrequite d longin g fo r hi s remot e an d idealize d mother , a s well as with hi s suppresse d rag e agains t her . Fo r him , th e onl y trul y desirabl e woman wa s th e unattainabl e one . Onc e h e ha d wo n hi s object , hi s at tention soo n shifted . Green e identifie d hi s untouchabl e mothe r wit h th e Virgin, an d i n his earl y novel s h e repeatedl y idealizes , an d the n kill s off , his youn g an d untouchabl e virgina l femal e characters . Lik e Wyndha m Lewis, Green e continue d t o writ e letter s t o hi s mothe r throughou t hi s adult lif e unti l he r death . I n a n interestin g parallel , a s a youn g ma n a t Oxford o n a trip abroad , h e too wrot e t o his mother describin g a French matron wh o scheme d t o marr y hi m t o he r daughter , describin g himsel f as "a poor fly hopelessly entangled in the web, powerless even to struggle" (Sort, 136) . Greene , lik e Lewis , sa w wome n a s dangerou s an d powerfu l victimizers an d himself a s the helpless victim. Als o like Lewis, he felt th e need t o pledg e hi s allegianc e t o hi s mother . Bu t Greene' s lette r differ s from Lewis' s i n its wistful tone . Commentin g o n i t years later, h e notes : "I ha d on e respectable chanc e of adventure . . . someone a t least had con sidered me old enough to marry" (Sort, 136) . It is as though Green e mus t prove his desirability a s a love object t o th e mother wh o neve r loved hi m enough. Greene' s relationship t o his mother ca n be described a s a lifelong unfulfilled passion . H e experience d he r a s remote , beautifu l an d ou t o f reach, an d alway s felt unabl e to live up t o her impossibly hig h standards . He worshiped her , bu t resente d he r unavailability an d coldnes s an d wha t he experience d a s th e pressur e o f he r judgmenta l purity . Lik e th e othe r two author s i n thi s study , Green e woul d b e riven b y th e violent forc e o f

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his nee d fo r wome n an d hi s simultaneou s rag e agains t th e object s o f hi s dependence. If Marion Greene' s strongest bond was to her husband, Charle s Green e was bonde d a s muc h t o hi s schoo l a s t o hi s wife . Hi s so n notes : "Th e only separation that really existed was from hi s children. As a headmaster, he wa s eve n mor e distan t tha n ou r aloo f mother " (Sort, 28) . Abou t hi s father, Graha m told Allain, "I had no feeling. . . . He embodied Authorit y too much " (Sort, 28 ; Other, 33) . I n a recurrent drea m afte r hi s father' s death, Green e visualized hi m a s "shut awa y in hospital ou t o f touc h wit h his wif e an d children—thoug h sometime s h e returne d hom e o n a visit, a silent, solitar y man , no t reall y cured , wh o woul d hav e t o g o bac k agai n into exile" (Sort, 27). In a denial similar to his reversals about his mother' s remoteness, Green e adds , "Ther e wa s n o trut h a t al l i n th e ide a o f hi s loneliness an d unhappines s . . . perhaps th e dreams sho w tha t I loved hi m more tha n I knew " (Sort, 28) . I n fact , th e adul t Green e wa s unabl e t o experience any warmth fo r hi s father an d cut off al l communications wit h him unti l shortl y befor e hi s death . Th e bell-ja r visio n o f a man se t apar t from othe r humans, exiled and solitary, is an accurate psychological image not onl y o f the father wit h whom h e deeply identified bu t coul d no t lov e but als o o f th e son' s feeling s abou t himself . Sherry's researc h i s extremel y helpfu l i n understandin g wha t wen t wrong betwee n Graha m Green e an d hi s father . Throug h man y inter views wit h forme r master s an d student s a t Berkhamsted , Sherr y estab lished tha t th e schoo l Charle s Green e ra n wa s organize d aroun d on e main principle : "t o preven t th e possibilit y o f homosexua l relationship s developing" (40) . While thi s principle was alread y i n place when Charle s Greene inherite d th e schoo l fro m hi s predecessor , Dr . Fry ; i t matche d Charles Greene' s ow n obsessiv e hatre d an d fea r o f homosexualit y an d became a n even more centra l them e under hi s control. A stron g advocat e of "muscula r Christianity, " wit h it s emphasi s o n sport s an d col d show ers, Charle s Green e believe d tha t homosexualit y woul d occur , i n forme r Berkhamstedian Claud e Cockburn' s words , "betwee n an y tw o boy s who migh t conceivabl y b e alon e togethe r fo r mor e tha n twent y min utes." H e carefull y organize d th e schoo l i n suc h a wa y tha t suc h a temptation coul d neve r appea r (Sherry , 42) . Boy s coul d neve r b e lef t alone either , a s the y woul d immediatel y begi n t o masturbate , a n actio n which Charle s Green e believed , wit h a fervo r whic h belonge d t o a slightly earlie r era , woul d lea d directl y t o madnes s an d perhap s t o

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blindness a s well. A s a headmaster, Charle s Green e wa s a n authoritaria n man who m respondent s describ e a s ruthless i n hi s pursuit o f hi s "purit y campaign," hi s ceaseles s effor t a t "dampenin g dow n th e sexua l urge " (Sherry, 40) . Th e boy s a t Berkhamste d wer e kep t alway s i n group s an d constantly active , an d Charle s Green e se t u p a syste m o f perpetua l watchfulness, spying , an d reporting . The syste m wa s successfu l i n tha t homosexualit y wa s apparentl y unknown a t Berkhamste d durin g Charle s Greene' s reign : a s Sherr y says, "I t wa s on e o f th e leas t corrup t o f schools " (40) . O f course , corruption ma y hav e man y faces . Sherry' s respondent s spea k o f severa l boys wh o wer e mysteriousl y remove d i n th e nigh t afte r havin g bee n reported fo r masturbatin g an d o f on e wh o receive d th e sam e punish ment afte r havin g bee n see n kissin g a girl . O n hi s las t da y a t school , Charles Green e gav e eac h bo y a privat e lectur e o n keepin g pur e fo r their futur e wives . H e regularl y preache d o n "filthiness, " an d al l respondents, eve n th e mos t affectionate , agre e tha t h e wa s a ma n "obsessed." It i s no t har d t o imagin e th e effect s o f lif e wit h suc h a fathe r o n a sensitive bo y wh o fainte d a t th e sigh t o f insect s o r blood , wep t often , and was, by his own and all other accounts, quite outstandingly physicall y uncoordinated. Doroth y Dinnerstein discusses the tendency to "renounc e the sensuou s emotiona l worl d o f earl y childhood , t o sea l off th e laye r o f personality i n whic h th e primitiv e eroti c flo w betwee n th e sel f an d th e surround ha s its source" (32). This splittin g off o f the feminine o r feelin g part o f himself , whic h al l the objec t relation s theorist s hav e identifie d a s one o f th e task s an d th e danger s o f growin g u p mal e i n ou r society , became eve n mor e consumin g fo r Graha m Green e i n th e fac e o f hi s father's obsession ; a n obsessio n Green e fough t bu t wa s finall y unabl e t o escape. While Green e onl y bega n t o atten d Berkhamste d a s a boarde r a t almost fourteen , h e attende d th e schoo l a s a da y bo y fro m th e ag e o f ten an d encountere d hi s fathe r ther e a s wel l a s a t home . I n hi s essa y on th e publi c schoo l a s a n institutio n i n hi s collectio n o f schoo l mem ories, The Old School, Green e writes , "On e i s alternativel y amaze d at th e unworldl y innocenc e o f th e pedagogi c min d an d a t it s torturou s obscenity." 9 A s Sherr y point s out , "Hi s criticis m i s o f th e system , but hi s fathe r wa s i n charg e o f tha t system " (88) . Zo e Richmond , th e wife o f th e analys t t o who m Graha m wa s sen t afte r hi s suicid e attemp t

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and breakdow n a t schoo l i n 192 1 a t th e ag e o f sixteen , tol d Norma n Sherry: His fathe r ha d a frightful instinc t agains t homosexuality . Graha m wasn' t homosexual bu t h e wa s feminine... . To b e sensitiv e i s feminine... . In Graham's case he wanted to commit suicide in the end because he couldn't love himself o r anybody else , and he was never openly loved and you see he was frightened o f his own sensitivity . Lac k of love creates the kind of disability Graha m had . . .. Hi s fathe r wa s barmy . H e ha d a n obsession . (Sherry, 103 ) Chodorow write s o f th e paramoun t importanc e th e tas k o f achievin g adequate masculinit y assume s i n a male-dominated societ y i n which , a s in al l societies , boy s "begi n lif e wit h a primary femal e identity. " Just a s Greene's late r sens e o f alienatio n wa s i n par t a n identificatio n wit h o r incorporation o f hi s father' s ow n emptines s an d alienation , Green e in corporated hi s father' s value s an d obsessive , dualisti c syste m concernin g women an d sexualit y an d hi s father' s negativ e judgmen t o f hi s son' s manhood. Hi s sense of himself a s a pursued, hunte d man, a n image which appears s o ofte n i n hi s work , ca n b e see n a s a n effor t t o outstri p thi s harsh parenta l condemnation , whil e th e compulsiv e test s o f manhoo d t o which h e subjecte d himsel f (an d al l hi s characters ) contai n man y o f th e threatening question s Charle s Green e must have posed t o his "feminine " son. Th e desperat e an d lonel y nee d t o spli t of f th e inne r femal e als o became a major lif e them e fo r Greene , an d on e centra l t o hi s texts . Although i t is difficult t o determine th e extent of this pattern, i t is clear that on e wa y thi s distan t an d authoritaria n fathe r di d connec t wit h hi s son was through beatings. Greene writes, "I have an impression my fathe r used t o smac k me as a child," an d remembers a n incident o f being beate n by hi m fo r callin g hi s aun t a bugger, a name h e di d no t understand ; thi s "woke a sexual interest i n me" (Sort, 34) . He remember s anothe r caning , in hi s nightshirt , fo r missin g school . H e describe s hi s fathe r i n hi s rol e as headmaste r canin g a certai n stigmatize d 'hous e boy ' i n publi c "fo r some offens e whic h wa s neve r mad e clea r t o an y o f us , bu t w e wer e accustomed a t tha t ag e t o th e mora l confusio n o f adult s an d w e didn' t trouble t o as k hi m th e reason " (Sort, 49) . Th e youn g me n i n Greene' s early novel s inevitabl y fee l th e sam e sens e o f a n immora l an d senseles s world lackin g i n an y kindnes s o r reason . I t i s eas y t o understan d th e appeal o f Catholicis m t o on e whos e experienc e o f lif e fit th e word s o f

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the blinde d Glouceste r i n King Lear: "lik e flie s t o wanto n boy s ar e w e t'the Gods , / the y kil l us for thei r sport " (4 . 1 . 36-37). I n Greene' s case , the god s wer e fathers , an d man y Catholi c critic s hav e bee n trouble d b y the malevolenc e o f th e Christia n Go d h e portrays . While memories of beatings by his own father ar e vague, Greene recall s several other male adults (or "fathers") a t the school who obtaine d sexua l pleasure throug h beatin g children . On e o f these , Simpso n (describe d i n The Lawless Roads a s a Mr. Cranden , wit h thre e gri m chin s an d " a kin d of demonia c sensuality") , obviousl y enjoye d beatin g hi s boys , wh o re ciprocated i n kind : "I t seeme d t o m e eve n the n tha t hi s boy s wer e col laborators in a pleasure" {Lawless, 4; Sort, 65) . Greene also recalls anothe r "anal flogger, " hi s father' s "sinister , sadisti c predecessor, " Dr . Fr y (Sherry, 50 , 59 ; Sort, 69) . Greene' s scathin g portrait o f Dr. Fr y i n A Sort of Life le d to man y angr y letter s from ol d Berkhamstedian s wh o pointe d out tha t Green e mus t hav e bee n fabricating , a s Fr y ha d lef t th e schoo l when h e wa s stil l quit e a young child . Ver y muc h lik e th e ol d St . Cyp rianite, wh o proteste d angril y a t Orwell's unmaskin g o f his school, writ ing "YO U SOD! " i n th e margi n o f hi s essay an d callin g th e autho r o f "Such, Suc h Were the Joys" "a wretched, snivelin g little neurotic," thes e old Berkhamstedians accused Greene of lacking grit, letting the side down, and spittin g int o hi s ow n soup . . . ("schoolboys far t an d what' s th e fus s about") (Sherry , 90) . Norman Sherry , unlik e Orwell' s biographer , Bernar d Crick , feel s n o need t o den y o r denigrat e hi s subject' s story , bu t h e doe s wonde r a t hi s venom towar d Fry . Sherr y identifie s th e sourc e o f Greene' s informatio n about Dr . Fr y a s his tutor a t Oxford, wh o attende d Berkhamste d durin g Fry's reign , an d suggest s that Greene' s ange r "i s a reaction t o his father' s admiration o f Fr y an d hi s perpetuation o f Fry' s tradition s i n the school " (51). I woul d g o on e ste p furthe r an d propos e tha t Graha m Greene' s hatred o f Dr . Fr y wa s a transferral o f hi s feeling s fo r hi s ow n father , a n unacceptable targe t fo r hatred . "Memory," write s Greene , "i s lik e a long broken night . A s I write, i t is a s thoug h I a m wakin g fro m slee p continuall y t o gras p a t a n imag e which I hope may drag in its wake a whole intact dream, but the fragment s remain fragments , th e complete stor y alway s escapes" (Sort, 33) . Victims of childhood sexua l abuse often remember—an d forget—i n jus t this way . Using similar imagery, Bass and Davis speak of the necessity of forgetting , of th e vagu e an d dreamlik e sens e o f recoverin g occlude d memories , an d

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of the "constellation o f feelings, reactions , an d recollections" which com e back i n fragment s a s th e adul t begin s t o remembe r (22 , 70-72) . Whether o r no t Charle s Green e actuall y bea t hi s so n an d obtaine d sexual enjoymen t fro m thi s activity , o r instea d confine d himsel f t o th e mental abus e o f denigratio n an d contempt , i t i s saf e t o conclud e tha t Greene di d suffe r fro m humiliatio n a t th e hand s o f a fathe r fo r who m he, lik e other abuse d children , stil l felt lov e an d stron g loyalty . Greene' s conflicted feeling s abou t his father emerg e in the early novels in the man y instances o f th e spli t betwee n a good an d ba d fathe r an d i n th e portrait s of abusive or condemnatory fathers who haunt their sons even after death . His mother , strongl y bonde d t o an d dependen t o n her husband, seem s to hav e remaine d silent . Alic e Mille r write s o f th e mothe r wh o watches her child being humiliated, derided, and tormented, without coming to his defense, without doing anything to save him. Through her silence she is in complicit y wit h th e persecutor; sh e is abandoning he r child . . . . Perhaps thi s chil d wil l love his mother dearl y o n a conscious level ; later, in his relationships wit h othe r people, h e will repeatedly hav e the feelin g of being abandoned, sacrifice d an d betrayed. (Miller , 192 ) It i s no wonde r tha t Green e remember s fearin g hi s mother's stor y o f th e children wh o ha d bee n abandone d b y thei r parents . Green e dedicate d A Sort of Life, th e only boo k i n which h e describes his childhood a t length, to hi s brother s an d sister . Th e dedicatio n reads : "Fo r th e Survivors , Raymond Greene , Hug h Green e an d Elisabet h Dennys. " Just a s th e adul t Green e assure s hi s reade r tha t neithe r hi s mother' s indifference no r the dead dog in his pram bothered him, the child Graha m struggled t o concea l hi s tear s a t hi s mother' s story , a s wel l a s hi s othe r feelings. Thes e effort s t o hide his feelings wer e part o f th e ongoing effor t to suppres s hi s "feminine " feelin g sel f an d t o pas s th e tes t o f manhood . They ca n als o b e see n a s a wa y o f achievin g autonomy . Green e write s again an d agai n o f hi s effort s t o protec t himsel f b y concealin g hi s inne r life fro m hi s parents . Eve n whe n h e learne d t o read , h e conceale d thi s ability al l summer, sur e tha t i t would b e used agains t hi m (Lawless, 14) . The suppressed feelings , however , cam e out in other ways. Fro m earl y childhood an d al l through hi s life, Green e suffere d fro m recurren t night mares. A s a young chil d h e also had numerou s phobias , severa l of whic h also extended into adulthood. H e feared drownin g and burning, an d eve n as an adult retained " a blinding terror," which he shared with his mother ,

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of winge d creatures , includin g birds , insects , bats , an d moth s (Sort, 31) . The strengt h o f thi s las t phobi a an d it s connectio n wit h sexualit y ar e evident i n th e adul t Greene' s reflection : "Fea r an d th e sens e o f se x ar e linked i n secre t conspiracy , bu t terro r i s a sickness lik e hate " (Sort, 31) . The terro r o f birds , bats , an d moths , wit h thei r furr y o r feather y bodie s and brushin g wings , emerge d a t night . S o di d th e fea r o f anothe r flying thing, a witch , whic h i n nightmare s "woul d lea p o n m y bac k an d di g long mandarin fingernail s int o my shoulders" (Sort, 32). 10 It is interesting that Charle s Williams' s use s th e simila r phras e "hear t grippin g fear " i n his descriptio n o f th e malevolen t transformatio n i n Witchcraft. Phobias, linked with depression and nightmares, ar e frequent i n victims of sexua l abuse . Phobi c anxiet y offer s a means o f contro l ove r pervasiv e anxiety through the displaced focus of that fear onto another object (Cam eron an d Rychlak , 197) . Whil e i t i s har d t o sa y jus t wha t thos e winge d creatures whic h cam e ou t a t nigh t t o brus h agains t Greene' s fac e repre sented t o him , i t seem s justifie d t o conclud e tha t the y wer e symbol s o f forbidden sexuality—th e sexualit y whic h hi s father introduce d t o hi m a s a terrible secret : filthy, obscene , an d neve r t o b e acknowledged. Alread y in childhood , eve n wors e tha n th e phobia s wa s boredom : "Boredo m seemed t o swell like a balloon insid e the head; it became a pressure insid e the skull ; sometime s I feare d th e balloo n woul d burs t an d I woul d los e my reason " (Sort, 120) . In a book review for the "Spectator" in 193 3 when Green e was twenty nine, h e wrote : Against th e backgroun d o f visit s t o grandparents , o f examination s an d lessons and children's parties, the tragic drama of childhood i s played, th e attempt to understand what is happening, to cut through adul t lies, which are not regarded as lies simply because they are spoken to a child, to piece together the scraps of conversation, the hints through open doors, the clues on dressing-tables, to understand. Your whole future is threatened by these lowered voices , thes e consultations... but yo u ar e told nothing , yo u ar e patted on the head and scolded, kissed and lied to, and sent to bed. (Sherry, 21-22)

Male childre n i n Greene' s fiction (ther e ar e n o femal e children , jus t a s there are almost no female Jews) are terrified victims, struggling to conceal their feeling s fro m th e crue l an d arbitrar y adul t worl d whic h the y ca n neither predic t no r trust. 11 I n fact , muc h o f Greene' s earl y fiction wa s based o n hi s attemp t t o piec e togethe r th e realit y behin d th e lies , t o

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understand th e los t clues , an d t o reclai m th e futur e threatene d b y hi s childhood. Boarding School and Psychoanalysis. I n chapte r 2 , i n th e sectio n o n th e public schoo l experience , I discusse d th e traum a Green e experience d when, a t th e ag e o f thirteen , h e crosse d th e gree n baiz e doo r whic h separated hom e fro m school . Green e describe d hi s father' s schoo l a s " a savage countr y o f strang e custom s an d inexplicabl e cruelties , a countr y in whic h I wa s a foreigner an d a suspect—a hunte d creature. " Fo r him , boarding ^ t hi s father' s schoo l wa s a savag e initiatio n rit e intende d t o "brainwash th e primar y feminin e identit y an d t o establis h firml y th e secondary mal e identity " (Chodorow , n . 23) . Whil e i t succeede d i n it s aim, th e cure almost kille d the patient. Greene' s experienc e a t school wa s one o f miser y an d betrayal , whic h h e would attemp t t o exorciz e in nove l after novel . While for som e children with cruel fathers, goin g away to school mean t a release int o a more rationa l worl d tha n tha t o f th e family , fo r Graha m Greene it meant enterin g into th e heart o f th e familial terror , withou t th e protection offere d b y mother , servants , brother s an d sisters , an d th e freedom o f a larg e hous e an d grounds . T o Greene , schoo l represente d his father' s intrusion , contempt , an d obsessio n personifie d i n th e bod y of an all-inclusive institution. Th e spying, th e lack of privacy (low-walle d cubicles separatin g beds , toilet s withou t doors) , an d th e whol e "scato logical world" o f th e schoo l which Green e foun d s o intolerable, wer e a n intrinsic part of the the Fry-Charles Green e design. At his father's school , the privacy an d autonom y Graha m ha d s o carefull y guarde d throughou t his earl y childhoo d wer e deepl y threatened . Hopeles s a t games , con strained b y hi s phobias , th e but t o f bullies , an d compare d unfavorabl y to hi s successfu l cousi n an d t o hi s athleti c brother , th e hea d prefect , th e sensitive boy' s confidenc e an d self-concep t a s a viabl e mal e rapidl y disintegrated. At school , Graham' s olde r brothe r Raymon d wa s considere d a fittin g son fo r Charle s Greene . A s fo r Graham , i n th e word s o f J . B . Wilson , a schoolmate , "Raymon d an d Be n Green e [ a cousin ] hel d thei r own . They were perfectly norma l a s regards athletic s an d everythin g else . Gra ham wa s abnormal . Ther e wa s n o questio n abou t it " (Sherry , 70) . Re ferring t o me n wh o ha d know n hi m a t school , Green e late r wrot e t o hi s fiancee, Vivie n Dayrell-Browning : "D o yo u slin k b y suc h peopl e wit h

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an inferiorit y complex ? I do . It' s th e on e thin g tha t it' s impossibl e t o forgive one' s parents " (Sherry , 59) . The cod e o f manhood , eve n mor e preciou s a t thi s crisis , prohibite d tears o r complaint . Whil e othe r boy s coul d a t leas t complai n o f schoo l to thei r parent s i n letters , Graham' s fathe r was th e school : ther e wa s n o court o f appeal . Lik e Orwel l an d man y others , Green e fel t abandone d by hi s mothe r whe n sh e allowe d hi m t o b e sen t t o school . I n hi s case , the sens e o f betraya l wa s eve n stronger : sh e ha d literall y give n he r so n up t o hi s father . Othe r boy s ha d eac h other . T o bon d wit h the m agains t his father would have been, it seemed to the already guilt-ridden Graham , a dreadfu l betraya l o f hi s family— a "spittin g i n hi s ow n soup " whic h would violat e th e preciou s cod e o f manhood . I n fact , i t appear s tha t Greene di d confid e i n othe r boy s fro m tim e t o time , an d suffere d grea t guilt as a consequence. I n A Sort of Life, h e confesses tha t as a day studen t he "inventfed ] apocrypha l storie s o f havin g bee n cruell y flogged " b y hi s father. Thes e storie s ma y not , i n fact, hav e been al l that apocrypha l (71) . As a boarder, h e confide d i n a boy calle d Watson , wh o passe d hi s con fidences o n t o Greene' s particula r torturer , Carter , whos e sadoma sochistic relationshi p wit h Green e I describe d i n chapte r 2 . Carte r "per fected durin g my fourteenth an d fifteenth yea r a system of mental tortur e based o n m y difficul t situation, " an d hi s sneerin g nickname s wer e lik e "splinters unde r th e nails " (82) . Carter , wit h hi s "geniu s fo r evil, " i s a recurrent figure wh o appear s i n man y guise s i n Greene' s novel s (Sherry , 75). Even worse than th e torture b y Carter , whic h seem s to have in som e way met Greene' s need for self-punishment , wa s the betrayal by Watson . The desir e fo r reveng e agains t hi m remaine d aliv e i n Green e "lik e a creature unde r a stone," an d h e wondered "i f I would eve r have writte n a boo k ha d i t no t bee n fo r Watso n an d th e dea d Carter , i f thos e year s of humiliatio n ha d no t give n m e a n excessiv e desir e t o prov e tha t I wa s good a t something " (Sort, 82 , 84) . The youn g Green e experience d betraya l b y hi s mothe r an d betraya l by Watson . I n turn , h e suffere d fro m hi s ow n betraya l o f hi s father . In addition , throug h hi s shamefu l vulnerabilit y an d hi s "feminine " misery an d weaknes s a t school , Green e fel t tha t h e ha d betraye d th e precious values of masculinity whic h his father uphel d an d which Green e himself ha d s o deepl y internalized . Betrayal , a prominen t featur e o f Greeneland, i s stresse d ove r an d ove r agai n i n hi s obsessiv e memorie s of thi s time. 12

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Greene's first yea r a t schoo l le d t o hi s first suicida l gesture , a bungle d attempt t o cu t hi s leg. Thi s wa s followe d b y " a hundre d an d fou r week s of monotony , humiliatio n an d menta l pain " (Sort, 88) . Afterwar d h e made several more seriou s suicide attempts, involvin g swallowin g aspiri n and othe r medications , an d finally ra n awa y t o Berkhamste d Commo n on th e las t da y o f th e summe r term , leavin g a note sufficientl y alarmin g to caus e hi s parent s temporaril y t o remov e hi m fro m th e school . Fo r Greene, th e experienc e a s a boarder a t his father's schoo l was a traumatic event comparable to the trauma experienced b y survivors o f war, torture , or concentration camps . Symptom s o f depressio n an d anxiety , emotiona l anesthesia, hyperalertnes s an d impulsive behavior , an d recurren t dream s and nightmare s ar e al l characteristi c o f post-traumati c stres s disorde r (DSM III, 236). 13 The y ar e als o liste d b y Virgini a Ter r a s symptom s suffered b y th e traumatize d childre n i n he r study . Graha m Green e suf fered fro m al l o f thes e symptoms . Greene's suicid e threa t an d stat e o f breakdow n cause d guil t an d pani c in hi s family. Afte r finding hi m i n th e Common , Mario n Green e move d to protec t he r son : " I pu t hi m t o be d an d tol d hi m h e shoul d neve r g o back" (Sherry , 87) . Green e remember s tha t hi s fathe r interrogate d hi m "seriously an d tenderly " an d conclude d tha t hi s son' s reference s t o th e school's "filth " mean t that he had been the victim of a masturbation ring , after whic h "investigation s w e r e . . . se t o n foo t amon g th e innocen t in habitants o f St . John's" (Sort, 92) . As I have mentioned, Charle s Green e believed tha t masturbatio n le d t o madness . H e als o feare d th e menta l illness which existe d o n bot h side s o f the family. Graham' s elde r brothe r Hugh, wh o wa s studyin g medicin e a t that time , wa s consulted , an d rec ommended psychoanalysis . Fortuitously , Graha m wa s sen t t o liv e i n London wit h Kennet h Richmond , a benign Jungian analyst , an d his wif e Zoe. Greene late r describe d hi s tim e wit h th e Richmond s a s " a choic e fo r which I hav e neve r cease d t o b e grateful . . . the happies t si x month s o f my life " (Sort, 98) . Th e Richmond s wer e lovin g an d expressiv e peopl e who believe d tha t sexualit y wa s pleasurabl e rathe r tha n sinfu l an d tha t men coul d sho w thei r feeling s withou t turnin g int o women . A s parent s they wer e guide d b y th e principl e tha t childre n shoul d no t b e thwarted . Every morning Kennet h Richmond listene d to Graham's dreams, an d th e two o f the m togethe r attempte d interpretations . Fo r th e rest , h e wa s allowed th e freedo m t o roa m Londo n o n hi s ow n an d provide d wit h

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privacy, comfort , warmth , an d love . During thi s time, Green e began th e dream diar y whic h h e would kee p al l his lif e an d whic h h e would us e as an importan t too l i n hi s writing . Th e Richmond s value d thei r protege' s intellect an d sensitivity , an d validate d hi s wholenes s rathe r tha n forcin g him t o spli t part s o f himsel f off . A s Green e wrot e abou t thi s secon d "good" father , "H e patientl y waite d fo r m e t o discove r th e lon g roa d back t o myself " (Sherry , 102) . Greene wa s b y n o mean s "cured. " Depression , self-loathing , an d the inabilit y t o conceiv e o f o r relat e t o wome n a s rea l peopl e woul d continue t o haun t him . Bu t th e experienc e wit h th e Richmond s ma y well hav e save d hi s life , an d certainl y influence d hi m t o becom e a writer. O n hi s retur n t o Berkhamste d a yea r later , h e wa s allowe d t o live a t hom e an d wa s abl e t o resis t th e pressur e o f hi s father' s school. 14 He wen t o n t o Oxford , wher e h e mad e friend s an d bega n t o writ e and publish . Green e late r claime d tha t hi s treatmen t di d no t g o dee p enough. H e als o suggeste d tha t i t wa s th e psychoanalysi s whic h cause d a kin d o f numbnes s whic h lef t hi m unabl e t o appreciat e visua l o r sensory experiences . I n fact , "emotiona l anesthesia " i s one o f th e effect s of unacknowledge d abus e an d on e o f th e mos t prominen t feature s o f post-traumatic stres s disorder . I n addition , a s w e hav e seen , Greene' s emotional numbnes s wa s a wa y i n whic h h e cu t of f o r disowne d hi s "feminine" sel f an d hi s unacceptabl e anger . Jus t a s Lewi s blame d psychoanalysis, whic h h e ha d neve r experienced , fo r hi s uncomfortabl e closeness wit h hi s mother , Green e i n thi s cas e foun d a n eas y scapegoa t for a dee p symptom . Alice Mille r comment s tha t childre n wh o hav e suffere d th e effect s o f unacknowledged abus e durin g thei r ow n childhoo d ofte n exhibi t "a n astonishing lac k o f sensitivit y t o othe r children' s suffering " (115) . Thi s seems t o hav e hel d tru e fo r Green e whe n i t cam e t o hi s ow n children . Sherry comment s tha t h e "neve r relente d i n hi s oppositio n t o publi c schools. . . though extraordinaril y h e sen t hi s ow n so n Franci s t o one " (107). Greene' s detachmen t towar d hi s children wa s much lik e his moth er's towar d him . I n 1981 , he describe d hi s younge r siste r an d brothe r a s the tw o famil y member s t o who m h e stil l fel t close . Whe n Allai n asked , "And you r children? " he responded: "I thin k my books ar e my children . . . . I' m ver y fon d o f m y so n an d daughter , bu t jus t a s I don' t wan t m y parents meddlin g i n my privat e life , I didn't wan t t o intrud e int o theirs " (Other, 35) .

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Courtship and Marriage Greene foun d th e experienc e o f unfulfille d longin g agonizing , an d yet h e needed i t i n orde r t o fee l love . Onc e a woman becam e available , h e n o longer desire d her . Whe n h e wa s i n love , h e fel t hi s ow n boundarie s weaken an d sometime s disappear , a sensatio n h e foun d bot h terrifyin g and erotic. Benjamin write s that the man who is cut off fro m th e materna l source o f goodnes s an d "feel s exclude d fro m th e feminin e worl d o f nur turance" lose s acces s t o hi s ow n inne r space : He is thrown back into feeling that desire is the property of the object. .. . His experience parallels woman's loss of sexua l agency. The intense stimulation fro m outsid e rob s hi m o f th e inne r spac e t o fee l desir e emergin g from within— a kind of reverse violation. (164 ) When i n the throes o f a n intense and passionate dependenc e o n a loved woman, Green e wa s n o mor e abl e t o fee l hostilit y towar d he r tha n h e had bee n abl e to fee l angr y a t hi s inaccessibl e mother . Unlik e Lewi s an d Williams, h e projecte d hi s hostilit y inwar d rathe r tha n outwar d a t th e woman i n question , wh o remaine d a n unrea l bu t worshipe d icon . A t th e same time , however , h e directe d grea t contemp t an d ange r agains t othe r "whorish" women . At nineteen , o n holida y fro m Oxford , Green e fel l i n lov e wit h Gwe n Howell, hi s siste r an d brother' s governes s wh o wa s alread y engage d t o be married . "I t wa s a n obsessiv e passion, " h e remembers , " I live d onl y for moment s wit h her " (Sort, 125) . Kernberg' s borderlin e patients , lik e Greene, found relie f from thei r chronic and tormenting boredom i n idealized passions . Whe n th e idealizatio n brok e down , the y wer e agai n pre y to thei r ow n emptiness . Greene' s passio n fo r Gwe n Howel l manage d t o "temporarily eas e th e burde n o f boredom, " bu t whe n sh e rejecte d him , the ol d conditio n returne d i n ful l force : "boredom , a s dee p a s th e lov e and more enduring" (Sort, 128-29) . Greene's solution was to take a loaded revolver t o th e sam e commo n t o whic h h e ha d ru n awa y a s a child, an d play Russia n roulette . Upo n beatin g th e odd s h e fel t "a n extraordinar y sense o f jubilation . . . like a youn g man' s first successfu l experienc e o f s e x . . . a s i f on e ha d passe d a test o f manhood." 15 The longin g fo r a woma n provide d a badl y neede d respit e fro m hi s habitual boredom , bu t i t wa s als o a profoundl y unmannin g experienc e which brough t Green e int o contac t wit h hi s "female" needines s an d vul -

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nerability an d too k hi m bac k t o th e helplessnes s o f hi s unmothere d an d unprotected childhood . Rejection , painfu l fo r anyone, was for him almos t unbearable. Th e "revolve r trick " gav e him th e kind o f contro l tha t man y suicidal peopl e feel : i n playin g wit h death , h e asserte d contro l ove r hi s own life . Green e too k th e revolve r bac k t o Oxfor d wit h hi m an d playe d this gam e o f manhoo d five mor e time s befor e h e gav e u p th e dru g fo r the less dangerous dru g o f trave l to unmapped an d ofte n dangerou s area s of the world. Th e "revolver trick " retaine d it s significance fo r him , how ever. H e describe d i t i n al l hi s memoir s an d ofte n referre d t o i t i n hi s letters t o hi s ne w love . Greene me t Vivie n Daynell-Brow n i n 192 5 whil e stil l a t Oxfor d an d courted he r durin g th e perio d o f hi s abortiv e pla n t o g o t o Chin a wit h the British American Tobacco Company, the n through his fledgling career as a reporter i n Nottingha m an d a s a subeditor fo r th e Times. 16 Durin g the courtship, h e repeatedly wrote to Vivien telling her of her power ove r him. A t time s h e use d th e metapho r o f on e o f hi s phobias , drowning : Loving you i s like being drowned i n a moment o f ecstasy , durin g a clean swift stroke , when the whole arc of blue is caught up by the eye, & death comes and.. . there is to be no awakening. (Sherry , 219) "My mind' s lik e a bubble, " h e wrot e i n 1925 , employin g on e o f hi s frequently use d metaphor s fo r hi s feelin g o f emptiness : [I]t's getting bigger and bigger & if it it bursts I feel I shall simply shriek and shriek and not be able to stop.... It's been your last two letters. I felt that... you wer e feeling les s fond o f m e than eve r before an d the bubble gets bigger & I want, o h Go d ho w I want t o be dead, o r aslee p or blin d drunk o r anything. (Sherry , 220) Greene's letter s t o Vivie n d o giv e th e impressio n o f a drowning man , hastening towar d hi s fate. Fo r th e most part, h e idealizes her , callin g he r a saint an d endowin g he r with life-givin g nurturin g qualities . Hi s pictur e of marriage , a s Sherry point s out , ha s a distinctly nurser y flavor , and , a s in hi s feelin g towar d hi s unavailabl e mother , hi s rag e a t Vivien' s powe r over hi m occasionall y surfaced . "I t mus t b e rathe r fu n collectin g souls , Vivienne. Lik e postag e stamps, " h e wrot e t o he r i n 192 5 (Sherry , 185) . In a poem simila r t o on e h e wrot e t o Gwe n Howell , an d prefacin g th e doom of so many of his female heroines, he romantically pictured Vivien' s death an d hi s release . Ove r an d ove r again , h e shamefull y acknowledge d

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his desperat e need : " I wan t yo u t o com e s o frightfull y badly , & F m ashamed of myself. I didn't think Fd ever need any one so badly" (Sherry , 186). Even thoug h Vivie n t o som e exten t reciprocate d hi s love , thi s di d no t relieve th e pain . Hi s moo d swun g dangerousl y betwee n elation—"th e absolute pinnacl e o f happiness"—an d depression s durin g whic h h e re peatedly becam e suicidal an d fel t himsel f "fallin g ove r the edge" (Sherry , 196). Becaus e Vivie n wa s a Catholi c an d disapproved , h e swor e no t t o resort t o hi s two usua l cures for depression , drin k an d Russia n Roulette . He di d hav e a tooth ou t t o obtai n " a fe w minute s unconsciousness.. . a holiday fro m th e world . I ha d los t a goo d tooth , bu t th e boredo m wa s for th e tim e dispersed " (Sherry , 217) . I n a poem, Green e call s o n God , addressing hi m a s "Constable " an d "Sergeant, " an d ask s hi m t o "brin g your ow n manacle s an d handcuf f me " (Sherry , 187) . Towar d Vivie n h e is pleadin g an d subservient , referrin g t o himsel f a s a cracke d bel l an d soiled goods , an d tellin g her , "Yo u ar e s o wonderfu l & F m s o paltry . I crawl abou t o n th e ground " (Sherr y 188 , 218) . H e claime d agai n an d again, "Fl l d o anythin g yo u want " (192) . This assertio n prove d fa r fro m hyperbolic. Whe n Vivie n mentione d fear s o f sex , h e offere d a celibat e marriage, tellin g her, " I a m perfectly prepare d t o sacrific e on e bi t o f on e part o f m y love " (Sherry , 201) . Finally , whe n Vivie n reasone d tha t she , as a devout Catholic, could not marry him as a Protestant, Green e received instruction i n th e Catholi c fait h an d converte d t o Catholicis m i n 1926 . Greene at first conceived of his Catholicism a s a sacrifice t o win Vivien, but i t soo n becam e deepl y importan t t o him . Althoug h Catholi c critic s like Marti n Turnel l hav e criticize d hi s morbi d emphasi s o n origina l si n and hi s man y portrait s o f sinfu l an d immora l Catholi c characters , an d have claime d tha t Green e i s no t i n fac t a "true " Catholi c writer , Ca tholicism wa s a n importan t bulwar k i n Greene' s inne r struggle . I t pro vided hi m wit h a ster n prohibitio n agains t suicide , alway s a constan t temptation fo r him . I t gav e hi m a n internalize d lovin g Go d wh o coul d at leas t argu e wit h hi s internalize d hars h father , an d i t provide d firm boundaries i n a world whos e mora l voi d seeme d t o matc h hi s ow n inne r emptiness. The nee d fo r a religio n whic h coul d provid e boundarie s gre w a s th e relationship wit h Vivie n progressed. " I hav e been mad e of you r breath, " he wrot e t o her . "I f yo u didn' t exist.. . I shoul d vanis h i n a breat h o f mist" (Sherry , 203) . I n 1927 , shortl y befor e thei r marriage , h e wrote :

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You've chipped me about and added and taken away in the most wholesale and reckless fashion... I' m quit e muddled myself no t knowing what's me and what's you.... We've got too hopelessly mixed up with each other for anything shor t o f deat h to untwist i t all... so prepare to be sacrificed o n the altar of matrimony. (Sherry , 291-92 ) The marriag e wa s temporaril y calle d of f whe n a doctor misdiagnose d Greene wit h epileps y (i n fact , h e had alway s bee n subjec t t o faintin g fit s at th e sigh t o f bloo d o r whe n i n contac t wit h hi s othe r phobi c objects) , and Green e wa s subjec t t o las t minut e hesitation s i n which h e wondere d if the y shoul d marr y afte r al l ("sometime s I thin k yo u ar e to o fine fo r love"). Bu t Vivie n remaine d coo l an d somewha t unavailabl e an d i n thi s way secure d Greene' s interest . Th e tw o wer e married i n 1927 . I n a letter to Vivien before his wedding, Green e evoked the "hoards of disapprovin g faces" which h e believed would haun t thei r wedding. Agai n avoiding an y direct mentio n o f hi s father , h e quote d a poem o n Stonehenge : They sit there forever o n the dim horizon o f my mind, tha t Stonehenge circle of elderl y disapproving face s Faces of the Uncles & Schoolmasters who frowned o n my youth. 17 While Green e ha d soo n give n u p th e ide a o f a celibat e marriage , hi s textual separatio n o f wome n int o th e sacre d an d th e profane extende d t o his life . H e proteste d whe n Vivie n claime d tha t me n marrie d "fo r ani mality": "there' s reall y n o mor e connectio n wit h animalit y tha n th e thi n connection betwee n a n uneducate d drunkard' s lew d scribbl e o n a patc h of wal l & a Velasquez." Hi s adoratio n o f he r a s a fine wor k o f ar t di d not mea n turnin g hi s bac k o n th e "lew d scribble " (Sherry , 294) . Durin g his courtship an d even soon after hi s marriage, he and his cousin regularl y went t o brothel s i n Londo n an d Paris . Green e seeme d t o assum e tha t virtue la y no t i n abstentio n fro m thi s kin d o f activit y bu t i n keepin g i t separate from hi s relationship with Vivien. In a prenuptial letter to Vivien, he assured her, "M y peccadilloes , darling , shal l be kept in Paris" (Sherry, 293). While littl e informatio n exist s a t thi s tim e o n Greene' s marriag e an d on hi s late r relationship s wit h othe r women , w e d o kno w that , althoug h as Catholic s th e Greene s wer e no t permitte d t o divorce , estrangemen t and eventua l separatio n followe d a shor t initia l perio d durin g whic h h e and his wife were completely inseparable . Sherr y suggest s that clos e con tact with Vivien in the isolated cottag e where the two o f the m live d whe n

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Greene wa s stil l strugglin g a s a writer "seeme d t o reduc e hi s reverenc e for her . Sh e wa s perhap s n o longe r 'al l beaut y an d al l myster y an d al l wonder' " (Sherry , 444) . Green e neve r too k hi s wife alon g on an y o f hi s voyages, which ofte n include d extramarita l romances , an d in 197 7 Vivien Greene tol d Norma n Sherr y resentfull y abou t bein g lef t alon e i n un suitable place s whil e Graha m wen t of f an d ha d adventures : "Wit h hind sight sh e fel t tha t Green e wa s a person wh o shoul d neve r hav e married " (Sherry, 665) . Durin g th e cours e o f hi s life , Green e ha d severa l famou s mistresses, an d th e mourners a t his death include d hi s estranged wife , hi s two children , an d hi s mistress o f man y years , th e married Frenchwoma n Yvonne Cloetta . Politics and Jews It i s difficul t t o asses s Greene' s attitud e towar d Jew s outsid e o f th e evi dence o f hi s fiction becaus e o f th e absenc e o f reference s t o the m i n hi s autobiographical wor k an d i n Sherry' s biography . Th e smal l evidenc e that doe s exis t suggest s tha t i n hi s yout h h e share d th e dominan t unre flective anti-Semitis m o f hi s times. O n th e other hand , h e was amon g th e earliest t o tak e a strong stan d agains t fascism , an d durin g th e war , whil e his novel s continue d t o reflec t hi s unconsciou s anti-Semitism , hi s publi c stance was on e o f stron g condemnatio n o f th e Nazi persecutio n o f Jews. Greene's film reviews reflect hi s ambivalence in this area. I n a Spectator film revie w o f 5 June 1936 , h e echoe s Lewis' s vie w o f th e film industr y as "a n ignobl e gan g o f foreign , Semiti c 'gutter-people ' " (Cunningham , 281). Green e writes: "Watching th e dark alie n executiv e tippin g his ciga r ash behin d th e glas s partitio n i n Wardou r Street.. . I canno t hel p won dering whethe r fro m thi s grea t moneye d industr y anythin g o f valu e t o the human spiri t ca n ever emerge" (Cunningham, 281) . Just fou r month s earlier, however , i n March 1936 , he had criticize d a Polish film, The Day of the Great Adventure, becaus e o f it s fascis t quality : "th e Bo y Scouts ' handsome brutish.faces, ' thei r Arya n righteousnes s an d flag-wavin g pu rity, wer e jus t Hitlerite , Green e thought " (Cunningham , 185) . Unlike Lewis, who was an open Mosleyite, an d Williams, who believe d that Jew s mus t b e regarde d a s Christ-killer s wh o ha d earne d whateve r persecution the y got , Green e wa s horrifie d b y Mosle y an d b y th e polic e protection offere d t o his supporters. An d unlik e Lewis's, Williams's, an d many right-win g Anglo-Catholics ' earl y suppor t o f Hitler , Greene' s re -

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action to Nazism was unambiguous an d swift. "Sometime s it's impossibl e not to choose one's sides , as in the last war against Hitler," he told Allai n (Other, 80) ; and Rosenber g an d Fiedle r bot h mentio n hi s defens e o f th e Jews i n hi s wartim e radi o broadcast s an d reportin g (Rosenberg , 300 ; Fiedler, 415) . Fo r Greene , th e concentratio n camp s proved th e existenc e of pur e evil , an d afte r th e wa r h e becam e a longtime frien d o f th e Israel i government. While he recently criticized Israeli policy, he never withdrew his stron g suppor t o f Israel' s righ t t o exis t (Other, 148) . Greene doe s not mentio n th e treatment o f hi s Jewish character s i n an y of his own harsh critiques of his early books and makes no explicit textua l apology for , o r acknowledgmen t of , hi s ow n anti-Semitism . However , when hi s earl y novels , whic h ha d originall y bee n publishe d b y Heine mann, wer e reprinte d b y Pengui n afte r th e war , h e quietl y mad e severa l significant alteration s i n them . Th e mos t notabl e o f thes e i s th e trans formation o f th e criminal gang-leade r Colleoni , a Jew i n the 193 8 edition of Brighton Rock, t o an Italian in the Penguin edition of 1943. Less evident textual changes are also present in the postwar edition s of Stamboul Train and^l Gun for Sale. (Thes e novels, first publishe d b y Heinemann i n 193 2 and 1936 , respectively , wer e issue d b y Pengui n i n 1963. ) Fo r instance , he repeatedly changed the word "Jew" to "man" in both of these books. 18 These linguisti c changes , whic h d o no t alte r th e deepe r leve l o f anti Semitism i n th e novels , ar e mor e indicativ e o f Greene' s awarenes s tha t he ha s offende d an d o f hi s willingnes s t o mak e textua l reparation s tha n of an y dee p o r majo r chang e i n hi s attitude . Perhaps despairing of the possibility of getting it right, Green e virtually stopped usin g Jewish character s i n hi s late r novels , an d th e onl y Jewis h portraits i n hi s autobiographica l writin g see m designe d t o counte r th e image o f th e cowardly , gesticulating , an d boastfu l Je w w e mee t i n earl y Greene. I n 1971 , for example , h e describes "ou r ol d Jewish post warden , powerful an d imperturbable i n his shiny blac k mackintosh, lik e a moving statue i n malachite , th e ston e catchin g th e reflectio n o f th e flame s an d flares, on e o f th e braves t me n I hav e know n an d th e mos t unawar e o f his ow n courage " (Sort, 87) . While th e evidenc e regardin g th e younge r Green e an d Jews i s sparse , we d o kno w tha t a s a young man , betwee n th e age s o f twenty-on e an d thirty-four, whe n h e wrot e th e book s unde r discussion , Greene' s nee d to outru n hi s depressio n an d escap e hi s emptines s too k precedenc e ove r any mor e reasone d politica l stance . I n 1924 , whil e stil l a t Oxford , h e

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volunteered t o b e a courier-spy fo r a French nationalis t separatis t orga nization attemptin g t o se t u p a separate republi c i n th e Ruhr , on e o f th e occupied zone s o f Germany . Green e an d hi s frien d Claud e Cockbur n volunteered t o sp y o n th e Frenc h fo r th e Germa n Secre t Service , an d Greene reporte d o n thi s (fortunatel y aborted ) adventur e fo r th e notor iously right-win g an d anti-Semiti c journa l The Patriot. Green e recalle d this episod e i n 1971 : "Today I woul d hav e scruple s abou t th e purpos e I served, bu t a t tha t ag e I wa s read y t o b e a mercenar y i n an y caus e s o long a s I wa s repai d wit h excitemen t an d a little risk " (Sort, 143) . Som e of hi s unthinkin g immoralit y o f tha t time , whic h coul d includ e bot h racism an d misogyny , i s evident i n a n asid e abou t th e spyin g episode : a t Bonn, th e tw o youn g me n "encourage d b y th e atrocit y storie s w e ha d heard i n C o l o g n e . . . followe d innocen t Senegales e soldier s i n th e hop e of seein g a rape " (Sort, 142) . Greene' s membershi p i n th e Communis t party fo r fou r week s i n 192 3 whil e h e wa s a t Oxfor d wa s a n equall y immature action , motivate d no t b y belie f bu t b y hi s desire for fre e trave l to th e Sovie t Union . For Greene , a subeditor a t the Times a t twenty-two, th e General Strik e of 192 6 was a game which ha d bee n arrange d i n orde r t o kee p hi m fro m his dread boredo m an d a prime chanc e to asser t his masculinity. I n 1971, forty-five year s later, h e remembered th e atmosphere o f th e strike a s that of " a rugge r matc h playe d agains t a tea m fro m a rathe r roug h counci l school whic h didn' t stic k t o th e conventiona l rules " (Sort, 178) . H e wa s a membe r o f th e Times "shoc k troops " an d als o volunteere d t o b e a special constable . Late r h e remembere d doin g al l thi s "mor e fro m curi osity tha n fro m an y wis h t o suppor t th e Establishment . . . . A fe w year s later my sympathies would have lain with them [th e strikers]" (Sort, 177 78). Hi s letter s t o Vivie n durin g th e strik e ar e unusuall y happy . "I' m feeling fearfull y gla d t o b e alive, " h e tol d her . "Everythin g fearfull y exciting" (Sherry , 299) . H e wishe d fo r " a littl e bi t o f civi l war " an d enjoyed th e "siniste r strain " whic h reminde d hi m o f hi s spyin g tri p t o the Ruhr . "I' m rathe r sorr y tha t it' s over, " h e wrot e hom e whe n th e strike ende d (Sherry , 299) . This mora l irresponsibilit y seem s t o hav e bee n restricte d t o th e perio d of Greene' s youth. H e like d t o talk abou t th e "splinter o f ice in the hear t of a writer," comparin g himsel f wit h Littl e Kay , th e bo y i n Hans Chris tian Andersen's "Th e Sno w Queen," who has a splinter of ice in his heart and canno t feel . I n fact , writin g wa s th e metho d h e foun d t o tha w ou t

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his froze n an d empt y inne r spac e an d t o lear n t o fee l fo r other s (Sort, 188). Green e write s agai n an d agai n o f th e therapeuti c effect s o f writing . When h e "bega n t o w r i t e . . . th e past los t som e o f it s power—I wrot e i t out o f me " (Sort, 83) . Writin g serve d hi m a s a n escape , a s therapy , an d as a way to work through old pain. A highly disciplined writer, h e learned to us e eve n hi s depressio n a s copy . I n A Sort of Life, h e explain s wit h great dignit y hi s choic e o f avoidin g iron y i n writin g abou t th e pas t an d his decision t o treat his child-self wit h empath y an d love rather tha n wit h distance o r shame : "Thos e emotion s wer e rea l when w e fel t them . Wh y should we be more ashame d o f the m than o f the indifference o f old age? " (Sort, 12) . In his mid-thirties, Green e bega n increasingl y t o transfor m th e traum a of hi s childhoo d int o responsibl e socia l action . Whil e h e stil l fel t th e compulsive nee d t o confron t dange r a s a wa y t o prov e hi s masculinit y and to escape boredom, h e replaced his random travel to dangerous places (the activity which had replaced his games of Russian roulette) with trave l to countrie s unde r oppressiv e regimes , which h e would the n challeng e i n books an d articles . H e becam e know n fo r hi s braver y i n exposin g th e regimes he found i n Haiti, Nicaragua , Vietnam , an d South Africa. Neve r a doctrinair e Marxist , h e becam e know n a s a defender o f th e victimize d and th e oppressed . A s h e wrot e o f th e responsibilit y o f th e writer , "H e stands fo r th e victim s an d th e victim s change " (Other, 80) . The undeniabl e anti-Semitis m i n th e earl y novel s mus t b e seen , then , as the productio n o f a young an d trouble d man . Fo r tha t youn g man , a s for William s an d Lewi s i n thei r maturity , th e Jew offere d a convenien t symbolic receptacl e int o whic h t o deposi t hi s split-of f pai n an d self loathing. Earliest Novels: Self-Loathing Enthroned Modern Appraisal. Bot h Rosenber g an d Fiedle r singl e Green e ou t a s on e of th e mos t anti-Semiti c o f th e moder n generatio n o f writers , bu t bot h point ou t th e spli t betwee n hi s action s an d hi s textua l representation . Fiedler, fo r example , refer s t o "Graha m Green e wh o write s publicl y against th e persecutio n o f th e Jews , [but ] people s hi s work s wit h Jew s unfailingly sinister : creature s los t t o th e spirit , devote d onl y t o things " ("Fagin," 415) . A s I hav e note d above , Green e stoppe d usin g Jewis h characters in his novels after 1938 . The sinister creatures bot h critic s refe r

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to are accordingly al l found i n the novels written betwee n 192 9 and 1938 . I wil l focu s o n fou r o f thos e novel s here . Unlike contemporar y reviewers , wh o praise d The Man Within (1929 ) and eithe r disregarded o r denigrated The Name of Action (1930) , moder n critics unanimousl y classif y bot h o f thes e earl y book s a s literary failure s which helpe d Green e alon g o n hi s way t o novelisti c maturity . Allo t an d Farris poin t ou t i n thes e earl y novel s a "lack o f psychologica l distance " which give s u s a s reader s "th e feelin g tha t th e autho r i s to o personall y involved." 19 The y especiall y remar k th e peculiarit y o f Greene' s attitud e toward sexua l love . Whil e the y not e tha t thi s "fea r o f th e body " wil l remain a constant i n Greene' s late r fiction , the y find i t especiall y "con taminates" th e earl y book s (45 , 236-37). The y fee l tha t th e femal e char acters i n thes e book s fai l becaus e o f " a youn g man' s absorptio n i n th e 'otherness' of women" and mention "the remarkable polarity of attractio n and repulsio n tha t th e sexua l ac t ha s fo r hi s character s an d th e fixity o f the separatio n h e make s betwee n desir e an d affection " (44-45) . Marti n Turnell share s thi s perception . H e write s o f Greene' s "defectiv e attitud e toward sexuality, " finds i n i t "somethin g obsessive , somethin g unbal anced," an d "canno t remembe r a singl e instanc e o f a really satisfactor y [sexual] connection " i n thes e earl y novels. 20 Norman Sherr y describe s Greene' s earl y novel s a s "indulgen t an d romantic" self-portraits : "Ther e i s to o muc h self-love , to o littl e self criticism i n thes e earl y portrait s o f pleasant , anguishe d youn g me n buil t up fro m Greene' s ow n notio n o f himsel f a s a youn g ma n romanticall y caught i n th e toil s o f love " (411) . Whil e I agre e tha t The Man Within and The Name of Action ar e romantic , I find th e self-portrait s i n thes e books neithe r self-satisfie d no r pleasant . I n m y view , The Man Within and The Name of Action, a s well a s the later an d mor e assure d Stamboul Train (1932) , ar e abou t self-loathing , no t abou t self-love . For Greene , wh o neede d t o "re-ear n hi s malenes s ever y day " (Cho dorow, 40), the choice to be a novelist, a profession whic h is not culturall y defined a s strongl y masculine , wa s a risk y one . I n addition , Greene' s choice t o leav e his well-paying jo b o n th e Times i n orde r t o writ e fiction entailed a financial risk . Fo r hi s early productions, h e chose traditionall y male popular genres : adventure novels and thrillers. The Man Within an d The Name of Action ar e historica l adventur e narrative s whic h depen d heavily on plot and contain plenty of "male" action (spying, the shipmen t of arms, revolution, war , shooting , rapes , and seduction). Green e labeled

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the other thre e books under discussion , A Gun for Sale, Stamboul Train, and Brighton Rock, "entertainments, " to distinguish the m fro m hi s mor e serious novels. However, unlik e more traditional samples of these genres, Greene's book s d o no t rel y o n chanc e occurrences o r mysteriou s conun drums. Instead , a s i n Shakespearia n tragedy , th e actio n o f th e plo t i s propelled b y th e characters ' psychology—i n particula r b y thei r failings . The rea l suspens e lie s in the questio n o f whethe r a given protagonist wil l pass o r fai l th e test s o f manhoo d an d o f morality . Greene' s choic e o f form, lik e Lewis's and Williams's, reflects hi s personal system. His choice of genr e classifie d hi m a s a decidedly "male " writer . Th e concentratio n on hi s protagonists ' psychologica l failing s reveal s hi s ow n obsessiona l self-doubt an d self-analysis . "His Father Was His Lust": Th e Ma n Within . Green e bega n The Man Within, hi s third nove l and the first on e published, i n 1926 , when h e was twenty one , durin g hi s courtshi p o f Vivien . Th e nove l wa s publishe d i n 1929. Unlike The Name of Action, whic h he omitted from th e later edition of hi s collecte d works , Green e allowe d The Man Within t o b e reissue d as a n author' s "sentimenta l gestur e towar d hi s ow n past , th e perio d o f ambition an d hope." 21 Par t o f Greene' s fon d memor y fo r hi s first pub lished nove l an d secon d publishe d boo k (h e ha d previousl y publishe d a collection o f verse ) ha s t o d o wit h it s reception . The Man Within wa s a publishing success , an d receive d superlativ e review s i n bot h Britai n an d the Unite d States . Green e wa s hailed a s a rising talen t an d a new literar y light. A s a resul t o f thi s acclaim , h e decide d tha t h e woul d b e abl e t o make hi s livin g a s a write r an d gav e u p hi s jo b a s a subedito r o n th e Times, a move h e woul d regre t deepl y upo n th e failur e o f hi s nex t tw o novels. I n 197 1 Green e calle d The Man Within "youn g an d ver y senti mental . .. th e boo k o f a complet e stranger " (Sort, 197). Despit e thi s disclaimer, th e novel's themes were far from strang e to Greene. The boo k contains n o Jewis h characters , bu t i t encode s th e syste m whic h wil l b e repeated i n th e othe r thre e novel s I wil l discus s i n thi s chapte r an d i s worth examinin g fo r tha t reason . The Man Within i s se t o n th e Susse x Down s aroun d 1850 , althoug h the historica l an d descriptiv e detail s ar e vagu e an d i t coul d tak e plac e anywhere an d a t almos t an y time . W e lear n tha t afte r th e deat h o f hi s father, th e leade r o f a band o f smugglers , youn g Franci s Andrews , wa s rescued fro m hi s hate d boardin g schoo l b y Carlyon , hi s father' s kindl y friend, an d adopte d int o th e smugglers ' band . Th e boo k begin s som e

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years later , afte r Andrews , drive n b y hatre d o f hi s father , ha s informe d on Carlyo n an d th e othe r smuggler s i n th e band . A hunte d man , h e arrives a t a deserte d cottag e wher e a pur e youn g woman , Elizabeth , i s standing watc h ove r th e bod y o f he r dea d guardian . The y fal l i n love , and Elizabet h persuade s hi m t o agre e t o testif y agains t th e smuggler s i n court. Whe n h e arrive s ther e h e meet s Lucy , th e prosecutin g lawyer' s young mistress , who , i n orde r t o hel p th e prosecutor , als o pushe s An drews t o testify , bribin g hi m wit h th e promis e o f sex . Andrew s testifie s against his former friends , wh o are , however, acquitte d b y a jury o f thei r countrymen. H e spend s th e nigh t wit h Lucy , the n belatedl y return s t o Elizabeth, an d th e two o f the m rene w thei r vows. O n a trip t o th e pum p for water , h e hear s on e o f th e vengefu l smuggler s enterin g th e cottag e where sh e i s waitin g fo r hi m alone . Instea d o f returnin g t o protec t her , the cowardl y Andrew s run s away , an d th e smuggle r attempt s t o rap e Elizabeth. B y the time Andrews returns , sh e has stabbed hersel f t o deat h rather tha n submit . Whe n th e polic e arrive , Andrew s assuage s hi s guil t by savin g Carlyon , wh o ha s b y no w appeare d o n th e scen e an d i s unde r suspicion, b y himsel f confessin g t o he r murder . When w e firs t mee t Andrew s h e i s alread y a "sor t o f Judas, " whos e acts o f betraya l ste m fro m hi s nee d t o ge t reveng e o n hi s abusiv e father , a nee d which , lik e Greene' s own , ha s remaine d "aliv e lik e a creatur e under a stone " (Sort, 82) . Andrews' s fathe r wa s "dominating , brutal , a conscious master , no t char y o f hi s blows t o eithe r chil d o r wif e . . . dominant, easil y aroused , ready . . . with th e whip " (Man, 59 , 33) . Andrews i s especiall y enrage d b y th e dichotom y betwee n hi s father' s public and private selves, his own inability to live up to his father's image , and th e necessit y h e ha s fel t t o uphol d th e lie . "Hi s cre w worshippe d him," h e tell s Elizabeth : [A]ll th e tim e I wa s a t sea , I coul d se e ho w the y wondere d tha t suc h a mountain coul d brin g forth suc h a mouse. . .. You can't understan d wha t life wa s like with thes e men. I coul d d o nothing whic h wa s not weighe d up with my father and found wanting. They kept telling me of his courage. .. . And I kne w al l th e tim e thing s the y didn' t know , ho w h e ha d beat en m y mother , o f hi s conceit , hi s ignorance , hi s beastl y bullyin g ways . (Man, 73) "Life wit h thos e men " o n th e shi p whic h ha d bee n rule d b y hi s father , where Andrew s "wa s afrai d o f bein g hurt " an d hate d th e nois e an d the danger , i s a clea r transpositio n o f Greene' s lif e i n th e schoo l hi s fa -

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ther ran . Th e sensitive , awkward , an d "abnormal " mouse-so n o f th e mountain-headmaster ha d also felt that he could never do anything whic h was not "weighed up with my father an d found wanting. " Like Andrews, Graham wa s force d t o liste n t o suc h unflatterin g comparison s i n silence , unable to betray his father as a "beastly bully." Like Andrews's, Graham' s secret festered . Eve n hi s father's deat h coul d no t ri d hi m o f "th e school masters an d th e uncles," whose "circl e o f disapprovin g faces " would, h e was sure , curs e hi s weddin g day . " I though t m y fathe r wa s dead, " An drews tell s Elizabeth , "bu t I soo n foun d tha t h e ha d followe d m e o n board" (76) . Andrews' s father , a hero t o th e crew , ha d "kille d hi s wif e and ruined his son through his abuse." Andrews uses his precious momen t in cour t t o testif y agains t him : It was because I had a father who m I hated an d he was always being put before m e as a model. I t mad e me mad. An d I' m a coward.... Unless I did something it would have gone on for always and always. And I wanted to sho w thos e me n tha t I was someon e t o b e considered, tha t I had th e power to smash all their plans. (153) Andrews's statement , "Unles s I di d somethin g i t would hav e gon e o n for alway s an d always, " painfully echoe s Greene' s tw o statement s abou t the specia l vulnerability o f th e child , wh o ha s n o concep t o f time : "Un happiness in a child accumulates because he sees no end to the dark tunnel" and "[A ] chil d ha s no t learne d t o hope " (Sort, 80 , 61) . Whe n Green e a t first attempte d suicid e by swallowing medications an d deadly nightshade , and late r ra n awa y t o th e Common , leavin g a note threatenin g suicid e if he shoul d b e made t o retur n t o school , h e to o fel t th e nee d someho w t o take a n action , howeve r shameful , whic h woul d pu t a n en d t o hi s pain . Andrews's self-condemnation , "I' m a coward," a s wel l a s hi s cowardl y escape durin g Elizabeth' s rape , reflect s Greene' s ow n sham e a t his child hood vulnerability , an d especiall y th e dee p sham e h e fel t abou t hi s ac t of fleeing. Andrews' s nee d t o "sho w thos e men " ha s it s paralle l i n Greene's nee d t o becom e a famous write r an d thu s prov e t o th e school mates wh o despise d hi m "tha t I wa s goo d a t something " (Sort, 84) . When Carlyo n come s to tell him of his father's death , h e asks Andrew s why h e ha s no t lef t th e schoo l h e hates . "It' s wors e a t home, " Andrew s answers. "M y mother' s dead. " Whe n th e young Graha m ra n awa y fro m his father' s school , h e coul d no t ru n hom e either . Hi s fathe r wa s ther e as well a s in school , whil e hi s mother's lac k o f suppor t mad e he r "dead "

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in terms of her ability to protect him. Graha m ran instead to the Commo n behind bot h schoo l an d home . He , lik e Andrews , wa s remove d t o th e care o f a benign substitut e father , Kennet h Richmond , whos e treatmen t enabled hi m t o "loo k unde r th e ston e les s an d les s ofte n unti l whe n h e finally raise d i t h e realize d tha t nothin g wa s there " (Sort, 82-84) . In late r life , Greene' s memorie s o f hi s fathe r ar e quit e mild , bu t h e accused Kennet h Richmon d o f causin g hi s psychological numbness . Fo r Graham, a s for Andrews , th e goo d fathe r arrive d to o late . Th e damage , though no t fata l i n Graham' s cas e a s i n th e cas e o f hi s fictional repre sentative, Andrews , ha d bee n done . A s Alic e Mille r write s o f Hitler' s father's death : "When Adolf' s fathe r died , h e had alread y long since been internalized b y th e son " (168) . Afte r Andrew s finds Elizabet h dead , h e kneels b y he r body : Was there anythin g of himself tha t was not hi s father? Hi s father wa s his lust, an d his cowardice had been fashioned b y his father. (Man, 241) At th e en d o f th e book , Andrew s work s ou t a "plan fo r dealin g wit h his father " whic h wil l forc e "hi s father' s spiri t t o [shrink ] int o a smal l space leavin g Andrew' s ow n brai n mor e clea r an d simpl e tha n h e ha d ever know n it " (239) . Thi s pla n i s hi s decisio n t o tur n himsel f i n fo r a crime h e di d no t commi t bu t fo r whic h h e know s h e wil l b e hanged ; i n other words , t o commi t suicide . I f Green e ha d bee n force d t o sta y o n a t school instead o f being sent to live with the Richmonds, hi s own solutio n may wel l hav e bee n similar . "His fathe r wa s hi s lust, " Andrew s realizes . Th e splittin g o f th e tw o female character s i n The Man Within int o a sacrificia l virgi n an d a de structive an d indestructibl e whor e reflect s bot h th e nee d t o spli t of f hi s own feelin g o r femal e sel f an d th e inabilit y t o regar d wome n a s whol e people, tw o legacie s Charle s Green e bequeathe d t o hi s son . Thi s binar y opposition als o reflect s Greene' s longin g fo r an d idealizatio n o f hi s un attainable mother, an d his simultaneous split-off, denie d ange r at her lack of warmth an d protection. A s the hunted Andrews runs from hi s pursuers in th e beginnin g o f th e book , h e long s fo r a n olde r woma n t o tak e hi m in an d ac t a s hi s confessor . Sh e woul d ope n th e doo r an d b e "lik e a mother to him." 22 Instea d there is a peer, Elizabeth , mothe r and beautifu l virgin i n one , wh o ha s th e powe r t o transfor m Andrew s fro m a corrup t and cowardl y crimina l t o a man capabl e o f good . Elizabet h i s describe d throughout i n remote , etherea l image s o f light . Whe n drunk , Andrew s

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visualizes he r a s " a sain t surrounde d wit h whit e birds. " Sh e i s scarcel y allowed a corporea l frame : he r bod y i s " a fragil e an d beautifu l casing , which jus t succeede d i n enclosin g her lightl y poised spirit. " H e declares , "I don' t believ e tha t an y ma n wil l eve r touc h her " (107) . Elizabeth' s remote, white goodness is reminiscent of Greene's symbol for his mother : that pale pure unsweetene d biscui t which n o on e els e was allowe d t o eat , with it s association s t o th e Host . Like Vivien, Elizabeth returns Andrews's declaration o f love, but with holds se x unti l the y ar e married . Sh e als o offer s hi m protection : " I wil l stand no w fo r eve r betwee n yo u an d them " (209) . I n a paroxysm muc h like the letters Green e wrote to Vivien, Andrew s declare s his dependenc e on her , an d hi s correspondin g los s o f self : You must stay with me always. You must not die before me . If you did I should fall away. It would be worse than before if I should lose you now. . . . You must possess me, go on possessing me, never leave me to myself. (209, 212) Not surprisingly , Andrew s fear s thi s lov e which i s "so stron g tha t I fee l that i t coul d flin g m e a t any moment int o Heave n o r Hell. " H e tell s her , "You ar e filling m e with yourself . Tha t mean s courage , peac e holiness, " but h e seem s far fro m peaceful (207) . I n a somewhat hostil e leap into th e future, h e imagine s he r i n childbirth : "I t mus t brin g yo u pain " (211) . A few hour s late r h e leaves her in the cottage t o b e attacked. Th e virgin ha s been punished , no t b y a future painfu l childbirth , bu t fa r mor e quickl y and mor e efficiently . No suc h fat e i s allotted t o Lucy , th e manipulative an d knowin g whor e who i s the objec t o f Andrews' s immora l lust . Andrew s recognize s i n he r his ow n "lustfu l bod y an d despicabl e heart " an d thinks , " I coul d mak e her wriggle" (117) . He damn s himsel f fo r a swine for hi s desire fo r Luc y but realize s tha t h e want s he r a s h e canno t wan t th e untouchabl e Elizabeth: Never before had he desired a woman so much—no, not Elizabeth. There was a kind o f mystery i n Elizabeth, a kind o f sanctit y which blurre d an d obscured hi s desir e with love . Her e ther e was no lov e and n o reverence. The animal in him could ponder her beauty crudely and lustfully.. . with the added spice of a reciprocated desire . (129) In Greene' s system , mother s an d virgins , b y thei r ver y nature , canno t feel lus t o r reciprocat e desire . The y ar e holy, bu t no t ver y sexy . O n th e

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other hand , an y woma n wh o ca n experienc e sexua l desir e mus t b e a whore. In additio n t o hi s nee d t o classif y an d objectif y women , Andrew s suffers fro m a desperate an d doome d nee d t o prov e hi s masculinity . H e is abou t t o resis t temptatio n an d retur n t o Elizabet h whe n Luc y tease s him: "I'l l g o int o Harry . He' s ol d an d tire d bu t I believ e he' s mor e o f a man tha n you " (181) . Thi s taun t t o hi s fragil e manhoo d i s too muc h fo r him. Hi s bette r sel f (th e ma n within ) abandon s him , tellin g him , "No w your bod y ha s chose n an d you r bod y shal l stan d alone " (130) . I n fact , it i s no t Andrews' s bod y bu t hi s hars h inne r fathe r whic h make s th e choice, an d we hear Greene' s ow n angr y self-hatre d i n the condemnatio n of a characte r wh o ha s falle n "bac k int o th e slim e fro m whic h h e ha d emerged" (182) . For al l its romanticism , Greene' s ton e i n The Man Within i s far fro m self-satisfied. Fro m th e beginnin g o f th e boo k Andrew s i s show n t o b e the empt y an d wea k creatur e Green e feare d h e wa s himself . Th e boo k begins with a n epigraph fro m Si r Thomas Browne : "There's anothe r ma n within m e / that' s angr y with me. " Most critic s interpret thi s a s Greene' s view o f th e dualisti c (goo d an d evil ) natur e o f man . I n m y reading , th e "man within " i s no t s o muc h a better sel f bu t a self-loathing flagellant : an internalize d ba d father . Greene describe s Andrews' s inne r emptines s a s tha t o f a puppet—a n image whic h Wyndha m Lewi s als o frequentl y use d an d whic h evoke s Greene's recurren t sens e o f a balloonlik e vacuity , easil y fille d b y a ma levolent outsid e force . Andrews , lik e Lewis' s "spli t man, " Ratner , i s thoroughly false , wit h assume d stag e gesture s an d "string s tha t pu t hi s speech an d mout h i n servitud e t o others " {Man, 16) . Hi s onl y ac t o f initiative consist s o f a strangely motiveles s betraya l o f Carlyon , th e goo d father wh o ha s rescue d him . Whe n h e tells Elizabeth, "[Y]o u mus t neve r leave me to myself," i t is because h e know s tha t hi s inner void o r numb ness conceal s inne r rag e an d evil . There i s n o plac e fo r reciprocal , mutuall y satisfyin g se x i n Greene' s system a s i t i s presented here , an d Andrews , lik e Kernberg' s borderlin e personalities, derive s n o enjoymen t fro m hi s sexualit y o r fro m anythin g else i n a worl d i n whic h "ther e ar e onl y tw o kind s o f people , abuser s and victims " (Lew , 73) . A virgi n lik e Elizabet h canno t enjo y sex , bu t must instea d b e ravished. I n hi s act of se x with Lucy , o n th e othe r hand , it i s Andrew s himsel f wh o i s ravishe d b y th e voraciou s whore . "Hav e

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you enjoyed yourself?" she asks, and he answers grimly, "I've wallowed, " and "You'v e mad e m e fee l mysel f dirtier. . . I coul d kil l myself " (183) . For Lewis , wh o als o experience d sexualit y a s a filthy compulsion , th e sexual ac t a t least serve d t o reassur e hi m o f hi s manhood . I n hi s system , the ma n remaine d clea n whil e th e woma n becam e filth y a s a resul t o f sexual intercourse . Williams , wh o regarde d genita l sexualit y wit h a woman a s filthy , redefine d th e sexua l ac t a s a religiou s on e an d foun d other mean s o f satisfactio n whic h h e dul y encode d int o hi s system . Fo r Greene's youn g mal e characters , th e offe r o f se x fro m a n experience d woman wa s a test the y coul d no t affor d t o pas s up , bu t on e the y coul d not possibly pass either. T o refus e woul d provid e proof o f impotence (o f failure a t the test of manhood), bu t success meant defeat an d emasculatio n through ravishmen t an d moreove r provide d proo f o f one' s ow n inne r filth an d degradation. Lucy' s simple, unthinking evi l is insignificant com pared t o tha t o f th e mor e comple x Andrew s wit h hi s persecutor y ma n within. " I hav e spoile d everythin g I touch, " think s Andrews , reflectin g the youn g Greene' s ow n despai r (206) . Andrews's final betraya l o f Elizabet h i s eve n mor e despicabl e becaus e she ha s entruste d (an d burdened ) hi m wit h he r fate . "Liste n an d believ e this i f yo u neve r believ e anothe r wor d I speak, " sh e tell s him . " I trus t you absolutely " (213) . Andrews , wh o knocke d o n he r doo r hopin g fo r motherly protection , i s thrust instea d int o th e rol e o f manl y protector — presented wit h another , eve n mor e impossibl e tes t o f manhood . Fore seeing th e worst , h e pray s fo r courage , whic h Go d doe s no t provide . When th e bruta l Jo e enter s th e cottage , Andrew s abandon s Elizabeth , proving foreve r an d beyon d a doub t tha t h e i s n o man . Thi s failure , within th e fram e o f th e novel , i s fa r mor e devastatin g tha n Elizabeth' s death. I t is her impossibl e demand s o n hi m which destro y Andrews , an d his abandonmen t o f he r i s no t onl y a n attemp t t o sav e hi s ow n lif e bu t also a way t o punish th e cold an d pure woman wh o has claimed an d the n shamed him . Additionally , i n killin g of f Elizabeth , Green e i s killing of f Andrews's las t hop e fo r huma n connectio n an d lov e an d i s silencin g hi s (loving, trustful ) femal e self. As Andrews run s away , Green e conveys hi s terror an d sham e an d als o evoke s hi s mothe r throug h th e imag e o f thei r shared phobia : "Th e flickerin g wing s o f a ba t dive d a t hi m an d h e pu t up fingers, tinglin g an d jumpin g wit h nerves , t o guar d hi s face " (228) . As we have seen in the works of both Williams and Lewis, the authoria l obsessions ca n sometimes becom e s o pressing that minor character s mus t

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step ou t o f thei r se t position s t o expres s them . I n The Man Within, Carlyon, whos e position throughou t mos t of the book i s that of the goo d father who arrives too late and whose courage and chivalry toward wome n serve a s a contrast t o Andrews' s deficiencies ; twic e step s ou t o f hi s role . Upon hi s first meetin g wit h Elizabeth , who m h e ostensibl y admires , h e suddenly turn s o n he r an d accuse s he r o f inne r carnality : I think that you are lovely, good, and full of pity, but that is only a dream. You know all about yourself, ho w you are greedy for this and that, afrai d of insects , full o f disgustin g physical needs . You'll neve r find a man who will love you fo r anythin g but a bare, unfilled-in outlin e of yourself. (66) Speaking throug h th e onl y "good " an d stron g mal e characte r i n th e book, Green e accuse s Mother/Elizabet h o f th e inne r cupidit y whic h i s also a characteristi c o f al l o f Williams' s an d Lewis' s women . Jus t a s charming, innocen t Barbar a Rackstra w containe d a voraciou s whor e within, wh o onl y neede d a summon s t o com e out , th e pur e Elizabet h contains a greedy , abhorren t inne r self . Green e usuall y confine s suc h attribution t o his whores, keeping his virgins clean. Carlyon' s accusation , which involv e Greene' s ow n phobia s an d "disgustin g physica l needs, " show ver y clearl y tha t th e femalenes s Green e loathe d an d attacke d i n hi s women character s wa s th e sam e qualit y h e persecute d s o unceasingl y i n himself. Once again , afte r Andrew s ha s betraye d hi s friendship , Carlyo n step s out o f characte r an d speak s o f hi m i n a wa y whic h i s reminiscen t o f Greene's ow n reflection s abou t Watson , th e bo y wh o betraye d hi s confidences: Was he laughing a t me the whole time. . . while we were friends? He' s a coward an d coward s ar e cunning. I told hi m al l the things I liked. I read him things , share d wha t I love d wit h him . I ca n onl y mak e hi m forge t what I told hi m by killing him. (69) For Greene , a s fo r Lewis , th e worl d i s populate d b y "potentia l perse cutors representing the nonintegrated sadisti c superego" (Kernberg, 282). They smil e sweetl y bu t secretl y plo t betraya l o f th e defenseles s an d vic timized boy-child . For Greene , a s fo r bot h William s an d Lewis , manhoo d i s a preciou s and tenuou s quality , t o b e guarded , fough t for , betrayed , and , i n An drews's case , lost . The Man Within contain s n o Jews , blacks , o r othe r

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strangers t o "tak e th e weight " o f Greene' s system . Consequently , Greene's preoccupatio n wit h hi s father, hi s bipolar divisio n o f women a s virgins o r whores , hi s nee d t o punis h th e virgins ; an d hi s overwhelmin g self-loathing ar e all displayed i n their most nake d form . The Man Within is, accordingly , a strangel y bar e book . Th e haunte d characters , unrea l and seemingl y unmotivated , pla y ou t thei r prima l dram a o n a strippe d stage. When the Virgin Is a Whore and the Winner Is a Jew: Th e Nam e o f Action. I n bot h hi s autobiographie s an d interview s Green e describe s hi s next tw o books , The Name of Action an d Rumour at Nightfall (bot h 1932), a s bein g completel y withou t merit : "M y tw o books , Rumour at Nightfall an d The Name of Action, wer e ba d becaus e I had lef t to o littl e distance between them and myself. The umbilical cord was left unbroken , you migh t s a y . . . the romanti c youn g autho r I wa s a t th e tim e wa s to o recognizable i n th e characters " (Other, 45,130) . In Ways of Escape (1980) he expand s o n thi s criticis m o f The Name of Action: "[T]h e autho r a t twenty-si x wa s a s unreal t o himself , i n spit e o f psychoanalysis a t sixteen , a s Olive r C h a n t . . . i s t o th e author . Chan t i s only a daydrea m i n th e min d o f a young romanti c author." 23 Contem porary critic s agree d wit h thi s appraisal . 24 The Name of Action, whic h Greene foun d th e onl y on e o f hi s book s whic h neve r gav e him "a t leas t once a momentary illusio n o f success, " is fascinating fo r th e purpose s o f this stud y no t becaus e o f it s meage r literar y interes t bu t jus t becaus e o f that unbroke n umbilica l cor d t o th e youn g an d trouble d author' s min d (Sort, 202) . It is also in this book tha t Jews first tak e their place alongsid e women a s important actor s i n th e bitte r play . The Name of Action i s the story o f the young an d wealthy Englishma n Oliver Chant , who , lik e hi s creator , experience s hi s lif e i n Londo n a s excruciatingly boring , meaningless , an d enervating . Thi s nonlife i s inter rupted when an acquaintance at a party recruits him to help the oppositio n cause in Trier, wher e a dictatorship ha s been established . H e i s especially interested i n th e proposition becaus e he has heard o f th e dictator' s beau tiful wife , Anne-Marie . Whe n Chan t arrive s i n Trier , h e meet s Kapper , a Jewish poet , an d leade r o f th e opposition . Kappe r hope s t o overthro w the dictator , Demassener , throug h propaganda , bu t Chan t finds th e ide a of shippin g i n arm s mor e romantic , an d a s h e ha s money , h e get s hi s way. H e i s invited t o th e palace, wher e h e meets Anne-Marie, an d even -

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tually ha s sex with her . Sh e reveals her husband' s impotenc e t o him , an d Chant leak s thi s informatio n t o Kapper , wh o use s i t i n a satirica l son g which cause s Demassener' s overthro w befor e th e arm s ca n b e used . I n 1980, Green e wrote : "Th e boo k end s wit h Chan t leavin g Trier b y train , in charge of th e defeated, wounde d an d unconsciou s dictator . Wha t hap pened t o th e wife ? I t i s onl y a matter o f month s sinc e I drov e mysel f t o reread The Name of Action an d I'v e alread y forgotte n he r fate , s o littl e does sh e liv e o r matter " (Ways, 20) . Greene later calle d his imitation o f Conra d i n his early novels "bastar d Conradese tortuosity, " an d Chant' s recruite r i s name d Kurtz , evokin g the nihilisti c explore r i n Conrad' s Heart of Darkness, a representative o f the collaps e o f romanti c ideal s whe n face d wit h th e evi l i n th e hear t o f humanity (Sherry , 411) . Green e had converte d t o Catholicis m fou r year s before an d ha d becom e increasingl y religious : Chant' s nam e evoke s th e plainsong liturgy of the Catholic church. Chan t himself, a boy-man figur e like Andrew s i n The Man Within, i s a s innocen t an d a s romanti c a s hi s name. H e accept s hi s commissio n muc h i n th e spiri t tha t Green e himsel f accepted hi s earl y sp y mission , an d hi s eage r nee d fo r arme d struggl e a s a way t o fight depressio n i s similar to Greene' s enjoymen t o f th e Genera l Strike an d hi s wis h fo r " a littl e bi t o f civi l war. " As w e shal l see , i n man y way s The Name of Action recapitulate s th e pattern introduce d i n The Man Within . However , ther e ar e som e im portant differences . I n The Man Within, Green e offers Andrew s a clearly dichotomized choic e between the virgin, Elizabeth, an d the whore, Lucy . In The Name of Action, however , a s in Williams' s War in Heaven, on e woman play s bot h parts . I n War in Heaven, th e saintl y Barbar a Rack straw become s a whor e unde r th e influenc e o f Cler k Simon' s potion , while i n The Name of Action Anne-Marie , who m Chan t a t first mistake s for a virgin, turn s ou t t o b e a whore. The Name of Action als o differ s fro m The Man Within i n it s centra l characters, Chan t an d Andrews , who , thoug h brothers , ar e no t twins . Chant i s an unlikeable characte r an d a silly fool , bu t h e i s morally a vast improvement ove r th e despicabl e Andrews . Chan t seem s t o b e haunte d by n o evi l internalize d father , an d hi s fault s ar e consequentl y mor e th e result o f youthfu l foll y tha n o f dee p interna l sin . I t i s th e adde d figure of th e Jew i n The Name of Action whic h assume s mos t o f th e weigh t o f Greene's self-loathing an d guilt, removin g it from th e central protagonist . In London, Chan t walks through "narrow ordured streets" to the party

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where h e meet s Kurtz , th e Ruritania n exil e wh o recruit s hi m fo r th e cause. Afte r pledgin g himsel f t o th e adventure , whic h promise s t o b e "the firs t Eden, " h e returns throug h street s which no w appea r "spaciou s and extravagantl y li t wit h stars." 25 Chant' s enervatio n an d boredom , much lik e Greene' s own , caus e hi m ordinaril y t o se e his worl d throug h excrement-colored glasses . Th e chanc e o f a n adventure , complet e wit h a secret password , romanti c possibilities , an d a schoolboy' s idea l tes t o f valor, temporaril y remove s th e ordur e fro m th e streets . Thi s daydrea m is much lik e th e on e i n whic h Isherwoo d imagine d himsel f a s an auster e young prefect "surrounde d b y sneering critics and open enemies, fightin g slackness, mora l rottenness.. . finall y passin g th e tests , emerging— a Man" (Lions and Shadows, 48) . Chant' s daydrea m differ s fro m Isher wood's onl y i n tha t his Eden include s a pure an d idealize d woma n rathe r than a pure younger boy . Bu t Chant' s Ede n ha s its Jewish snake , an d a n Eve who i s more tha n read y t o collud e wit h it . Ordure d streets , i t turn s out, ar e no t s o eas y t o clean . Chant's daydrea m an d hi s naivet e receiv e a blow whe n h e goe s t o th e arranged plac e t o mee t Kapper . H e find s tha t th e shabb y conspirato r i n the shoemaker's sho p has forgotten th e password, th e recitation o f whic h has bee n suc h a deliciou s par t o f hi s fantasy , "th e momen t o f whic h h e had dreamed almos t continually durin g the last week" (Name, 29) . Whe n he finall y gains entrance , Chan t see s a thin Jew, wh o starte d nervousl y forward , thoug h forwar d wa s not th e word t o expres s hi s sidelon g advanc e whic h ende d a t Chant' s sid e an d in it s cours e offere d t o th e gaz e no mor e tha n a profile o r a single eye . (Name, 29) The crab, anothe r additio n t o Rosenberg's lis t of anima l metaphors fo r the Jew, sidle s fort h wit h a shifty, cringin g approach , an d th e Jew soo n demonstrates hi s narcissisti c an d grandios e characte r b y hi s continua l repetition o f hi s nam e (" I a m Kappe r th e poet") , hi s excitemen t a t th e sound o f hi s own voice , an d hi s illusions o f powe r (36) . He, lik e Lewis' s Ratner and other literary Jews, is a pornographer, whos e perverse attitud e toward wome n i s shown b y th e obscen e verse s an d picture s whic h litte r the wall s o f hi s room . Kapper' s nam e suggest s th e Lati n capra, o r goat , a common anima l metapho r fo r unbridled , unselectiv e sexuality , an d fo r the mal e Jew. Kappe r is , lik e Lewis' s an d Williams' s Jews, immediatel y identifiable o n sight . Lik e Shyloc k o r Fagi n befor e him , h e i s usuall y

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referred t o a s "th e Jew " b y Green e an d b y th e othe r characters . Jus t a s Lewis evoke d Fagi n an d Shyloc k i n hi s descriptio n o f Archi e Margolin , Greene take s extr a car e t o locat e hi s Je w firml y withi n th e tradition : "Through th e guttura l Germa n cam e faintl y th e nasa l note tha t spok e o f deserts an d a doubting peopl e an d th e fligh t fro m Egypt " (31) . Vain an d posturing , greed y (thoug h fo r fame , no t money) , cowardly , murderous i n a sneaking, feminin e way , an d sexuall y lustful , Kappe r i s Rosenberg's Jew a s villain, a s degenerate, an d a s clown. I n hi s person h e embodies "the passionate avarice, the nihilism, an d the desire to mutilate" that Fiedle r describe s ("Fagin, " 418) . Just a s the Jewish crab' s approac h is diametrically oppose d t o tha t o f th e straightforwar d romanti c school boy, wit h hi s passwor d an d hi s illusions , s o Kapper' s defect s exis t i n direct oppositio n t o th e value s uphel d i n Thoma s Arnold' s an d Thoma s Hughes's concep t o f Muscular Christianity , embodie d b y the upstandin g band o f youths in Kipling's Stalky and Co., an d measured i n Isherwood' s schoolboy tes t o f manhood . Kapper' s professio n is , o f course , n o co incidence. Jus t a s th e faile d Jewis h write r Ratne r wa s a n unconsciou s portrait o f hi s creator , Greene' s rathe r mor e consciou s identificatio n i s as muc h wit h Kapper , th e boastful , cowardly , lustful , an d ambitiou s Jewish writer , a s with Chant , th e innocen t youn g man . Clerk Simo n an d Ratne r represen t attempt s b y William s an d Lewi s t o split of f an d isolat e thei r unacceptabl e part s b y depositin g the m i n th e person o f th e despicabl e Jew . Greene' s self-hatre d doe s no t allo w hi m such a n eas y solution . I n The Name of Action, inne r evi l canno t b e confined t o Kapper the Jew, wh o is only a temporary intercessor betwee n Greene and his self-contempt. Instead , Chan t and Kapper are inextricably textually linked . Greene' s effor t t o plac e Kappe r squarel y insid e th e lit erary traditio n o f evi l Jews i s a n attemp t t o fashio n hi m int o a n airtigh t container which might sto p the overflow o f evil into Chant. I n fact, mos t of th e "action " i n The Name of Action concern s Greene' s unsuccessfu l effort t o spli t of f an d isolat e th e inne r Jew , who , i n leagu e wit h th e woman, consistentl y invade s his young protagonist, refusin g t o giv e him any peace. We are reminded of Otto Weininger, who, failing at his attempt to "overcom e th e woma n an d th e Je w i n him, " finally kille d himsel f (Decker, 39) . Chant's romanticis m hide s a siniste r emptines s simila r t o Andrews's . When Kappe r urges him t o descend int o the cellar, wher e there are spider webs whic h threate n t o brus h hi s fac e lik e th e insec t an d ba t wing s o f

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the Green e phobia , i t i s clea r tha t th e voyag e int o th e basemen t o f th e house o f th e Jew i s a voyage int o th e author' s ow n "dar k cellar. " Chan t is easil y draw n int o th e "Jewish " darkness : Chant started a t the voice behind him and caught his first glimps e of what was happening behin d th e black , shiftin g curtai n o f th e Jew's eyes , dar k halls, and clammy mysteries and perpetual night. Must I, too, he wondered, become a part o f tha t drea m an d le t mysel f b e shifte d her e an d ther e by that imagination alway s in darkness? (34 , 35) When ther e is a knock o n the door, Kappe r step s back into stereotype , dissolving i n fear , an d snap s a t Chan t "i n th e ton e o f a harassed house wife" (38) . Th e invader turn s ou t t o b e Anne-Marie Demassene r herself , and Kapper , n o Englis h gentleman , refuse s t o giv e he r brandy , eve n though sh e i s shake n fro m a car accident . A s Kappe r assume s a siniste r position behin d Anne-Marie , Chan t notice s the flash o f metal , indicatin g the weapon o f the mythic Jew: a knife. Chant , wh o i s less cowardly tha n Andrews, attempt s t o protect her , bu t Anne-Mari e want s non e o f it . Sh e can defen d herself , an d eve n seem s draw n t o th e knife-wieldin g Jew : "They regarde d eac h othe r i f no t wit h friendshi p a t leas t wit h a kind o f mutual understanding " (42) . When Anne-Mari e look s a t him, Chan t imagine s tha t sh e ca n se e th e "Jew" h e feel s i n himsel f ancltha t sh e i s thinking : "Ho w wel l yo u fit with you r companions , tha t shifty-eye d mean-bodie d Je w an d hi s fa t friend. Yo u ar e no t yourself , yo u ar e onl y on e o f three " (40) . Th e dar k halls, clamm y mystery , an d perpetua l nigh t i n th e Jew's eye s ar e stereo typical—but the y belon g t o Chan t a s wel l a s t o th e Jew . Thi s ocula r image recur s man y times . Chan t hate s th e ide a tha t Anne-Mari e "wa s a woman i n the eyes of the German Jew, a woman t o be examined b y thos e dark, desecratin g eyes " (113) . Later , a s Kappe r trie s t o persuad e Chan t to betray th e dictator's impotence , th e Jew's eyes becom e inhuman, dev ilish. "Th e lacquere d eye s approached his , points o f light gleamin g a t the pupils" (277). When Chan t look s into the Jew's eye s and finds " a passag e leading straight t o a sanctuary which was too dar k to be comprehended, " it i s once agai n hi s ow n inne r darknes s o r voi d whic h h e i s viewing wit h horror (114) . Kapper's knif e i s no t hi s onl y weapon . Soo n afte r Chant' s arrival , Kapper, creepin g u p fro m behin d a s usual , shoot s a young an d friendl y policeman wh o ha s bee n pettin g a ca t an d i s no w i n th e ac t o f reachin g

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toward Chan t i n friendshi p (96) . Chant , wh o ha s collude d i n thi s death , must joi n wit h th e Jew i n th e disposa l o f th e body . Th e empt y balloo n of mora l void , onl y thinl y covere d b y hi s romanticism , i s quickl y bein g filled wit h J ewish evil , an d th e daydrea m tes t o f manhoo d i s fast turnin g into a nightmare . Unlike hi s literar y predecessors , thi s Jew ha s a wife, a bedraggled an d masochistic creatur e who act s as Kapper's instrumen t muc h a s Williams's bedraggled femal e homuncula e followe d th e biddin g o f thei r master , Clerk Simon. I n order to hide the bloodstains on the street, Kappe r order s his wif e t o sprea d blood y live r o n them . To o cowardl y t o d o th e jo b himself, h e stamps , screams , an d gesticulate s wit h stereotypica l hysteri a until sh e goes to cover his tracks. Berth a Kapper , on e of onl y tw o femal e Jews i n th e text s i n thi s study , "seeme d t o hav e n o substance , t o blo w back befor e hi s approach " (102) . Sh e i s a cringing , ugl y "cowardl y an d characterless woman, " whos e se x i s not neede d an d wh o i s unnecessar y "for an y purpos e whatever " (107) . Sh e cares mor e fo r a few mark s tha n for th e murde r o f a man an d i s at onc e th e Jew's cringing , abuse d victi m and a rapacious , money-lovin g Je w herself . Althoug h sh e i s a n abuse d woman, Chant' s cod e o f schoolbo y chivalr y doe s no t exten d t o Berth a Kapper. Droppin g th e Jew's ordur e i n plac e i s a fitting activit y fo r thi s creature, wh o combine s th e wors t trait s o f th e femal e an d th e Jew . When his wife has left, Kappe r reminds Chan t that it is he, not Kapper , who ha s chose n th e wa y o f violence . Th e Jew tells th e youn g ma n i n s o many word s tha t h e wil l no t b e allowe d t o escape , throug h projectiv e identification, fro m hi s responsibilit y fo r murder : "Your way , Her r Chant, " an d hi s twiste d mout h seeme d t o cal l bitte r attention to a young face dead, a body twisting with upturned rum p upon the Moselle , an d a pile o f ra w live r flun g o n a dirty street . Ordure . Bu t my wa y wa s not ordure , Chan t thought , hi s memory catchin g a t a brief belief i n barricades and shots fired openl y in a good cause. (113, emphasis mine) Kapper, lik e Cler k Simo n an d D u Maurier' s Svengali , fascinate s women, whos e inne r evi l h e understand s an d matches . Whil e Chan t i s still los t i n hi s meaningles s fantas y o f th e pur e an d saintl y Anne-Marie , "the chie f beaut y o f lif e an d th e chie f attractio n of . . . death," Kappe r recognizes he r fo r th e trollo p sh e i s b y he r voic e an d tell s her , "I' m no t interested i n you r n a m e . . . I kno w th e voic e o f ever y trollo p i n Trier . I

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don't nee d t o kno w thei r n a m e s . . . I a m a ma n an d yo u ar e a woman . We al l mee t i n th e sam e plac e soone r o r later. . . between th e sheets " (236-37). Just a s in The Man Within Carlyo n steppe d ou t o f hi s rol e t o accuse Elizabet h o f inne r cupidity , i n thi s passage Kappe r th e Jew i s th e mouthpiece fo r a n insigh t commo n t o Lewi s an d William s a s wel l a s Greene: tha t eve n th e mos t romanticize d woma n contain s a suppuratin g trollop underneath . Anne-Mari e feel s see n by Kappe r an d i s attracted b y his brutality : " I lik e a man wh o i s proud an d unhappy . Dark , musical , liking w o m e n . .. I like your Kapper . Hi s frankness interest s me. I believe it eve n excite s m e a little" (237) . Chan t tell s Kappe r t o "kee p you r dirt y fingers off, . . .Jew," bu t th e Jew's dirt y finger s hav e alread y bee n ther e (275). Th e beautifu l woma n conceal s th e inne r whore , an d th e Jew an d the woma n ar e draw n togethe r i n a pact o f mutua l darkness . While Kappe r recognize s himsel f i n whores an d feels comfortabl e wit h them (jus t a s Andrew s fel t comfortabl e wit h Lucy , i n who m h e recog nized hi s ow n "lustfu l bod y an d despicabl e heart") , h e canno t tolerat e the presence o f virgins. Perhap s t o make up fo r th e absenc e o f an y virgi n in the flesh, th e Madonna hersel f make s several appearances in The Name of Action, an d th e Jew encounter s he r with horror an d defeat, i n the wa y a vampire encounter s a cross. H e repeatedl y look s ou t o f a window a t a bronze Madonna , "th e mothe r o f hi s eterna l enemy, " and , a s i f a t he r bidding, hi s me n begi n t o spea k o f Catholicis m an d goin g t o Mass , an d turn agains t him . Greene's Kapper , lik e Williams's Cler k Simon , i s a sexually virile man , although hi s cowardic e i s "female. " B y contrast , Chant , lik e Andrew s in The Man Within, approache s se x without desire , bu t wit h th e nee d t o prove hi s manhood . Whe n Anne-Mari e ha s engineere d thei r on e sexua l encounter an d th e tw o o f the m ar e i n a n empt y roo m i n a n inn , h e i s overtaken b y anxiety . H e uneasil y repeat s tha t h e loves her , the n evoke s the nam e o f he r husband , Demassener . Anne-Mari e tell s hi m tha t De massener ha s neve r mad e lov e t o her , eve n though , n o virgin , sh e wa s another man' s mistres s befor e marryin g him . Sh e will not tel l Chant tha t she love s hi m bu t insists , " I wan t you. " Lik e Green e himself , wh o los t interest in available women, an d like Horney's neuroti c men who becam e "very indignan t wit h a woman wh o take s thei r intention s to o seriously " (359), Chan t lose s interest . "Chan t stare d a t th e floo r an d wondere d where desir e ha d gon e an d wh y i t ha d lef t him . ' I lov e you, ' h e said , with perplexit y an d withou t passion " (247) .

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It i s onl y whe n Anne-Marie , lik e Luc y i n The Man Within, taunt s Chant tha t h e manage s t o approac h her . "There' s onl y on e mar k o f a man," sh e tells him, likenin g him to her impotent husband . A t the soun d of th e contemp t i n he r voice , h e grab s her , an d intercours e i s achieve d (246). Bu t fo r Chan t a s fo r Andrews , th e encounte r i s no t pleasurabl e but devastating . No t onl y ha s his virgin proven a whore, bu t Chant , lik e Andrews, has himself been ravaged. Anne- Marie, like Lucy, like Melanie, the rapaciou s femal e wh o rape s youn g Da n Boley n i n The Apes of God, and like the women who threatened bot h Lewis and Greene with marriag e when they went abroad , i s an embodiment o f that yawning female mout h which threaten s t o swallo w th e victimize d male . At first, Chan t endeavor s to hold on to his illusions about Anne-Marie . "I lov e you a s men hav e love d God! " h e trie s t o convinc e himsel f (259) . But i n th e end , Anne-Mari e force s hi m t o fac e facts . I n th e incongruen t holiness o f th e Catholi c churc h wher e the y mee t fo r th e las t time , sh e tells him , i n a voice whic h "sounde d les s lovel y tha n shrill" : Last night.. . was nothing. Anyone would have satisfied m e . .. if I thought you were dangerous... I would have reported you to the police days ago. You would have been shot. I care just that much for you r body . (271 ) Chant's insigh t afte r thi s revelatio n remind s on e o f Lewis' s engulfin g epira i n The Art of Being Ruled: "H e ha d believe d i n love . Lov e no w was th e struggl e o f tw o bodie s t o posses s eac h other " (Name, 264) . In The Man Within, Green e gav e Andrew s a ba d father , who m h e internalized, an d a good one, whom he betrayed. I n The Name of Action, there i s n o goo d woman , an d n o goo d fathe r either . I f Kappe r th e Je w embodies Greene' s lus t an d bestiality , Demassene r th e dictator embodie s his terro r an d loathin g o f th e femal e bod y an d th e shamefu l en d o f thos e who fai l th e tes t o f manhood . A cold , dignifie d figure enthrone d i n "th e loneliness inevitabl e t o power, " Demassene r ha s use d hi s reig n t o clea r the country o f pornography an d prostitution. H e als o denies his subject s music an d dancing , a s thes e ca n lea d t o sexua l feeling s an d indulgenc e (69). H e apparentl y refrain s fro m se x wit h hi s wif e no t becaus e h e i s impotent bu t rathe r because "al l that disgust s him," or , a s he tells Chant , "my love is not of that kind" (246, 289-90). This puritan dictator oppose s "freedom fo r th e animal in man. I would bin d ma n i n clean chains" (71). As Chan t grow s mor e an d mor e disguste d b y th e Jew, Demassener' s clean austerit y prove s increasingl y appealing . I n a n early meeting , Chan t

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recognizes th e dictator , hi s suppose d enemy , a s "hi s kind, " a s th e Je w and hi s (Jewish ) associate s ca n neve r b e (74) . Afte r hi s ow n devastatin g encounter wit h Anne-Marie , Demassener' s abstinenc e make s eve n mor e sense t o him . Bu t whethe r o r no t i t i s reall y cause d b y impotence , tha t abstinence lead s t o th e dictator' s downfall . On e wh o ha s faile d th e tes t of manhood canno t hide ; he will be recognized an d foun d out . Th e new s of the dictator's failure , sprea d through tow n b y Kapper's mockin g song , causes hi m t o b e laughe d ou t o f office , the n sho t i n a part o f th e bod y which is not named, bu t which on e of the Jew's mor e sinister supporters , "the ma n wit h th e syphiliti c scar, " hint s t o b e th e genital s (300) . Th e punishment fo r impotenc e coul d no t b e mor e clearl y spelle d out : i t i s castration. Anne-Mari e predictabl y elect s t o sta y i n Trie r wit h th e ne w head o f government , th e Jew, an d Chan t choose s t o leave on a train wit h the castrate d dictator , who , i n a final momen t o f humiliation , weakl y moans fo r th e wif e h e coul d no t manag e t o keep . A t th e las t moment , Anne-Marie seem s abou t t o yiel d an d want s t o kno w i f he r husban d ha s asked fo r her , bu t Chan t lie s to her an d denie s tha t h e has. O n th e train , to ad d insul t t o hi s injury , th e dictato r i s symbolicall y rape d b y "th e representative o f th e Ne w World, " a n America n reporte r fro m th e Chicago Tribune. Although Chan t finally choose s col d purity ove r evil lust, i t is a choice with n o glor y i n it . Th e emasculate d dictato r an d th e youn g man , who , emptied o f hi s fine illusion s an d hi s innocence , ha s no w becom e a lia r and a whoremaster, ar e no t muc h bette r tha n th e Jew an d th e whor e t o whom they yield the field. The dethroned Demassener asks Kapper, "Ca n you imagin e anythin g mor e laughabl e tha n m e beate n b y you? " an d th e laughter whic h close s The Name of Action i s hollow indeed . The Jew Within: Stambou l Train . I n Stamboul Train (1932) , publishe d in the United State s as Orient Express, Greene , wh o ha d begu n t o revie w films, abandon s th e genr e o f th e historica l romanc e fo r tha t o f th e con temporary thrille r an d increasingl y relie s o n cinemati c rathe r tha n ro mantic writing. Green e always emphasized that he wrote Stamboul Train, an "entertainment " t o mak e money. 26 Stamboul Train indee d mad e money fo r it s author , a s wel l a s receivin g almos t uniforml y excellen t reviews. I t wa s chose n a s th e monthl y selectio n o f th e Boo k Society , although it s explici t sexuality , an d especiall y th e lesbia n characters , shocked man y o f th e Boo k Societ y members . Th e onl y contemporar y

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censures o f th e nove l deal t wit h thi s "coarseness " an d mad e n o mor e mention o f Greene' s us e o f Jewis h character s tha n ha d th e review s o f The Name of Action. Some moder n critic s d o discus s th e impor t o f th e Jewish characte r i n Stamboul Train, thoug h the y disagre e a s t o hi s significance . Graham e Smith regard s th e politica l atmospher e an d th e anti-Semitis m Green e portrays i n th e nove l a s evidenc e o f hi s politica l clairvoyance . H e see s the train where most of the action takes place as a vision of Nazi German y in th e yea r befor e Hitler' s accessio n t o power . I n hi s view , "Myat t i s literally a wanderin g Je w an d Green e doe s al l h e ca n t o accentuat e hi s position 'a s th e centr e o f a hostile world. ' " Smit h concludes , "Th e soi l which nurture s th e growt h o f Jewis h persecutio n coul d hardl y b e mor e tangibly presented." 27 Fiedle r an d Rosenberg , o n th e othe r hand , se e Myatt a s on e o f Greene' s mos t offensiv e Jewis h stereotypes . Judging fro m th e change s h e mad e i n th e postwa r editions , Green e must late r hav e fel t som e awarenes s o f hi s anti-Semitis m i n Stamboul Train. Althoug h h e make s n o direc t apology , i n Ways of Escape he ex plains, "Hitle r ha d no t ye t com e t o powe r whe n Orient Express wa s written. I t wa s a differen t worl d an d a different author—a n autho r stil l in hi s twenties . I a m no t sur e tha t I detec t muc h promis e i n hi s work. " Yet the same paragraph end s with his appreciation o f "Mr. Stein , a fraud ulent businessman, " a characte r fo r whos e creatio n "th e ol d write r ca n salute hi s youn g predecesso r wit h a certai n respect " (32-33) . Whe n w e consider Mr . Stein , wh o use s surger y t o hid e hi s crooke d nos e an d sub terfuge t o hid e hi s crooke d identity , wh o enjoy s a refine d "littl e bi t o f smut i n femal e company, " an d wh o brazenl y sell s of f hi s niec e i n a marriage t o sui t hi s convenience , w e canno t hel p bu t hea r a not e o f defiance o n Greene' s par t towar d thos e wh o hav e accuse d hi m o f anti Semitism.28 Stamboul Train i s set on a train boun d fo r Istanbul . Th e young Anglo Jewish curran t merchant , Carleto n Myatt , e n route t o Constantinopl e t o buy up a rival business for his father's firm, meet s Coral Musker, a virginal chorus gir l wit h a heart condition . Cora l faints , Myat t take s pit y o n he r and offers he r his first class berth; and they have an affair. Cora l is revived from he r faint by Dr. Richar d Czinner, a n exiled socialist leader, returnin g to hi s country , afte r a n absenc e o f man y years , t o participat e i n a revolution. Mabe l Warren, a drunken lesbia n journalist, ha s boarded th e trai n in pursuit o f Czinne r an d of her companion, th e lovely but whorish Janet

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Pardoe. A t Vienna , a crimina l German , Josep h Grunlich , fleein g afte r having brutally murdere d a man i n the cours e o f a robbery, als o get s on . At the Subotica border , Dr . Czinne r i s recognized b y the authoritie s an d stopped. H e hand s a paper to Coral, an d she and Grunlich , wh o has been caught with a gun, ar e also taken off th e train. After a mock trial in which Czinner is condemned t o death, Coral , Czinner , an d Grunlich ar e locked in a jail cel l together . Grunlic h pick s th e lock , an d th e thre e attemp t t o escape across the snow. Czinne r i s shot, an d he and Cora l hide in a shed. Meanwhile, Myatt , wh o ha s returne d i n a ca r t o loo k fo r Coral , en counters onl y Grunlich , wh o denie s tha t Cora l i s there . Myat t ha s bee n frightened b y th e anti-Semitis m o f th e official s h e has encountere d i n hi s rescue effort , and , thoug h h e know s tha t Grunlic h i s lying , h e rescue s him instea d o f Cora l an d goe s o n t o Constantinopl e o n th e train . Ther e he decide s t o marr y Jane t Pardoe , wh o turn s ou t t o b e hi s colleague' s half- Jewis h niece . Afte r spendin g th e nigh t i n th e she d wit h th e dyin g Czinner, Cora l i s rescued th e next da y b y Mabe l Warren , bu t die s whe n her hear t give s out , o n th e floo r o f Mabel' s car . In Stamboul Train, w e find the system in The Man Within recapitulate d quite closely . Onc e mor e th e empt y youn g man , pursue d b y hi s past, i s faced wit h a binary oppositio n betwee n th e worlds o f goo d an d evi l an d the necessit y t o mak e a choic e betwee n them . Th e worl d o f goo d i s embodied her e b y a pur e virgin , a goo d father , an d th e possibilit y o f sacrificial love ; an d th e worl d o f evi l b y a whore, a ba d father , an d th e encroaching large r world o f corruptio n an d greed . Onc e mor e the youn g man, influence d b y th e virgin , make s a n initia l mov e towar d goodness , but, failin g th e test o f manhood , betray s he r throug h hi s cowardice. Th e virgin i s killed off ; an d evil , embodie d i n th e allianc e o f th e Jew an d th e whore, i s left t o rule . In The Man Within, Andrew s himsel f containe d mos t o f th e evi l i n the book, whil e in The Name of Action, th e Jew was the prime repositor y of that evil, although the more conscious authoria l representative, Chant , was also tainted. I n Stamboul Train, Myat t the gesticulating Jew, contain s within himself th e stereotypical qualities of greed and avarice, cowardice , servility, an d sexua l concupiscence . A t th e sam e time , h e i s als o th e authorial representative , th e empt y youn g ma n who , i n eac h of Greene' s early novels , mus t underg o th e tes t o f manhood . O f al l th e characters , it is only Myatt who contain s duality: the possibility fo r goo d o r for evil . It i s Myatt who , lik e Greene , i s haunted i n his dream s b y accusation s o f

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some nameless guilt , an d Myatt who i s offered redemptio n throug h Cor al's love, s o stron g tha t i t migh t chang e hi s acquisitiv e lus t t o tendernes s and unfreez e hi s froze n heart . Th e rea l actio n i n thi s boo k concern s Myatt's mora l struggl e betwee n th e goo d an d evi l in himself. I n creatin g Myatt, Green e di d no t fre e himsel f fro m th e stereotype s attache d t o th e Jew: Myat t embodie s the m all . However , h e place s th e Jew i n a centra l position, a s hi s ow n authoria l representative . T o a grea t extent , thi s i s Myatt's book , and , a t leas t fo r mos t o f it , Myat t appear s t o b e a flawe d human bein g rathe r tha n a metaphor o f projection . Carleton Myatt , lik e Kapper , i s immediatel y identifiabl e a s a Jew . Greene refer s t o hi m throughou t th e boo k a s "th e Jew, " "th e money lender," o r "th e youn g Jew." Bu t Green e a s sende r i s communicatin g a different messag e t o u s a s receiver s an d sharer s o f a commo n cod e o f morality tha n he formerly di d throug h hi s use of thi s label (Suleiman an d Crosman, 8) . A s readers , w e automaticall y discoun t th e stereotypica l handles whic h ar e offered t o u s b y th e othe r passengers , becaus e Green e quickly teache s u s t o disapprov e o f them . Th e thre e character s i n th e book wh o mos t full y embod y evil—Josep h Griinlich , th e Germa n thie f and murderer ; Mabe l Warren , th e lesbia n journalist ; an d he r whoris h companion, Janet Pardoe—are als o the most virulent anti-Semites. Griin lich, whos e min d work s lik e a n evil , highl y efficien t machine , consider s using hi s chise l t o blin d th e servan t o f th e hous e h e i s robbin g (on e o f Greene's man y useles s an d repulsiv e olde r women) , bu t decide s it woul d be superfluous. H e i s full o f obscen e sentimentalit y an d grandios e boast fulness. I n a dream , h e tell s himself , " I a m Presiden t o f th e Republic " (149). Graham e Smit h i s certainl y correc t i n hi s assessmen t o f thi s char acter: "Destiny , violence , an d emotionalis m ar e al l ke y element s i n th e Nazi mentality.. . Grunlic h i s surely a proto-Nazi" (26-27) . I n contras t to hi s treatmen t o f Grunlich , th e Germa n murdere r an d anti-Semite , a figure o f absolut e an d unrelieve d evil , Green e offer s Myat t th e Je w a t least th e choic e o f redemption . Mabel Warren , Greene' s nightmar e woman , i s almos t a s unrelieve d a symbol o f evi l a s i s Grunlich . Here , a s i n th e endin g o f The Name of Action, reporter s symboliz e the shameful invasio n of the male boundarie s of self , whic h fo r Greene , a s for William s an d Lewis , represent s a n om nipresent terror . Th e female reporte r i s Greene's equivalen t o f Williams' s lamia: th e ultimat e engulfin g female . A s a lesbian, Mabe l ha s attempte d to usur p mal e territor y o r boundarie s i n ye t anothe r way . A s a drunk ,

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she has yet agai n transgressed he r proper rol e as a woman. Mabe l Warre n meets Janet Pardo e a t a theatre, wher e thei r "mutua l disgus t o f th e chie f actor," a n "oile d man " lik e Myatt , bring s the m together . Late r Mabe l tells Janet, " I don' t lik e Jews," an d Janet , i n a respons e tha t i s doubl y blameworthy, a s sh e i s Jewish herself , responds , "[N]o r d o I , darling " {Stamboul, 55) . A Judas t o he r ow n peopl e an d a whore t o th e lesbian , Jane t Pardo e is th e secon d Jewis h woma n i n thi s study , an d on e o f th e mos t evi l o f Greene's hardene d whores . The other passengers on the train share these characters' evil—and thei r anti-Semitism. Whe n Cora l has the misfortune t o sit next to the Peterses, respectable Englis h "shopkeeper s o n a spree, " the y revea l a dept h o f depravity whic h Green e indicate s i s tie d t o thei r anti-Semitism . Whe n the exhauste d an d il l Cora l fall s asleep , Mr . Peter s finger s he r leg s an d thighs, an d whe n Myat t offer s he r hi s sleepin g ca r an d sh e leave s thei r third-class carriage , Mrs . Peter s shout s a t her , " A dirt y littl e Jew, that' s all you'r e goo d for . . .Jews an d foreigners . Yo u ough t t o b e ashamed " (127-28). Th e pseudo-Cockne y writer , Savory , an d th e unctuou s cler gyman, Mr . Opie , ar e equall y vain , depraved , an d anti-Semitic . Just a s th e evi l character s revea l themselve s throug h thei r anti Semitism, th e goo d one s distinguis h themselve s b y thei r freedo m fro m it. Whe n Mabe l Warren , wh o want s Cora l fo r herself , tell s he r t o avoi d Myatt, sh e warns her: "Jews ar e not to be trusted" (66). Coral is horrifie d at th e ide a tha t Myat t ma y hav e attribute d anti-Semiti c feeling s t o her . "I shal l g o an d tel l him tha t I like him, tha t I'v e alway s like d Jews," sh e tells Mabel, an d i t is in part he r pity fo r hi m a s a victim o f anti-Semitis m which cause s he r t o "sacrifice " he r preciou s virginit y t o hi m late r (60) . Richard Czinner , thoug h h e i s incapabl e o f carin g fo r Myat t a s a n individual, love s hi m a s a member o f a n oppresse d grou p an d a s on e o f the masse s wh o ar e th e object s o f hi s life's work . Czinne r come s ou t o f hiding to o lat e t o sav e his people, and , lik e Greene' s othe r goo d fathers , he arrives too late and is himself not whole enough to provide the fatherin g that Myatt woul d requir e in order t o becom e a whole man. Czinner , lik e the rigid , alienate d me n describe d b y Kat e Millet t an d Virgini a Woolf , is cu t of f foreve r fro m "th e laye r o f personalit y i n whic h th e primitiv e erotic flow between the self and the surround has its source" (Dinnerstein, 32). A mor e sympatheti c versio n o f Demassener , th e self-alienate d dic tator i n The Name of Action, h e to o ha s faile d t o embrac e th e peopl e i n

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their individualit y o r their wholeness—dir t an d sins an d all. He longs as much t o clea r awa y th e unsightly "ordure " o f th e poor a s to en d thei r hunger (118) . But Czinner's failure, unlik e Demassener's an d most unlik e Myatt's, i s a heroic an d manly one . There i s no questio n that , a s Cora l tells Myat t wit h absolut e conviction , "he' s good" (27). On th e consciou s level , then , w e must agre e wit h Smit h tha t Green e has indeed condemne d anti-Semitis m in Stamboul Train. Myatt , th e wandering Jew, provides a kind of mini-morality tes t for the other characters, a tes t whic h al l bu t Cora l an d Czinne r fail . Jus t a s Green e i s th e first author i n thi s stud y t o us e a Jew fo r a centra l characte r o f authoria l identification, s o is he the first t o mak e suc h a conscious statement . It i s only whe n Myatt' s Jewishnes s become s th e embodiment o r rep resentative o f Greene' s self-loathin g tha t w e flinc h a t Greene' s uncon scious anti-Semitism . Thi s proces s begin s a s soon a s Green e invite s hi s implied reade r int o Myatt' s consciousness , an d w e realiz e tha t Myat t himself regard s hi s Jewishness a s the bad past o r evil father whic h stalk s him a s surel y a s Andrews's evi l fathe r stalk s hi m i n The Man Within. When w e first mee t Myatt , preparin g t o ente r th e trai n i n Franc e afte r the crossin g a t Dover, h e is creepin g awa y fro m a customs office r wh o has calle d hi m "Juif, Juif. " Wounded , h e retreats int o th e history o f his people an d into th e familiar stereotyp e o f the greedy financier, a stereotype which Greene urges us to valorize by presenting it to us as originating from a privilege d source : Myatt' s ow n consciousness . Th e smok e sur rounding the train reminds him of: "grey noma d tent s . . . [where he was] at hom e an d require d n o longe r th e knowledg e o f thi s fu r coat , o f his suit fro m Savil e Row , his money, o r his position i n the firm t o hearte n him" (4-5) . Myatt senses himsel f (perfectl y accurately , considerin g th e others' reactions t o him) "at the centre o f a hostile world" (5) . He has a perpetual chip o n hi s shoulde r an d shun s other s becaus e o f th e probabilit y o f a snub. H e bribe s th e purse r t o obtai n a singl e carriag e becaus e o f "hi s hatred o f undressin g befor e anothe r man, " an anxiet y Green e himsel f developed afte r hi s experience of group nakedness and the lack of privacy at schoo l (5) . I n hi s self-consciousnes s an d fear , hi s sens e o f bein g a n outsider i n th e world, an d his constant nee d t o compensate , Myat t i s a clear stand-i n fo r th e youn g Greene , whos e schoolmate s labele d hi m "abnormal." In m y discussion o f Georg e Orwell' s "Such , Suc h Wer e th e Joys" in

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chapter 2 , I distinguishe d betwee n Orwell' s externalize d an d acknowl edged ange r a t the way h e was treated a t school an d th e internalized self hatred whic h lef t hi m wit h a pictur e o f himsel f a s a disgusting , smelly , and ugl y child . Alic e Mille r to o make s th e distinctio n betwee n abus e which has been acknowledged an d externalized an d that more dangerous , unacknowledged abus e whic h i s force d underground . Greene , lik e Or well, was able to identif y an d acknowledge som e of the abuse he suffered at school , bu t h e to o internalize d th e imag e o f himsel f a s a "lepe r wh o had t o rin g hi s bel l whil e approachin g people " (Other, 27) . I n hi s pre sentation o f Myatt' s Jewishnes s t o us , h e invite s u s t o shar e Myatt' s perception o f i t a s a kin d o f inne r leprosy , a diseas e whic h inspire s th e less worthy passengers with hatred an d disgust an d the most worthy wit h Christian pity. Mos t importantly, w e are invited to perceive it as a disease or disability which is located not inside the spectator, where Fiedler placed it, bu t rathe r insid e th e suffere r (th e Jew) himself . Once safel y i n hi s compartment , Myat t begin s t o finge r th e currant s he alway s carrie s i n hi s pocket . Lik e T . S . Eliot' s "Mr . Eugenides , th e Smyrna merchan t / Unshaven , wit h a pocket ful l o f currants, " h e i s a t home only with commerce and must use his only currency to buy himsel f culture, luxury , companionship , an d se x (Eliot , Waste Land, 1 . 43 , i n Complete Poems and Plays). Elio t label s hi s unsavor y curran t merchan t as a Syrian , no t necessaril y a Jew, bu t th e Je w Myat t i s definitel y hi s relative, jus t a s Williams' s unrea l cit y i s clearl y relate d t o Eliot's . A s Myatt finger s th e currant s i n hi s pocke t wit h th e obsessiv e relis h o f Shylock fingerin g hi s coins , th e imag e o f th e stereotypica l Je w merge s with Greene' s ow n memor y o f childhoo d greed : It was... before I went to school, tha t I began regularly t o steal currants and sultana s ou t o f th e bi g biscui t tin s i n th e Schoo l Hous e storeroom , stuff m y pockets with them, currant s in the left, sultana s in the right, an d feast o n them secretly in the garden. (Sort, 36 ) Myatt, shiftin g hi s currants and testing them, compare s his firm's produc t with th e rival' s an d attempt s t o assure s himsel f tha t h e i s no t i n fac t a despised Jew, bu t instead "on e of the lords of the world, carryin g destin y with him " (Stamboul, 9) . In th e restauran t car , Myat t obsessivel y an d cunningl y review s hi s intrigues wit h othe r crimina l Jew-merchants wh o ar e waiting fo r hi m i n Constantinople: the enigmatic and cunning Stein and the wolfish Eckman ,

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with hi s "shar p prominen t teeth " an d hi s "intricat e hidde n relations " with Stein, "skirting the outer fringe of the law" (12). Myatt also visualizes his ow n father , a n old , emasculate d man , drinkin g th e foo d o f infancy , "the glas s o f curdlin g war m milk " (16) . Stei n an d Eckma n ar e stealth y tricksters lik e Myat t himself , bu t the y ar e mor e despicabl e tha n h e i s because they, like Janet Pardoe, pretend to Christianity. Eckman attempt s to establis h hi s Christianit y b y keepin g a Bibl e chaine d t o th e lavator y in his pretentious home, and when we remember Greene's horrified mem ories of schoo l lavatorie s wit h ope n door s an d th e dreade d odo r o f farts , it i s clea r jus t ho w deepl y suc h attempt s a t "passing " distur b him . T o Greene, a Je w wh o attempt s t o b e a Christia n i s a s incongruen t an d wrong a s a Bibl e i n th e toilet . Suc h a n attemp t i s a trick ; a n effor t t o break dow n th e lines or boundaries whic h prevent a chaotic collapse int o "jellylike diffuseness. " Suc h a n effor t t o ro b th e worl d o f it s mora l an d symbolic conten t resemble s th e effor t o f th e whor e wh o trie s t o tric k innocent me n b y passin g hersel f of f a s a virgin. While Myatt , unlik e Stei n an d Eckman , make s n o attemp t t o hid e hi s Jewish identity , h e ha s thoroughl y internalize d th e hatre d directe d a t him. Lik e Kapper, h e combines a most ungentlemanlike boastfulness wit h a distastefu l cringin g wheneve r h e approache s Christians : "th e excessiv e humility o f th e bowe d hea d i n th e desert " (15) . Whe n Cora l send s hi m a friendl y look , h e feel s gratefu l tha t sh e ha s show n "n o distaste , n o knowledge o f hi s uneasines s i n th e bes t clothe s tha t mone y coul d buy " (20). Coral Musker' s abilit y t o lov e suc h a cringing Je w i s a saintl y actio n comparable t o Elizabeth' s lov e fo r th e despicabl e Andre w i n The Man Within. Cora l combine s Elizabeth' s motherly , nurturin g qualitie s wit h a physical fragilit y an d lo w statu s whic h sav e he r fro m Elizabeth' s (an d Marion Greene's ) dauntin g remoteness . Lik e Elizabeth , however , an d like Williams's angeli c slaves , Coral' s driv e t o sacrific e hersel f fo r other s is instinctual. Sh e fends of f Peters' s obscene groping and never complains, though her face is blue with cold. He r pluck and forbearance mov e Myat t to hi s firs t ac t o f generosity : givin g he r hi s sleepin g ca r an d sleepin g i n the corridor . Elizabeth coul d onl y fil l th e empt y Andrew s wit h he r goodnes s whil e in hi s immediate presence . Similarly , Myatt' s inne r ba d father—hi s Jew ishness—emerges a s soo n a s h e leave s Coral . H e mentall y convert s hi s act o f kindnes s t o he r int o a n ac t o f self-consciou s pride : "Parsimon y

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was th e traditiona l reproac h agains t hi s race , an d h e woul d sho w on e Christian ho w undeserved i t was." Once agai n he remembers th e deserts, the "fles h pot s o f Egypt , th e ten t i n th e oasis, " an d begin s t o measur e up Coral's cost to him (28). When she wakes up, he has trouble restrainin g himself fro m " a sprea d o f th e hands , a sligh t bo w o f th e hips . . . tricks of hi s rac e whic h h e wa s consciousl y repressing. " Whe n h e shrug s hi s shoulders, h e "migh t hav e bee n a pawnbroker undervaluin g a watch o r vase" (47) . When Cora l emerge s an d look s a t him , eve n sh e canno t hel p but recogniz e an d hat e th e Jew i n him : She had seen this man too often . .. th e too familiar features, the small eyes, the larg e nose , th e blac k oile d hair.. . the worl d o f th e theatr e vibrate d with his soft humbl e imperative voice; he was mean with a commonplace habitual meanness, generou s in fits an d starts, neve r to be trusted. (49 ) But jus t a s Elizabet h refuse d t o se e Andrews' s cowardic e an d inne r void an d concentrate d instea d o n his inner goodness (an d ende d u p rape d for he r trouble) , Cora l refuse s t o see Myatt a s merely th e "familiar" Jew , and he r goodnes s begin s t o transfor m him . Fro m th e beginning , a s th e light sh e see s streamin g throug h th e windo w whe n sh e awaken s shine s on bot h Czinne r an d "th e youn g Jew, " sh e shed s ligh t o n hi s darknes s (24). Later , whe n h e approache s he r i n hi s rol e a s "th e moneylender, " she puts ou t he r hands t o him, restin g the m o n hi s knee, an d "hidin g th e rows of numerals, Mr. Eckman's calculations and subterfuges an d cunning concealments, offerfs ] herself " (87-88) . I n exactl y th e sam e way , Wil liams's idea l wome n interpose d thei r ow n bodies , takin g th e evi l force s meant fo r thei r me n ont o themselve s throug h th e mechanism s William s named "exchange " an d "transfer. " Myatt continue s t o b e tor n betwee n Coral' s goodnes s an d hi s inne r Jewishness. H e generousl y take s he r t o dinner , bu t boast s ther e o f hi s expensive ring . Whe n sh e impulsivel y an d gratefull y tell s hi m tha t sh e loves him , h e dismisse s it—"Wha t a joke"—but late r begin s t o thin k o f her "a s h e ha d neve r though t befor e o f an y woma n wh o wa s attainable : she i s dea r an d sweet , I shoul d lik e t o d o thing s fo r her " (143) . During th e actua l seductio n scene , hi s inne r battl e continues . I n hi s cynicism h e ha d neve r suspecte d tha t sh e coul d b e a virgin , an d h e i s moved whe n "lyin g i n th e bert h sh e prove d awkwar d i n a mysteriou s innocent fashio n whic h astonishe d him " (145) . Sh e cries ou t i n pain, an d he realize s th e grea t treasur e sh e ha s give n him , an d fo r a moment ,

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"I neve r knew . I neve r guessed. " Ther e wa s suc h warmt h i n th e carriag e now betwee n the m that , withou t closin g th e window , h e knel t besid e th e berth an d pu t hi s hand s t o he r face , touchin g he r feature s wit h curiou s fingers. Agai n h e was overwhelme d wit h th e nove l thought , "Ho w sweet , how dear. " Sh e la y quiet , shake n a littl e b y quic k breath s o f pai n o r excitement. (146-47 ) But th e worl d wit h al l its evi l vulgarity enter s i n th e for m o f somebod y (probably Grunlich ) i n th e third-clas s carriage , cursin g i n Germa n a t th e fiddler w h o ha s been gentl y playing durin g th e sex scene. Myatt' s thought s too tur n immediatel y t o th e mediu m h e know s best : money . H e contem plates th e cos t o f keepin g Cora l i n Constantinopl e an d boastfull y plan s a n expensive part y t o celebrat e hi s conquest : "It'l l cos t t w o p o u n d s a h e a d " (147). Afte r sh e leave s th e compartment , h e i s fre e t o retur n t o hi s all consuming money-makin g schemes : " n ow sh e was relegate d t o her prope r place" (184) . A n d jus t a s Andrews turn s t o th e w h o r e, Lucy , a s soon a s h e has lef t Elizabeth , Myat t immediatel y catche s sigh t o f Jane t Pardoe , an d compares he r favorabl y t o Coral , hi s pear l o f grea t price : "[t]hi s gir l wa s silver polished goods , whil e Cora l wa s a t the bes t a piece o f prett y colore d glass, valued fo r sentimenta l reasons ; the othe r ha d intrinsi c w o r t h" (193) . Like G r o u c h o Marx , h e decide s tha t anyon e w h o wil l hav e hi m mus t b e worthless: " I a m a J e w, an d I hav e learne d nothin g excep t h o w t o mak e m o n e y " (193). 3 0 I n a typical Greenia n doubl e bind , virginit y i s fo r Myat t an indicatio n o f unavailability , a qualit y whic h automaticall y increase s a woman's valu e an d make s he r mor e attractive , bu t i s at the sam e tim e a desexualizing sign . T h r o u g h "givin g u p " he r virginity , a w o m a n becam e more sexuall y appealing , bu t les s valuable. Unlik e Myatt , Cora l value s he r lover more rathe r tha n les s after sexua l consummation : His fac e n o longe r resemble d tha t o f al l th e Jewis h boy s sh e ha d know n with hal f intimacy ; eve n th e gesture s wit h whic h h e gav e an d gave , th e instinctive spreading of the hands, was different, hi s emphasis on how muc h he woul d spend , o n wha t a goo d tim e h e woul d giv e her , wa s uniqu e because sh e believe d him . (166 ) While i n extrem e dange r i n th e freezin g jai l cell , sh e tell s D r . Czinner : " H e ' s quit e differen t fro m othe r Jews . They'r e generall y kind , bu t h e — well, he' s quiet " (172) .

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In lovin g an d trustin g Myat t th e Jew, Cora l i s performing a n ac t lik e Christ's when he washed the feet of the leper: offering lov e and forgivenes s even to the lowest of the low. As she sits in the shed by the dying Czinner , she seem s t o hav e som e awarenes s o f Myatt' s actua l unworthiness , bu t she prefers t o hol d o n t o he r visio n o f him . Jus t a s Greene signifie d tha t Myatt's Jewis h darknes s reside s insid e him, h e no w emphasize s tha t hi s goodness reside s i n Coral , no t i n he r unworth y lov e object : [H]er thoughts returned with a stupid fidelity to Myatt himself, to her last sight of him in the restaurant-car with his fingerscaressing his gold cigarette case. Bu t sh e was awar e al l the tim e tha t ther e a s no qualit y i n Myatt t o justify he r fidelity; it was just that she was like that and he had been kind. (228-29) Myatt's struggl e i s no t ye t over . H e i s unabl e t o completel y forge t Coral, an d whe n h e realizes , afte r th e unforesee n sto p i n Subotica , tha t she i s n o longe r o n th e train , h e feel s som e concern . A t th e train' s nex t stop, motivate d i n part b y tha t concer n an d i n par t b y a need t o ac t i n a manly o r un-Jewish fashion , h e hires a car and goe s back to look for her . Myatt wastes precious time when his Jewish nature makes obstacles alon g the way. First , h e is tempted b y "th e smel l of th e ancestral market place " and stop s t o indulg e i n "th e jo y o f bargaining" ; nex t h e stop s t o sen d a business telegra m t o Eckman (189) . His cowardice , whic h emerge s whe n he encounters th e officials' anti-Semitism , prompt s hi m to turn back, an d his mora l emptines s an d inabilit y t o appreciat e Cora l o r t o fee l lov e fo r her provid e littl e motivatio n t o continue : Myatt knew suddenly that he would not be sorry to accept the clerk's word and end his search... . He thought of Coral for a moment as a small alley, enticing a man's footsteps, bu t blind at the end with a windowless wall.. . there were others, and he thought for a moment of Janet Pardoe, who were like street s line d wit h shop s ful l o f glitte r an d warmth , street s which led somewhere. (211) But Coral' s lov e is a strong forc e which , eve n a t a distance, appear s t o him fro m tim e t o time , offerin g hi m borrowe d courage . H e persist s i n his searc h eve n thoug h th e guard s i n th e dar k statio n an d th e passin g country peopl e cal l hi m a dirt y Jew , an d h e correctl y sense s th e possi bilities o f evi l i n "thi s dar k cu p o f th e earth " an d see s i n th e soldiers ' attitude "th e spiri t whic h mad e pogrom s possible " (206 , 222) . He i s engage d i n th e grea t test , an d w e believ e tha t h e ha s a t leas t a

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chance o f passing . I n th e end , however , i t i s evil in th e person o f Josep h Grunlich whic h h e take s int o hi s ca r instea d o f goo d i n th e perso n o f Coral. Eve n thoug h h e knows tha t i t is a lie, h e allow s himself t o believ e Griinlich's assertion that there is "no girl" in Subotica and retreats, leaving his salvation, wh o stil l has faith i n him, crouchin g i n a freezing she d nex t to a dying Czinner . Like Elizabeth , wh o coul d no t surviv e th e desecratio n o f rape , Cora l dies befor e sh e ca n b e take n ove r b y Mabe l Warre n an d subjecte d t o a fate wors e tha n deat h a t her hands . Whe n he r heart give s out i n the bac k of Mabe l Warren' s rente d car , he r las t thought s ar e o f he r unworth y lover: She had a pain i n he r breast.. . she wondere d wit h a n obstinat e fidelit y where Myat t was . Th e pai n mad e breathin g difficult , bu t sh e was deter mined not to speak. To speak, to describe her pain, to ask for help would be to empt y he r min d fo r a moment o f hi s face; her ear s would los e the sound o f hi s voice... . I won' t b e th e firs t t o forget , sh e though t wit h obstinacy, fighting desperately at last against pain... I remember. I haven't forgotten.. . (238) 31 An alternativ e endin g o f th e boo k migh t hav e see n Cora l goin g of f with Mabel ; afte r all , a woman wit h merc y an d lov e i n he r hear t fo r a Jew migh t conceivabl y find som e for a lesbian, an d Cora l long s fo r relie f from he r har d life . Bu t Green e coul d no t allo w thi s t o happen . Apar t from th e inevitabl e sullyin g th e associatio n wit h Mabe l would bring , th e newly deflowere d Cora l fits nowher e i n Greene' s structure . Havin g sac rificed hersel f t o the Jew, sh e has lost the goodness which can only belon g to a virgin. A s virgi n an d whor e ar e th e onl y tw o possibilitie s availabl e for wome n i n thi s system , sh e mus t die . Another reaso n fo r Coral' s earl y demis e lie s i n th e challeng e whic h even she , th e most unthreatenin g o f women , pose s t o th e young man . I n The Man Within, Elizabet h challenge s Andrew s t o ac t bravely—a tes t h e fails pitifully . I n The Name of Action, th e suppose d virgin , Anne-Marie , challenges youn g Chan t t o prov e hi s virility ; h e manage s t o d o so , bu t only becaus e sh e i s no t th e genuin e article . Coral , lik e Elizabeth , chal lenges Myatt t o prove hi s courage, an d o n a larger plane, t o leav e behin d his bad internalized father , hi s Jewishness. Bu t Greene' s virtuous woma n is a schoolmistress whose test cannot be passed, a mother whose standard s can neve r b e live d u p to . Sh e present s a constan t reproac h i n he r ver y

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being, an d killing her off is the only way to finally get her off one' s back . In killin g Coral , a s h e kille d Elizabeth , Green e i s als o reenactin g th e choice he made a s a self- hatin g mal e child: t o destroy th e female par t of himself. Once i n Constantinople , wit h "th e nightmare o f Subotic a faded " an d Coral al l but forgotten , Myat t i s overjoye d t o b e bac k i n th e worl d o f figures—"something tha t h e could understan d an d that ha d no feelings " (241, 244) . Relieved t o fal l bac k int o bein g a n unfeelin g Jew , h e begin s to "unfurl.. . hi s peacoc k tail " o f Jewis h stealt h an d bargaining . H e makes a bid t o Stei n fo r hi s niece, Janet Pardoe , eve n usin g th e amoun t of mone y h e spen t t o "buy " Coral' s favor s a s a card i n thi s vulga r an d loveless transaction . I n hi s selectio n o f th e soile d an d evi l Janet Pardo e as a mate, Myat t choose s evi l as surely a s when h e took Grunlic h instea d of Cora l int o hi s car. A s in th e end o f The Name of Action, i n th e end of Stamboul Train th e representatives o f goo d hav e bee n killed , an d the world i s left i n the hands o f th e Jews, th e Grunlichs , an d the whores . Just a s Myatt hover s throughou t Stamboul Train betwee n som e kin d of humanit y an d th e ugliest an d mos t vengefu l kin d o f stereotyping , s o Greene hover s i n this boo k betwee n condemnatio n o f suc h stereotypin g and usin g it to achiev e his needs. An d just a s Myatt abandon s Cora l and turns bac k t o his comforting figure s wit h relief , Green e himsel f turn s i n the en d o f th e boo k bac k t o th e anti-Semiti c stereotyp e whic h h e con sciously despises . Myat t fail s th e tes t o f manhoo d i n th e particular wa y that h e does, no t becaus e h e is a flawed man , bu t rathe r becaus e h e is a Jew. A t the end, Mabel Warren's assertion , "Jew s ar e not to be trusted, " proves perfectly true . Green e coul d hav e given us a Myatt who made the wrong choic e an d wa s afterwar d haunte d b y hi s ow n cowardice , a s are many o f Greene' s flawed-but-huma n Gentil e characters . Instead , i n the book's final line , "H e wondere d whethe r Mr . Stei n ha d th e contrac t i n his pocket " (264) , Green e place s Myat t squarel y an d safel y bac k i n the "archetype inhabitin g th e collective unconsciou s o f the English-speakin g people" (Fiedler , "Fagin, " 413). Inside the World of the Bad Fathers: A Gun for Sale. In Stamboul Train, Greene had slowly begun to move toward a more human and less symbolic view o f th e Jew. Wit h A Gun for Sale (1936) , anothe r financially an d critically successfu l thriller , h e retreated drasticall y fro m thi s position . A Gun for Sale revolve s aroun d th e young hire d kille r Raven , whos e

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poverty an d hareli p hav e doome d hi m t o a life o f evi l criminality. I n th e beginning o f th e book , Rave n ha s alread y kille d th e peace-lovin g Czec h war minister, a death whose repercussions threaten to set off a new worl d war. Afte r havin g sho t th e minister an d hi s servant , Rave n learn s tha t h e has bee n betraye d b y hi s unknow n Englis h masters , wh o hav e pai d hi m for th e jo b wit h marke d note s designe d t o ti p of f th e police . Raven follow s th e man wh o hire d him , an d wh o goe s by th e aliase s of Cholmondeley an d Davis, from Londo n t o "Nottwich " i n order t o trac k down th e power s behin d th e set-up . I n th e statio n i n London , h e take s a hostage , Anne . A choru s gir l wh o i s als o travelin g t o Nottwic h t o perform i n a pantomime there , sh e happens t o b e th e fiance e o f Mather , the polic e inspecto r investigatin g th e crime . Rave n tell s Ann e wha t h e has discovere d o f th e plot, an d afte r ingeniousl y gettin g awa y fro m him , she determine s t o find ou t mor e hersel f an d t o hal t th e comin g wa r b y making he r knowledg e public . I n orde r t o d o so , sh e goe s ou t t o dinne r with Davis , on e o f th e backer s o f he r pantomime . Afterwar d h e take s her t o a bawdy-house kep t b y a filthy defrocke d Anglica n pries t an d hi s repulsive wife . Whe n Davi s learn s o f he r knowledge , h e strangle s he r inefficiently an d stuff s he r u p a chimne y there . Rave n follow s Ann e t o the hous e an d remove s he r fro m th e chimne y jus t i n time . The y spen d the nigh t hidin g togethe r i n a cold hut , wher e h e confide s i n her , tellin g her th e sa d stor y o f hi s life . Th e nex t da y th e threa t o f wa r occasion s a citywide gas-mas k drill , an d Rave n escape s fro m th e hu t i n th e fo g an d manages t o stea l a gas mask, whic h disguise s hi s deformed face . Wearin g it, h e follows Davi s t o the real seat of power , th e Midland Stee l building , where th e armamen t deale r an d magnat e Si r Marcu s ha s hi s offices . B y now Rave n realize s tha t Si r Marcu s i s the on e wh o hire d hi m t o kil l th e good wa r minister , i n orde r t o enric h himsel f b y th e ensuin g world war . Raven confront s an d shoot s first Davis , the n Si r Marcus ; bu t Ann e ha s reported hi m t o th e police , an d h e to o i s sho t an d killed . Becaus e o f Anne's timel y information , th e wa r i s prevented . Andrews, Chant , an d Myat t ar e offere d redemptio n an d refus e it , bu t in A Gun for Sale, althoug h h e proves t o b e brave r an d mor e capabl e o f love tha n an y o f th e othe r youn g heroes , Raven' s "los t childhood " ha s effectively doome d hi m fro m th e beginning , preventin g an y suc h re demption. Andrew s i s pursued b y hi s internalize d ba d fathe r an d Myat t by th e Jewishnes s whic h serve s th e sam e function , bu t Raven' s pas t i s with hi m constantly , i n th e repugnanc e wit h whic h peopl e tur n fro m hi s

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badly repaire d hareli p an d i n th e terribl e flashback s whic h neve r leav e him alone . I n A Gun for Sale, a s i n th e late r Brighton Rock (1938) , w e inhabit th e worl d o f th e ba d fathers . An d thi s tim e th e ba d fathe r is , unmistakably, a Jew. Raven's harelip , " a badg e o f clas s [which ] reveale d th e povert y o f parents wh o couldn' t affor d a clever surgeon, " set s him eve n mor e apar t than Myatt' s Jewishness. 32 W e lear n earl y tha t "Rave n ha d neve r ha d a girl. Th e hare-li p prevente d that " (1) . A s i f povert y an d disfiguremen t are not enough, Rave n was born when his father was in jail and his mother in a stat e o f despair . "Yo u get sor t o f mad, " Rave n tell s Anne , hi s sympathetic confessor , "whe n everythin g remind s yo u o f what' s ove r and don e with . Sometime s yo u wan t t o begi n fresh , an d the n someon e praying, o r a smell, o r somethin g yo u rea d i n the paper, an d it' s al l back again, th e place s an d th e people " (159) . The stor y o f childhoo d betraya l an d violenc e whic h Rave n tell s Ann e begins wit h th e betraya l o f hi s mother' s purit y whic h resulte d i n hi s conception. A s for Kernberg' s borderlin e narcissistic patients, fo r Lewis , and fo r Williams , th e prima l scen e i s a location o f horro r an d disgust : They hav e a good tim e an d wha t d o the y min d i f someone' s bor n ugly ? Three minute s i n be d o r agains t a wall, an d the n a life tim e fo r th e on e that's born.... Mother love... the kitchen table, the carving knife o n the linoleum, th e blood al l over his mother's dress . (156) As Wyndha m Lewi s an d Charle s William s als o conclude , a lif e whic h begins wit h femal e concupiscenc e i s a lif e hardl y wort h living . Raven' s father, wh o wa s himsel f a murderer, wa s hanged , an d hi s son , wh o ha s helplessly internalize d hi s evil , feel s boun d t o follo w hi s pattern . H e repeats ove r an d over : "The y aren' t goin g t o ge t me . I' m no t goin g t o prison. I don' t car e a damn i f I plu g on e o f you . I don' t car e i f I hang . My fathe r hanged. . . what's goo d enoug h fo r hi m . . ." (20) . His mothe r has committed th e ultimate betrayal b y slashin g her throat wit h a carving knife an d leavin g he r so n t o fin d her . "Sh e hadn' t eve n trouble d t o loc k the door: that was all she cared abou t him" (129) . After he r death, Rave n was sen t t o a n industria l school : "on e o f he r majesty' s homes. " H e remembers "solitar y confinemen t fo r a ki d that' s caugh t talkin g i n th e chapel an d th e birc h fo r almos t anythin g yo u do . Brea d an d water . A sergean t knockin g yo u aroun d i f yo u tr y t o lar k a bit . . . the col d stone stairs , th e cracke d commandin g bell , th e tin y punishmen t cells " (158-59).

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It i s this los t childhoo d whic h ha s mad e Rave n int o wha t h e is : a man for who m "there' s alway s bee n a war"; a hired kille r who , "lik e Ka y i n The Snow Queen . . . bore th e col d withi n hi m a s h e walked . . . felt n o pain fro m th e chi p o f ic e i n hi s breast " (57 , 9) . A compariso n o f thi s monstrou s childhoo d t o Greene' s ow n an d th e accompanying assumptio n tha t Rave n i s a mouthpiec e fo r Green e ma y seem farfetched . Green e himsel f mocke d th e suggestio n whe n Allai n brought i t u p i n relatio n t o Pinkie , th e boy-murdere r i n Brighton Rock, for who m Rave n was a preliminary sketch . "Sa y what yo u will, " he tol d her, " I doub t whethe r an y paralle l ca n b e draw n betwee n Pinkie . . . and myself" (Other, 24) . In fact, on e does not have to look far to find parallel s between Pinkie , Rave n (hi s fraterna l twin) , an d Greene . Raven' s slive r of ic e i s chippe d fro m Greene' s ow n block , whil e Raven' s rag e a t th e parental betraya l i s lik e Greene' s ow n murderou s rage , which , whe n turned inward , le d hi m t o attemp t suicide . Th e event s i n Raven' s child hood closel y mirro r th e feelin g conten t i f no t th e materia l realit y o f Greene's childhood : Greene' s punishin g fathe r appear s a s Raven' s mur derous one ; Greene's remot e mothe r i s transformed int o on e so uncarin g that sh e withdraw s al l th e wa y int o death . Especiall y th e portrai t o f Raven's industria l schoo l fit s th e interio r realit y o f Greene' s experienc e in tha t "savag e country " i n whic h h e wa s " a hunte d creature , a leper. " Raven, th e depraved killer , scream s in the voice of Greene' s abuse d inne r child. Critics have blamed Green e for what they see as his excessive sympath y with characters lik e Raven an d Pinkie, an d it is true that Green e carefull y invites hi s implie d reade r t o understan d tha t i t i s no t i n Rave n bu t else where w e mus t loo k t o find th e rea l murderer. 33 Earl y i n th e book , w e see Raven tenderly caressing a kitten, alway s a signal of Greene's fondnes s for a character, 34 an d ou r sympath y grow s whe n w e witnes s th e wa y i n which hi s landlord an d th e landlord' s daughter , Alice , betra y hi m t o th e police: " I shan' t b e sorr y whe n you'v e locke d hi m up . . . . He's ugl y through an d through . Tha t li p o f his . I t give s yo u th e creeps . . . . Him, friends—what woul d h e d o wit h friends? " (17) . "Why can't you play fair?" Raven asks Alice, and his other persecutors. It is the hopeless questio n o f th e betrayed an d powerless child , t o who m life ha s neve r give n a fighting chanc e (20) . Kapper i n The Name of Action keep s runnin g int o Madonnas , a jux taposition whic h point s u p hi s own Jewish evil . The actio n o f A Gun for Sale take s plac e jus t befor e Christmas , an d Rave n repeatedl y run s int o

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cribs o r creches , symbol s whic h Green e manipulate s i n orde r t o increas e our sympath y fo r Rave n by leading us to compare him t o the Christ wh o was refuse d a shelte r a t hi s birt h an d wa s late r tormented , a s Rave n i s tormented throughou t th e book . Rave n remember s th e Christia n merc y which wa s show n t o hi m a t school : "Nobod y wa s beate n o n Christma s Day: al l punishments wer e save d fo r Boxin g Day" (113) . After th e mur der, stil l in London , h e buy s a dress fo r Alic e an d i s mocked b y a cruel, "genteel" Jewish salesgirl . H e the n return s t o hi s lodgin g t o find a cri b beneath a Christmas tree . H e pick s u p th e Jesus, mad e o f chea p painte d plaster, an d immediatel y identifie s wit h th e Chris t child , lik e him home less an d lik e hi m betrayed : "All this business of no room in the inn. They used to give us plum pudding. .. . You se e I know th e stuff, I' m educated . The y used to read i t us once a year".. .. Raven picked u p the bambino. Th e cradle came with i t all of a piece: cheap painted plaster. "The y put him on the spot, eh? " (14-15) Later, i n Nottwich , h e see s anothe r cri b an d stand s staring at the swaddled child with a horrified tenderness, "the little bastard," because he was educated an d knew what the child was in for, th e damned Jews and the double-crossing Judas and only one man... on his side when the Roman soldier s came for hi m in the garden. (89) 35 Up t o now , Rave n ha s ha d n o on e a t al l o n hi s side . But , lik e Han s Christian Andersen' s Kay , whos e inner sliver of ice is melted b y the tear s of hi s virgina l littl e sister , i t require s onl y th e lov e an d sympath y o f a virginal, motherl y woma n t o mel t the ice chip Rave n carrie s i n his heart . When Anne , who m h e ha s capture d a s hi s hostage , seem s no t t o rejec t him bu t instea d listen s t o hi s sa d stor y an d offer s hi m sympath y an d protection, th e meltin g begin s a t once . Lik e th e Green e wh o wrot e t o Vivien, "[I] f yo u didn' t exis t I shoul d vanis h i n a breat h o f mist, " o r Andrews, who tells Elizabeth, "Yo u must stay with me always. You mus t not di e before me . If you di d I should fall away," Raven quickly become s completely dependen t o n Anne, th e only person wh o has even pretende d to car e fo r him . Dependenc e o n a woman, fo r Green e a s for bot h Lewi s and Williams , i s a constan t temptatio n an d a lethal danger . A s w e hav e seen in Greene's previous novels, such dependence carries its own burde n and risks . A s Andrew s tell s Elizabeth , "I t woul d b e wors e tha n befor e if I shoul d los e yo u now " (Man, 212) . Whe n Ann e treat s Rave n kindly , "It wa s a s i f somethin g shar p an d col d wer e breakin g i n hi s hear t wit h

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great pain . H e sa t ther e unde r th e sin k wit h th e automati c i n hi s han d and bega n t o cry " (56) . In a freezin g col d she d lik e th e she d i n whic h Cora l comforte d th e dying Czinner , Ann e suggest s that the y tel l stories—"It's abou t th e chil dren's hour," bu t the deprived Raven, who has never been a child, know s no stories . Instead , "H e sa t i n th e dar k feelin g tear s lik e heav y weight s behind hi s eyes " (153) . Onl y a determinedly hard-hearte d reade r woul d fail t o fee l sympath y fo r thi s child-criminal . In The Man Within, Elizabet h reassure d Andrews , " I wil l stan d no w forever betwee n yo u an d them " (209) . I n A Gun for Sale, Ann e canno t stand betwee n Rave n an d th e world , bu t sh e ca n ac t a s hi s confessor / psychoanalyst. I n case we miss the reference, Green e has Raven tell Ann e about a n articl e h e ha s rea d abou t "psicko — psicko—" : It's like you carry a load around you; you are born with some of it because of wha t you r fathe r an d mothe r wer e an d thei r fathers.. . seems a s i f i t goes right back, lik e it says in the Bible about the sins being visited. Then when you're a kid the load get s bigger; all the things you nee d to do and can't an d the n al l the things you do . .. you tel l these doctors everything . .. . And when you've told everythin g it's gone . (160) Anne tells Raven that the war minister he had been hired t o kill, who m he had bee n tol d wa s "on e o f th e high an d mighties, " was instea d a poor man whose fathe r ha d bee n a thief an d whose mothe r ha d bee n a suicide, like Raven' s ow n mother . H e ha d eve n attende d a schoo l lik e Raven's . Even worse , th e ministe r spen t hi s whol e lif e "tryin g t o alte r al l that " for th e poor (156) . Like Andrews, wh o testifie d i n court agains t his goo d father, Carlyon , Rave n ha s turned , no t o n hi s actua l betrayers , bu t o n the good fathe r who , lik e Carlyon an d Czinner , arrive d too late, but wa s one o f th e ver y fe w t o tak e hi s side . In a n endles s cycl e o f betrayal , Rave n i s no t onl y Jesu s th e betraye d but als o Judas th e betrayer . I n retur n fo r killin g th e wa r ministe r wh o "loved humanity" and wanted onl y to help the oppressed, h e has received thirty piece s o f contaminate d silver . Th e wa r minister , lik e Jesus , wa s betrayed b y on e o f "hi s ow n people " o r disciples . Agai n lik e Judas, an d like all Greene's wea k boy-men , Rave n ha s victimized himsel f mor e tha n anyone els e through hi s treachery. Whe n h e realizes this, he is even mor e determined t o punish thos e who use d hi m fo r thei r evi l purposes—thos e "damned Jews. " Raven's rea l betrayer, an d i n fact th e force behin d th e betrayal tha t ha s

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been hi s whol e life , i s th e siniste r Jewis h arm s dealer , Si r Marcus , th e president o f Midlan d Steel . I n Si r Marcu s an d hi s crowd , mor e tha n i n any Jewish characte r we have encountered s o far in Greene, we recogniz e the myt h o f th e internationa l Jewis h conspirac y foun d i n th e Protocols of the Elders of Zion, i n th e propagand a o f th e fascis t an d right-win g groups i n Britai n whos e ideolog y I describe d i n chapte r 1 , an d i n it s culmination i n Naz i ideology . I n A Gun for Sale, w e mee t Si r Marcus' s henchman, th e greedy, sadistic, and cowardly Davis, alias Cholmondeley ; but we only hear about the the hidden army of Cranbeims, Rosens, Ziffos , and Cohen s wh o hav e betraye d Rave n an d hi s kin d fo r centuries , wh o are the hidde n powe r behin d th e world's corruption , an d wh o ar e in th e process o f plannin g a world wa r fo r thei r ow n profit . It i s Davis , Si r Marcus' s flunky , wh o actuall y hire s Rave n t o kil l th e war minister . Althoug h h e attempt s t o hid e hi s Jewish identit y throug h numerous aliases , Green e identifie s hi m clearl y a s th e wors t o f thos e criminal Jews whose "soft humbl e imperative voicefs]" haunted the world of Cora l Musker' s theatre , an d wh o wer e "mea n wit h a commonplac e habitual meanness, generou s in fits and starts, never to be trusted" (Stamboul, 56) . Davi s i s introduce d i n a stereotypica l portrai t whic h eve n includes a n imag e o f th e medieva l horne d Jew : He wa s fat an d wor e a n emeral d ring . Hi s wid e squar e fac e fel l i n fold s over hi s collar . H e looke d lik e a real estat e man o r perhap s a man mor e than usuall y successfu l i n sellin g women' s belts . .. . His grea t whit e fac e was like a curtain o n which yo u ca n throw grotesqu e images : a rabbit, a man with horns . H e was fat, h e was vulgar, h e was false, bu t h e gave an impression of great power as he sat there with the cream dripping from his mouth. H e wa s prosperity , h e wa s on e o f thos e wh o possesse d things . (Gun, 12 ) On th e trai n t o Nottwich , Davi s piggishl y stop s Ann e fro m signalin g to he r love r b y blockin g th e trai n windo w i n orde r t o bu y chocolat e t o stuff hi s fa t face . H e i s a backe r o f th e sho w i n whic h Ann e wil l b e performing i n Nottwich , on e o f a networ k o f petty , avariciou s Jew s behind th e scenes , al l connected , related , an d criminal . Th e harasse d director o f th e pantomim e trie s t o remembe r whethe r "Davi s wa s th e man Cohe n ha d quarrelle d wit h or . . . the uncl e o f th e ma n Cohe n ha d quarrelled with " (67-68) . In a restaurant wit h Anne , Davi s consume s foo d wit h revoltin g greed . On hi s wa y t o th e bawd y hous e wher e h e wil l strangl e her , h e passe s a

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group o f childre n singin g Christma s carols , an d wit h a Faginlike gestur e (or possibly with the glee of a Jew kidnapping a Christian chil d a t Christ mas t o tak e hom e an d roast) , h e "suddenl y rounde d an d seize d th e hai r of th e bo y neares t him ; h e pulled i t til l th e bo y screamed ; pulle d i t til l a tuft cam e out between his fingers. H e said , c That will teach you. . . . They can't pla y wit h me ' " (74) . Afte r this , "hi s mout h wa s ope n an d hi s li p was we t wit h saliva ; h e broode d ove r hi s victor y i n th e sam e wa y a s h e had broode d ove r th e lobster " (74) . Although hi s lus t fo r se x i s subordinat e t o hi s lus t fo r food , Davi s i s quite read y t o rap e Anne , i n betwee n bite s o f hi s Turkish delight , whe n she makes the mistake of revealing that she knows too much about Raven' s crime. Th e necessit y o f killin g he r fills hi m wit h Jewis h self-pity : "H e began t o sniffle , sittin g o n th e be d nursin g hi s grea t hairy hands. ' I don' t want t o hur t y o u . . . I'v e go t a weak stomach ' " (79) . In a truly grotesque scene, this bogeyman smothers Anne with a pillow, his hand s "stron g an d sof t an d stick y wit h icin g sugar " an d the n stuff s her u p th e chimne y (80) . I n contras t t o Raven , whos e deat h late r i n th e book i s a courageous one , filled with image s of Anne an d o f Jesus, Davi s meets hi s ow n deat h screamin g i n a high, feminine , peacoc k voic e (lik e Myatt's peacoc k tai l at the en d o f Stamboul Train) tha t i t is all his boss' s fault. Davis give s a n "impressio n o f grea t power, " bu t h e i s insignifican t i n comparison t o hi s master , Si r Marcus— a figure o f myster y an d threa t rather lik e Williams' s Simo n th e Clerk , wit h hi s thre e internationa l rep licas an d hi s plan s t o tak e ove r th e world . Althoug h w e hav e see n Si r Marcus's photograp h o n th e des k o f th e goo d wa r ministe r kille d b y Raven, an d kno w tha t h e i s a Jew wh o gre w u p i n th e sam e orphanag e as the war minister , hi s prior origin s ar e obscure. H e doe s see m t o com e from tha t sam e Jewish backwate r whic h spawne d Williams' s Simo n th e Clerk an d Lewis' s Ratner : "I f ther e wa s a touch o f Jerusalem, ther e wa s also a touch of St. James's, if of Vienna or some Central European ghetto , there were also marks of the most exclusive clubs in Cannes . . . [he] might have bee n pawnbroke r t o th e Pompadour " (137) . Sir Marcu s i s fro m th e ghett o an d fro m th e brothel . Whe n armamen t shares g o up , s o d o hi s fortunes . Th e killin g o f th e peacefu l ministe r represents merel y on e smal l lin k i n th e inclusiv e plot , hatche d wit h hi s associates, th e othe r internationa l Jews , t o arrang e fo r war . Whe n w e meet him , h e i s outwardly ol d an d feeble , suckin g a t hot mil k an d rusk s

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like Myatt' s ol d father , anothe r successfu l Jewis h businessman . Eve n i n his enfeeble d state , hi s Jewis h trait s o f greed , concupiscence , an d th e desire fo r Christia n deat h an d bloo d ar e stil l present : The death s h e had ordere d wer e n o mor e rea l t o hi m tha n th e death s he read abou t i n th e newspapers . A littl e gree d (fo r hi s milk) , a little vic e (occasionally to put his old hand inside a girl's blouse and feel the warmth of life) , a little avarice and calculation (hal f a million agains t a death). .. . these were his only passions. (215) Sir Marcu s give s order s tha t Rave n b e sho t o n sight , referrin g t o hi m a s a waste product . Eve n hi s vale t o f year s hate s hi m an d upo n seein g hi m dead, wishe s h e ha d ha d th e courag e t o kil l him . I n cas e th e reade r ha s not alread y notice d th e contras t betwee n Raven , th e outla w Christian , and Si r Marcus , th e respectabl e Jew , Green e emphasize s thi s poin t i n their deat h scenes . Whe n Rave n ha s trappe d Si r Marcus , h e determine s to make him suffe r mor e tha n th e old woman h e (indirectly) hire d Rave n to kill . H e ask s Si r Marcus , "Don' t yo u wan t t o pray ? You'r e a Jew , aren't you ? Bette r peopl e tha n you . . . believe i n a God " (216) . Bu t Si r Marcus onl y responds , " I hav e th e Wes t Ran d Goldfield s filed . . . the East Africa n Petroleu m Company " (217) . Whe n Rave n actuall y shoot s him, i t i s becaus e thes e word s "seeme d t o b e disturbin g som e memor y of peac e an d goodnes s whic h ha d bee n o n th e poin t o f returnin g t o hi m when h e tol d Si r Marcu s t o pray " (217) . Si r Marcus' s Jewis h evil , no t content t o despoi l th e world , ha s invade d Raven' s ne w discover y o f hi s own Christia n innocenc e an d faith , an d sullie d th e las t moment s o f hi s

life.

The atmospher e o f A Gun for Sale, eve n mor e tha n tha t o f Stamboul Train, evoke s th e atmospher e o f T . S . Eliot' s poe m The Waste Land. 36 The character s o f Si r Marcu s an d hi s gan g ar e no t t o b e foun d i n The Waste Land, bu t w e ca n fin d the m i n "Gerontion " (1920 ) i n th e line s "My hous e i s a decayed house , / An d th e jew squat s o n th e window sill , the owner " (Eliot , "Gerontion, " 1 . 21, in Complete Poems and Plays). It i s difficul t t o understan d wha t cause d Green e t o mov e fro m th e ambivalent but still conscious condemnation o f anti-Semitism in Stamboul Train i n 193 2 t o th e inescapabl e implicatio n i n A Gun for Sale tha t th e Jews ar e behin d th e comin g wa r an d th e blatan t thoug h somewha t les s central anti-Semitism o f Brighton Rock. On e possible explanation fo r thi s backward movemen t lie s i n th e forc e o f Greene' s consciou s denia l o f

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parental blam e fo r hi s childhoo d misery . Th e abuse d childre n describe d by Alic e Miller , wh o wer e no t fre e t o hat e o r condem n thei r actua l persecutors, gre w num b an d empty . The y surrendere d thei r ow n sens e of sel f an d eithe r projected thei r ange r an d hatre d inwar d i n suicida l self hatred o r outwar d ont o som e Other . Green e availe d himsel f o f al l o f these options , turnin g hi s ow n hatre d o n himsel f and , i n thes e texts , o n women an d Jews. Whil e the grim worlds o f A Gun for Sale and Brighton Rock ar e fa r remove d fro m Berkhamsted' s middle-clas s ease , o n th e un conscious o r feelin g leve l the y ar e uncomfortably clos e t o Greene' s ow n experience. Raven's murderous cry of rage against the parental world ma y well hav e arouse d th e censo r i n hi s creato r an d pushe d hi m bac k t o th e comfort o f safel y establishe d Jewis h stereotypes . Another, mor e speculative solution has to do with the upset of Greene' s established bipola r syste m o f virgi n an d whor e i n th e characte r o f Ann e in A Gun for Sale. I n The Man Within an d Stamboul Train, th e youn g man fail s i n courag e an d betray s th e innocent virgi n wh o trust s him , an d she dies as a result o f that betrayal . I n The Name of Action, th e suppose d virgin i s allowed t o surviv e onl y becaus e sh e turns ou t t o b e a whore. I n A Gun for Sale, Rave n doe s no t an d woul d neve r betra y Anne . She , o n the othe r hand , whil e a certifiable virgi n lik e th e others , i s a tough sur vivor. Whe n Rave n take s he r hostage , sh e trie s t o escap e b y throwin g a cup o f ho t coffe e i n his face, somethin g on e can picture th e whore Anne Marie doing, but which is far more enterprising an d violent than anythin g the self-sacrificin g an d passiv e Elizabet h o r Cora l migh t attempt . Eve n after bein g strangled, stuffe d u p a suffocating chimney , an d left fo r hours , Anne miraculously revive s the moment sh e is taken out. Unlik e Elizabet h and Coral , whos e faithfulnes s i s suc h tha t the y ar e willin g t o la y dow n their live s fo r me n the y kno w t o b e unworthy, onc e Ann e finds ou t tha t it i s Rave n wh o ha s kille d th e belove d wa r minister , sh e reject s him , regarding him with revulsio n an d contempt . Sh e wants t o retch whe n sh e looks a t hi s hare-lip , an d regard s hi m no t a s a fello w huma n bein g i n pain bu t rathe r a s a "wild anima l wh o ha d t o b e deal t wit h carefull y an d then destroyed " (170) . As w e hav e seen , i n Stamboul Train Green e maintain s clos e contro l over hi s implie d reader . I n A Gun for Sale, w e ar e directe d t o reac t i n ways contrar y t o the ordinary expectation s o f the thriller genre , i n whic h we normally sympathiz e wit h th e victim an d condem n th e criminal. Thi s leads t o a n incongruenc e betwee n Anne' s ostensibl y sensibl e actio n o f

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rejecting Rave n an d turnin g hi m int o th e authoritie s an d ou r reactio n o f sympathy fo r Raven . I f w e submi t t o Greene' s direction , w e blam e Ra ven's mothe r fo r hi s first an d irrevocabl e trauma , an d blam e Ann e eve n more fo r destroyin g hi m afte r bringin g hi m painfull y bac k t o life . "Sh e had sai d t o him : 'I' m you r friend . Yo u ca n trus t me ' " (220) . Whe n h e learns o f he r betrayal , Raven' s despai r i s complete , an d h e i s read y t o join hi s mothe r i n suicide : He was only aware of a pain and despair which was more like a complete weariness than anything else... he had been marked from hi s birth for this end, t o b e betrayed i n tur n b y everyon e unti l ever y avenu e into lif e was safely closed... . How coul d h e have expecte d t o hav e escape d th e com monest betraya l o f all , t o g o soft o n a skirt?. .. The onl y proble m whe n you were once born wa s to ge t out o f lif e mor e neatly an d expeditiousl y than yo u ha d entere d i t . . . . For th e firs t tim e th e ide a o f hi s mother' s suicide came to him without bitterness . (221) After allowin g th e virgins i n th e tw o previou s novel s t o exer t pressur e on thei r morall y empt y lovers , Green e promptl y kille d the m off . Bu t Anne, wh o i s neithe r a virgin no r yet , quite , a whore, an d wh o i s goo d by societa l standard s bu t morall y blameworthy , i s allowe d t o live . I n Anne, th e whore/virgi n dichotom y n o longe r holds . Greene' s othe r young mal e heroe s wer e ravishe d b y th e whore s an d themselve s rage d and/or kille d th e virgins . Thi s tim e i t i s Raven , th e outwardl y evi l bu t morally innocen t an d Christlik e man , wh o assume s th e par t o f th e sac rificial virgi n wh o mus t b e killed . Greene' s system , lik e thos e o f Lewi s and Williams , serve d t o protec t hi m fro m hi s terrors . Here , w e se e it, a t least a s it applie d t o women, i n fragments . Gilma n believe s tha t th e nee d to stereotyp e become s especiall y stron g i n situation s i n whic h ou r sens e of orde r an d self-integratio n i s threatene d (Gilman , Difference and Pathology', 18) . I t i s possibl e tha t Green e ma y hav e experience d hi s ow n attempt to reverse his bipolar system as it applied to women as sufficientl y threatening to cause his regression into a less ambivalent, mor e unthinkin g stereotype o f Jews i n thi s boo k an d i n Brighton Rock. Whatever th e reason s fo r Greene' s reversio n t o stereotyp e i n A Gun for Sale, ther e i s n o doub t abou t th e identit y o f th e ba d father s here . I t is Sir Marcus an d hi s force s wh o hav e turned Raven , bor n wit h s o muc h inner potential , int o a hire d murderer . I t i s als o th e Jew an d hi s mach inations wh o hav e force d Ann e t o leav e her rol e a s faithful virgi n an d t o betray Rave n rathe r tha n t o rescu e him . Despit e th e superficiall y happ y

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ending, th e worl d wil l continu e o n shak y foundations . "Th e rat s ar e underneath th e piles. / Th e je w i s underneat h th e lot " (Eliot , "Burban k With a Baedeker: Bleistei n wit h a Cigar," 11 . 23-24, i n Complete Poems and Plays). This regressio n i s eve n mor e marke d i n Brighton Rock, publishe d tw o years later , i n 1938 . I wil l limi t mysel f her e t o a brief discussio n o f thi s novel, i n man y way s a more emphatic , les s ambivalen t recapitulatio n o f A Gun for Sale. The book' s antihero , Pinkie , o r "th e Boy, " anothe r maime d boy-ma n with a past which he remembers as "a cracked bell ringing, a child weeping under th e cane, " is a Raven increasingl y embittere d an d stony-hearted. 37 Unlike Raven , wh o wa s capabl e o f selfles s lov e fo r Anne , Pinki e i s s o overwhelmed b y his bitter revulsion a t the horror o f female sexualit y tha t he ca n fee l nothin g fo r eve n Greene' s ultimat e unthreatenin g an d victim like woman: th e pale , shrunken , sixteen-year-ol d Catholi c virgin , Rose . Rose is entirely loyal to Pinkie and even agrees to kill herself a t his biddin g when he proposes a fake mutual suicide pact (a kind of parody of Greene' s early game s o f Russia n roulette) . Sh e is saved fro m thi s deat h onl y a t th e last minut e b y th e overrip e busybod y Id a Arnold . Id a i s a s stron g an d energetic a s Anne, an d lik e her, live s o n th e "right " sid e o f th e law . N o virgin, sh e hunt s dow n Pinki e an d finally ha s hi m killed , no t t o preven t more death s (Anne' s reaso n fo r destroyin g Raven) , bu t rathe r ou t o f he r need t o penetrat e t o ever y corne r i n th e ultimat e femal e engulfment . Greene's simplification o f his treatment of female characters in Brighton Rock applie s equall y t o his treatment o f Jews. Eve n mor e than th e worl d of Nottwic h i n A Gun for Sale, th e crimina l underworl d o f Brighto n which i s th e settin g fo r Brighton Rock i s literall y infeste d wit h corrup t and evi l Jews: littl e bitche s i n fu r coat s wh o parad e thei r ware s i n th e rich hotel ; a n oily-haire d youn g moneylender ; a sidling gangste r named , appropriately, Crab ; an d th e member s o f Colleoni' s mob—nameless , vicious, and knife-wielding Jews, who laugh in glee as they attack helpless Christians. Attacke d b y thi s mob , i n a nightmar e vision , Pinki e see s "Semitic face s ringin g hi m al l round . The y grinne d bac k a t him : ever y man ha d hi s razo r out ; an d h e remembere d fo r th e first tim e Colleon i laughing u p th e telephon e wire " (152) . In Stamboul Train, Davi s wa s onl y a fron t ma n fo r th e rea l powe r behind the scenes, Sir Marcus. In Brighton Rock, i t is Colleoni, the "smal l

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Jew wit h a nea t roun d belly, " wh o hold s th e rea l powe r (84) . Pinkie , like Raven, i s a homeless wanderer i n a world o f poverty an d deprivation , while Colleon i i s snu g an d a t hom e i n hi s hug e moneye d hote l (87) . Fiedler call s him "th e gangste r with th e razo r blade " ("Fagin," 414) , bu t like Si r Marcus , Colleon i ha s bough t remova l fro m th e worl d o f razor s and knives : a s h e tell s Pinkie , "F m jus t a busines s man " (88) . Lik e Si r Marcus, Colleon i i s remove d fro m th e bitte r Catholi c worl d o f good , evil, guilt , an d punishment . H e float s instea d i n a vacuu m o f Jewis h immorality: His old Semiti c face showe d fe w emotion s but a mild amusement , a mild friendliness; bu t suddenl y sittin g ther e i n th e rich Victorian room , wit h the gold lighter in his pocket an d the cigar case on his lap, he looked a s a man migh t loo k wh o owne d th e whol e world , th e whol e visibl e world , that is : the cas h register s an d policeme n an d prostitutes , Parliamen t an d the laws which say "this is Right and this Wrong." (89) Colleoni, thoug h a criminal, i s no outside r bu t instea d a representative of th e dominan t society . H e work s han d i n han d wit h th e police , and , as Crab tells Pinkie, "[H]e'll go in for politics one day. The Conservative s think a lo t o f him—he' s go t contacts " (232) . Colleon i i s les s individua l than Si r Marcus. H e i s an almos t rando m representativ e o f th e typ e wh o is takin g ove r th e world . Throughou t th e hotel , a Semiti c hissin g an d whispering ca n b e heard , an d al l th e face s ar e dar k an d Semitic . A "Si r Joseph Montagu " i s paged , an d w e hav e th e sens e o f a rotten worl d i n which Colleoni s ar e penetratin g everywhere . Pinki e a t on e poin t think s he ma y se e Colleon i bu t the n realize s tha t i t coul d b e "an y ric h middle aged Jew" (157) . We hav e note d th e fragmentatio n o f Greene' s syste m i n A Gun for Sale. A t th e en d o f tha t book , th e corrup t Jew s hav e bee n vanquished , and th e Jews' Wa r avoided . Powe r seem s t o res t fo r th e momen t i n th e hands o f Ann e an d Mather , soli d i f unimaginativ e citizens , whos e onl y fault lie s i n thei r lac k o f rea l empath y an d vision . None o f th e othe r book s end s i n suc h ambivalence . I n The Name of Action, th e pornographer-Jew , Kapper , an d hi s whore , Anne-Marie , inherit th e world . I n Stamboul Train, i t i s th e cowardl y Jew , Myatt , and hi s whore , Jane t Pardoe , wh o ar e th e heirs . I n Brighton Rock, th e gangster-Jew, Colleoni , an d th e engulfing femal e Id a Arnold ar e the ne w inheritors of an increasingly bleak and inhuman world. A s one of Pinkie' s

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9

wiser cohort s warn s him , "Colleoni' s goin g t o tak e ove r thi s plac e fro m you" (305) . Brighton Rock wa s published i n 1938 , the year of Kristallnach t an d th e annexation o f Austria , an d on e year befor e Britai n entere d th e war. Gra ham Greene , wh o ha d take n a n early stand agains t Mosley an d his move ment an d wh o ha d alread y publicl y condemne d Hitle r a t th e tim e o f th e writing o f th e book , seemingl y remaine d blin d unti l afte r th e wa r t o th e anti-Semitic conten t o f thi s an d hi s other novels . Whe n Green e di d mak e changes in the postwar edition s of Brighton Rock, the y consisted, a s they did i n th e cas e o f Stamhoul Train an d A Gun for Sale, o f appeasin g shortcuts rathe r tha n thoughtfu l revisions . However , th e change s i n Brighton Rock, unlik e thos e i n th e othe r tw o books , mak e a significan t difference i n the way we interpret it . B y changing Colleoni into an Italia n and removing the words "Jew, " "Jewish, " an d "Semitic " throughout th e novel, i n contras t t o th e earlie r edition , wher e the y ar e repeate d i n a building chorus of invective, Green e effected a "quick fix." Unsuspectin g readers o f th e Pengui n Brighton Rock, th e onl y versio n whic h i s in prin t and readil y availabl e fo r sal e today , ma y encounte r Colleon i an d hi s cohorts an d wonde r a t Greene' s strang e veno m agains t Italians , an d a t the oddl y familia r racia l stereotype s h e seem s t o attac h t o thi s group. 38 As I hav e noted , Green e nowher e i n hi s writing s refer s t o thes e revi sions, instea d quietl y introducin g the m int o th e ne w version s o f th e books. While it is probably preferable t o change offending passage s rathe r than simpl y allowin g the m t o stand , a n explanatio n o f th e change s an d of wha t occasione d the m woul d hav e bee n usefu l t o u s a s readers . Stil l another optio n fo r Green e woul d hav e bee n t o leav e th e origina l tex t a s it stood , an d t o ad d a n introductio n i n whic h h e acknowledge d hi s ow n textual anti-Semitism and explained how his consciousness had been raised since th e tim e o f writing . A s i t is , th e revision s Green e mad e see m a n attempt t o rewrit e textua l histor y rathe r tha n a true effor t b y a n autho r to ow n hi s ow n histor y o f anti-Semitism . Conclusion: A Cracked and Fragile System Kapper, Davis , Si r Marcus , an d Colleon i coul d swagge r int o th e page s of Charle s William s an d fee l a t home . Greene' s Jew s tur n t o revolutio n and fiscal conspiracy , whil e Manasse h an d Cler k Simo n prefe r necro mancy, bu t al l six are trying t o tak e over th e world, an d al l are decidedl y

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more masculin e i n thei r orientatio n tha n ar e Archi e Margoli n o r Juliu s Ratner, thos e cringin g quasi-female s wh o inhabi t th e page s o f Lewis . While the male Jews of all three authors closely conspire with the whoris h females, Lewis' s Jews ar e sister s t o th e whores, whil e Greene' s an d Wil liams's ar e whoremasters. Onc e again , Greene' s dichotom y o f virgi n an d whore bears a somewhat closer relation to Williams's dichotomy o f SlaveGoddess an d bitc h tha n t o Lewis' s somewha t undifferentiate d engulfin g female. However , eve n th e bes t wome n i n al l thre e authors ' systems , whether the y ar e Slave-Goddesses , nurturin g mothers , o r pur e virgins , have a n unsettlin g tendenc y t o leav e on e assigne d categor y an d ente r th e other. Greene' s goo d women , especially , ar e in som e way s mor e threat ening tha n hi s whore s an d mus t b e destroye d wheneve r possible . Despite these similarities, in Greene much more than in either William s or Lewis , w e have th e sens e of a n autho r wh o i s actually strugglin g wit h the weigh t o f self-knowledg e an d wit h th e guil t an d complicit y whic h i t implies. Myat t i n Stamboul Train, a Jew an d Greene' s authoria l repre sentative, i s the embodiment o f thi s self-knowledg e an d would find him self ou t o f plac e i n eithe r Lewis' s o r Williams' s productions . Whil e th e splitting, projection , an d attributio n w e hav e foun d i n th e othe r tw o novelists' system s ar e still present i n Greene's , hi s structur e her e i s mor e fragile, mor e ope n t o self-examinatio n an d self-doubt . Even i n th e earl y books , Greene' s inevitabl e centra l figure, a torture d young man faced with a corrupt an d immoral universe and burdened wit h a traumati c past , mus t tak e som e degre e o f responsibilit y an d mak e a choice. Whe n thi s youn g ma n fail s th e test s o f manhoo d an d morality , as he almos t alway s does , th e responsibilit y rest s a t leas t partl y o n him , rather tha n bein g located entirel y outsid e of him, i n either the past whic h torments him , th e virgins who pressure him, th e whores who temp t him , or th e Jew s wh o lea d hi m int o evi l ways . I t i s thi s self-consciousnes s which forbid s Graha m Green e the kind o f total split that bot h Wyndha m Lewis an d Charle s William s achiev e wit h thei r loathsom e Jew s an d en gulfing women . Th e Jew an d the woman ar e only temporary intercessor s between Green e an d hi s ow n confrontatio n wit h himself . I n Greene' s work, inne r evi l canno t b e confine d t o th e Other . I t lie s everywhere , beneath th e surface . Greene also has less success than do either Williams or Lewis in splitting off th e "female " o r feelin g par t o f himself , an d h e i s far mor e consciou s of it s loss. Lik e Raven, whos e contac t wit h Ann e taugh t hi m ho w t o fee l

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1

and ho w t o lov e an d consequentl y mean t increase d pai n a s h e face d th e absence o f thes e thing s i n hi s life ; Greene' s ow n consciousnes s o f hi s inner spli t only intensifies hi s pain. I n these early novels, Green e mourn s the death i n life which come s fro m denyin g th e "female " withi n himself . Greene, lik e hi s morall y wea k youn g men , waver s betwee n a mor e re sponsible us e o f hi s Jewish character s an d a reversion t o well-wor n an d ugly stereotypes. In his later fiction, h e would eliminate the Jewish stereotypes, an d althoug h hi s femal e character s woul d neve r becom e wholl y human, the y would a t least escape the two restrictiv e choice s of th e earl y novels. A s i t is , eve n th e earl y Green e w e mee t i n thes e page s i s a mor e complex write r an d thinke r tha n eithe r Charle s William s o r Wyndha m Lewis. Thi s i s perhaps why , whe n h e falls , i t hurt s u s more .

S E V E N

Conclusion

As I attemp t t o dra w thi s length y stud y t o a conclusion, wha t surprise s me mos t i s it s cohesiveness . Th e boo k whic h bega n a s a broa d surve y widened i n it s scop e befor e i t narrowed . A t on e poin t I feare d tha t m y various sorties into the fields of historical literary criticism, Anglo-Jewis h history, an d psychoanalyti c theor y ha d bee n a waste o f preciou s time , a self-defeating metho d o f prolongin g a n alread y length y process , an d a diversion from m y main task of close textual analysis. Lookin g back now , it i s clea r t o m e tha t fa r fro m wastin g m y time , i n m y variou s venture s "outside" o f textua l analysi s I wa s movin g graduall y bu t firmly awa y from th e Ne w Critica l approac h I ha d bee n taught , a n approac h whic h treated eac h tex t a s a unique an d froze n object , floatin g alon e i n it s ow n pure vacuum. Eac h voyage away from m y texts brought m e back to the m with a new understanding and a new context. My thinking began to escape the confine s o f fenced-of f fields o f knowledg e calle d "history, " "psy chology," an d "literar y criticism " an d move d towar d a mode l o f con centric, multidimensiona l sphere s o f knowledge , i n which al l these fields are connected . This growin g sens e o f connectio n too k man y form s i n m y study . M y survey o f th e previou s literar y criticis m o n th e representatio n o f Jews i n British literatur e allowe d m e t o tak e a mor e objectiv e loo k a t m y ow n methods an d t o se e m y ow n stud y a s on e lin k i n a lon g chain , rathe r than a s a n isolate d an d uniqu e event . I emerged fro m m y venture into Anglo-Jewish histor y with a pervasive image o f silencin g an d denial , a sense o f a virulent anti-Semitis m whic h remained unspoken , a potent ye t a t time s invisibl e forc e whic h wa s n o less lethal becaus e it existed beneat h th e surface. Thi s awarenes s matche d the ver y simila r sens e o f denial , silencing , an d hypocris y whic h I foun d 3"

CONCLUSION

3*3

in m y fictiona l text s whe n the y touche d o n Jew s an d thing s Jewish . I t allowed m e t o understand , fo r instance , th e existenc e o f undercurrent s of vicious anti-Semitis m i n works whos e ostensibl e o r over t messag e wa s philo-Semitic. I encountere d a similar cohesivenes s whe n I turne d t o psychoanalyti c theorists in order to construct o r verbalize a theoretical basis for th e stud y and to deepen my understanding of the forces at work in my three authors. I ha d expecte d an d feare d tha t th e differen t theorist s woul d lea d m e i n widely divergen t directions . Instea d I foun d differen t bu t convergin g roads, leadin g me to locations which fel t deepl y familiar, a s I had alread y visited the m a t lengt h throug h m y fictiona l texts . Al l m y theorists , whether the y wer e mal e o r female , literar y critics , diagnosticians , o r psychoanalysts, agree d tha t Wester n me n ar e brough t u p b y a femal e parent i n th e contex t o f a misogynist an d woman-hatin g culture . Durin g the proces s o f becomin g socialize d a s males , the y (t o differen t degrees ) suffer damag e whic h leave s the m spli t of f fro m thei r feelings , rigid , di vided, an d o n guard , unabl e t o rela x fro m thei r stanc e o f unbendin g vigilance, ofte n unabl e t o love, an d a t times prevented fro m attainin g ful l humanity. The y are forced, a s the price of their entry into adult manhood , to split off or deny the soft, feelin g parts of themselves, which are relegated to an d associate d wit h th e mother, an d wit h al l females. Th e pai n o f thi s severance, whic h mean s a kind o f deat h o f th e spirit , cause s thos e mor e badly damage d t o spli t thes e part s off , t o nam e the m "woman, " "for eigner," "Jew," or "nigger" an d to turn on them with hatred an d disgust . Traumatic abuse , eithe r familia l o r o n a n institutiona l level , reinforce s this damage , whic h i s especiall y letha l whe n i t i s no t acknowledged , a s in th e societall y accepte d institutio n o f th e publi c school . In another example of the kind of connection which I mentioned above , my reading s o n th e publi c schoo l syste m an d th e effec t o f hidde n abus e brought m e bac k t o m y lesson s i n Anglo-Jewis h history . Th e me n wh o ran th e government s an d th e civi l service , an d wh o thu s mad e th e polic y decisions which seale d th e fate o f the European Jews, wer e the same me n who were victimized b y the unacknowledged, hidde n abus e of th e publi c school syste m an d wh o imbibe d it s ideology . I n th e interoffic e memo s they sen t eac h other , thes e me n spok e o f themselve s a s victim s o f en croaching, engulfin g Jews. I n the decisions they made to attack boatload s of Jewis h refugee s an d t o clos e Britain' s territorie s agains t th e Jewis h hordes, the y treate d thei r countr y a s a similarly besiege d an d victimize d

3M

CONCLUSION

man, wh o mus t attac k i n orde r t o survive . Th e sam e not e sound s re peatedly i n al l the fictiona l text s I examined. A s al l the theorist s explain , such damage d me n hav e n o sens e o f inne r spac e an d n o sens e o f fir m outer boundaries . The y experienc e themselve s a s victims, easil y invaded , swallowed, o r engulfed , a t th e merc y o f wome n an d o f othe r groups , such a s mal e Jews , who m the y se e a s alie n o r Othe r an d who m the y identify wit h th e persecute d force s insid e themselves . Cu t of f fro m thei r own feelin g selves , suc h me n desperatel y nee d women t o fee l whole , bu t such nee d implie s femal e weaknes s an d dependence , whic h canno t b e tolerated. Th e resultan t persecutor y rag e i s directe d eithe r inwar d o r a t the woma n o r a t he r stand-in , wh o i s ofte n th e Jew. I n orde r t o defen d themselves agains t thi s invasion , the y rigidif y increasingly , protectin g themselves with defensiv e dualisti c systems that draw strict lines betwee n male an d female , Je w an d Gentile , goo d an d evil . An d s o th e viciou s cycle continues . After m y sorti e int o psychoanalyti c theor y I returne d t o m y fictiona l texts wit h a sharpened understandin g o f thes e texts , an d a new appreci ation of how childhood an d the school experience had shaped the author s and thei r productions. Whil e eac h tex t stil l held it s own shape , I increasingly recognize d a n authoria l cor e syste m whic h seeme d t o encompas s an individua l author' s earl y lif e a s wel l a s hi s wor k an d t o b e repeate d over an d ove r i n eac h o f th e text s I studied . Becaus e I hav e alread y summarized thes e system s i n th e introduction s an d conclusion s o f chap ters 4 through 6 , I wil l allo w mysel f a more imagis t approac h here . For th e syste m o f Wyndha m Lewis , m y imag e i s of a man runnin g o n a treadmill , swingin g hi s fist s wildl y a t himsel f an d al l aroun d hi m a s h e runs, usin g u p a vas t amoun t o f energ y t o barel y escap e th e combine d forces whic h threate n t o captur e hi m an d tur n hi m int o a woma n o r a child. T o us , thes e force s ma y appea r t o b e merel y peopl e goin g abou t their business, but to him they are an army, le d by women, wit h feminin e homosexuals i n the second rank , an d with Jews, blacks , an d a vast hord e of unwashe d an d communisti c masse s bringin g u p th e rear . For Charle s Williams' s system , m y imag e i s o f a magician i n a seed y parlor whic h attract s respectabl e client s wit h unacknowledge d sadoma sochistic urges . Th e magician' s mai n powe r lie s i n hi s tric k o f splittin g the worl d int o tw o part s an d i n hi s master y o f certai n ritual s involvin g dominance an d submission . A s a magician , h e canno t operat e withou t his woman assistant , wh o mus t b e available to lend him he r energ y whe n

CONCLUSION

31*

needed, t o allo w hersel f t o b e stuffe d int o cupboards , an d t o li e dow n and b e saw n i n tw o pieces . Bu t thi s sam e assistan t ha s i n hersel f a chao s of evi l and corruption , whic h b y he r ow n magi c powers sh e knows ho w to remove from th e secret places of her own female body an d locate inside his. Othe r source s o f chao s an d evi l ca n b e foun d i n th e audience , i n particular i n wicke d Jew s wh o threate n t o ru n awa y wit h th e assistan t and otherwis e disrup t th e show , an d thu s t o brin g dow n th e force s o f evil corruptio n whic h wil l envelo p th e world . In my image for his system, Graham Greene, like the other two authors, is constantl y i n motion , a wear y an d vigilan t traveler , whos e jo b i s t o map ou t suc h blea k an d barre n area s a s ari d deserts , arcti c wastes , an d ghost town s whic h hav e been abandone d b y thei r forme r inhabitants . A s long a s he remain s alone , empty , an d isolated , th e explore r ca n continu e with hi s work . Bu t whe n h e encounter s women , t o who m h e i s draw n with al l th e forc e o f hi s tremendou s loneliness , a kin d o f centrifuga l whirlpool open s i n fron t o f hi m an d attempt s t o suc k hi m in . Thes e women ofte n wal k han d i n han d with , o r i n th e footstep s of , thei r com panions, th e Jews. Whe n th e explore r encounter s suc h a pair, h e is in fo r the worst nightmare of all, for it is then that he notices the foul whirlpool , with it s deadl y centrifuga l force , openin g insid e himself . Reading ove r thes e thre e images , gathere d fro m year s o f wakin g an d sleeping hour s spen t wit h eac h author , I notic e tha t eac h on e i s distinc t and different, bu t all three bear the same disquieting quality, lik e differen t nightmares dreame d b y on e miserabl e an d preoccupie d person , o r b y three brother s i n on e dysfunctional , unparente d family . T o tak e th e las t metaphor on e ste p furthe r i s t o visualiz e Wyndha m Lewi s a s th e bold est, oldes t brother , Charle s William s a s th e strang e middl e brother , and Graha m Green e a s th e younges t an d shyes t brother . Th e Enemy , Wyndham Lewis ; the Saint, Charle s Williams; and the Manic-Depressive , Graham Greene—the y ar e indeed brother s unde r the skin. Al l three wer e rigid me n whos e production s demonstrat e thei r preoccupatio n wit h relationships o f powe r an d dominance . Al l thre e constructe d system s to counte r wha t the y experience d a s th e pervasiv e threa t o f invasio n and disintegratio n o f thei r fragil e boundaries . An d al l thre e provide d women wit h ke y an d Jew s wit h comparativel y mino r role s i n thei r all encompassing systems . Until very lat e in the process o f writin g thi s book , I visualized wome n and Jew s a s playin g complementar y an d equa l role s i n th e wor k o f m y

3

i6

CONCLUSION

three authors . Somewher e towar d th e en d o f m y work , however , I re alized tha t i n fac t m y finding s woul d b e simila r t o thos e mad e b y Klau s Theweleit i n his study o f th e writing an d live s of th e Germa n Freikorps men. Thewelei t foun d tha t fo r hi s subjects , th e hatre d an d loathin g o f women wa s a n overwhelming unconsciou s an d consciou s preoccupation , from whic h stemme d th e Freikorpsmen' s othe r hatreds , includin g th e hatred o f thos e people they murdere d mos t often : working-clas s socialis t men. A s Theweleit' s conclusion s demonstrate , th e target s o f hatre d o f the Othe r ma y b e far afiel d fro m th e origina l object . I to o foun d tha t i n the system s o f m y thre e authors , th e Jewis h character s existe d mainly , though no t exclusively , i n relatio n t o th e wome n characters . I ha d t o conclude, a s Kat e Millet t doe s i n Sexual Politics, tha t "sexua l politics , while connecte d t o economic s an d othe r tangible s o f socia l organization , is, lik e racism , o r certai n aspect s o f caste , primaril y a n ideology , a wa y of life, wit h influence ove r every other psychological an d emotiona l face t of existence. I t has created, therefore , a psychic structure, deepl y embed ded i n ou r past " (229) . I foun d thi s conclusio n an d it s possibl e implication s rathe r staggerin g and immediatel y bega n t o questio n it . M y firs t concer n wa s tha t suc h a conclusion migh t b e interpreted a s a minimizing of anti-Semitism, a force with it s ow n histor y an d mytholog y an d it s ow n terribl e consequences . When I sa y tha t anti-Semitis m play s a secondar y rol e i n thes e authors ' work, I a m referrin g t o th e rol e playe d b y Jews a s i t relate s t o th e rol e played b y wome n i n thes e texts, no t t o th e relative effect s o n th e victim s of thes e prejudices i n rea l life. I n th e face o f ou r history , I appreciat e th e pressing nee d fo r separat e studie s o f anti-Semitism , an d understan d wh y many author s hav e decide d t o restric t thei r focu s t o it . Next I aske d mysel f whethe r m y identit y a s a woman an d a feminis t had informed m y reading of these texts so that I saw women where another reader migh t hav e see n onl y Jews , an d ye t anothe r migh t hav e see n differences i n class . Whil e one' s reading s ar e indee d indisputabl y tie d t o one's identit y an d perspective , m y conclusio n canno t b e completel y at tributed t o m y particula r slante d focus . I bega n thi s stud y a s a result o f my discomfor t i n Englan d a s a Jew, no t a s a woman, an d I continue d t o view my wor k a s a way t o explor e m y assimilate d Jewish identity . Fro m the beginning , I name d an d define d thi s boo k a s a stud y o f th e repre sentation o f Jew s i n Britis h literature . Suc h effort s t o privileg e on e par t of one' s divers e identit y ove r anothe r ar e no t particularl y useful . I a m

CONCLUSION

317

merely tryin g t o establis h tha t th e conclusio n I reache d wa s i n n o wa y foreseen o r consciousl y sought . Nevertheless, i t appeared unavoidable . I n ever y cas e in these particula r texts, women , wit h thei r open , ravenou s mouth s an d thei r tendenc y t o engulf an d victimize men, seeme d t o be everywhere tha t Jews were—an d everywhere, too , tha t Jews wer e not . Finally, I returne d t o th e critic s I surveye d i n chapte r 2 . I f authoria l anti-Semitism i s so clearl y linke d t o misogyny , I wondered, wh y ha d s o few o f thes e critic s mad e tha t connection ? M y answer s t o thi s questio n supported m y conclusion , curbe d m y risin g grandiosity, an d led to som e possibilities fo r furthe r study . I n th e first place , I realized , thes e critic s were filling a n unme t an d importan t need , an d an y othe r focu s woul d have diluted the force of their statements. They never saw the connection s between th e authoria l anti-Semitis m the y chronicle d an d authoria l mis ogyny becaus e the y ha d purposel y narrowe d th e scop e o f thei r studies , choosing t o focu s exclusivel y o n th e anti-Semitis m i n thei r texts . Whe n I turne d t o critic s wh o had chose n t o wide n thei r scop e o f inquiry , I found tha t the y di d i n fac t com e t o man y o f th e sam e conclusion s tha t I did . But m y ow n study , lik e thos e o f th e earlie r critics , i s narro w i n it s scope. I t examine s onl y tw o groups , Jew s an d women , thu s eliminatin g all other group s fro m it s field o f discourse . Blacks , gays , children , com munists, member s o f th e working class , Greeks , an d German s wer e onl y some o f th e othe r group s wh o appeare d a s Other s i n thes e texts , ofte n playing starrin g roles , whic h I chos e no t t o investigate . Obviously , I cannot clai m a dominant rol e for gende r withou t lookin g a t race or class , to nam e onl y tw o o f th e man y variable s whic h I excluded . I n addition , my study , unlik e th e wide-rangin g survey s i n chapte r 2 , examine d th e work o f only three authors, all middle-class, male, British Gentiles who m I ha d hand-picke d o n th e basi s o f thei r repute d anti-Semitism . I ha d further narrowe d m y scop e b y selectin g onl y thos e o f thei r work s i n which Jews appeared . I t became clear to me that in order not to be wildly speculative, I would have to limit my concluding statements to the selected work o f m y thre e authors . And yet , t o retur n t o th e cohesivenes s I cite d a t th e beginnin g o f thi s final section , I do fee l abl e to mak e on e broader claim . Just a s the hatre d of Jew s i s intimatel y linke d wit h th e hatre d o f wome n i n th e wor k o f these thre e authors , I believe that othe r stereotype s o r uses of th e Other ,

3i8

CONCLUSION

often approache d separately , ar e als o similarl y linke d withi n large r co hesive systems , bot h withi n text s an d outsid e o f texts . Whil e I continu e to believ e i n th e nee d fo r issue - an d identity - base d struggle , I wil l no t be abl e t o loo k a t anti-Semitism , o r a t misogyny , racism , homophobia , or an y othe r exploitatio n o f th e Other , i n complet e isolatio n again .

Afterword In man y ways , thi s conclusio n leave s m e a t th e beginning , no t th e end , of m y quest , an d I wil l en d b y posin g som e o f th e question s an d unex plored path s whic h remai n wit h me . I s i t possibl e tha t wha t I hav e de scribed i n thi s boo k i s a purely moder n phenomenon ? T o sho w tha t i t is not , I woul d nee d t o g o bac k an d loo k a t th e earl y classic s o f anti Semitism i n th e ligh t o f thi s study . I s th e anti-Semitis m i n The Prioress's Tale, The Merchant of Venice, an d Oliver Twist a n outgrowth o f Chau cer's, Shakespeare's, an d Dickens's loathing of women? Somehow, I think it i s no t tha t simple , bu t I d o no t know . I hav e simila r question s abou t the links betwee n anti-Semitis m an d woman-hating i n the earl y medieva l ballads an d miracl e plays . I wonde r to o wha t I woul d I find wer e I t o broade n m y focu s t o th e use o f al l "Others " i n th e wor k o f m y thre e writers , includin g bu t no t limited t o thos e division s impose d b y reaso n o f race , class , nationa l an d ethnic origin , physica l disability , an d sexua l preference . Woul d I find that all of thes e factor s wer e outgrowth s o f th e male fear an d loathin g o f women, or , give n a trul y ope n focus , woul d anothe r facto r o r factor s take their place at the forefront? Woul d I find that, o n the contrary, ther e exists no on e dominan t factor , bu t tha t th e preponderant issu e depende d on th e perceived identit y o f th e author ? Would I identify th e sam e issue s of invasio n an d engulfment , simpl y transferre d t o differen t groups , o r would th e issues be different accordin g to the particular identifie d Other ? How much , I wonder, d o my conclusion s depen d o n th e British focu s of thi s study , o r o n it s mal e focus ? Woul d question s lik e thes e eve n b e relevant wer e I t o examin e th e wor k o f wome n authors ? Wha t woul d I find i f I looke d a t self-reflectiv e writing—fictio n i n whic h Jew s writ e about Jews , o r i n whic h member s o f othe r identifie d "Others " writ e about themselves ? Th e permutation s ar e endless .

Appendix: A Historical and Literary Timeline of Jews in England

33 Jesu 400 Authoritativ

1070 Jew 1100-35 Henr

1144-83 Firs

1188 T 1189-90 Richar

1194 Richar 1215 Hostil

s crucifie d e version of the New Testament gathered in one book: Je w a s Herod , a s Judas, an d a s bloodthirst y Christ killers, "[w]h o bot h kille d th e Lor d Jesus , an d thei r ow n prophets, an d have persecuted us ; and they pleas e not God , and ar e contrar y t o al l men. " (1 Thessalonians 2 : 14-16 ) s "follow " Willia m th e Conquero r fro m Roue n int o Eng land, settlin g ther e late r tha n i n an y othe r countr y i n Europe . y I grant s th e Jew s a charte r o f protection , whic h per mits the m t o mov e freel y i n th e country , protect s the m fro m abuse, an d establishe s thei r subjectio n t o roya l contro l an d n o other. t recorde d cas e o f bloo d libe l accusatio n a t Norwich , fol lowed by cases at Bury St. Edmunds, Bristol, Winchester. Jew s assembled fo r circumcisio n an d othe r ceremonie s accuse d o f seizing o n youn g Christia n boys , torturing , sometime s cruci fying them . Fro m thi s tim e on , Jew s ofte n arreste d an d fined for thes e offenses , fo r poisonin g well s o r fo r administerin g poison t o Christian s i n thei r rol e a s physicians . o finance Henr y IP s crusade , Jew s taxe d a t on e fourt h o f their property . d I order s n o Jews o r wome n t o atten d hi s coronation . Rumor tha t h e ha s ordere d Jew s exterminate d result s i n de struction o f Jewis h communitie s al l ove r England , includin g destruction o f Jews o f York . d establishe s Exchequeur o f the Jews; "archa," o r chest , in whic h duplicat e record s o f al l debt s t o th e Jews kept . e legislatio n o f Fourt h Latera n Counci l (Pop e Innocen t II) establishe s anti-Jewis h cod e includin g th e wearin g o f dis tinguishing yello w badges . 319

3

20

1227 Jew

APPENDIX

s taxe d mercilessly a s punishment fo r variou s ritua l crimes : forcibly circumcisin g men , crucifyin g children , poisonin g wells, mistreatin g imag e o f Virgin . 1231-53 Edic t issue d expellin g Jews fro m Leicester , followe d b y othe r local expulsions . 1255 Accusatio n of ritual murder of little Hugh o f Lincoln. The king (Henry II ) himsel f supervise s hangin g an d tortur e o f accuse d Jew. 1255 I n his Historia Major Mathe w Parris tells the story of Hug h of Lincoln . 1263-66 Widesprea d sackin g an d burnin g o f Jewish communities . 1275 Edwar d I: Statutum de Judaismo forbids Jews to practice usury, empowers the m t o ente r commerc e an d farming , bu t withou t owning lan d o r enterin g guilds . 1290 Expulsion : Edward expels all J ews, setting a precedent for othe r European countries . Jewish population , neve r mor e tha n fou r thousand, completel y disappear s fro m England , excep t fo r a n occasional physicia n calle d i n fo r royalty . 1300-1690 Durin g absenc e o f Jews, miracl e an d myster y plays , ballad s like "Th e Jew's Daughter " an d "Si r Hugh" and "Si r Hug h or th e Jew's Daughter " recoun t martyrdo m o f littl e Hug h of Lincoln. York cycle of mystery plays, Corpus Christi pageants presented by guilds, portray Jews as malicious usurers, brutal Christ-killers , o r comi c clowns ; al l devilis h incarna tions o f evil . 1362 Willia m Langland, The Vision of Piers the Ploughman: Jew s as representative s o f th e Seve n Deadl y Sins . 1390 Geoffre y Chaucer , Canterbury Tales, includin g "Th e Pri oress's Tale" : Jew a s ritua l murdere r o f smal l boys . 1392 Joh n Gower , Confessio Amantis: sinfu l Je w destroye d b y virtuous lion . 1500s Smal l colon y o f Marrano s (Spanis h an d Portugues e Jews con verted t o Catholicism ) form s i n London , fleein g persecutio n in Spain and Portugal . Break s up i n 155 3 on accessio n o f Mar y and Catholi c reaction . 1577 I n hi s Chronicles, Holinshe d report s o n th e coronatio n o f Richard the Lion-Hearted, and the massacre "because of the hatred generalli e conceive d agains t th e obstinat e froward ness o f th e Jewes." 1592 Christophe r Marlowe , The Jew of Malta: Je w a s poisoner , usurer, murderer of countless nuns an d innocents; no t eve n a goo d father . 1594 Roderig o Lopez , physicia n to Queen Elizabeth, i s executed fo r plotting t o poiso n her .

APPENDIX

3*1

m Shakespeare , The Merchant of Venice: mixe d por trait of much-wronged usure r who wants blood revenge bu t does lov e hi s daughte r an d bleed s lik e othe r men . 1632 A Short Demurrer to the Jews Long Discontinued Remitter into England, Willia m Prynne' s answe r t o th e questio n o f the readmittanc e o f th e Jews: "Th e Jews ha d been formerl y great clippers an d forgers o f money , an d had crucified thre e or fou r childre n a t least , whic h wer e th e principa l caus e o f their banishment. " 1655 Manasse h Be n Israel , Amsterda m rabb i an d mystic , present s his "Humbl e Address " t o Parliamen t wit h suppor t o f Olive r Cromwell. Petitio n turne d dow n bu t Jew s begi n t o reente r England gradually . 1663 Samue l Pepy s record s a visi t t o a synagogu e i n hi s Diary; "to se e the disorder , laughing , sporting.. . more lik e brute s than peopl e knowin g th e tru e God. " 1664-73 Charle s I I authorize s readmittanc e an d promise s protection , freedom o f worship . 1690-1761 Formatio n o f smal l Yiddish-speakin g Ashkenaz i communit y fleeing persecutio n i n German y an d Poland . 1730-50 Perio d o f relativ e calm . Jew s stil l canno t ow n lan d o r leav e money t o thei r heirs , ar e exclude d fro m mercantil e an d othe r organizations, considere d aliens . 1735 Th e Jewish Naturalization Bill (Jew Bill), providing for naturalization of Jews resident in England for three years, defeated . 1760 Londo n Committe e o f Britis h Jew s (Boar d o f Deputies ) cre ated. Now betwee n 6,000 and 8,000 Jews in England, includin g those engage d i n wholesal e commerce , brokerage , stoc k job bing, trad e i n preciou s stones , shopkeepers , watchmakers , ar tisans, old-clothe s peddlers . Larges t communit y i n London ; smaller communitie s i n Leeds , Manchester . 1794 Richar d Cumberland, The Jew: Je w as helpless saint. "If your playwriters wan t a but t o f a buffoo n o r a knav e t o mak e sport of, ou t come s a Jew t o b e baited and buffeted throug h five lon g act s fo r th e amusemen t o f al l goo d Christians. " 1807 I n hi s "Letter s Fro m England, " Rober t Southe y visit s the Jews: "Anythin g fo r money , i n contemp t o f thei r ow n law a s wel l a s th e la w o f th e countr y .... Englan d ha s bee n called... the paradis e o f women : i t ma y b e adde d tha t i t i s the heave n o f th e Jews—alas, they hav e n o othe r heave n t o expect!" 1819 Si r Walter Scott , Ivanhoe: th e virtuous Jew's daughter, Re becca, comes int o he r own; the Jewish plight i s treated wit h historical veracit y i n Isaac , th e Jew a s margina l man . 1594 Willia

322

1831 Richar

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d Hazlitt's "Th e Spide r of the Mind" on th e questio n of Jewis h Emancipation : "I f the y ar e vicious , i t i s w e wh o have mad e the m so. " 1831 Macaulay' s "Civi l Disabilities of the Jews": "If it is our dut y as Christian s t o exclud e th e Jew s fro m politica l power , i t must b e ou r dut y t o trea t the m a s ou r ancestor s treate d them—to murde r the m an d banis h them , an d ro b them. " 1833 Mari a Edgeworth, Harrington: effor t t o put to rest the Jew as bogeyman . 1833-55 Jewis h Emancipatio n Bil l firs t introduced , rejecte d repeat edly, finall y accepted . Lione l d e Rothschil d seate d i n Parlia ment. 1833-35 Davi d Solomon s electe d sherif f o f London , onl y publi c offic e open t o Jews . 1837 Charle s Dickens , Oliver Twist: Fagin , th e Jew, a s evi l cor rupter an d terrorize r o f smal l boys . 1837 Benjami n Disraeli , Christia n convert , earl y Zionist , visionary , elected t o Parliament . 1840 Si r Mose s Montefior e serve s a s ambassado r t o Damascus , be gins Anglo-Jewry's policy of protecting Jews all over the world with assistanc e o f Englis h government . 1844 Disraeli , Coningsby: th e Jew a s hero an d scholar-prince . 1847 Disraeli , Tancred: th e ne w crusad e t o Jerusalem . 1850s Jewish Chronicle (newspaper) , Jews Colleg e (theologica l sem inary), Jewis h Boar d o f Guardian s (welfar e organization ) es tablished. Jew s no w mak e u p 0.1 % of population . 1857 Thoma s Hughes , Tom Brown's School Days. 1863 Dickens' s famou s exchang e o f letter s wit h Mrs . Eliz a Davis , who accuse s hi m o f doin g " a grea t wrong " t o th e Jews : h e responds tha t "i t unfortunatel y wa s t r u e . . . tha t tha t clas s o f criminal almos t invariabl y was a Jew." 1864 Dickens , Our Mutual Friend: Riah , th e Je w a s defenseles s and saintl y victim . 1868 Disraeli' s firs t ter m a s prime minister . 1874-80 Disrael i serve s a s prime minister . 1875 Anthon y Trollope , The Way We Live Now: Je w a s vulga r parasite an d arriviste ; symbo l o f corrup t society . 1876 Georg e Eliot , Daniel Deronda: Je w a s hero an d polemicist ; early Zionism . 1878 Join t Foreig n Committe e forme d t o safeguar d Jew s abroad . 1881 Persecutio n i n Russi a lead s t o grea t increas e i n immigration : working-class ghettos established in East London, Manchester , Leeds, Liverpool , Glasgow . Muc h resistanc e from bot h estab lished Jewish communit y an d non-Jews .

APPENDIX 1880-90 Surg

323

e of anti-Semitism accompanies immigration. Foreig n Jews held responsibl e fo r sweatin g syste m i n factories , fo r housin g shortages, an d fo r spreadin g diseas e an d causin g rac e degen eration. Report s i n mainstrea m pres s an d b y J . A . Hobson , Beatrice Potter , an d man y other s accus e the m o f bein g bot h merciless capitalist s an d uncivilize d savages . 1894 Dreyfu s convicte d i n France ; Zol a write s J'Accuse; th e cas e makes wave s throughou t Europe . 1894 Georg e D u Maurier , Trilby: Je w a s sexua l hypnotis t o f in nocent Christia n girls . 1896 Arthu r Morrison , A Child of the J ago: Aaro n Weech , a Jewish "fence, " destroys life-chance s o f chil d Dicky Perrott , in a new versio n o f Oliver Twist. 1897 Rudyar d Kipling , Stalky and Co. 1879-1911 Unsuccessfu l campaig n b y Jewish communit y t o suppres s Si r Richard Burton' s chapte r "Huma n Sacrific e amon g th e Se phardim o r Easter n Jews" in his book The Jew, the Gypsy and El Islam. 1897 Theodor e Herz l call s th e first Zionis t Congres s i n Basel , of ficially found s th e movemen t fo r "[t]h e establishmen t o f a legally secur e homelan d i n Palestine. " 1899-1902 Boe r Wa r wit h widesprea d clai m tha t i t was cause d b y Jewis h capitalist conspiracy , a view hel d b y man y conservatives , lib erals, an d socialists . 1901 Davi d Philipson , The Jew in English Fiction. 1902 Britis h Brother s Leagu e founded , includin g severa l Eas t En d M.P.s i n it s membership . Othe r associate d group s founde d around th e sam e tim e ar e Londoner s Leagu e an d th e IR A o r Immigration Refor m Association , a more "respectable" group . All ai m "t o kee p Britai n British. " 1903 J . Evan s Gorden , The Alien Immigrant. 1903 Protocols of the Elders of Zion firs t publishe d i n Russia : forgery detailin g plans o f Jews and Freemasons t o tak e ove r and enslav e th e world . 1903-4 Firs t seriou s consideratio n b y governmen t o f Britis h sponsor ship o f Jewis h settlemen t i n th e Sina i peninsul a o r i n Eas t Africa a s a wa y t o "diver t th e flo w o f Jewis h refugees fro m Britain." 1904 Creag h affai r i n Limerick , Ireland . Pries t raise s bloo d libe l against Jews, causin g large-scal e boycott , violence , relocatio n of mos t o f Limeric k Jewis h community . 1905 Alien s Ac t restrict s alien s bu t retain s right s o f asylum . Give s rise t o anti-Jewis h "Englan d fo r th e English " campaign . Flo w of Jewish immigratio n reduce d b y 40% .

3*4

APPENDIX

. Bannister , England under the Jews: describe s th e menac e of th e invadin g "semiti c sewerage. " 1909 H . G . Wells , Tono Bungay. 1911 Eye Witness, weekl y newspape r edite d b y Hilair e Belloc , late r taken ove r b y Ceci l Chesterton , begin s publication . Advocat e of Jewish conspirac y theor y an d o f recommendatio n tha t spe cial law s b e establishe d t o cur b Jews i n England . 1911 Violenc e agains t Jews i n Sout h Wales . 1912 H . G . Wells , Marriage. 1913 Marcon i Scandal : Jewish cabine t minister s accuse d o f tradin g shares o n wireles s scheme . June 191 4 Britai n a t war . June 191 4 Wyndha m Lewis , ed. , Blast 1 . 1913-15 Le o Fran k cas e in U.S.A.: Youn g Jew falsel y accuse d o f mur dering young girl in Georgia and, after fighting th e case through the courts , i s dragge d fro m jai l an d lynched . 1914 Alie n Restrictio n Act . July 191 5 Wyndha m Lewis , ed. , Blast 2. 1917 Increase d wartim e anti-Semitis m i n pres s an d i n streets , in cluding violent demonstrations in London an d Leeds over non conscription o f Russia n Jew s "o f Germa n extraction. " 1917 Ale c Waugh , The Loom of Youth. Nov. 191 7 Balfou r Declaration : th e Britis h undertak e t o establis h i n Pal estine " a nationa l home for th e Jewish people, " with th e prov iso tha t "nothin g shal l b e don e whic h ma y prejudic e civi l o r religious right s o f existin g non-Jewis h communitie s i n Palestine." Dec. 191 7 Genera l Allenb y enter s Jerusalem : b y th e en d o f th e wa r th e entire countr y i s occupie d b y British . Dec. 191 7 Belis s cas e i n Russi a (ma n charge d wit h ritua l murder) . 1917 Russia n Revolution: secretary of state for war warns: "We mus t not los e sigh t o f th e fac t tha t thi s movemen t i s engineered an d managed b y astute Jews." Pamphlet directe d t o British wome n states that Bolshevik women were "at the disposal of any citizen who applie d fo r them " an d mention s Jewis h link . 1918 I n Israel, an Arab nationalist movement against Zionism begins: leads t o riot s i n 1920-2 9 i n whic h man y Jews ar e killed . 1918 Wyndha m Lewis , Tarr. Nov. 191 8 Wa r over , wit h almos t on e million Britis h an d colonia l deaths . June 191 9 Treat y o f Versailles . Germa n colonie s lost , Germa n arm y re stricted an d disarmed , reparatio n provision s made . 1919 "Britons " founded : virulentl y anti-Semiti c grou p whic h sug gests expulsion or extermination a s solution to Jewish problem . " N o ma n ca n b e a patriotic Brito n an d no t b e anti-Semitic. " 1907 J

APPENDIX 1920 T

3*5

. S . Eliot , "Gerontion" : "M y hous e i s a decaye d house / And th e je w squat s o n th e windo w sill , th e owner. " 1920 Firs t Englis h editio n o f Protocols: The Jewish Peril: Protocols of the Learned Elders ofZion, sponsore d by The Brit ons. Use d i n propagand a fro m tha t tim e unti l today . 1920 T . S . Eliot , "Burban k wit h a Baedeker : Bleistei n wit h a Cigar." 1920 Leagu e o f Nation s establishe d fo r worl d peace : widely hel d t o be instrumen t o f Worl d Jewry . 1921 Protocols expose d a s forger y i n Times bu t expos e ignore d b y Blackwoods, The Patriot, Catholic Herald, Catholic News, Catholic Gazette, Catholic Times, al l o f whic h cit e i t durin g the nex t twent y years . 1922 Hilair e Belloc, The Jews: "Th e Jews ar e gaining contro l an d we wil l no t b e controlle d b y them. " 1922 Leagu e of Nations confirms Britis h mandate over Palestine, bu t government whit e pape r assert s tha t th e term s o f Balfou r "d o not contemplat e tha t Palestin e a s a whole shoul d b e converte d into a Jewis h nationa l hom e bu t tha t suc h a hom e shal l b e founded i n Palestine. ,, Growin g Ara b disconten t an d Britis h ambivalence. 1922 Mussolin i establishe s hi s dictatorshi p i n Italy . 1923 Britis h Fascist s founde d b y Rothe r Linton-Ormond . Man y landed gentr y i n membership . 1924 Adol f Hitler , Mein Kampf, proclaim s hi s plans for th e Jews. "Gradually I bega n t o hat e them . I wa s transforme d fro m a weakl y worl d citize n t o a fanatical anti-semite. " 1924-29 Economi c depression . 1926 Genera l Strike . 1926 M . J. Landa , The Jew in Drama. 1926 Wyndha m Lewis , The Art of Being Ruled. 1927 Hug h Walpole , Jeremy at Crale. 1928 Arnol d Lees' s Imperial Fascist League , small but vicious fring e group with much publicity: "I t must be admitted tha t the mos t certain an d permanen t wa y o f disposin g o f th e Jews woul d b e to exterminate them by some humane method suc h as the lethal chamber." Other associated groups founded a t this time include Military Christian Patriots, National Workers Party. None ha d large memberships . 1929 Wyndha m Lewis , Paleface. 1929 Graha m Greene , The Man Within. 1929 Aldou s Huxley , Do What You Will. 1930 Wyndha m Lewis , The Apes of God an d Hitler. 1930 Graha m Greene , The Name of Action.

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s Williams , War in Heaven. m Gerhardi , Memoirs of a Polyglot c crisi s cause s Britain t o withdraw t o isolationis t pol icy, favorin g appeasement . Radica l Righ t blame s recessio n o n "international Jews. " 1931 Graha m Greene , The Man Within. 1932 Si r Oswal d Mosle y found s BU F (Britis h Unio n o f Fascists) , only suc h grou p t o gai n mas s support . Prominen t member s include A . K . Chesterto n an d Willia m Joyce . Grou p urge s physical attack s upo n Jew s i n Eas t London , whic h becom e common i n th e nex t seve n years . Feb. 193 2 Disarmamen t conferenc e begins . 1932 Wyndha m Lewis , Doom of Youth. 1932 Graha m Greene , Stamboul Train. 1933 Hitle r become s chancello r o f Germany ; set s u p th e Naz i re gime, welcome d b y conservative s i n Britain, wh o regar d com munism a s greate r threat . 1933-39 Hous e partie s o f "Clivede n Set " suppor t Hitler . "Visit s t o Hitler" arrange d fo r Englis h fans , wh o find hi m reasonable . Oct. 193 3 German y withdraw s fro m disarmamen t conference , leave s League o f Nations . 1933 I n Germany, Jews are excluded from civi l service, schools, legal professions. 1933 Leagu e o f Nation s "Hig h Commissio n fo r Refugee s Comin g from Germany " se t up . Lacke d funds , suppor t fro m governments. 1933 Representative s o f Anglo-Jewis h communit y agre e Jewis h community wil l bear al l expenses for accommodatio n o r main tenance o f refugee s fro m German y withou t ultimat e charg e t o the state . Fift y thousan d t o seventy-fiv e thousan d Jewis h ref ugees arriv e befor e 1939 , wit h th e hel p o f th e Academi c As sistance Council , Movemen t fo r th e Car e o f Childre n fro m Germany, an d man y privat e citizens . Britis h Medica l Associ ation, hom e secretary , dail y pres s protes t agains t emigration . Jewish immigratio n t o Palestin e increase s 8 0 percent . Mar. 193 3 Englis h Jews suppor t worldwid e campaig n t o boycott Germa n goods, thoug h Boar d o f Deputie s hold s bac k unti l 1934 , an d government an d foreig n ministr y condem n boycott . 1933 Georg e Orwell , Down and Out in Paris and London. 1933 Charle s Williams , Shadows of Ecstasy. 1933 Daphn e D u Maurier , Progress of Julius. 1934 Firs t meeting of the January Club , a discussion grou p for thos e interested i n fascism . 1934 Nationa l Committe e fo r Rescu e fro m Naz i Terro r se t up . 1931 Charle 1931 Willia 1929-31 Economi

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June 193 4 Olympi a rall y o f BU F i n whic h Blackshirt s violentl y attac k leftist counterdemonstrators . 1934 Publicatio n o f T. S. Eliot's After Strange Gods: "Reason s o f race and religion combine to make any large number of freethinking Jews undesirable. " 1934 Graha m Greene , ed. , The Old School, 1935 Nurember g law s i n German y prohibi t intermarriag e betwee n Jew an d Gentile , establis h categorie s o f non-Aryans , depriv e Jews o f citizenshi p an d othe r rights . Book s ar e burne d i n a n effort t o purg e German y o f Jewish culture . Law s extende d t o Austria i n 1938 . 1935 Th e Britis h Legio n an d variou s Anglo-Germa n lin k group s arrange fo r schoolboo k propaganda , schoo l visit s t o German y on invitatio n o f Goebbels . 1935 Mussolin i conquer s Abyssini a withou t opposition . 1935 Britis h Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi Council to Champion Huma n Rights reorganize s itsel f unde r Churchill' s leadershi p a s Focu s for th e Defens e o f Freedo m an d Peace . Aims : t o convinc e government of immorality of Hitler regime and to lobby agains t appeasement. 1935 Christophe r Isherwood , Mr. Norris Changes Trains. 1935 Sapper , Bulldog Drummond at Bay. 1935 Leonar d Woolf , Quack! Quack! Mar. 193 6 Lef t Boo k Clu b begin s publicatio n an d educationa l activities . Mar. 193 6 Hitle r occupie s Rhineland , agai n withou t opposition . Mar. 193 6 Securit y Counci l of League of Nations meets in London. Onl y Soviet representative , Litvinov , propose s sanction s agains t Germany. Apr. 193 6 Ara b genera l strik e an d revolt ; Muft i o f Jerusalem call s for a n end t o al l Jewish immigration , ba n o n sal e o f lan d t o Jews , government b y Arabs . July 193 6 I n opposition to the Board of Deputies, Jewish Labour Counci l organizes conferenc e t o defen d agains t anti-Semiti c agitatio n by fascists . Boar d o f Deputie s condemn s JLC . 1936 Wyndha m Lewis , Left Wings over Europe. 1936 Graha m Greene , A Gun for Sale and Journey without Maps. 1936 E . M. Forster , Abinger Harvest. July 193 6 Spanis h Civi l War begins . Fascist Italy and German y sen d mil itary ai d t o Franco ; Sovie t Russi a send s som e ai d t o republic . Important caus e fo r Britis h leftists , man y o f who m enlis t o n republican side . Aug. 193 6 Olympic s ar e hel d i n German y wit h grea t Britis h attendanc e and enthusiasm .

328 APPENDI Oct. 193 6 Battl

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e o f Cabl e Street , i n which antifascist s preven t BU F fro m marching int o Eas t End . 1936 Reannexatio n o f Rhineland . Jan. 193 7 Publi c Orde r Act , prohibitin g quasi-militar y organizations , uniforms, disruption s at public meetings; a reaction to increased attacks o n Jews i n Londo n b y fascists . Apr. 193 7 N C C L (Nationa l Counci l fo r Civi l Liberties) hosts conferenc e on fascis m an d anti - Semitis m wit h th e J PC (Jewis h People' s Council) an d mount s successfu l campaig n exposin g an d dis crediting ILF , BUF . July 193 7 Pee l Commissio n recommend s th e partitio n o f Palestin e int o sovereign Ara b an d Jewis h states . Greete d b y Zionis t accep tance, Arab violent rejection. Forty percent of British field forc e is statione d ther e t o kee p th e peace . 1937 Wyndha m Lewis , Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! an d Blasting and Bombardiering. 1938 Jewis h Boar d o f Deputie s form s it s ow n defens e committee ; engages mainl y i n antidefamation , self-improvement . July 193 8 Internationa l conferenc e a t Evia n seekin g coordinate d inter national solution to refugee problem, set s up Intergovernmenta l Committee o n Refugees , bu t take s n o othe r action . Cabine t informed o f M.I. 5 repor t warnin g "th e German s wer e anxiou s to inundat e thi s countr y wit h Jews , wit h a view t o creatin g a Jewish proble m i n th e Unite d Kingdom. " Mar. 193 8 Hitle r annexe s Austria . Mar. 193 8 Lor d Allen of Hurtwood, archbisho p of York, an d others write a lette r t o th e Times drawin g attentio n t o th e concentratio n camps: "Tha t w e shoul d continu e t o wor k fo r understandin g with German y an d ye t kee p silen t o n thi s matte r seem s t o u s no longe r tolerable/ ' Sept. 193 8 Th e Munic h Agreement . Czechoslovaki a i s no w par t o f th e Third Reich . I n hi s broadcast , Chamberlai n announce s tha t there will be no war "[bjecause of a quarrel in a faraway countr y between peopl e o f who m w e kno w nothing . . .. Peac e wit h honour, peac e i n ou r time. " Nov. 1938 In Germany , Kristallnach t pogrom . Ninety-on e Jew s killed ; 20,000 arreste d an d sen t t o camps . 50,000 refugee s fro m Reic h no w i n Britain . Nov. 1938 Auden, Isherwoo d leav e fo r U.S.A . Nov. 1938 Times corresponden t report s fro m Germany : "Th e conditio n Nov. 1938 of mos t Jews her e i s on e o f misery , terror , an d despair. " Graham Greene , Brighton Rock. 1938 William Gerhardi , My Wife's the Least of It. 1938 1938 Christopher Isherwood , Lions and Shadows.

APPENDIX Jan. 193 9 Hitle

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r announce s hi s intention t o bring abou t "th e end of the Jews i n Europe." Speec h largel y ignore d i n England . Aug. 193 9 Nazi-Sovie t pact: Molotov and Ribbentrop sign a pact of "neutrality an d non-aggression" betwee n th e two countries. Sept. 193 9 German y attack s Poland . 3 Sept . 193 9 Britis h ultimatu m t o Germany. Declaratio n o f war. I n Britain, "phoney war " begins. Positio n o f Jews i n German-dominate d areas of Europe worsens. Ghetto s create d in Poland. German y encourages Jewish emigration , sendin g official messag e to British government , whic h reject s offer . 17 Sept. 193 9 Russia n invasio n fro m East . Mar. 193 9 Afte r Colonia l Secretary Malcolm MacDonald emphasizes need to maintai n goo d relation s wit h th e Far East, ne w white pape r published reversin g Balfou r Declaration . Pape r declare s tha t Palestine shoul d no t becom e a Jewish stat e afte r all , divide s country int o thre e zones , an d almos t completel y eliminate s Jewish immigratio n t o Palestine . Establishe s nonelectiv e gov ernment ru n by Colonial Offic e unti l 1945 . Chai m Weizman , Zionist leader , responds : "I t i s th e darkes t hou r o f Jewis h history tha t th e Britis h governmen t propose s t o depriv e th e Jews o f thei r las t hop e an d t o clos e th e roa d bac k t o th e homeland." 1939 Wyndha m Lewis , The Jews, Are They Human? 1939 Christophe r Isherwood , Goodbye to Berlin. 1939 Graha m Greene , The Lawless Roads. 1939 Montag u Modder , The Jew in the Literature of England. 1939 Th e Link , a n organizatio n fo r friendshi p wit h German y and agains t organize d Jewry , ha s a membershi p o f ove r 4,300. Apr. 194 0 German y invade s Norwa y an d Denmark . May 194 0 German y attack s Holland , Belgium , an d France. 1939-46 Thre e guidin g principle s o f Britis h polic y towar d Jewis h ref ugees durin g th e war firmly established : n o admissio n o f ref ugees from Naz i Europ e to Britain; no entry to British Empir e or to Palestine despit e Germa n polic y o f exclusion; invitation s to othe r countrie s t o accep t Jews fro m Reich . 1940 Britai n seal s port s o f Palestine , returnin g ship s ful l o f Jewis h refugees fro m th e Reich bac k t o internment camp s o r death at sea. 1940 Report s o f "Fift h Colum n Menace " caus e waves o f hysterica l antialien feeling , mas s internment s i n Britain , deportatio n o f 8,000 mostly Jewish alien s to Canada an d Australia. Man y are killed a t sea in sinking o f the Arandora Star. Thi s deportatio n policy i s later graduall y reversed .

33° 1940 Leaflet

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s appea r al l over Londo n wit h th e inscription : "JEWS / they pla n it / mak e it / finance it / an d yo u fight it / WAR. " Notices proclaiming , "Peris h Judah," "Kil l th e Jews, En d th e War" posted . 1940 Winsto n Churchill replaces Neville Chamberlain as prime min ister. " I hav e nothing t o offe r bu t blood , toil , tear s an d sweat . . . . Wha t i s ou r policy ? I t i s t o wag e wa r agains t a monstrou s tyranny, neve r surpasse d i n th e dark , lamentable , catalogu e o f human crime. " June 194 0 German s conquer France. British troops evacuated a t Dunkirk . July 194 0 Battl e o f Britain . Sept. 194 0 Blit z (nigh t bombin g o f Britain ) begins ; end s Ma y 1941 . Oct. 194 1 Himmle r issues order prohibiting all further emigratio n of J ews from German-occupie d lands . Oct. 194 1 Mas s deportations o f Jews fro m German y begins , followe d b y deportation o f Jew s fro m Poland , Netherlands , occupie d France. Polis h ghetto s liquidated . Dec. 194 1 Th e Struma, filled wit h Roumanian Jews, is refused admittanc e to Palestine ; afte r tw o month s afloat , i t sink s i n Blac k Sea . Dec. 194 1 Chelmno , first exterminatio n camp , begin s operating . 1940-41 Britai n continues to refuse t o accept any more refugees; refuse s Jews o f Luxembur g an d France , wh o ar e sen t t o Polan d an d perish i n camps , late 194 1 New s o f exterminatio n camp s begin s t o reac h Britai n fro m Polish ambassador , Netherland s minister , countles s Jewis h sources. Veracit y o f report s questioned ; n o actio n taken . June 194 1 Hitle r attack s Sovie t Union . Dec. 194 1 Japa n attack s Pear l Harbor , German y an d Ital y declar e wa r against U.S. A.; Britain against Japan; U.S.A. agains t Germany , Japan, Italy . Wa r i s no w Worl d War . 1941 Charle s Williams , Witchcraft. Jan. 194 2 Wannse e conference: official plan s for Germa n "fina l solution " are worke d out . Aug. 194 2 Genev a representative o f World Jewish Congress , Dr . Gerhar t Riegner, report s pla n t o exterminat e al l Jews i n Naz i Europe . Reports ignored . Dec. 194 2 Polis h ambassador , Coun t Raczynscki , report s liquidatio n o f Warsaw ghetto , exterminatio n o f Polis h Jews . Dec. 194 2 I n Hous e o f Commons , Anthon y Ede n join s declaratio n fro m Allies o f condemnatio n o f extermination , promise s retributio n for crimes against Jews, but makes no suggestion offering refug e or relie f t o them . Vatica n refuse s t o condem n exterminations . 1942 Virgini a Woolf, "Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid" (written Sept. 1940 ) published i n The Death of the Moth. 1942 Evely n Waugh , Put Out More Flags.

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Apr. 194 3 Anglo-America n Bermud a conferenc e meets , decide s no t t o approach Hitle r t o intercede for Jews. Determine s t o refus e al l offers t o exchang e lorries , soap , tea , etc. , fo r Jewis h lives , a s Eichmann ha s requested . Determine s t o sen d n o foo d relie f t o Jews o f Europe , bu t offer s othe r refuge e group s asylum . Apr. 194 3 Las t of Jews in Warsaw ghetto perish, sendin g out the message, "The worl d o f freedo m an d justic e i s silen t an d doe s nothin g . . . responsibilit y fo r th e murde r o f th e innocen t als o fall s o n the democracies. " 1941 -43 I n Britain, J ewish immigrants are accused of blackmarketeerin g and o f causin g pani c o f Marc h 194 3 i n Bethna l Gree n tub e station, i n whic h 17 3 died . 1941-44 Th e flo w o f illega l immigrant s drie s u p a s Germa n polic y switches fro m extrusio n t o extermination . 1943 Beveridg e Repor t provide s fo r universa l socia l securit y i n England. 1943 Charle s Williams , The Figure of Beatrice. May 194 3 Bundis t deput y t o Polis h Nationa l Council , Shmue l Zygiel bojm, commit s suicid e i n London : "Le t m y deat h b e a n en ergetic cry of protest against the indifference o f the world whic h witnesses the extermination of the Jewish people without takin g any step s t o preven t it. " 1943-44 Britis h an d American s d o no t bom b concentratio n camp s or railway s leadin g t o them , althoug h the y obliterat e Germa n cities an d kil l thousand s o f civilian s i n massiv e indiscriminat e bombing. 1944 Britis h Educatio n Ac t guarantee s compulsor y fre e educatio n for everyon e u p t o fifteen . June 194 4 D Day: invasion of France by British, American, an d Canadia n forces. July 194 4 Battl e o f London : flyin g bomb s kil l 6,18 4 civilians . Nov. 194 4 A s German armies are driven to retreat, gas chambers at Auschwitz ar e dismantled. Survivin g inmates of Auschwitz an d othe r camps ar e transferre d t o camp s insid e Germany . Nov. 194 4 A s Weizmann negotiate s with Churchil l o n ne w Palestin e pol icy o n partition , Lor d Moyne , anti-Jewis h ministe r t o Middl e East, i s assassinate d b y Lehi, a Zionist terroris t organization . 1944 Charle s Williams , Region of the Summer Stars. 1945 Charle s Williams , All Hallows' Eve. 1945 Georg e Orwell, "Notes on Nationalism" and "Antisemitis m in Britain. " Jan. 194 5 Re d Arm y capture s Auschwitz; under 3,00 0 inmates stil l alive. Feb. 194 5 Hom e Offic e advocate s compulsor y renationalizatio n o f sur viving Germa n o r Austria n Jews . Feb. 194 5 Bombin g o f Dresden .

332 APPENDI Feb. 194 5 Yalt Apr. 194 5 Allie

X

a Conference , dividin g German y int o zones . d forces cross Rhine. Hitler shoots himself; Mussolini captured an d shot . Apr. 194 5 Britis h delegatio n visit s Buchenwald , liberate d b y American s ten day s earlier . Britis h publi c consciousnes s i s awakene d fo r the firs t tim e t o wha t ha s happene d t o Europea n Jewry . 7 May 194 5 Germa n surrender . Apr.-June Unite d Nation s se t up . July 194 5 Genera l electio n i n Britain . Labo r governmen t forme d unde r Atlee. July-Aug. Potsda m conference : Allie s agre e o n reparations . Col d Wa r 1945 begins . 6, 9 Aug. 194 5 Bombin g o f Hiroshim a an d Nagasaki . Japanes e surrender . Aug. 194 5 Nurember g trials . Oct. 194 6 Te n Naz i wa r criminal s executed . Hitler , Goebbels , Himmle r already dea d b y suicide ; Goerin g kill s himsel f i n cell . 1946 Jean-Pau l Sartre , Reflexions sur la Question Juive. Aug. 194 7 Anti-Jewis h riot s i n nearl y ever y larg e Englis h city , followin g the hangin g o f tw o Britis h sergeant s b y Zionist s i n Palestine . 1947 Georg e Orwell , "Such , Such , Wer e th e Joys " probabl y written. 1947 Britai n give s u p mandat e fo r Palestine . 1948 Ezr a Pound' s "Pisa n Cantos " appear ; awarde d Bollinge n Prize. 1949 Georg e Orwell , 1984.

Notes

Introduction 1. Wyndha m Lewis , The Art of Being Ruled (1926 ; New York : Haskell, 1972) , 286. 2. Lesli e Fiedler , "Som e Note s o n th e Jewis h Nove l i n English ; or , Look ing Backward s Fro m Exile, " i n To the Gentiles (Ne w York : Stein , 1972) , 157. 3. Fo r a semiautobiographica l exploratio n o f thes e theme s i n m y ow n life , se e The Worry Girl (Ithaca : Firebrand , 1992) . 4. Lesli e Fiedler, "Wha t Ca n We Do Abou t Fagin ? The Jew-Villain i n Wester n Tradition," Commentary 7 (May 1949) ; "Negro an d Jew i n America, " No/ In Thunder (Boston : Beacon, 1960) ; The Stranger in Shakespeare (Ne w York : Stein, 1972) ; Christophe r Ricks , T. S. Eliot and Prejudice (London : Faber , 1988). 5. Chinu a Achebe , Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays (London: Heine mann, 1989) ; David Dabydeen, ed. , The Black Presence in English Literature (Manchester: Mancheste r Universit y Press , 1985) . 6. Som e o f th e book s I refe r t o ar e Henr y Loui s Gates , Jr. , "Race/' Writing, and Difference (Chicag o an d London : Universit y o f Chicag o Press , 1986) ; Edward W . Said , Orientalism: Western Concepts of the Orient (London : Penguin, 1978) ; Sande r L . Gilman , Jewish Self-Hatred (Baltimore : John s Hopkins Press , 1986 ) and Difference and Pathology: Stereotypes of Sexuality, Race, and Madness (Ithaca : Cornel l Universit y Press , 1985) . Fo r a n intro duction t o thi s theor y I relie d heavil y o n Terr y Eagleton , Literary Theory (Minneapolis: Universit y o f Minnesot a Press , 1983) . 7. Lesli e Fiedle r (se e above ) an d Edga r Rosenberg , From Shylock to Svengali: Jewish Stereotypes in English Fiction (Stanford : Stanfor d Univesit y Press , 1960). 8. Se e Eagleton , Literary Theory, 59 , o n th e bannin g o f biographica l criticis m in th e phenomenologica l approach . 9. Se e Roland Barthes, "The Death of the Author," in Image-Music-Text, trans . S. Heat h (Ne w York : Hill , 1977) .

333

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10. Patrici a An n Alden , Social Mobility in the English Bildungsroman: Gissing, Hardy, Bennett, and Lawrence (An n Arbor : Research , 1986) , 14 . 11. W . K . Wimsat t an d Monro e C . Beardsley , "Th e Intentiona l Fallacy, " i n Hazard Adams, ed., Critical Theory Since Plato (New York: Harcourt, 1971) . 12. Klau s Theweleit , Male Fantasies, vol . 1 . Women, Floods, Bodies, History, trans. Stephe n Conwa y (Minneapolis : University o f Minnesot a Press , 1987) ; vol. 2. Male Bodies: Psychoanalyzing the White Terror, trans . Eric a Carte r and Chri s Turne r (Minneapolis : Universit y o f Minnesot a Press , 1989) . 13. Th e "goo d Jew, " a pos t warde n wh o wa s "on e o f th e braves t me n I hav e known an d th e mos t unawar e o f hi s own courage, " can be found i n Graha m Greene, A Sort of Life (Ne w York: Simon, 1983) , 87. The three books Green e altered ar e Stamhoul Train (Heinemann , 1932 ; Penguin , 1963) , A Gun for Sale (Heinemann , 1936 ; Penguin , 1963) , an d Brighton Rock (Heinemann , 1938; Penguin, 1943) . Unless specificall y state d otherwise , m y reference s ar e always t o th e origina l Heineman n versio n o f thes e thre e books . 14. T . W . Adorno , The Authoritarian Personality (Ne w York : Harper , 1958) ; Gordon Allport , The Nature of Prejudice (Cambridge , Mass. : Addison Wesley, 1954) ; Joel Kovel , White Racism: A Psychohistory (Ne w York: Pan theon, 1970) ; Jean-Paul Sartre , Anti-Semite and Jew, 1946 , trans . Georg e J . Becker (Ne w York : Schocken , 1965) . 15. Sophi e Freud , "Socia l Constructivis m an d Research, " unpublishe d paper , 1989. 16. Stephe n Pepper, World Hypothesis (Berkeley : University o f Californi a Press , 1966), 91 ; quoted b y Gilman , Difference and Pathology, 22 . 1. The Jews of Britain 1. Fo r a more consecutive account of some of the dates, events, and publication s discussed i n thi s study , pleas e se e the appende d "Timeline. " 2. Harol d Fisch , The Dual Image: The Figure of the Jew in English and American Literature (Ne w York : Ktav , 1971) , 1 4 3. Fo r the information i n the Timeline and in this chapter on preexpulsion Britis h Jewish history , I relie d o n th e followin g sources : "Grea t Britain, " Encyclopedia Judaica (Jerusalem : Keter , 1971) ; Solomon Grayzel , A History of the Jews: From the Babylonian Exile to the Present (Ne w York : Ne w America n Library, 1968) ; Fisch, The Dual Image; Solomo n Grayzel , A History of the Contemporary Jews from 1900 to the Present (Ne w York : Atheneum, 1972) . V. D . Lipman , ed. , Three Centuries of Anglo-Jewish History (Cambridge : Jewish Historica l Societ y o f England , 1961) ; Cecil Roth , The History of the Jews in England, 3 d ed . (Oxford : Clarendon , 1964) ; Modder , The Jew in the Literature of England. 4. Fo r genera l informatio n o n Britis h Jewish histor y fro m th e expulsio n t o th e twentieth century , I consulte d th e source s i n n . 3 above an d Coli n Holmes ,

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Anti-Semitism in British Society: 1876-1939 (London : Arnold , 1979) ; Ton y Kushner, The Persistence of Prejudice: Antisemitism in British Society during the Second World War (Mancheste r an d Ne w York : 1989) ; Tony Kushne r and Kennet h Lunn , Traditions of Intolerance: Historical Perspectives on Fascism and Race Discourse in Britain (Manchester : Manchester University Press, 1989; Gisela Lebzelter , Political Anti-Semitism in England 1919-1939 (Ne w York: Holme s an d Meier , 1978) . 5. W . Williams , "Th e Anti-Semitis m o f Tolerance : Middle-Clas s Mancheste r and the Jew 1870-1900, " in A. J. Kid d an d K . W . Roberts , eds. , City, Class, and Culture: Studies of Social Policy and Cultural Production in Victorian Manchester (Manchester , 1985) , 94 ; quote d b y Brya n Cheyett e i n "Jewis h Stereotyping an d Englis h Literatur e 1875-1920 : Toward s a Political Analy sis," i n Ton y Kushne r an d Kennet h Lunn , eds. , Traditions of Intolerance (Manchester: Mancheste r Universit y Press , 1989) , 13 . 6. Ir a B . Nadell , Joyce and the Jews (Iow a City : Universit y o f Iow a Press , 1989), 58 . 7. Disraeli' s ow n text s include d th e novel s David Alroy (1832) , Coningshy (1844), an d Tancred (1847) , an d a biography , The Life of Lord Bentinck (1852). To nam e an example from eac h side of the spectrum, a positive imag e of Disrael i ca n be seen in Ford Maddo x Ford' s Mr. Fleight (1913) , a negative one i n Trollope' s Prime Minister. I n "Jewis h Stereotypin g an d Englis h Lit erature," Cheyett e note s "th e ambivalenc e o f thi s discourse" : "I t wa s th e popular identificatio n o f th e baptise d Disrael i wit h a racia l Jewishness tha t can be said to be the beginnings o f moder n antisemitis m i n Britain parallelin g its Europea n counterparts " (15-16) . 8. Fo r thi s idea an d a discussion o f Wells' s changin g position, se e Bryan Chey ette, " H . G . Well s an d th e Jews: Antisemitism, Socialis m an d Englis h Cul ture," Patterns of Prejudice 22. 3 (1988) : 22-33 . A mor e curren t versio n o f this essay ma y b e foun d i n Cheyette' s "Beyon d Rationality : H . G . Well s and th e Jewish Question, " Wellsian 1 4 (Summer 1991) : 41-64. 9. Ir a B . Nadel l point s ou t tha t "th e Augus t 198 5 publication o f a new editio n of The Protocols in Frenc h i n Beiru t attest s t o it s undying racis t popularity " (251, n . 36) . 10. Beaverbroo k t o Lor d Gannet , 9 December 1938 , quote d i n A . J. P . Taylor , Beaverbrook (London : 1972) , 387 ; cited i n Lebzelter , 43 . 11. Morning Post editorial, 6 November 1922 , quoted i n David Cesarani , "Anti Zionist Politic s an d Politica l Antisemitis m i n Britain , 1920-1924, " Patterns of Prejudice 23. 1 (1989) : 31. 12. Leonar d Stein, The Balfour Declaration (London : Vallentine-Mitchell, 1961) ; quoted i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews of Europe: 1939-1945 (Oxford : Oxford Universit y Press , 1988) , 33. 13. H . H . Beamish , "Mr . Beamis h Answer s a Jew," Hidden Hand 2. 9 (1921) : 5; quote d i n Lebzelter , 61 . 14. Times, leadin g article , 8 February 1922 ; quoted i n Cesarini , 32 .

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15. Daily Express, W . E . B . Whittake r dispatch , 6 Januar y 1923 ; quote d i n Cesarini, 37 . 16. Elain e Smith , "Jewis h Response s t o Politica l Antisemitis m an d Fascis m i n the East End o f London, 1920-1939, " in Kushner an d Lunn , eds. , Traditions of Intolerance, 53-71 . 17. Ton y Kushner , "Th e Britis h an d th e Shoah, " i n Patterns of Prejudice 23. 3 (1989): 5 ; hereafter, Kushner , "Shoah. " 18. Richar d Griffiths , Fellow Travellers of the Right: British Enthusiasts for Nazi Germany: 1933-1939 (London : Constable , 1980) . I refe r als o t o Richar d Thurlow, Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918-1985 (Oxford : Blackwell , 1987 ) and Lebzelter , Political Anti-Semitism in England. 19. Lione l Trilling, i n response t o a letter fro m T . S . Elio t i n The Home Nation, of 1 5 January 1944 ; quoted i n Ricks , 26-27 . 20. Georg e Watson , Politics and Literature in Modern Britain (Totowa , N.J. : Rowman an d Littlefield , 1977) , 125-26 . 21. Gertrud e Himmelfarb , Victorian Minds (Ne w York : Knopf , 1968) , 261 ; quoted i n Ricks , 65 . 22. Watson , 122-23 ; attributed, rathe r vaguely , t o " a frien d o f Eliot's. " 23. Georg e Orwell , Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters, ed . Soni a Orwel l and Ia n Angus , 4 vols. (London : Seeke r an d Warburg , 1968-70) , 4 : 509 . 24. Nest a Webster , World Revolution: The Plot Against Civilization (London , 1922), 307 ; quoted i n Griffiths , 63 . 25. Joh n Wolf , Nazi Germany (London : 1934) , 26-28; quoted i n Griffiths , 6 8 69. 26. Ton y Kushner , "Th e Parado x o f Prejudice : Th e Impac t o f Organize d An tisemitism i n Britain durin g a n Anti-Nazi War, " i n Kushne r an d Lunn , eds. , Traditions of Intolerance, 86-87 . 27. Hilair e Bello c i n G . K ys Weekly, Aug . 1936 ; quoted i n Watson , 76 . 28. W . S . Churchil l t o D . Lloy d George , 2 6 Decembe r 1918 ; quote d i n M . Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, vol . 4 , 1917-1922 (London , 1975) , 176-77 ; quoted i n Lebzelter , 9 . 29. Lor d Londonderry , Ourselves and Germany (London : Hale , 1938) , 9 7 (2 1 February 1936) ; quoted i n Marti n Gilber t an d Richar d Gott , The Appeasers (Boston: Houghton , 1963) , 11-12 . 30. Th e result s o f thes e poll s ar e discusse d b y Kushne r i n "Shoah. " 31. A n excellent summary of Jewish resistance against fascism a t home and abroa d can b e foun d i n Elain e Smith , "Jewis h Response s t o Politica l Antisemitis m and Fascis m i n th e Eas t En d o f London, " i n Kushne r an d Lunn , eds. , Traditions of Intolerance, 53-71 . Smit h describes the Board o f Deputies' outrag e at th e J PC's stan d agains t fascis m an d th e respons e o f th e presiden t o f it s board, Nevill e Laski : " I a m no t concerne d wit h Fascis m a s such , bu t wit h Defamation o f th e Communit y fro m whateve r quarte r i t ma y come. " 32. Bernar d Wasserstein, "Th e British Government and the German Immigratio n 1933-1945," i n Gerhar d Hirschfeld , ed. , Exile in Great Britain: Refugees from Hitler's Germany (Leamingto n Spa : Berg , 1984) , 68.

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33. Fo r informatio n abou t th e literar y scen e o f th e thirtie s an d forties , se e Cun ningham, British Writers of the Thirties; Watson , Politics and Literature in Modern Britain; Davi d Daiches , The Present Age in British Literature (Bloomington: Indian a Universit y Press , 1958) ; Krishna n Kumar , "Socia l and Cultura l Setting, " in The New Pelican Guide to English Literature (Har mondsworth: Penguin, 1983) ; John Lewis , The Left Book Club: An Historical Review (London : Gollancz , 1970) ; David Lodge , Novelist at the Crossroads (Ithaca: Cornel l Universit y Press , 1971) ; Andre w Davies , Where Did the Forties Go: A Popular History (London : Pluto, 1984) ; W. W . Robson , Modern English Literature (Oxford : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1970) ; Stephe n Spender, The Thirties and After: Poetry, Politics, People, 1933-1975 (London : Macmillan, 1978) ; Charle s Moor e an d Christophe r Hawtree , 1936 as Recorded by the Spectator (London : Michae l Joseph, 1986) . 34. Maud e Royden , "Bi d M e Discourse, " unpublishe d MS , chapte r 8 ; quote d in Oldfield , 64 . 35. Ceci l Day Lewis , i n "Th e Dedicator y Stanza s t o Stephe n Spender " fro m th e preface o f hi s translatio n o f Virgil' s Georgics (1940) ; quote d i n Watson , 5 9 (not annotated) . 36. Fo r th e Chesterbellocs, se e Lodge, Novelist at the Crossroads; D. J. Conlon , ed., G . K. Chesterton: The Critical Judgement, par t 1 , 1900-1937 (Antwerp : Antwerp Studie s i n Englis h Literature , 1976) ; Jay Corrin , G . K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc: The Battle against Modernity (Athens : Ohi o Universit y Press, 1943) ; A. K . Chesterton , Oswald Mosley: Portrait of a Leader (Lon don: Action , 1937) . 37. Se e Judith Ruderman , D. H. Lawrence and the Devouring Mother (Durham , N . C . : Duk e Universit y Press , 1984) . 38. Aldou s Huxle y t o Jacob Zeitlin , 1 9 November 1938 , i n Grove r Smith , ed. , Letters of Aldous Huxley (Ne w Yor k an d Evanston : Harper , 1970) , 439 . 39. Georg e Orwell , "Note s o n Nationalism, " i n Such, Such Were the Joys (Ne w York: Harcourt , 1945) , 92 ; hereafter, Orwell , "Nationalism. " 40. A . J. P . Taylor, English History 1914-1945 (Ne w York an d Oxford: Oxfor d University Press , 1965) , 420 . 41. Spender , The Thirties and After, 96 . 42. Georg e Bolitho , The Other Germany (London , 1943) ; quoted i n Griffiths , 72. 43. Minute s dated 1 September 1944 , Public Record Office , Foreig n Office , 371 / 42817/16; quote d i n Wasserstein , 351 . 44. Fo r evidenc e concernin g th e Britis h attitud e towar d th e pligh t o f th e Jews , see Wasserstein, Britain and The Jews ; Walter Laqueur , The Terrible Secret: Suppression of the Truth about Hitler's Final Solution (Boston : Little Brown , 1980); and Monty Noa m Penkower , The Jews Were Expendable: Free World Diplomacy and the Holocaust (Urban a an d Chicago : Universit y o f Illinoi s Press, 1983) . Eac h o f thes e book s give s muc h th e sam e picture an d use s th e same information; I have relied here most extensively on Wasserstein, becaus e his boo k concentrate s solel y o n Grea t Britain , ha s th e mos t up-to-dat e in -

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formation, an d i s the most thoroughl y documented . Se e also Georg e Morse , While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy (Ne w York : Hart , 1967), an d Gilber t an d Gott , The Appeasers. 45. Minute s b y F . K . Roberts , 1 4 August 1942 , Publi c Recor d Office , Foreig n Office 371/30917 ; quote d i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 168 . 46. Minute s b y Cadogan , 1 6 Septembe r 1939 , Publi c Recor d Office , Foreig n Office 71/23105/3 ; quoted i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 164 . 47. Minutes , 2 1 Apri l 1940 , Publi c Recor d Office , Foreig n Offic e 371/26515 ; quoted i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 167 . 48. Minute s by I. L . Henderson, 1 1 January 1945 , Public Record Office, Foreig n Office 371/51134 ; quote d i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 178 . 49. Catholic Herald, 2 4 Decembe r 1942 ; quoted i n Kushner , "Shoah, " 10 . 50. Publi c Record Office , Foreig n Offic e 371/2310 5 C16788; quoted in Kushner , "Shoah," 9 . 51. Bradle y F . Smith , The Road to Nuremburg (Ne w York , 1981) , 94 ; quote d in Penkower , 215 . 52. Harol d Nicolson , Diaries and Letters, 1930-1939 (London , 1966) , 327 ; quoted i n Lebzelter , 34 . 53. Jame s Margach , The Abuse of Power: The War between Downing Street and the Media from Lloyd George to Callaghan (London : Allen , 1978) , 53. 54. Rober t Bruc e Lockhart , Diary, vol . 1 , 1 3 July 1933 ; quote d i n Griffiths , 78. 55. Minute s b y E . M . Rose , 2 0 Januar y 1941 , Publi c Recor d Office , Foreig n Office 371/30000 ; quote d i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 4 7 an d 346. 56. Minute s b y T . M . Snow , 1 7 Decembe r 1940 , Publi c Recor d Office , Foreign Offic e 371/25241/38/48 ; quote d i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 77. 57. Memorandu m date d 1 7 January 1940 , Publi c Recor d Office , Foreig n Offic e 371/25238/274ff.; quote d i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 49 . 58. Minute s by Latham, 24 December 1940 , Public Record Office, Foreig n Offic e 371/255254/487; quote d i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 109 . 59. Minute s b y J . S . Bennett , 1 8 Apri l 1941 , Publi c Recor d Office , Colonia l Office 733/445 / Par t I I 76021/308 ; quote d i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 50 . 60. Minute s b y Shuckburgh , 2 7 Apri l 1940 , Publi c Recor d Office , Colonia l Office 733/426/75872/16 ; quote d i n Wasserstein , Britain and the Jews, 50 . 61. Recorde d b y Jan Karsk i i n "Messenge r fro m Poland, " Channe l 4 Televisio n (England), 2 5 Ma y 1987 , produce d b y Marti n Smith ; quote d i n Cheyette , "Wells," 31. 62. I t shoul d b e note d her e tha t fe w o f th e comment s abov e appl y t o th e Britis h government alone. The Americans, until the very end of the war, were equally and sometime s mor e culpable .

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2. A Survey of the Surveys 1. Rama n Seldon , A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory (Brigh ton: Harvester , 1095) , 1 . 2. Wayn e Booth , The Company We Keep: An Ethics of Fiction (Londo n an d Berkeley: Universit y o f Californi a Press , 1988) , 232 . 3. Th e critics cited i n the first part of thi s chapter were Jews, wit h th e exceptio n of Christophe r Ricks , Bernar d Grebanier , Graha m St . John Stott , an d Char lotte Le a Klein , wh o wa s bor n Jewis h an d becam e a Catholic nun , a mixe d identity I hav e mentione d i n m y discussio n o f her . O f th e others , severa l were rabbis ; al l were scholar s o f Jewish culture . 4. Milto n Hindus , "F . Scott Fitzgerald an d Literary Anti-Semitism: A Footnot e on th e Min d o f th e 20s, " Commentary 3 (1947): 516. 5. Davi d Philipson , The Jew in English Fiction (Ne w York : Publishers Printin g Company, 1901) , 30 . 6. Fo r thi s "anti - Semitis m o f tolerance " se e chapter 1 , note s 5 and 17 . 7. Edwar d N . Calisch , The Jew in English Literature as Author and Subject (1909; Por t Washington , N.Y. : Kennikat , 1969) , 27 . 8. M . J. Landa , The Jew in Drama (Por t Washington, N. Y.: Kennikat, 1926) , 10. 9. Montag u Modder, The Jew in the Literature of England (Philadelphia : Jewish Publication Societ y o f America , 1939) , vii . 10. Charle s Dickens , lette r t o Mrs . Eliz a Davis , 1 0 July 1863 , i n Modder , 220 . 11. T . S. Eliot, quote d in William Turner Levy and Victor Scherle, Affectionately, T. S. Eliot (Philadelphia : Lippincott , 1968) , 81 ; in Christophe r Ricks , T. S. Eliot and Prejudice (Londo n an d Boston : Faber , 1988) , 61. 12. Sande r L . Gilman' s Jewish Self-Hatred: Anti-Semitism and the Hidden Language of the Jews (Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986 ) provides a thoughtfu l an d inclusiv e historica l an d literar y examinatio n o f tha t inter nalized shame . 13. Herman n Sinsheimer , Shylock: The History of a Character (Ne w York: Ben jamin Bloom , 1968) , 19 . 14. Bernar d Grebanier , The Truth About Shylock (Ne w York : Random , 1962) . 15. Tw o book s publishe d recently , Esthe r Panitz , The Alien in Their Midst (London an d Toronto : Associate d Universit y Presses , 1981 ) an d Ann e Ar resty Naman , The Jew in the Victorian Novel (Ne w York : AMS , 1980) , ar e worth a note here, a s despite thei r dates o f publication, the y ar e theoreticall y much close r t o Modde r an d Calisc h tha n t o Trachtenber g o r t o th e mor e sophisticated studie s which followed his . Panitz, writing forty-two year s afte r Modder, share s wit h hi m th e belie f tha t literatur e directl y mirror s contem porary reality . Lik e Modder , sh e consequentl y need s t o refut e th e charge s of usury , ritua l murder , an d lac k o f family-feelin g mad e agains t th e Jews , explaining these as lies. Also like Modder, sh e disputes the portrait of Shyloc k because "ther e i s n o evidence . . . tha t Shakespear e kne w anythin g o f Jewis h

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family life " (51) . Panitz , wh o share s Landa' s pessimisti c theor y o f progres sion, attempt s t o sho w tha t th e Je w ha s remaine d a n alie n an d a n outside r in bot h Britis h literatur e an d Britis h society , regardles s o f deceptiv e sign s of social progress . I n The Jew in the Victorian Novel, Ann e Arrest y Nama n illustrates th e wa y Victoria n novel s mirrore d th e shif t i n th e lat e nineteent h century fro m religion-base d t o race-based anti - Semitism. Sh e finds the prevalent twentieth-centur y belie f i n th e Jewis h worl d conspirac y i s roote d i n this nineteenth-centur y racis m an d link s bot h thes e belief s t o th e mas s im migration o f Jew s t o Englan d i n th e 1880 s an d 1890s . I n he r discussio n o f these immigrants , Nama n fall s int o th e ol d distinctio n betwee n th e wron g and th e righ t kind s o f Jew. I n hi s portrait o f Fagin , Nama n agrees , Dicken s was onl y faithfull y mirrorin g th e Jew s h e sa w aroun d him ; a truthfulnes s only th e grossl y oversensitiv e coul d blam e hi m for . 16. Joshu a Trachtenberg , The Devil and the Jews: The Medieval Conception of Jews and Its Relation to Modern Antisemitism (Ne w Haven : Yale Universit y Press, 1943) , vii . 17. Edga r Rosenberg , From Shylock to Svengali: Jewish Stereotypes in English Fiction (Stanford : Stanfor d Universit y Press , 1960) , 13 . 18. Fo r a summar y o f thi s theor y an d a n excellen t introductio n t o "reader response" criticism, see Susan Suleiman's introduction to the anthology edite d by he r an d Ing e Crossman , The Reader in the Text: Essays on Audience and Interpretation (Princeton : Princeto n Universit y Press , 1980) . 19. A s Brya n Cheyett e pointe d ou t durin g m y dissertatio n examination , Mel motte i s no t indubitabl y a Jew, althoug h hi s wif e is . O n repeate d readings , I, lik e Rosenberg, ha d alway s assumed Melmotte was a Jew. However , Trol lope quite deliberately leaves us in suspense as to his character's actual origins, and I agree that such noteworthy ambiguit y may be as important a n authoria l statement a s the deliberat e hints . 20. Harol d Fisch , The Dual Image (London : Worl d Jewish Library , 1971) , 12 . 21. I n 199 2 Fisch' s statemen t n o longe r resonate s fo r m e a s i t di d i n 1971 : in modern Israe l i t seem s t o m e tha t Jews hav e proven themselve s a s willing a s other people s t o kil l fo r religious , racial , o r nationa l reasons . 22. Ott o Kernberg , Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism (Ne w York: Jason Aronson , 1975) , 233. 23. Tw o shorte r studie s hav e recentl y appeared , which , whil e wel l researche d and inclusive , ad d littl e to the existing body o f knowledge . Graha m St . Joh n Stott's doctora l thesis , " A Consideratio n o f th e Role s Assigne d t o Jewis h Characters i n Nineteenth-Centur y Englis h Fiction " (Universit y o f South hampton, Apri l 1973) , is for th e most part a dualistic classification. Rejectin g even Georg e Eliot , Stot t finds th e onl y redeemin g Jewish character s amon g the nineteenth-centur y novelist s i n Willia m Hal e White' s Clara Hopgood (1896), a voi d whic h h e feel s wa s no t filled unti l Joyce' s Ulysses i n 1922 . Stott, lik e Fisch , argue s convincingl y tha t th e negativ e image s o f Jew s ar e projections o f th e self , embodyin g th e authors ' ow n fear s an d failures . I n "Type and Anti-Type: A Study of the Figure of the Jew in Popular Literatur e

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of th e Firs t Hal f o f th e Nineteent h Century " (M.A . diss. , Ken t University , 1963), Jane t E . M . Killee n corroborate s Fisch' s an d Rosenberg' s theor y o f the two contradictor y type s o f Jew, agreein g that "whethe r sain t o r devil . . . a sens e o f humanit y an d normalit y ar e denie d him. " Killee n doe s tak e a n interesting loo k a t sexuality , pointin g ou t th e asexua l natur e o f bot h type s of Jewish male characters. Sh e finds th e first sexua l portrait of a Jew in Scott' s Rebecca, who m sh e feel s "embodie s a forbidde n sexuality,whic h i s contin ually a t risk. " Late r on , i n suc h character s a s Svengali , th e mal e Je w als o becomes " a quasi-sexua l figure , carryin g connotation s o f sadis m an d castra tion" (viii) . 24. Charlott e Le a Klein, "Th e Portrait o f the Jew in English and German Fictio n and Drama , 1830-1933 " (Ph.D . diss. , Universit y Colleg e London , 1967) , 13; hereafte r Klein , "Portrait. " 25. Daphn e D u Maurier , The Progress of Julius (London : Heinemann , 1933) , 190; quote d i n Charlott e Le a Klein , "Th e Changin g Imag e o f th e Je w i n Modern English Literature," in Patterns of Prejudice 5.2 (March-April 1972) : 28 (hereafter, Klein , "Image") . Klein' s discussion s o f thi s threat i n Du Mau rier's Trilby (1894) , Arnol d Bennett' s Grand Babylon Hotel (1902) , Wells' s Marriage (1912), John Buchan's Thirty-Nine Steps (1915), Sheila Kaye Smith's End of the House of Alar d (1923), Hilaire Belloc's Post Master General (1932) , Daphne D u Maurier' s Progress of Julius (1933) , an d numerou s othe r novels , is bot h illuminatin g an d inclusive . 26. He r employmen t o f th e word "Zionism " refer s specificall y t o th e desir e an d planning o n th e par t o f Britis h Jews fo r a designated Jewis h state . 27. Brya n Cheyette , "Superma n an d Jew: Semiti c Representation s i n th e Wor k of Bernar d Shaw, " Shaw: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies 1 2 (1992) : 249-68. 28. Gin a Mitchell , "Caricatur e o f th e Bulldo g Spirit : Whe n Peac e Seem s Dull, " Patterns of Prejudice 8. 5 (1974) : 30. 29. Ver a Ebel s Dolanova , "O n T h e Ric h Jew ' o f Fassbinder : A n Essa y o n Literary Antisemitism, " Patterns of Prejudice 23. 4 (1989) . 30. Lesli e Fiedler, "Negr o an d Jew: Encounte r i n America," i n No! In Thunder (Boston: Beacon , 1960) , 239-40 ; hereafter , Fiedler , "Negro. " 31. Thi s dialectic seems often t o arise in discourse based on strategies for resistin g oppression. Se e the historica l disagreemen t betwee n Booke r T . Washingto n and W . E . B . Duboi s o n th e cause s o f an d solution s fo r African-America n oppression. Se e also th e ongoin g argumen t betwee n libera l an d conservativ e factions o f the gay and lesbian community a s to the best tactic against oppression: to prove that we are essentially "jus t like " the average bourgeois Amer ican, o r t o proclai m an d endors e ou r differences . 32. Lesli e Fiedler, "Wha t Ca n We Do Abou t Fagin ? The Jew-Villain i n Wester n Tradition," Commentary 7 (May 1949) : 418; hereafter, Fiedler , "Fagin. " 33. Lesli e Fiedler , The Stranger in Shakespeare (Ne w York : Stein , 1972) , 99 ; hereafter, Fiedler , Stranger. 34. I disagre e wit h Fiedle r a s t o th e sourc e o f th e sham e an d fear . A s a Jewish

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child i n thi s situation , I remembe r thes e feelings , bu t the y wer e no t cause d by th e pla y itself , whic h I relished , bu t rathe r b y th e uneas y reactio n o f th e teacher towar d m e an d th e on e othe r Jewis h chil d i n th e clas s durin g it s reading. 35. Joe l Kovel , White Racism: A Psychohistory (Ne w York : Pantheon , 1970) . 36. Joh n A . Garrard , "No w an d 7 0 Years Ago," Patterns of Prejudice 1. 4 Quly August 1967) : 24-28. 37. Harr y Levin , "Th e Jewish Writer and the English Literary Tradition," Commentary 8 (1949): 364. 38. Harol d Rosenberg , "Th e Jewish Write r an d the English Literar y Tradition, " Commentary 8 (1949): 218. 39. Stephe n Spender , "Th e Jewis h Write r an d th e Englis h Literar y Tradition, " Commentary 8 (1949): 216-17. 40. Fo r a n exampl e o f thi s controversy , se e "Eliot' s Uglie r Touches, " Times Literary Supplement, 4 November 1988 ; Correspondence, TLS, 3 0 December 1988; New York Times, 9 Augus t 1988 , sec . 3 , p . 20 , col . 3 ; New York Review of Books, 6 November 1986 , 1 8 December 1986 . 41. Virgin a Woolf , "Thought s o n Peac e i n a n Ai r Raid, " i n The Death of the Moth (Ne w York : Harcourt , 1942) , 245. 42. T . S . Elio t i n Time and Tide, 1 9 January 1935 ; quoted b y Ricks , 93 . 43. Rick s explains the method o f "profoun d insinuation " i n his discussion o f th e line fro m "Th e Loveson g o f J. Alfre d Prufrock" : "I n th e roo m th e wome n come and go / Talking o f Michelangelo." While we may, a s many critic s hav e done, conjur e u p a n imag e o f pett y wome n chatterin g insignificantl y abou t a grea t mal e artist , thes e implication s ar e i n fac t i n ou r ow n minds , no t i n Eliot's lines ; an d par t o f Eliot' s purpose , accordin g t o Ricks , i s t o trigge r them off . 44. "Th e rhetori c o f power " i s use d b y Christophe r Norris , Deconstruction: Theory and Practice (London : Methuen , 1982) . "Discours e an d Power " i s used by Raman Seldon in A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. 45. Th e work s o f Miche l Foucault , includin g The History of Sexuality (Ne w York: Vintage , 1980) , sho w th e ris e an d fal l o f variou s theorie s o f "knowl edge" abou t sexuality , crime , psychiatry , an d medicine , conclusivel y chal lenging the idea that ther e is such a thing as "scientific truth " in this or othe r fields. I refe r t o Edwar d Said' s Orientalism (London : Penguin , 1978) . Se e also Edward Said , "Th e World, th e Text, an d the Critic," in Josue V. Harari , ed., Textual Strategies: Perspectives in Post-Structuralist Criticism (London : Methuen, 1979) . 46. Seldon , 40 , quotin g Loui s Althusser , A Letter on Art (n o pag e referenc e given). 47. Seldon , 99 , quotin g Foucault' s History of Sexuality. 48. Henr y Loui s Gates , Jr. , "Race," Writing, and Difference (Chicago : Uni versity of Chicago Press, 1985) , 2. See in particular the essays by Mary Louis e Pratt, Patric k Bantlinger , Gayatr i Chakravort i Spivak , an d Sande r Gilman .

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49. Edwar d W . Said , "A n Ideolog y o f Difference, " i n Gates , 53 . 50. Housto n A . Baker , Jr. , "Caliban' s Tripl e Play, " i n Gates , 388-89 . 51. I refe r her e t o Matthe w 14: 6 an d Mar k 6:2 2 an d t o th e apocrypha l Boo k o f Judith. 52. Tzveta n Todorov , " 'Race, ' Writin g an d Culture, " i n Gates , 377 . 3. In Search of a Psychoanalytic Theory 1. Sybi l Oldfield, Women Against the Iron Fist: Alternatives to Militarism 19001989 (Oxford : Blackwell , 1989) , 119 . Fo r m y discussio n o f Woolf , I a m indebted t o Oldfield' s book , i n particula r t o chapte r 5 . 2. Virgini a Woolf , Three Guineas (1938 ; New York : Harcourt , 1966) , 53. 3. Fo r a modern versio n o f thi s theor y whic h assert s tha t menta l conditionin g becomes integrate d int o th e bod y throug h physica l an d anatomica l changes , see Olive r Sacks , "Neurolog y an d th e Soul, " New York Review of Books, December 1990 . 4. I n his Idea of the State, vo n Treitschke wrote: "It is war which turns a people into a nation... . Th e feature s o f histor y ar e virile , unsuite d t o sentimenta l or feminin e natures... . To Arya n races . .. th e foolis h preachin g o f ever lasting peace has always been in vain" (Heinrich von Treitschke, Politics, vol. 1, The Idea of the State, translate d an d published in London in 1916 as British anti-German wa r propaganda) ; quote d i n Oldfield , 8 . 5. Kat e Millett , Sexual Politics (1969; New York : Avon , 1971) , 53. 6. Gottfrie d Feder , i n a letter o f 4 Apri l 1942 , tha t appear s i n "Di e Deutsch e Frau i m Dritten Reich, " Reichstagkorrespondenz der Bayrischen Volkspartei; quoted i n Millett , 223 . 7. Adol f Hitler , quote d i n N . S . Frauenbuch (Munich : Lehmann , 1934) , 10 11; quote d i n Millett , 223 . 8. Hanna h S . Decker , Freud, Dora, and Vienna 1900 (Ne w York : Fre e Press , 1991), 39 . 9. Rober t G . L . Waite , Vanguard of Nazism: The Free Corps Movement in Postwar Germany, 1918-1923 (Ne w York : Norton , 1952) , 42 ; quote d b y Barbara Ehrenreic h i n he r forewor d t o Klau s Theweleit, Male Fantasies vol. 1. Women, Floods, Bodies, History, trans . Stephe n Conwa y (Minneapolis : University o f Minnesot a Press , 1987) ; hereafter Theweleit , 1 . 10. Jessic a Benjami n an d Anso n Rabinach , Forewor d t o Klau s Theweleit , Male Fantasies vol. 2. Male Bodies: Psychoanalyzing the White Terror, trans . Eric a Carter and Chris Turner (Minneapolis: University o f Minnesota Press, 1989) , xii; hereafte r Theweleit , 2 . 11. Erns t Salomon, Die Geaechteten [Th e Outlaws] (Berlin, 1930) , 10-11; quote d in Theweleit , 2 : 12 . 12. Barbar a Ehrenreich , Foreword , Theweleit , 1 : xiii. 13. Nanc y Chodorow , Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory (Ne w Haven : Yal e

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University Press , 1989) , 11 . Chodoro w i s her e discussin g Han d Loewald' s essay "Th e Wanin g o f th e Oedipu s Complex, " Papers on Psychoanalysis (1979): 394, 401-3 . 14. Th e wor k o f thes e theorist s ca n b e foun d i n Chodorow , an d i n Jessica Ben jamin, The Bonds of Love: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and the Problem of Domination (Ne w York: Pantheon, 1988) , 25-31; Beatrice Beebe and Danie l Stern, "Engagement-Disengagemen t an d Earl y Objec t Experiences, " i n N . Freedman an d S . Frand , eds. , Communicative Structures and Psychic Structures (Ne w York : Plenum , 1977) . 15. Alic e Miller , For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence, trans . Hildegard e an d Hunte r Hannu m (1980 ; Ne w York: Noonda y Press , 1983) , 16. Willia m G . Niederland , The Schreher Case: Psychoanalytic Profile of a Paranoid Personality (Ne w York : Quadrangle , 1974) . 17. Leo n Salzman , The Obsessive Personality: Origins, Dynamics, and Therapy (New York : Science , 1968) , 30 . 18. Davi d Shapiro , Autonomy and Rigid Character (Ne w York : Basic , 1981) , 71-73; hereafter , Shapiro , Autonomy. 19. Davi d Shapiro , Neurotic Styles (Ne w York : Basic , 1965) , 41 ; hereafter Sha piro, Neurotic Styles. 20. Ott o Kernberg , Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism (Ne w York: Jason Aronson , 1975) , 23 7 (referred t o hereafte r a s Kernberg) . 21. Ott o Kernberg , Severe Personality Disorders: Psychotherapeutic Strategies (New Have n an d London : Yal e Universit y Press , 1984) , 23. An alternativ e viewpoin t i s offere d b y Judit h Herman , i n Trauma and Recovery (Ne w York : Basic , 1992) . Herma n challenge s th e traditiona l vie w of th e borderlin e personalit y a s define d b y Kernberg , suggestin g tha t char acteristics whic h clinician s hav e labele d unde r th e rubri c "borderline " ar e often reaction s t o childhoo d sexua l abuse . I n thi s ligh t th e "distortin g an d frightening version s o f th e primal scene " which Kernber g document s ca n b e seen a s realisti c rathe r tha n distorted , whil e th e "distrus t o f mutua l lov e offered b y others " become s a logical reaction , base d o n experience . I regre t that I foun d Herman' s wor k to o lat e t o influenc e m y unquestionin g accep tance o f Kernberg' s terminolog y throughou t thi s book . 22. Miria m Johnso n an d Jea n Stockard , Sex Roles (Englewoo d Cliffs , N.J. : Prentice- Hall , 1980) , 22 . 23. Melani e Klein , "Note s o n Som e Schizoi d Mechanisms, " i n Envy and Gratitude and Other Works, 1946-1963 (1975 ; New York : Fre e Press , 1984) , 8 . 24. Kare n Horney , "Th e Drea d o f Women," International Journal of Psych oanlysis 13 (1932): 356. 25. Doroth y Dinnerstein, The Mermaid and the Minotaur: Sexual Arrangements and Human Malaise (Ne w York : Harper , 1976) , 36-37 . 26. Margare t Mead , Male and Female (Ne w York: William Morrow, 1949) , 303; quoted i n Chodorow , 40 . 27. Roge r V . Burto n an d John W . M . Whiting , "Th e Absen t Fathe r an d Cross -

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5

Sex Identity, " Merrill- Palmer Quarterly of Behavior and Development 7 (1961): 91; quoted i n Chodorow , 39 . 28. Elle n Bas s an d Laur a Davis , The Courage to Heal: A Guide For Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse (Ne w York : Harper , 1988) , 34 . 29. Mik e Lew, Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Sexual Abuse (Ne w York : Nevraumont , 1988) , 63. 30. Lenor e Terr , Too Scared to Cry: Psychic Trauma in Childhood (Ne w York , Harper, 1990) , 209. 31. Cyri l Connolly, " A Georgia n Boyhood," in Enemies of Promise (Ne w York : Macmillan, 1948) , 253. 32. Christophe r Isherwood , Down There on a Visit (London : Signet , 1962) , 48. 33. W . H . Auden , "Gresham' s School , Holt, " i n Graham Greene , ed. , The Old School: Essays by Divers Hands (London : Cape , 1934) , 17 . 34. M y conclusion s her e ar e base d o n Greene' s Old School; Joh n Reed , Old School Ties: The Public Schools in British Literature (Syracuse : Syracuse Uni versity Press , 1964) ; Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy , The Old School Tie (Ne w York: Viking, 1977) ; and selected "schoolboy " novel s and memoirs b y Cyri l Connolly, Graha m Greene , Rudyard Kipling , Georg e Orwell, Simo n Raven , Hugh Walpole , an d Evely n Waugh . 35. Georg e Orwell, title essay in Such, Such Were the Joys (Ne w York: Harcourt , 1945), 36 ; hereafter, Orwell , Such. 36. Hug h Walpole, Preface , Jeremy at Crale (London: Macmillan, 1934) ; quoted in Reed , 39 . 37. Althoug h girl s have also written o f traumati c experiences a t boarding school , many fewe r girl s wer e sen t awa y t o school , an d thos e wh o wer e tende d t o be sent a t a later age . Moreover, report s o n th e schools fo r girl s indicate tha t they wer e usuall y les s brutalizin g tha n thos e fo r boys . 38. Graha m Greene , A Sort of Life (Ne w York : Simon , 1971) , 128 . 39. Connolly , " A Georgia n Boyhood, " 159 , 179 , 181. 40. Georg e Orwell , i n "Som e Letter s o f Georg e Orwell, " Encounter 18. 1 (Jan . 1962): 60; quoted i n Reed , 63 . 41. Becaus e Orwel l di d no t dat e thi s essay , whic h wa s foun d amon g hi s paper s after hi s death , i t i s impossibl e t o determin e jus t ho w man y year s late r tha n his letter to Connolly Orwel l himself wrot e his essay. Valentine Cunningha m in British Writers of the Thirties date s th e essay fro m Ma y 1947 , an d I hav e adopted hi s date . 42. Stephe n Spender , "Universit y Colleg e School, " i n Greene , ed. , The Old School, 189 . 43. E . M . Forster , Abinger Harvest (London : Arnold , 1936) , 13 . 44. Dr . Arnold , headmaste r o f Rugby i n 1828 , changed th e course of the Englis h public school, establishing the prefectorial o r monitorial system and the liberal curriculum. Se e Reed, 5-6 . 45. Rudyar d Kipling , Stalky and Co. (1897 ; Garde n City : Doubleday , 1920) , 176. 46. I n Lions and Shadows, Christophe r Isherwoo d describe s hi s childhoo d en -

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joyment o f th e homoeroti c an d sadomasochisti c conten t o f thi s book , a n experience share d b y severa l o f m y ga y mal e friends . 47. Hug h Walpole , Jeremy at Crale: His Friends, His Ambitions, and His One Great Enemy (Ne w York : Doran , 1927) , 147-48 . 48. Simo n Raven' s Jews ar e greedy a s well a s appallingly ugly : "Mus t yo u look s so Jewy} som e o f u s woul d sa y t o a shambling , dirty , scrofulou s Jewis h clown, wh o ha d a way o f wolfin g dow n al l th e (rationed ) potatoe s a t lunc h when no one else was looking" (The Old School [London: Hamish Hamilton , 1986], 16) . 49. Ale c Waugh , The Loom of Youth (London : Gran t Richards , 1917) , 285. 50. Daphn e Patai , The Orwell Mystique: A Study in Male Ideology (Amherst , Mass.: University o f Massachusett s Press , 1984) . I n he r brillian t book , Pata i links Orwell's misogyny t o his early anti-Semitism an d effectively demolishe s the Orwel l hi s admirer s cherish . 51. Bernar d Crick , George Orwell: A Life (Boston : Littl e Brown , 1980) , xxviii. 52. Christophe r Isherwood , Lions and Shadows (London : Hogarth , 1938) , 75 79. 53. E . M. Forster, "Je w Consciousness," in Two Cheers for Democracy (London : Arnold, 1951) , 25.

4. Wyndham Lewis In citin g work s b y Lewi s i n th e notes , shor t title s hav e bee n used . Afte r thei r initial citation , work s frequentl y cite d hav e bee n identifie d b y th e followin g abbreviations: Left Wings Over Europe Doom of Youth Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! Hitler The Hitler Cult The Jews, Are They Human? "Cantleman's Sprin g Mate " Tarr Apes of God Blasting and Bombardiering Self Condemned Rude Assignment The Letters of Wyndham Lewis

Left Youth Count Hitler Cult Jews "Cantleman" Tarr Apes Blasting Self Rude Letters

The citation "Meyers " refers t o Jeffrey Meyers , The Enemy (London : Routledge, 1980). Othe r work s b y Meyer s ar e clearl y identifie d b y title .

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1. Fredri c Jameson , Fables of Aggression (Berkeley : Universit y o f Californi a Press, 1979) , 4 . Jameson state s tha t thes e attitude s o n th e par t o f Lewi s wil l be "abundantl y documented " i n hi s book ; unfortunately , Jameson' s rathe r impenetrable an d dens e approach , whic h h e call s th e "libidina l apparatu s model," make s a great par t o f hi s ow n boo k inaccessibl e t o al l bu t th e mos t determined contemporar y readers . 2. Jeffre y Meyers , The Enemy (London : Routledge , 1980) , 110 . 3. DSM-III (Washington : America n Psychiatri c Association , 1987) , 35 . Whil e the DSM- III, a referenc e boo k use d fo r diagnosis , expresse s i t mos t suc cinctly, thi s sam e "diagnosis " o f Lewi s i s confirme d b y referenc e t o al l o f the other clinicians I cite in the previous chapter, i n particular David Shapiro . 4. Julia n Symons , ed. , The Essential Wyndham Lewis: An Introduction to His Work (London : Deutsch , 1989) , 2 . 5. Wyndha m Lewis , Rude Assignment: An Intellectual Biography (1950 ; Sant a Barbara: Blac k Sparrow , 1984) , 126 . I n thi s an d subsequen t citation s o f Lewis's work , I hav e o f cours e reproduce d hi s rathe r idiosyncrati c syste m of spelling , punctuation , capitalization , an d italics : al l irregularitie s reflec t the origina l text . 6. Wyndha m Lewis , Tarr (1918 ; London: Methuen , 1951) , 9 . 7. Jeffre y Meyers , "Th e Ques t fo r Wyndha m Lewis, " Biography 4. 1 (Winte r 1981): 71-8 1 an d 89-91 . 8. Jeffre y Meyers , "Ques t fo r Wyndha m Lewis, " 70-71 . Meyers' s accoun t o f the plo t t o preven t publicatio n o f hi s book s ("Al l m y book s see m cursed" ) has a decidedly Lewis-lik e tone ! 9. Wyndha m Lewis , Blasting and Bomhardiering (1937 ; Berkeley an d Lo s An geles: University o f Californi a Press , 1967) , 9 . 10. I n fact , Woolf' s "misunderstanding " presage d Jeffre y Masso n an d other s who hav e denounce d Freud' s assumptio n tha t femal e report s o f molestatio n by th e fathe r o r othe r olde r me n wer e base d o n th e femal e versio n o f th e Oedipus complex ; that is , that th e girl' s desir e to mak e love to he r fathe r le d to "wish - fulfilling" fantasie s o f being sexually approached. A s later evidenc e has shown , thes e wome n wer e reportin g no t fantas y bu t devastatin g experience. 11. Wyndha m Lewis , The Art of Being Ruled (1926 ; New York : Haskell, 1972) , 286. 12. Wyndha m Lewis , Paleface (Ne w York : Haskell , 1929) , 208 . 13. W . K . Rose , ed. , The Letters of Wyndham Lewis (Norfolk , Conn. : Ne w Directions, 1963) , 14 . 14. Wyndha m Lewis , "Th e Do-Nothin g Mode, " Agenda 7- 8 (Autumn-Winte r 1969-70): 217. 15. Rude, 249 ; from a n early, previousl y unpublishe d draf t o f chapter 21 , "Ho w One Begins," which is included in the Appendix to the Black Sparrow edition. 16. A s Daphn e Pata i ha s demonstrated , Orwell' s stanc e a s rescue r o f th e op pressed di d no t appl y t o hi s dominatin g an d exploitativ e relationship s wit h

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women. I n hi s texts , a s i n Lewis's , wome n an d despise d effeminat e me n receive th e ful l forc e o f hi s fea r an d loathing . 17. Rude, Appendix , 250 . Thi s not e o n th e effect s o f publi c schoo l wa s agai n expurgated fro m th e fina l version . 18. Rober t Chapman , "Letter s an d Autobiographies, " i n Jeffre y Meyers , ed. , Wyndham Lewis: A Revaluation. New Essays (London: Athlone , 1980) . 19. Fo r thi s pattern , se e Valerie Parker , "Lewis , Art , an d Women, " 211-25 , i n Meyers, ed. , Wyndham Lewis: A Revaluation. Thi s interestin g articl e i s marred b y it s lac k o f an y kin d o f note s o r documentation . 20. Se e Timoth y Materer , "Lewi s an d th e Patriarchs : Augustu s John , W . B . Yeats, T . Sturg e Moore, " i n Meyers , ed. , Wyndham Lewis: A Revaluation, 47-63. Matere r suggest s tha t "Lewis , a virtually fatherles s child , searche d al l his lif e fo r a fathe r figure, " an d the n reject s thi s theor y a s "to o Freud infected" an d something Lewis would not have approved of . Materer' s articl e itself nevertheles s effectivel y support s thi s thesis . 21. T . S . Elio t ha d bee n especiall y supportiv e o f Lewis' s work , and , knowin g his financia l need , ha d guarantee d hi m a lea d articl e i n ever y issu e o f th e Criterion whe n Elio t edite d tha t magazine . Whe n Elio t tol d Lewi s tha t a certain piec e wa s to o lon g fo r th e Criterion , Lewi s responde d wit h a serie s of typica l letter s suggestin g tha t "eithe r yo u o r som e person o r person s wh o are abl e t o influenc e y o u . . . appea r fo r som e tim e befor e Christma s t o hav e decided t o trea t m e i n suc h a way a s t o mak e m y estrangemen t a foregon e conclusion" an d threatening , "If . . . yo u d o no t repl y t o thi s lette r i n a rea sonable time , o r arrang e a meetin g wit h me , the n I shal l conclud e tha t th e devil ha s yo u b y th e heel , an d ther e wil l b e n o necessit y fo r m e t o tel l yo u where to g o for yo u wil l be there already " (Lewis , Letters, 152 , 154) . Eliot' s reply, include d i n Lewis' s collecte d letters , demonstrate s hi s perceptio n o f Lewis's paranoia: "I canno t work with you a s long as you conside r m e eithe r the too l o r th e operato r o f machination s agains t you " (Lewis , Letters, 120) . Lewis treate d Ezr a Pound , hi s friend , staunc h supporter , an d collaborato r on "Blast, " i n th e sam e way , callin g hi m a n "intellectua l eunuch " i n Time and Western Man o f 1927 . 22. I n Blasting and Bombardiering, Lewi s give s his ow n explanatio n o f wh y hi s sitters di d no t pa y up : "Sitter s ar e ap t t o b e very nic e u p t o th e fina l sitting . They ar e hoping tha t a t the last minut e somethin g will happen t o th e pictur e which wil l transfor m a n extremel y interesting - lookin g youn g woma n int o a raving societ y b e a u t y . . . . Whe n thi s doesn' t happen , th e stor m breaks . Th e cheque tha t i s t o pa y you r studio-ren t (whic h i s alread y overdue ) i s no t forthcoming" (Blasting, 216) . 23. I t is difficult t o judge whether he used his friends' J ewishness in his accusatory letters t o them , a s man y letter s t o correspondent s wh o wer e livin g i n 1963 , at th e tim e th e letter s wer e published , wer e lef t ou t o f thi s collection . 24. Fo r example , h e call s Marx " a german-jewis h economist, " a s part o f a larger attack o n him , an d talk s abou t Marx' s J ewishness an d hi s "cash" i n a lette r

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to Herber t Rea d i n 193 4 (Letters, 227) . I n a letter t o Davi d Kahm a i n 1948 , he calls Kenneth Burke "little, pinched, partly Jewish" and declares, "I shoul d never b e intereste d i n anythin g Burk e wrote " (440) . 25. C . H . Sisson , "Th e Politic s o f Wyndha m Lewis, " Agenda 7.3 , 8. 1 (Autum n and Winte r 1969-70 , Wyndha m Lewi s Specia l Issue) : 115 . 26. Marti n Seymour-Smith i n Agenda 7.3 , 8.1 (Autumn an d Winter, 1969-1970) , 10. 27. Willia m Chace , "O n Lewis' s Politics: The Polemics Polemically Answered, " in Meyers , ed. , Wyndham Lewis: A Revaluation, 150 . 28. W . A . Thorpe , "O n Th e Ar t o f Bein g Ruled, " Criterion 5 (1926): 758. 29. Edgel l Rickword , "Th e Ar t o f Bein g Ruled, " Calendar 3 (1926-27) : 247. 30. "O n Paleface : Th e Philosoph y o f th e Meltin g Pot, " Times Literary Supplement, 3 0 May 1929 , 432 . 31. I n hi s 193 1 poem "Th e Georgiad, " Lewis' s frien d Ro y Campbel l praise d hi s "toreadoring skill " i n attackin g D . H . Lawrence . Ernes t Hemingwa y wrot e to Lewis praising "the purgative effect" o f Paleface and saying, " I . . . thought you destroyed the Red and Black enthusiasm very finely in Paleface" (Meyers , 143-45). 32. Rebecc a West, "O n Makin g Due Allowances for Distortion, " Time and Tide 24 Ma y 1929 : 624; also quote d i n Rude, 217 . 33. "Hitle r an d hi s Movement, " Times Literary Supplement 1 6 Apri l 1931 , 296. 34. Th e Spectator reviewe r objecte d t o Lewis' s gullibilit y an d narcissism : "Lewi s has evidentl y believe d almos t everythin g whic h hi s Hitlerit e informan t tol d him" ("Mr. Lewi s among the Nazis," Spectator, 1 8 April 1931, 296). Clennel l Wilkinson criticize d Lewis' s vagu e an d unsubstantiate d acceptanc e o f th e Nazi cas e ("Wyndha m Lewi s o n Hitler, " Everyman, 2 Apri l 1931 , 303) . Reginald Berkele y complaine d tha t Lewi s was, a s usual, tangentia l an d wrot e more abou t himsel f tha n hi s topi c ("Th e Dictators, " Saturday Review, 1 1 April 1931 , 535). 35. Wyndha m Lewis , Hitler (London : Chatto , 1930) , 14 . 36. Se e chapter 3 for simila r example s o f thi s reasonin g o n th e par t o f th e Frei korpsmen, a s demonstrated b y Theweleit . 37. Wyndha m Lewis , Doom of Youth (1932 ; Ne w York : Haskell , 1973) , 62. 38. Wyndha m Lewis , Left Wings over Europe (London : Cape , 1936) , 37 . 39. "Lef t Wing s ove r Europe, " Times Literary Supplement, 2 0 Jun e 1936 , 508. 40. L . M Horton, "Th e Flights of Wyndham Lewis, " London Mercury 37 (1936): 277. 41. E . H . Carr , revie w o f Left Wings over Europe, i n Charle s Moor e an d Chris topher Hawtree , eds. , 1936 as Recorded by the Spectator (London : Michae l Joseph, 1986) , 233-34 .

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42. Wyndha m Lewis , Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! or, A New War in the Making (London : Lova t Dickson , 1937) , 98. 43. T . S . Eliot , i n Meyers , 12 0 and 354n . 30 . 44. Wyndha m Lewis , The Jews, Are They Human? (1939 ; New York : Gordon , 1972), 30 . 45. "The Jews, Are They Human? b y Wyndha m Lewis, " Times Literary Supplement, 2 5 March 1939 . 46. Wyndha m Lewis , The Hitler Cult (London : Dent , 1939) , 15 . 47. Wyndha m Lewis , Rude Assignment, appendi x 2 , "Tw o Fragmentar y Draft s of Chapter s o n th e Hitle r Writin g o f th e Thirties, " 255. 48. Th e story of the repression of "Cantleman" is from Meyers , 85. "Cantleman's Spring Mate " wa s late r publishe d i n 193 7 b y Eyr e an d Spottiswoo d an d i s now availabl e a s part o f Blasting and Bomhardiering. 49. Repeate d effort s t o identif y th e wor d "epira " hav e yielde d nothing . Lewi s may hav e bee n referrin g t o th e femal e prayin g mantis , whic h devour s th e male afte r th e ac t o f mating . 50. T . S . Eliot , "Tarr, " Egoist 5 (September 1918) : 106 . 51. Ezr a Pound , "Wyndha m Lewis " (1920) , i n Literary Essays (London, 1954) , 424, 429 . 52. Rebecc a West , "Tarr, " Nation, 1 7 August 1918 , 176 . 53. Meyers , 182 , quotin g T . S . Eliot , "Charle s Whibley " (1931) , i n Selected Essays (New York , 1932) , 409 . 54. Wyndha m Lewis , Satire and Fiction (London : Arthur , 1930) . Lewi s o n th e whole does not cite the publications in which specific reviews appeared, givin g only th e authors ' names . 55. Her e an d elsewher e i n thi s book , I hav e use d th e ter m "homosexual " a s opposed t o th e mor e respectfu l an d contemporar y wor d "gay " whe n referring t o Lewis' s perspectiv e an d tha t o f th e othe r author s i n thi s study. Whe n referrin g t o Lewis , I hav e sometime s als o use d hi s wor d "invert." 56. Wyndha m Lewis , The Apes of God (1930 ; Sant a Barbara : Blac k Sparrow , 1981), 44 . 57. Leo n Poliakov , The History of Anti-Semitism, trans . Richar d Howar d (Ne w York: Vanguard, 1965) , 1 : 143; quoted in Gilman, Difference and Pathology, 151. 58. Thes e women , thoug h the y ma y hav e enjoye d Lewi s o n a short-term basis , would probabl y hav e know n bette r tha n t o ge t saddle d wit h him ! 59. Pau l Edwards, Afterword , The Apes of God, 635 . Edwards identifies Rodke r as " a poet , novelist , an d publisher , th e autho r o f Adolphe, whic h Lewi s parodies i n Par t V. " 60. Ir a B . Nadell , Joyce and the Jews (Iow a City : Universit y o f Iow a Press , 1989), 180 . 61. "H e himsel f sat , spider-like , i n th e cente r o f a n impressiv e commercia l network. Othe r anima l metaphor s whic h describe d hi m wer e th e hog , th e

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35 1

dog, th e rat , th e vulture , th e weasel , th e fox , th e toad , th e serpent , an d th e wasp" (Edga r Rosenberg , From Shylock to Svengali, 35) . 5. Charles Williams In citin g work s b y Charle s William s i n th e notes , shor t title s hav e bee n used . After thei r initia l citation , work s frequentl y cite d hav e bee n identifie d b y th e following abbreviations : The Figure of Beatrice Beatrice Witchcraft Witchcraft The Region of the Summer Stars Stars Shadows of Ecstasy Shadows War in Heaven War All Hallows' Eve Hallows "The Jews" i n Image of the City "Jews

"

In th e cas e o f th e often-cite d Loi s Lang - Sims , Letters to Lalage: The Letters of Charles Williams to Lois Lang-Sims (Kent , Ohio , an d London : Ken t Stat e Uni versity Press , 1989) , which contain s letters b y Charle s Williams an d commentar y by Loi s Lang-Sim s an d Gle n Cavaliero , I hav e abbreviate d wit h th e shor t titl e Lalage, followed , wher e necessary , b y th e nam e o f on e o f th e thre e authors . I have also referred t o Anne Ridler's introduction t o Image of the City b y the name Ridler. I refe r t o T . S . Eliot' s introductio n t o Williams' s All Hallows' Eve b y inserting th e nam e Elio t afte r th e shor t titl e Hallows. 1. Norma n Camero n an d Josep h F . Rychlak , Personality Development and Psych op athology: A Dynamic Approach, 2 d ed . (Boston : Houghton , 1985) , 206. 2. Lalage, Lang-Sims , 15 . 3. Thi s phras e i s foun d i n al l th e memoir s b y Williams' s devotee s an d appear s often, i n somewha t differen t forms , i n hi s writin g i n variou s genres . Fo r a n example, se e Lalage, Cavaliero , 8 . 4. I make n o clai m t o explicat e Williams's complicate d theologica l syste m i n it s own term s here . Fo r a stud y whic h doe s jus t tha t an d whic h explains , i n addition t o th e fe w concept s i n th e William s syste m whic h I elucidate , suc h concepts as the "Way o f the Image" and the "Way o f Affirmation," se e Mary McDermott Shideler , The Theology of Romantic Love: A Study in the Writings of Charles Williams (Gran d Rapids : Eerdmans , 1962) . 5. Ann e Ridler , quotin g a memorial broadcas t Elio t gav e in 1946 , i n he r intro duction t o Charle s Williams , The Image of the City (London : Oxfor d Uni versity Press , 1958) . 6. Gle n Cavaliero , Charles Williams: Poet of Theology (Gran d Rapids : Eerd mans, 1983) , 4 .

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7. Jame s Agee , Letters to Father Flyn, i n Gunna r Urang , Shadows of Heaven: Religion and Fantasy in the Writing of C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams and J. R. R Tolkien (Philadelphia : Pilgrim , 1971) , 84 . 8. Agne s Sibley , Prefac e t o Charles Williams (Boston : Twayne , 1982) , unpaginated. 9. Isaa c Rosenfeld , An Age of Enormity: Life and Writing in the Forties and Fifties (Cleveland , N.Y. : World , 1962) . 10. Fo r othe r example s o f th e defens e o f authoria l intention , se e th e discussio n of Dicken s an d Elio t i n chapte r 2 , nn . 1 0 and 11 . 11. Thoma s Howard , The Novels of Charles Williams (London : Oxfor d Uni versity Press , 1983) , 164-65 . 12. Nancy-Lo u Patterson , "Th e Jewel s o f Messias : Image s o f Judais m an d Antisemitism i n th e Novel s o f Charle s Williams, " Mythlore: A Journal of J. R. R. Tolkien, C . S. Lewis and Charles Williams Studies 6. 2 (Sprin g 1979) : 31. 13. Fo r example , Agne s Sible y describe s hi s parentag e i n term s tha t sugges t th e birth o f Christ : "I f th e unbor n sou l choose s it s parent s fo r Incarnatio n i n this world , Charle s mus t hav e chose n them " (1) . 14. I will from now on refer to the Oxford University Press as OUP or "the Press." 15. T . S . Eliot, Introductio n t o Charles Williams, All Hallows' Eve (1945 ; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981), xiii and xi. 16. Fo r childhood patterns remarkably like Williams's, see the case histories of obsessive-compulsive patients in Cameron and Rychlak, 203-30. 17. Alic e Mary Hadfield, Charles Williams: An Exploration of His Life and Work (London: Oxford University Press, 1983), 6. 18. Hadfiel d i s quoting here from a n unpublished M S by Williams's sister , Edit h Williams, "Memorie s o f Earl y Day s a t Home " (Hadfield , 12) . 19. Kathlee n Spencer , Charles Williams (Merce r Island, Wash. : Starmont, 1986) , 12. 20. Fo r instance , Hadfiel d call s her chapte r o n Williams' s lif e a t the Pres s "Tal iessin i n Arthur' s Logres " an d refer s t o thi s syste m throughou t th e book . 21. Mos t critic s refe r t o hi s membership i n th e "Orde r o f th e Golde n Dawn " o r a derivative . I n 198 9 Cavalier o an d Lang-Sim s identifie d th e grou p a s th e Fellowship o f th e Ros y Cros s (Lalage, Lang-Sims , 19) . 22. Amon g the apologists are Gunnar Urang, Hadfield, an d Sibley. Shidele r does not mentio n Wake' s movemen t a t all . Hadfiel d claims : "Surel y hi s outloo k and philosoph y wer e no t generate d o r indee d muc h affecte d b y it " (30) . 23. Ridle r mention s tha t whe n sh e knew William s muc h later , i n th e thirties , h e recommended tha t sh e rea d Waite' s The Secret Doctrine in Israel (1913) , which sh e call s "th e stud y o f a Jewish mystica l work , th e Zohar " (Ridler , xxv). Nancy-Lou Patterso n points out that this book was based on the writing of Elipha s Zahe d Levi , a Roma n Catholi c pries t wh o too k a Jewish nam e and "completel y romanticize d th e whol e magica l an d alchemica l tradition , the interpretatio n o f th e taro t cards , an d wha t littl e h e kne w o f th e Hebre w Qabalah" (28) .

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24. Hadfiel d quote s her e fro m Williams' s Poems of Conformity (Oxford , 1917 ) but doe s no t cit e a page (Hadfield , 25) . 25. Charle s Williams , Witchcraft (1941 ; Cleveland : Meridian , 1959) , 54 . 26. Charle s Williams , The Figure of Beatrice (1941 ; Cleveland : Meridian , 1959) , 36. 27. Ther e are of course abundant instances of myths of engulfing an d cannibalisti c women i n man y mythological/religiou s systems . Tim e an d spac e limitation s prevent m e fro m explorin g thes e myth s here . 28. Charle s Williams , "Th e Jews " [1943] , i n The Image of the City (London : Oxford Universit y Press , 1958) , 161. 29. Charle s Williams, The Region of the Summer Stars (London: Editions Poetry , 1944), 11 . 30. Shapiro , Autonomy, 107 . Man y o f Williams' s devices , includin g transferral , exchange, an d co-inherence, involve just such resistance to, an d estrangemen t from, one' s desires . 31. Sigmun d Freud , "Th e Predispositio n t o Obsessiona l Neurosis " (1913 ) i n Collected Papers, vol . 2 (London : Hogart h Pres s an d Institut e o f Psycho analysis, 1949) , 122-32 ; quote d i n Shapiro , Autonomy, 102 . 32. Simon e d e Beauvoir , The Marquis de Sade (Must We Burn Sade?) (Ne w York: Grove , 1953) , 31-43 ; quote d i n Shapiro , Autonomy, 129 . 33. Th e nove l whic h deviate s fro m thi s plo t i s Descent into Hell (1937) , whic h I wil l no t discus s here . Eve n i n thi s case , th e deviatio n i s slight . 34. Charle s Williams, Shadows of Ecstasy (1933; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970) , 41. 35. Fo r example , Cavalier o call s i t " a prelude, " "th e leas t o f th e novels, " " a confused inchoat e affair" : "th e nove l i s uneas y wit h itself , Si r Bernard' s scepticism get s int o th e ver y fabri c o f th e narrative . . . an d i s applicabl e t o the boo k a s well (Charles Williams, 63-66) . Ridle r claims , withou t narrativ e evidence, tha t Considin e i s defeated i n th e end , bu t adds , "[I]t s idea s ar e no t its strength " (Ridler , 46) . Shidele r admit s tha t "William s doe s no t indicat e whether h e [Considine ] ha s damne d himsel f eternally, " bu t sh e feel s tha t h e "is perfectl y clea r tha t h e wh o persist s i n attemptin g t o mak e ma n rule r o f the universe doe s en d i n hell" (135). In fact , a close reading o f th e book doe s not mak e thi s perfectl y clea r a t all . 36. I t i s interestin g t o not e tha t Williams' s biographer , Alic e Mar y Hadfield , who wa s on e o f Williams' s favorit e femal e disciples , praise s Isabe l Ingram , along with Barbar a Rackstra w i n War in Heaven. Sh e calls them "suc h wive s as one woul d wis h t o be , loving , perceptive , practical , sustaining " (95) . 37. Charle s Williams , War in Heaven (1930 ; Gran d Rapids : Eerdmans , 1985) , 137-38. 38. Thi s i s based o n m y ow n observation s o f patients whil e working o n a n acut e care in-patien t uni t a t th e Ba y Cov e Menta l Healt h Cente r i n Boston , Mas sachusetts. I t is also noteworthy i n this context that , lik e the anxiety of man y paranoid patients , th e obsessive-compulsive's fear s have proven accurate : our atmosphere i s indee d poisonin g us .

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39. Chocolate s see m t o represen t decadenc e an d evi l to Williams : they wer e als o associated wit h Rosamund' s depravit y i n Shadows of Ecstasy. 40. Se e 2 King s 21. 41. Charle s Williams , All Hallows' Eve (1945 ; Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 1981) , 217-18. 42. T . S . Eliot, The Waste Land, i n Complete Poems and Plays: 1909-1950 (Ne w York: Harcourt , 1971) , 39 . 6. Graham Greene In citin g novel s an d autobiographica l work s b y Graha m Green e i n th e notes , short title s hav e bee n used . Afte r thei r initia l discussion , work s frequentl y cite d have bee n identifie d b y th e followin g abbreviations : Gun for Sale Gun Journey without Maps Journey The Lawless Roads Lawless The Man Within Man The Name of Action Name The Other Man (interview s with Marie-Fran^ois e Allain ) Other Orient Express (Stamhoul Train) Orient A Sort of Life Sort Ways of Escape Ways 1. Norma n Sherry , The Life of Graham Greene, Vol . 1 , 1904-1939 (Ne w Yor k and London : Penguin , 1989) , 84 . Fo r reference s t o hi s manic-depressiv e nature, se e Greene' s introductio n t o hi s plays : "M y critic s hav e s o far , I think, faile d t o disinte r th e manic-depressiv e sid e o f an y talen t I posses s (i n the futur e I fee l sur e tha t I wil l regre t disclosin g i t t o them) " {Three Plays [London: Heinemann , 1961] , ix) ; quote d b y Davi d Pryce-Jones , Graham Greene (Ne w York : Barnes , 1967) , 13 . Se e also : " a mani c depressive—tha t would b e th e verdic t o n m e today " (Graha m Greene , A Sort of Life [Ne w York: Simon , 1971] , 128) . I n fact , a s h e doe s no t experienc e tru e mani c episodes, Green e woul d probabl y b e diagnose d toda y a s sufferin g fro m a depressive personality . M y ow n diagnosi s i s tha t h e suffered , i n addition , from pos t traumati c stres s disorder . 2. Green e himsel f objecte d t o th e terms "Greeneland " an d "Greenian. " H e fel t he wa s describin g realit y a s it reall y wa s an d tha t th e term s wer e coine d b y those who were afraid t o acknowledge reality's grimness. See Marie-Frangoise Allain, The Other Man: Conversations with Graham Greene (1981 ; Ne w York: Simon , 1983) , 19 . 3. Allain , The Other Man, 26 . 4. Fro m th e poe m "Germinal " b y A . E. ; quote d i n Allain , The Other Man, 28.

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5. Graha m Greene , "Th e Burde n o f Childhood, " i n Collected Essays (Ne w York: Viking , 1951) , 126 . 6. Greene , Journey, 31 . 7. Greene , Lawless, 6 . Sherr y identifie s thi s a s a quotatio n fro m Apologia pro Vita Sua b y Cardina l Newma n (Sherry , 9) . 8. Mario n Greene's coldness provides a marked contrast with Wyndham Lewis' s relationship wit h hi s dotin g mother : perhap s thi s ha s somethin g t o d o wit h Greene's self-image i n late r lif e a s a cracked bel l an d Lewis' s self-imag e a s a genius. 9. Graha m Greene , ed. , The Old School (London : Cape , 1934) , 250 . 10. Green e note d tha t hi s fathe r alway s wor e hi s lon g academi c robe s whil e a t school, an d numerou s respondent s remembe r hi m movin g throug h th e hall s of th e schoo l lik e a n avenger , th e robe s flying behin d h i m . . . perhap s lik e bat wings ? 11. Fo r examples of three stories about such terrified an d victimized male children who shar e Greene' s phobias , se e "Unde r th e Garden, " "Th e Basemen t Room," an d "Th e En d o f th e Party, " i n Graha m Greene , Collected Stories (New York : Viking, 1973) . I regret tha t considerations o f space do not allo w me t o discus s thes e storie s here . 12. Fo r example : "Th e sens e o f inevitabl e betrayal . Bein g caugh t b y tw o fires, I was ostracized , I found mysel f i n th e situatio n o f a leper" {Other, 27) ; and "I wa s surrounde d b y th e force s o f th e resistance , an d ye t I couldn' t joi n them withou t betrayin g m y fathe r an d m y brother " {Sort, 74) . Se e als o Greene's ofte n reiterate d feelin g o f division , o f bein g a kind o f doubl e agen t or Quisling . 13. Thi s diagnosi s wa s "discovered " i n th e treatmen t o f Vietna m wa r veterans . It i s mos t commonl y attribute d t o survivor s o f wa r o r o f som e othe r dev astating experience . 14. Greene' s mother , Mario n Greene , wrot e t o Vivien Green e tha t Graha m wa s "a differen t person " afte r hi s treatmen t b y Richmond , mor e confiden t an d happier. Som e o f hi s contemporaries , o n th e othe r hand , di d no t approv e o f the chang e an d wer e suspiciou s o f th e treatmen t whic h cause d it . Graham' s cousin, Be n Greene , blame d Graham' s futur e morbidit y o n th e treatment , suggesting tha t "i f yo u ar e a perfectly ordinar y diffiden t boy , yo u coul d b e corrupted an d twiste d b y a psychiatris t s o tha t dangerou s fantasie s ar e pu t in you r head " (Sherry , 109) . Pete r Stanier , a classmate , objecte d tha t afte r the treatment , "Yo u couldn' t jus t whis k hi m of f an d bea t hi m o r somethin g of tha t kin d i f h e wa s cheeky " (Sherry , 109-10) . 15. Graha m Greene , "Revolve r i n the Corne r Cupboard, " i n The Portable Graham Greene: The Lost Childhood and Other Essays. Ed . Phili p Stratfor d (New York : Viking , 1973) , 11. 16. Sh e was known a s Vivienne at that time but later changed her name to Vivien, and prefer s tha t spelling . I wil l refe r t o he r her e a s Vivie n unles s quotin g from a letter .

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17. Sherr y doe s no t attribut e thi s poem, whic h h e quote s o n p . 352 ; I assum e i t is Greene' s own . I f so , i n i t Green e anticipate s on e o f Sylvi a Plath' s severa l poems o n no t forgivin g one' s parents , "Th e Disquietin g Muses. " I n Plath' s poem, th e muse s ar e female : "Mother , mother , wha t illbre d aunt / O r wha t disfigured an d unsightly / cousi n di d yo u s o unwisel y keep / Unaske d t o m y christening, tha t she / Sen t these ladies in her stead / With head s like darning eggs t o nod / An d no d an d no d a t foo t an d head / An d a t th e lef t sid e o f m y crib?" Sylvia Plath, The Colossus and Other Poems (New York: Knopf, 1962) . Both Greene and Plath are referring t o the bad fairy who slipped into Sleepin g Beauty's christening . 18. I n Stamboul Train, "Jew " i s frequentl y change d t o "man " an d "Jewish " occasionally substituted fo r "Jew. " In A Gun for Sale, "thos e damned Jews," a phras e tha t i s i n fac t appropriat e t o th e though t proces s o f th e character , Raven, to which it is attributed, i s omitted, an d the unpleasant Jewish shopgir l becomes a mer e shopgirl . I n Brighton Rock, Colleoni , clearl y labele d re peatedly a s a Jew i n the origina l version, become s Italianate , whil e th e "Jew esses" becom e "bitches. " I than k Brya n Cheyett e fo r pointin g ou t thes e changes, o f whic h I ha d bee n previousl y ignorant , durin g th e cours e o f m y thesis examination . 19. Kennet h Allot t an d Miria m Farris , The Art of Graham Greene (Ne w York : Russel, 1963) , 44 . Othe r novel s writte n durin g thi s perio d whic h di d no t include Jewish character s wer e Rumour at Nightfall (1931) , It's a Battlefield (1934), an d England Made Me (1935) . 20. Marti n Turnell, Graham Greene: A Critical Essay (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), 20-21 . 21. Graha m Greene , The Man Within (1929 ; London : Heinemann , 1956) , un paginated author' s note . 22. Th e boyis h antiheroe s o f tw o othe r Green e books , Rave n i n A Gun for Sale (1936) an d Pinki e i n Brighton Rock (1938) , experienc e simila r longing s fo r motherly redemptio n a s they mak e their hunted progres s throug h th e world . 23. Greene , Ways, 20 . 24. Th e Bookman calle d i t " a guileles s tale , th e narrative hollow an d factitious, " while th e New Statesman wrote , "[H]i s stor y i s hal f i n Cloud-cucko o lan d and hal f i n Ruritani a an d fits il l with hi s style " (Sherry , 385) . 25. Greene , Name, 14 , 19 . 26. Stamboul Train di d sel l ver y well , bu t Green e owe d s o muc h mone y t o hi s publisher, Heinemann , fro m th e lo w sale s o n tw o previous , unsuccessfu l books tha t thi s di d no t alte r hi s disma l financial situation . Th e boo k almos t had t o b e withdraw n whe n J . B . Priestley , wh o claime d tha t Green e ha d caricatured hi m i n th e characte r o f th e Cockne y novelis t Savory , institute d a lawsuit an d wa s onl y pu t of f b y severa l last - minut e change s i n th e text . 27. Graham e Smith , The Achievement of Graham Greene (Brighton : Harvester , 1986), 26-27 . 28. Graha m Greene , Stamboul Train (1932 ; London: Heinemann , 1961) , 256 .

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29. I t make s fo r a n interestin g an d no t irrelevan t digressio n her e t o not e som e of Greene' s assumption s o r myth s abou t virginity , assumption s h e probabl y shared wit h th e majorit y o f hi s readers . Whil e Greene , unlik e mos t o f hi s contemporaries, ofte n choose s choru s girl s rather tha n well-bred ladie s as his exemplars o f virtue , the y ar e alway s virgins , a s i f th e sexua l ac t outsid e o f marriage automatically destroy s female goodness . Just a s a Jew's identit y wil l out, despit e th e Bibl e i n the lavatory , s o will a virgin's. Thus , Coral' s cr y o f pain is a proof o f he r virtue an d a badge o f he r virginity. Th e possibility tha t sex in a n uncomfortabl e trai n compartmen t wit h a n uncarin g strange r migh t be painful eve n fo r a nonvirgin (an d especiall y fo r a woman abou t t o di e o f heart disease! ) i s simpl y no t a consideration. Greene' s ow n mytholog y her e is base d o n large r establishe d myth s o f "virgin, " "whore, " an d "Jew" — myths h e accept s a s universal verities . 30. I refer here to Groucho Marx's ironical statement to the effect that he wouldn't want t o joi n an y clu b tha t woul d hav e hi m fo r a member . 31. Sherr y seem s t o questio n tha t Cora l actuall y die s at the en d o f th e book. H e mentions tha t Green e wrot e tw o version s o f th e book' s endin g an d kep t th e one i n whic h sh e lives ! I believ e tha t a clos e readin g o f thi s paragrap h wil l prove hi m wrong . 32. Greene , Gun (1936) , 13 . 33. Se e Turnell; Allot t an d Farris . 34. Th e young guar d sho t i n the back b y th e Jew Kappe r in The Name of Action was i n th e ac t o f pettin g a cat . 35. Th e phras e "th e damne d Jews " i s omitte d fro m th e Pengui n version . 36. Green e spoke of Eliot as one of "the two great figures of my young manhood " (Ways, 42) . Th e othe r wa s Herber t Reade . Fo r a thorough tracin g o f refer ences to Elio t b y various othe r authors , whic h I found usefu l fo r thi s chapte r as well as for th e last two, se e Fred T. Crawford , Mixing Memory and Desire: The Waste Land and British Novels (Universit y Park : Pennsylvani a Stat e University Press , 1982) . 37. Graha m Greene , Brighton Rock (London : Heinemann , 1938) , 346 . 38. Thi s interestin g an d efficien t metho d o f revisio n bear s som e thinkin g about . What woul d happe n if , fo r instance , a revisionis t change d Nigge r Ji m i n Huckleberry Fin n t o "Polac k Jim " an d change d th e reference s t o th e insti tutions o f slaver y t o reference s t o indenture d servitude ? Wha t woul d happe n if Sh y lock becam e a Scotsman ? O r i f Othell o becam e a Greek ? Wha t I a m trying t o poin t ou t throug h thes e example s i s that system s o f Othernes s ru n deeply throug h a text, an d whil e th e unsuspectin g reade r ma y b e throw n of f target b y surfac e changes , a s I certainly wa s o n m y firs t reading s o f Brighton Rock, suc h cosmeti c revisio n i s n o read y solutio n fo r a n autho r who , i n horror an d dismay , perceive s to o lat e tha t h e o r sh e ha s se t a text wit h suc h embedded stereotype s loos e int o th e world . Havin g ha d suc h a n experienc e with m y portraya l o f a Jewish characte r i n m y firs t novel , I hav e sympath y for suc h a solution, bu t canno t endors e it .

Bibliography

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Suleiman, Susan , an d Ing e Crosman , eds . The Reader in the Text. Princeton : Princeton Universit y Press , 1980 . Tennenhouse, Leonard , ed . The Practice of Psychoanalytic Criticism. Detroit : Wayne Stat e Universit y Press , 1976 . Theweleit, Klaus . Male Fantasies. Vol. 1 . Women, Floods, Bodies, History. Trans . Stephen Conway . Minneapolis : Universit y o f Minnesot a Press , 1987 . Vol. 2 . Male Bodies: Psychoanalyzing the White Terror. Trans . Erica Carter and Chri s Turner. Minneapolis : Universit y o f Minnesot a Press , 1989 . Trachtenberg, Joshua. The Devil and the Jews: The Medieval Conception of Jews and Its Relation to Modern Antisemitism. Ne w Haven : Yale University Press , 1943. Trilling, Lionel . Beyond Culture. Ne w York : Harcourt , 1965 . Watson, George . Politics and Literature in Modern Britain. Totowa , N.J. : Row man an d Littlefield , 1977 . Wilk, Melvin . The Jewish Presence in T. S. Eliot and Franz Kafka. Atlanta : Scholar's, 1986 . Wood, Michael . "Bleistei n an d M r Eliot. " Revie w o f T. S. Eliot and Prejudice by Christophe r Ricks . New York Review of Books, Feb . 1990 , 32-35 . Woolf, Leonard . Quack, Quack! Ne w York : Harcourt , 1935 . Woolf, Virginia . "Thought s o n Peac e i n A n Ai r Raid. " The Death of the Moth. New York : Harcourt , 1942 . . Three Guineas. 1938 . Ne w York : Harcourt , 1966 . Worpole, Kenneth . Dockers and Detectives: Popular Reading, Popular Writing. London: Verso , 1983 .

Psychology, Sociology,

Feminist Theory

Adorno, T . W. , ed . The Authoritarian Personality. Ne w York : Harper , 1958 . Allport, Gordon . The Nature of Prejudice. Cambridge , Mass. : Addison-Wesley , 1954. American Psychiatri c Association . DSM-lll. Washington : APA , 1987 . Arendt, Hannah . The Jew as Pariah. Ne w York : Grove , 1978 . Bass, Ellen, and Laura Davis. The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse. Ne w York : Harper , 1988 . Benjamin, Jessica. The Bonds of Love: Psychoanalysis, Feminism, and the Problem of Domination. Ne w York : Pantheon , 1988 . Berman, Jeffrey . Narcissism and the Novel. Ne w York : Ne w Yor k Universit y Press, 1990 . Cameron, Norman , an d Joseph F . Rychlak . Personality Development and Psychopathology: A Dynamic Approach. 2 d ed . Boston : Houghton , 1985 . Chodorow, Nancy . Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory. Ne w Have n an d Lon don: Yal e Universit y Press , 1989 . Decker, Hanna h S . Freud, Dora, and Vienna 1900. New York : Free Press, 1991.

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Dinnerstein, Dorothy . The Mermaid and the Minotaur: Sexual Arrangements and Human Malaise. Ne w York : Harper , 1976 . DSM-lll. (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 3 d ed.) Spitzer , et al . Washington , D.C. : America n Psychiatri c Association , 1987 . Erlich, Howar d J . The Social Psychology of Prejudice. London : Joh n Wiley , 1973. Garrard, John . "No w an d 7 0 Years Ago. " Patterns of Prejudice 1. 4 (1967) : 24 28. Gathorne-Hardy, Jonathan . The Old School Tie. Ne w York : Viking , 1977 . Gellar, Mark . "Pedagogica l Guideline s fo r Literar y Antisemitism. ,, Patterns of Prejudice 20. 1 (1986) : 35-44. Gilman, Sande r L . Difference and Pathology: Stereotypes of Sexuality, Race and Madness. Ithaca : Cornel l Universit y Press , 1985 . . Jewish Self-Hatred. Baltimore : Johns Hopkin s Universit y Press , 1986 . Horney, Karen . "Th e Dread o f Women." International Journal of Psychoanalysis 13 (1932). Johnson, Miriam , an d Jea n Stockard . Sex Roles. Englewoo d Cliffs : Prentice Hall, 1980 . Kernberg, Otto . Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism. Ne w York : Jason Aronson , 1975 . Klein, Melanie. Envy and Gratitude: A Study of Unconscious Sources. New York : Basic, 1957 . Kovel, Joel. White Racism: A Psychohistory. Ne w York : Pantheon , 1970 . Lew, Mike . Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Sexual Abuse. Ne w York : Nevraumont , 1988 . Miller, Alice . For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child- Rearing and the Roots of Violence. 1980 . Trans. Hildegard e an d Hunte r Hannum . Ne w York : Noonday, 1983 . Millett, Kate . Sexual Politics. 1969 . Ne w York : Avon , 1971 . Niederland, Willia m G . The Schreher Case: Psychoanalytic Profile of a Paranoid Personality. Ne w York : Quadrangle , 1974 . Oldfield, Sybil . Women Against the Iron Fist: Alternatives to Militarism, 19001989. Oxford : Blackwell , 1989 . Salzman, Leon. The Obsessive Personality: Origins, Dynamics, and Therapy. Ne w York: Science , 1968 . Sartre, Jean-Paul . Antisemite and Jew. Trans . Georg e J . Becker . Ne w York : Schocken, 1965 . Segal, Hanna . Introduction to the Work of Melanie Klein. Ne w York : Basic , 1964. Shapiro, David . Autonomy and Rigid Character. Ne w York : Basic , 1981 . . Neurotic Styles. Ne w York : Basic , 1965 . Theweleit, Klaus . Male Fantasies. Vol. 1 : Women, Floods, Bodies, History. Trans . Stephen Conway . Minneapolis : Universit y o f Minnesot a Press , 1987 . Vol. 2 : Male Bodies: Psychoanalyzing the White Terror. Trans . Erica Carter and Chri s Turner. Minneapolis : Universit y o f Minnesot a Press , 1989 .

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Jewish and Anglo-Jewish History Arendt, Hannah . The Jew as Pariah. Ne w York : Grove , 1978 . Bermant, Chaim . The Cousinhood: The Anglo-Jewish Gentry. London : Eyre an d Spottiswoode, 1971 . . Troubled Eden: An Anatomy of British Jewry. Ne w York : Basic , 1970 . Billig, Michael . "Anti-Jewis h Theme s an d th e Britis h Fa r Left—II. " Patterns of Prejudice 18. 2 (1984) : 28-34. Cesarini, David . "Anti-Zionis t Politic s an d Politica l Antisemitis m i n Britain , 1920-1924." Patterns of Prejudice 23. 1 (1989) : 28-54. Cheyette, Bryan. " H . G . Wells and the Jews: Antisemitism, Socialis m and English Culture." Patterns of Prejudice 22. 3 (1988) : 22-35. Davidowicz, Lucy . The War against the Jews. Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1975 . DeKoven, Sidr a Ezrahi. By Words Alone. Chicago : University o f Chicag o Press , 1980. Gilbert, Martin , an d Richar d Gott . The Appeasers. Boston : Houghton , 1963 . Grayzel, Solomon . A History of the Contemporary Jews from 1900 to the Present. New York : Atheneum , 1972 . . A History of the Jews: From the Babylonian Exile to the Present. 1947 . New York : Ne w America n Library , 1968 . "Great Britain. " Encyclopedia Judaica. Jerusalem : Keter , 1971 . Hirschfeld, Gerhard , ed . Exile in Great Britain: Refugees from Hitler's Germany. Leamington Spa : Berg, 1984 . Holmes, Colin . Anti-Semitism in British Society: 1876-1939. London : Arnold , 1979. Jarman, T . L . A Short History of 20th Century England: 1868-1962. Ne w York : Mentor, 1963 . Kushner, Tony . "Th e Britis h an d th e Shoah. " Patterns of Prejudice 23. 3 (1989) : 3-16. . The Persistence of Prejudice: Antisemitism in British Society during the Second World War. Manchester : Mancheste r Universit y Press , 1989 . Kushner, Tony , an d Kennet h Lunn , eds . Traditions of Intolerance. Manchester : Manchester Universit y Press , 1989 . Laqueur, Walter . The Terrible Secret: Suppression of the Truth about Hitler's Final Solution. Boston : Littl e Brown , 1980 . Lebzelter, Gisela . Political Anti-Semitism in England, 1919-1939. Ne w York : Holmes an d Meier , 1978 . Levin, Harry . "Th e Jewis h Write r an d th e Englis h Literar y Tradition. " Commentary 8 (1949). Lipman, V . D., ed . Three Centuries of Anglo-Jewish History. Cambridge : Jewish Historical Societ y o f England , 1961 . Modder, Montagu . The Jew in the Literature of England. Philadelphia : Jewis h Publication Societ y o f America , 1939 .

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Morse, George . While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy. Ne w York: Hart , 1967 . Penkower, Mont y Noam . The Jews Were Expendable: Free World Diplomacy and the Holocaust. Urban a an d Chicago : Universit y o f Illinoi s Press , 1983 . Poliakov, Leon . The History of Anti-Semitism. Vol . 3 . Trans . Miria m Kochen . London: Routledge , 1975 . Rosenberg, Edgar . From Shylock to Svengali: Jewish Stereotypes in English Fiction. Stanford : Stanfor d Universit y Press , 1960 . Rosenberg, Harold . "Th e Jewis h Write r an d Th e Englis h Literar y Tradition. " Commentary 8 (1949). Roth, Cecil . The History of the Jews in England. Oxford : Clarendon , 1964 . Sicher, Efraim. Beyond Marginality: Anglo-Jewish Literature after the Holocaust. Albany: Stat e Universit y o f Ne w Yor k Press , 1985 . Sinsheimer, Hermann . Shylock: The History of a Character. Ne w York: Benjami n Bloom, 1968 . Thurlow, Richard . Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918-1985. Oxford : Blackwell , 1987. Trachtenberg, Joshua. The Devil and the Jews: The Medieval Conception of Jews and Its Relation to Modern Antisemitism. Ne w Haven : Yale University Press , 1943. Wasserstein, Bernard . Britain and the Jews of Europe: 1939-1945. Oxford : Ox ford Universit y Press , 1988 . . "Th e Britis h Governmen t an d th e Germa n Immigration , 1933-1945. " Hirschfeld, Exile in Great Britain. The Thirties: History and Culture Allen, Walter . Tradition and Dream. Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1960 . Appleyard, Brian . The Pleasures of Peace: Art and Imagination in Post-War Britain. London : Faber , 1989 . Auden, W. H . "Gresham' s School , Holt." Graha m Greene , ed. , The Old School. Cockburn, Claud . Bestseller. London : Sidgwic k an d Jackson, 1972 . Connolly, Cyril . " A Georgia n Boyhood. " Enemies of Promise. Ne w York : Macmillan, 1948 . Cunningham, Valentine . British Writers of the Thirties. Oxford : Oxfor d Uni versity Press , 1989 . Daiches, David . The Present Age in British Literature. Bloomington : Indian a University Press , 1958 . Davies, Andrew. Where Did the Forties Go?: A Popular History. London : Pluto , 1984. Evans, B . I f or. English Literature between the Wars. London : Methuen , 1948 . Griffiths, Richard . Fellow Travellers of the Right: British Enthusiasts for Nazi Germany: 1933-1939. London : Constable , 1980 .

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Hewison, Robert . Under Siege: Literature and Life in London, 1934-1945. Ox ford: Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1977 . Jarman, T . L . A Short History of 20th Century England: 1868-1962. Ne w York : Mentor, 1963 . Kumar, Krishnan . "Socia l an d Cultura l Setting. " Bori s Ford , ed. , The New Pelican Guide to English Literature. Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1983 . Lewis, John . The Left Book Club: An Historical Review. London : Gollancz , 1970. Margach, James . The Abuse of Power: The War between Downing Street and the Media From Lloyd George to Callaghan. London : Allen , 1978 . Moore, Charles , an d Christophe r Hawtree . 1936 as Recorded By the Spectator. London: Michae l Joseph, 1986 . Raven, Simon . The Old School. London : Hamis h Hamilton , 1986 . Reed, John . Old School Ties: The Public Schools in British Literature. Syracuse : Syracuse Universit y Press , 1964 . Robson, W . W . Modern English Literature. Oxford : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1970. Rosenfeld, Isaac . An Age of Enormity: Life and Writing in the Forties and Fifties. Cleveland, N.Y. : World , 1962 . Spender, Stephen . The Thirties and After: Poetry, Politics, People, 1933-75. Lon don: Macmillan , 1978 . . "Universit y Colleg e School. " Greene , ed. , The Old School. Taylor, A . J . P . English History 1914-1945. Ne w Yor k an d Oxford : Oxfor d University Press , 1965 . Thurlow, Richard . Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918-1985. Oxford : Blackwell , 1987. Wasserstein, Bernard . Britain and the Jews of Europe: 1939-1945. Oxford : Ox ford Universit y Press , 1988 . Watson, George . Politics and Literature in Modern Britain. Totowa , N . J . : Row man an d Littlefield , 1977 . Other Relevant Literature

and

Criticism

Auden, W . H . Collected Poems. Ed . Edwar d Mendelson . Ne w York : Random , 1976. . "Gresham' s School , Holt. " Graha m Greene , ed. , The Old School. Bedford, Sybille . Aldous Huxley. Ne w York : Knopf , 1974 . Belloc, Hilaire . The Jews. London , 1922 . Birnbaum, Milton . Aldous Huxley's Quest for Values. Knoxville : Universit y o f Tennessee Press , 1971 . Bowen, Elizabeth . The House in Paris. 1935 . New York : Vintage , 1957 . Chaucer, Geoffrey . "Th e Prioress' s Tale. " The Canterbury Tales. London : Ar nold, 1980 . Chesterton, A . K . Oswald Mosley: Portrait of a Leader. London : Action , 1937 .

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Cheyette, Bryan . " H . G . Well s an d th e Jews : Antisemitism , Socialism , an d English Culture. " Patterns of Prejudice 22. 3 (1988) : 22-35. Conlon, D . J., ed . G . K. Chesterton: The Critical Judgement. Par t 1 , 1900-1937. Antwerp: Antwer p Studie s i n Englis h Literature , 1976 . Corrin, Jay . G . K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc: The Battle against Modernity. Athens: Ohi o Universit y Press , 1943 . Cox, C . B. , an d P . Hinchliffe , eds. , T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land: A Casebook. London: Macmillan , 1968 . Crawford, Fre d T . Mixing Memory and Desire: The Waste Land and British Novels. Universit y Park : Pennsylvani a Stat e Universit y Press , 1982 . Crick, Bernard . George Orwell: A Life. Boston : Littl e Brown , 1980 . Cumberland, Richard . The Jew: A Comedy. 1794 . London : J. Mawman , 1801 . Davis, B . William Gerhardie: A Biography. Oxford : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1990. Dickens, Charles . Oliver Twist. London : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1838 . Disraeli, Benjamin . Coningshy. 1844 . London : Penguin , 1983 . Du Maurier , Daphne . The Progress of Julius. London : Heinemann , 1933 . Du Maurier , George . Trilby. 1894 . Ne w York : Harper , 1949 . Edgeworth, Maria . Harrington. 1817 . Vol . 8 , The Works of Maria Edgeworth. Boston: S . H . Parker , 1822-26 . Eliot, George . Daniel Deronda. 1876 . Oxford : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1984 . Eliot, Thoma s Stearns . After Strange Gods. London : Faber , 1934 . . Complete Poems and Plays: 1909-1950. Ne w York : Harcourt , 1971 . Fitzgerald, F . Scott . The Great Gatsby. 1925 . Ne w York : Scribner's , 1968 . Forest, Antonia . End of Term. Harmondsworth : Puffin , 1978 . Forster, E . M . Abinger Harvest. London : Arnold , 1936 . . Aspects of the Novel. 1927 . Ne w York : Harvest , 1954 . . "Je w Consciousness. " 1939 . Two Cheers for Democracy. London : Ar nold, 1951 . Gerhardi, William . Memoirs of a Polyglot. London : Macdonald , 1931 . . My Wife's the Least of It. London : Faber , 1938 . Hindus, Milton . "F . Scot t Fitzgeral d an d Literar y Anti-Semitism : A Footnot e on th e Min d o f th e 20s. " Commentary 3 (1947). Hughes, Thomas . Tom Brown's Schooldays. 1857 . London : Dent , 1951 . Huxley, Aldous . Antic Hay. 1923 . New York : Bantam , 1951 . . Brave New World. Ne w York : Harper , 1932 . . Brave New World Revisited. Ne w York : Harper , 1965 . . Crome Yellow. 1921 . Harmondsworth: Penguin , 1955 . . Do What You Will: Twelve Essays. London : Chatto , 1956 . . Island. 1962 . Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1964 . . Letters of Aldous Huxley. Ed . Grove r Smith . Ne w York : Harper , 1970 . . Point Counter Point. 1928 . Ne w York : Harper , 1965 . Isherwood, Christopher . All the Conspirators. 1928 . London : Methuen , 1984 . . Down There on a Visit. London : Signet , 1962 . . Goodbye to Berlin. 1939 . Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1945 .

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. Lions and Shadows. London : Hogarth , 1938 . . The Memorial: Portrait of a Family. 1946 . Ne w York : Avon , 1977 . . Prater Violet. 1946 . London : Methuen , 1984 . . The World in the Evening. Ne w York : Avon , 1978 . Joly, Maurice . Protocols of the Elders of Zion. 1903 . Herma n Bernstein , The Truth about the Protocols of Zion. Ne w York : Ktav , 1971 , 295-359 . Kaye-Smith, Sheila . The End of the House of Alard. Londo n :Xassel, 1923 . Kipling, Rudyard . Stalky and Co. 1897 . Garde n City : Doubleday , 1920 . Lane, Lauriat , Jr . "Dickens ' Archetypa l Jews." PMLA 7 3 (1958) : 94-100. Marlowe, Christopher . The Jew of Malta. 1592 . Manchester : Mancheste r Uni versity Press , 1978 . Massingham, Hugh . The Harp and the Oak. London : Faber , 1945 . O'Connor, Willia m Van , an d Edwar d Stone , eds . A Casebook on Ezra Pound. New York : Crowell , 1959 . Orwell, George . Animal Farm. 1945 . Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1952 . . Burmese Days. 1934 . Ne w York : Time , 1962 . . A Clergyman's Daughter. 1935 . New York : Harcourt , 1960 . . Collected Essays, Journalism, and Letters. Ed . Soni a Orwel l an d Ia n Angus. 4 vols. London : Seeke r an d Warburg , 1968 . . Coming Up for Air. 1939 . New York : Harcourt , n.d . . Down and Out in Paris and London. 1933 . New York : Harcourt , 1950 . . Homage to Catalonia. 1938 . Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1962 . . Keep the Aspidistra Flying. 1936 . London : Seeke r an d Warburg , 1954 . . 1984. 1949 . Ne w York : Ne w America n Library , 1961 . . "Notes on Nationalism." Such, Such Were the Joys. Ne w York: Harcourt , 1945. . The Road to Wigan Pier. 1937 . Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1966 . . Such, Such Were the Joys. Ne w York : Harcourt , 1954 . Patai, Daphne . The Orwell Mystique: A Study in Male Ideology. Amherst : Uni versity o f Massachusett s Press , 1984 . Pound, Ezra . The Cantos of Ezra Pound. Ne w York : Ne w Directions , 1948 . Protocols of the Elders of Zion. See Joly, Maurice . Rutherford, Mar k [Willia m Hal e White] . Clara Hopgood. 1896 . Ne w York : Doran, n.d . Scott, Si r Walter. Ivanhoe. 1819 . Ne w York : A . L . Burt , n.d . Shavi, Alice, ed. Daniel Deronda: A Centenary Symposium. Jerusalem: Academy, 1976. Snow, C . P . The Conscience of the Rich. Ne w York : Scribner's , 1958 . Stannard, Martin . Evelyn Waugh: The Early Years, 1903-1939. London : Dent , 1986. Sterne, Lawrence . The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy. 1769 . Ne w York : Odyssey, 1940 . Sykes, Christopher . Evelyn Waugh: A Biography. Boston : Littl e Brown , 1975 . Trollope, Anthony . The Eustace Diamonds. 1872 . London : Oxfor d Universit y Press, 1930 .

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. Nina Balatka. 1867 . London : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1951 . . The Way We Live Now. 1875 . Ne w York : Knopf , 1950 . Walpole, Hugh. Jeremy at Crale: His Friends, His Ambitions, and His One Great Enemy. Ne w York : Doran , 1927 . Waugh, Alec . The Loom of Youth. London : Gran t Richards , 1917 . Waugh, Evelyn . Diaries of Evelyn Waugh. Boston : Littl e Brown , 1976 . . Letters of Evelyn Waugh. Ed . Mar k Amory. Ne w Haven an d New York : Ticknor an d Fields , 1980 . . Officers and Gentlemen. 1955 . Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1970 . -. Put Out More Flags. Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1943 . Wells, H . G . Marriage. 1912 . Ne w York : Scribner's , 1926 . . Tono Bungay. 1909 . Ne w York : Duffield , 1919 . Wyndham Lewis Campbell, Sueellen. "The Enemy Attacks: Wyndham Lewis Versus Ezra Pound. " Journal of Modern Literature 10. 2 (Jun e 1983) : 247-56. Carr, E . H . Revie w o f Left Wings over Europe. Charle s Moor e an d Christophe r Hawtree, 1936 as Recorded by the Spectator. London : Michae l Joseph, 1986 . Chace, William . " O n Lewis' s Politics : Th e Polemic s Polemicall y Answered. " Jeffrey Meyers , ed. , Wyndham Lewis: A Revaluation. . "Tarr. " Egoist 5 (September 1918) : 106. Horton, L . M . "Th e Flight s o f Wyndha m Lewis. " London Mercury 37 (1936). Jameson, Fredric . Fables of Aggression. Berkeley : University o f Californi a Press , 1979. Lewis, Perc y Wyndham . The Apes of God. 1930 . Santa Barbara: Blac k Sparrow , 1981. . The Art of Being Ruled. 1926 . Ne w York : Haskell , 1972. . Blasting and Bombardiering. 1937 . Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of Californi a Press , 1967 . -. "Cantleman' s Sprin g Mate. " Blasting and Bombardiering. Berkele y an d Los Angeles : University o f Californi a Press , 1967 . . Count Your Dead: They Are Alive! or, A New War in the Making. London: Lova t Dickson , 1937 . . "Th e Do-Nothin g Mode. " Agenda 7.3 , 8. 1 (Autumn-Winte r 1969-70) . . Doom of Youth. 1932 . Ne w York : Haskell , 1973 . . Hitler. London : Chatto , 1931 . . The Hitler Cult. London : Dent , 1939 . . The Jews, Are They Human? 1939 . Ne w York : Gordon , 1972 . . Left Wings over Europe. London : Cape , 1936 . . Letters. Norfolk , Conn. : Ne w Directions , 1963 . —. Paleface. 1929 . Ne w York : Haskell , 1969 . Rude Assignment: An Intellectual Biography. 1950 . Santa Barbara: Blac k Sparrow, 1984 .

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Charles Williams Cavaliero, Glen . Charles Williams: Poet of Theology. Gran d Rapids : Eerdmans , 1983. . Introductio n t o All Hallows 3 Eve b y Charle s Williams . 1945 . Gran d Rapids: Eerdmans , 1981 . Hadfield, Alic e Mary . Charles Williams: An Exploration of His Life and Work. London: Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1983 . Howard, Thomas . The Novels of Charles Williams. London : Oxfor d Universit y Press, 1983 . Lang-Sims, Lois . Letters to Lalage: The Letters of Charles Williams to Lois Lang-

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Sims. Ed . Gle n Cavaliero . Kent , Ohio , an d London : Ken t Stat e Universit y Press, 1989 . Patterson, Nancy-Lou . "Th e Jewel s o f Messias : Image s o f Judais m an d Anti semitism i n th e Novels o f Charle s Williams. ,, Mythlore: A Journal of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis and Charles Williams Studies 6. 2 (Sprin g 1979) : 27-31 . Shideler, Mar y McDermott . The Theology of Romantic Love: A Study in the Writings of Charles Williams. Gran d Rapids : Eerdmans , 1962 . Sibley, Agnes . Charles Williams. Boston : Twayne , 1982 . Spencer, Kathleen . Charles Williams. Starmon t Reader' s Guid e No . 25 . Merce r Island, Wash. : Starmont , 1986 . Urang, Gunnar . Shadows of Heaven: Religion and Fantasy in the Writing of C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams and J. R. R. Tolkien. Philadelphia : Pilgrim , 1971. Williams, Charles . All Hallows 3 Eve. 1945 . Gran d Rapids : Eerdmans , 1981 . . The Figure of Beatrice. 1943 . Cleveland : Meridian , 1959 . . The Image of the City. London : Oxfor d Universit y Press , 1958 . . The Region of the Summer Stars. London : Edition s Poetry , 1944 . . Shadows of Ecstasy. 1933 . Gran d Rapids : Eerdmans , 1970 . . War in Heaven. 1930 . Gran d Rapids : Eerdmans , 1985 . . Witchcraft. 1941 . Cleveland: Meridian , 1959 . Graham Greene Allain, Marie-Fran^oise . The Other Man: Conversations with Graham Greene. New York : Simon , 1983 . Allott, Kenneth , an d Miria m Farris . The Art of Graham Greene. Ne w York : Russel, 1963 . Greene, Graham . Brighton Rock. Ne w York : Vikin g Press , 1938 . Harmonds worth: Penguin , 1970 . . Collected Essays. Ne w York : Viking , 1951 . . Collected Stories. Ne w York : Viking , 1973 . . The End of the Affair. Ne w York : Pocke t Books , 1975 . . A Gun for Sale. London : Heinemann , 1936 . . A Gun for Sale. 1936 . Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1973 . . The Heart of the Matter. 1948 . Harmondsworth : Penguin , 1962 . It's a Battlefield. 1934 . Ne w York : Viking , 1962 . . Journey without Maps. London : Heinemann , 1936 . . The Lawless Roads. London : Heinemann , 1939 . . The Lost Childhood and Other Essays. The Portable Graham Greene. Ed. an d intro . Phili p Stratford . Ne w York : Viking , 1973 . . The Man Within. 1929 . London : Heinemann , 1956 . . The Name of Action. London : Heinemann , 1930 . . Orient Express. 1933 . New York : Pocke t Books , 1961 .

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Index

Abinger Harvest (Forster) , 107 , 34 5 n . 4 3 Academic Assistanc e Council : attitud e toward Jews , 2 8 Achebe, Chinua , 3 , 33 3 n. 5 . Se e als o Hopes and Impediments Adorno, T . W. , 11 , 334 n . 14 Age of Enormity y An (Rosenfeld) , 192 , 352 n . 9 Agee, James, 191 , 352 n . 7 Agenda: 196 9 issue devote d t o Lewis , 139 , 349 nn . 25 , 26 , 347 n. 1 4 Alden, Patrici a Ann , 9 , 33 4 n . 1 0 Aliens Ac t o f 1919 , 2 3 All Hallows' Eve (Williams) , 231-40 ; as most blatantl y anti-Semiti c novel , 207; femal e character s portraye d i n sadomasochistic term s in , 238 ; prefac e for, b y T . S . Eliot , 204 , 210 ; Williams' s opportunity t o exercis e sadisti c fantasie s in, 23 9 Allot, Kenneth , 267 , 35 6 n . 19 , 357 n. 3 3 Allport, Gordon , 11 , 68, 33 4 n . 1 4 Althusser, Louis , 71 , 342 n . 4 6 Anglo-American literar y tradition , 6 7 Anglo-Jewish history , 7 ; anti-Semitis m in , 16-43, 312 , 31 3 Anglo-Jewry, 11 , 61 Anti-Semitism: figh t against , 30 ; as irrational phenomenon , 70 ; as th e Jews ' own problem , 19 , 63 ; British, 7 , 16-43 , 61; cause s of , 54 ; centrality of , o n th e left an d right , 27 ; demonstrated i n British close d doo r policy , 36 , 40 ; espoused b y Britis h middl e an d uppe r

classes, 23 ; in Anglo-Jewis h history , 16-43, 312-13 ; ignorance of , i n Race, Writing, and Difference, 72-73 ; innocent, 24 ; linked t o misogyny , racism, homophobia , 83 , 318 ; link s between, an d misogyny , 14 , 317 ; literary, 68 ; modern scientific , 55 ; nonviolent, 24 ; "o f tolerance, " 19 , 23, 27, 33 5 n. 5 , 33 9 n . 6 ; origin s of , 76 ; "parlo(u)r" 7 , 24 , 53 , 62 ; public, 36 ; racially based , 60 , 34 0 n . 15 ; religionbased, 20 , 34 0 n . 15 ; to b e eliminate d by assimilation , 2 0 Apes ofGody The (Lewis) , 172-77 , 350 nn . 56 , 59 ; anti-Semitism in , 174 ; critical reactio n to , b y Hug h Porteus , Meyrick Booth , an d Richar d Aldingto n in Satire and Fiction, 172-7 3 Arnold, Matthew , 6 2 Arnold, Thomas : an d "Muscula r Christianity," 10 9 Art of Being Ruled y The (Lewis) , 141-80 , 349 n . 28 ; attack o n Gertrud e Stein , Karl Marx , an d Marce l Prous t in , 142 ; paranoid framewor k of , 148 ; defense o f European Whit e Mal e Wil l in , 14 3 Atlee, Clement , 4 0 Auden, W . H. , 29 , 31 , 103 , 153 , 345 n. 33 ; as admire r o f Williams , 19 1 Auschwitz, 40 ; bombing o f 33 ; See also Concentration camp s Austria, 17 ; annexation of , 30 9 Authoritarian Personality (Adorno) , 11 , 334 n . 1 4

373

374

INDEX

Autonomy and Rigid Character (Shapiro) , 90, 91 , 147 , 196 , 197 , 206 , 209 , 213, 344 n. 18 , 35 3 nn . 30 , 31 , 32 Baker, Houston , A. , 72 , 34 3 n . 50 ; an d image o f Jew s a s greed y warmongers , 73 Balfour Declaration , 27 , 33 5 n . 1 2 Bardies, Roland , 71 , 333 n. 9 Bass, Ellen , 13 , 99, 102 , 103 , 107 , 114 , 246, 25 2 Bateson, Gregory , 10 1 Battle o f Cabl e Street , 2 8 Beardsley, Monro e C , 9 , 33 4 n . 1 1 Beauvoir, Simon e de , 213 , 35 3 n . 3 2 Beebe, Beatrice , 87 , 34 4 n . 14 9 Bell, Clive , 133 , 344 n . 1 4 Belloc, Hilaire , 158 , 268 , 33 6 n. 27 , 341 n . 25 ; as admire r o f Williams , 19 1 Belsen, 40 ; ga s oven s at , 165 ; See also Concentration camp s Benjamin, Jessica , 13 , 85 , 87 , 93 , 97 , 105 , 128, 197 , 242 , 34 3 n. 1 0 Bennett, Arnold , 3 1 Berkhamsted School , 246 , 305 ; beating fo r sexual pleasur e at , 252 , 246 ; Greene' s attendance at , 246 , 249-58 ; Greene' s father a s headmaster of , 246 ; organize d around principl e o f preventin g homosexual relationship s in , 249 ; spyin g at, 25 0 Bettelheim, Bruno , 6 9 Black Presence in English Literature (Dabydeen), 4 , 33 3 n. 5 Bolitho, George , 34 , 158 , 33 7 n. 42 . See als o Other Germany, The Bonds of Love, The: Psychoanalysis, Feminism and the Problem of Domination (Benjamin) , 96 , 34 4 n . 1 4 Booth, Wayne , 9 , 45 , 67 , 75 , 33 9 n . 2 Borderline narcissisti c personalitie s (a s described b y Kernberg) , 120 , 129 , 177 , 198, 201 , 202, 242 , 259 , 273 , 298 Britain and the Jews of Europe: 1939-1945 (Wasserstein), 38 , 33 5 n. 12 , 33 8 nn . 45 , 46, 55-6 0 "British an d th e Shoah , The, " (Kushner) , 23, 25 , 36 , 37 , 40 , 42 , 33 6 nn . 17 , 30 , 338 n . 5 0

British closed-doo r polic y towar d Jews , 33-40, 31 3 British Medica l Association : attitud e toward immigran t Jews , 2 8 British Ministr y o f Information , 34 , 36 , 3 7 British Unio n o f Fascists . See Moseley' s British Unio n o f Fascist s Buchan, John , 62 , 34 1 n . 2 5 Cadogan, Alexander , 35 , 33 7 n . 46 , 33 8 n . 46 Calish, Rabb i Edward , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 56, 71, 76 , 33 9 nn . 7 , 1 4 Cameron, Norman , 188 , 190 , 207 , 220 , 254, 35 1 n . 1 , 35 2 n . 1 6 Cantos (Pound) , 7 5 Care for Children: attitud e towar d Jews , 29 "Caricature o f th e Bulldo g Spirit : Whe n Peace Seem s Dull " (Mitchell) , 62 , 341 n . 2 8 Carr, E . H. , 159 , 34 9 n . 4 1 Cavaliero, 203 , 35 1 nn . 3 , 6 , 35 3 n . 35 ; as member o f Companion s o f th e Co Inherence, 193 ; as edito r o f Letters to Lalage, 193 , 195 , 198 , 200 , 201 , 203, 210 Cesarini, David , 25 , 33 5 nn . 11 , 14, 336 n . 1 5 Chace, William , 140 , 34 9 n . 2 7 Chamberlain, Joseph , 2 1 Chamberlain, Neville , 27 , 34 , 35 ; hostilit y toward Jew s of , 3 7 Charles Williams (Hadfield) , 199 , 35 2 n . 17 Charles William s Societ y i n Britain , 19 2 Chaucer, G. , 3 , 19 , 56 , 318 . See also "Prioress Tale , The " Chesterton, A . K. , 26 , 33 7 n. 3 6 Chesterton, G . K. , 26 , 158 , 33 7 n . 36 ; as admirer o f Williams , 19 1 Cheyette, Bryan , 19 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 42 , 61, 62, 33 5 nn. 5 , 7 , 8 , 33 8 n . 61 , 340 n . 1 9 Chodorow, Nancy , 87 , 93 , 94 , 98 , 99 , 102, 105 , 125 , 146 , 170 , 206 , 242 , 251, 267, 34 4 n . 14 , 34 5 n. 2 7 Churchill, Winston , 16 , 27 , 40 , 139 , 336 n . 2 8

INDEX Clark, Hilda , 30 ; as pacifist i n Worl d Wa r 11,30 Commentary, symposiu m in , o n "Wha t Can W e D o abou t Fagin, " 67-69 , 341 n. 3 2 "Companions o f th e Co-Inherence , The, " 191, 217 . See also "Order o f th e Companions o f th e Co-Inherence' , Company We Keep y The: An Ethics of Fiction (Booth) , 44 , 33 9 n. 2 Concentration camps : Buchenwald , 40 ; Chelmo, 41 ; Dachau, 67 ; Treblinka, 40 . See also Auschwitz; Belse n Connolly, Cyril , 106 , 34 5 nn . 31 , 34, 39 ; Theory o f permanen t adolescenc e by , 103 Conrad, Joseph , 27 7 Conway, Florence , 198 ; courtship an d marriage t o Williams , 199-20 3 Count Your Dead: They Are Alive (Lewis), 160-61 ; virulen t anti-Semitis m in, 160 ; defense o f Hitle r in , 16 0 Courage to Heal, The: A Guide for Women Survivors of Sexual Abuse (Bas s and Davis) , 101 , 345 n. 28 Crick, Bernard : a s Orwell' s biographer , 115, 225 , 34 6 r . 5 1 Culture and Anarchy (Arnold) , 6 2 Cumberland, Richard , 4 8 Cunningham, Valentine , 29 , 33 , 115 , 117 , 121, 137 , 196 , 263 , 337 n. 33 , 345 n. 4 1 Dabydeen, David , 3 , 33 5 n. 5 Daiches, David , 31 , 337 n. 3 3 Daly, Mary , 8 1 Daniel Deronda (Georg e Eliot) , 3 , 49 , 6 0 Davis, Laura , 13 , 99, 102 , 103 , 107 , 114 , 246, 25 2 Decker, Hannah , 84 , 34 3 n . 8 Deconstructionist criticism , 7 0 Decree o f th e Latera n Counci l o f 1215 , 1 8 Derrida, Jacques , 71 , 75 Devil and the Jews, The: The Medieval Conception of Jews and Its Relation to Modern Antisemitism (Trachtenberg) , 53, 34 0 n. 1 6 Dews, A . R. , 3 4 Dickens, Charles , 48-51 , 56 , 123 , 318; as friend o f th e Jews, 9 ; childhoo d of ,

375

discussed b y Greene , 245 ; Jewish stereotype establishe d by , 19 , 45-70 , 174, 34 0 n . 15 , 33 9 n. 10 . See also Fagin; Oliver Twist; Our Mutual Friend Difference and Pathology (Gilman) , 18 , 21, 66 , 73 , 74 , 78 , 150 , 175 , 190 , 207 , 226, 237 , 306 , 33 3 n. 6 , 33 4 n . 16 , 350 n . 5 7 Dinnerstein, Dorothy , 13 , 93, 96 , 97 , 126 , 170, 201 , 212, 250 , 28 8 Disraeli, Benjamin , 20 , 52 , 33 5 n . 7 ; an d philo-Semitic texts , 2 0 Dolanova, Ver a Ebel , 62 , 34 1 n . 2 9 "Dread o f Women , The " (Horney) , 9 4 Dual Image, The (Fisch) , 58 , 33 4 nn . 2 , 3 , 340 n. 2 0 Du Maurier , Daphne , 60 , 281 , 341 n . 25 . See als o Progress of Julius, The Du Maurier , George , 57 , 34 1 n . 25 . Se e also Trilby Eagleton, Terry , 9 , 17 , 31 , 71, 75, 108 , 333 nn. 6 , 8 , 33 4 n . 16 ; and Marxis t criticism, 71 . See also Literary Theory Eden, Anthony , 4 1 Edward I , 42 ; and th e "Statutu m d e Judaismo," 1 8 Edward, Princ e o f Wales , 3 8 Egoist Press: Lewis's Tarr publishe d in , 168, 35 0 n . 5 0 Eliot, George , 3 , 48 , 49 , 60 , 34 0 n . 2 3 Eliot, T . S. , 3 , 31 , 64, 290 , 304 , 33 6 n . 19, 33 9 n . 1 , 34 2 nn . 40 , 42 , 43 , 35 0 n . 43, 35 1 n . 5 , 357 n. 36 ; and attitud e toward Jews , 51 ; and "innocen t prewa r anti-Semitism," 24 ; a s champio n o f Williams, 191 , 194 , 195 , 214 , 215 ; as model o f literar y prejudice , 68 ; as supporter o f Lewis , 161 , 168 , 172 . Works cited : "Afte r Strang e Gods, " 69 ; "Burbank wit h a Baedeker: Bleistei n with a Cigar," 69 , 307 ; Complete Poems and Plays, 290 , 304 , 307 ; "Dirge," 69 ; "Gerontion," 69 , 304 ; "Introductio n t o Charles Williams' s All Hallows' Eve," 231, 35 2 n . 15 ; "Sweeney Amon g th e Nightingales," 69 ; "Tarr, " 168 , 35 0 n . 50; Waste Land, The, Ibl, 290 , 304 , 357 n. 3 6

37*

INDEX

Enemies of Promise (Connolly) , 106 , 345 n . 3 1 Enemy3 The (Meyers) , 119-7 6 passim , 347 n. 2 , 347 n. 8 , 34 8 nn . 18 , 19 , 2 0 English (British ) publi c schools , 13 , 14 , 103, 117 , 118 ; and description s o f thei r suffering in , b y Englis h authors , 105 ; connection t o fascisti c value s of , 116 ; Cunningham's dismissa l o f lin k betwee n fascism, concentratio n camp s and , 115 ; homosexuality a s cardina l si n in , 109 ; prevalent bu t tabo o homosexualit y in , 112; sadism in , 106 ; St. Cyprian's a s example of , 106 ; sexual abus e in , 107 ; use o f Gestap o technique s in , 10 4 "F. Scot t Fitzgeral d an d Literar y Anti Semitism" (Hindus) , 62 , 33 9 n . 4 Fables of Aggression (Jameson) , 119 , 347 n. 1 Fagin, 9 , 17 , 48-51 , 56 , 57 , 63 , 64 , 278 , 340 n . 15 . See also Dickens, Charles ; Oliver Twist Faris, Miriam , 267 , 35 6 n . 19 , 35 7 n. 3 3 Fassbinder, Raine r Werner , 62 , 34 1 n . 2 9 Feder, Gottfried , 83 , 343 n. 6 Fellowship o f th e Ros y Dawn : Williams' s membership in , 215 , 21 6 Feminism and Psychoanalytic Theory (Chodorow), 98 , 34 3 n. 1 3 Feminist criticism , 67 , 7 0 Fiedler, Leslie , 3 , 5 , 6 , 67-7 7 passim , 83 , 192, 205 , 279 , 290 , 296 , 308 , 33 3 nn. 2 , 7, 34 1 n . 34 ; an d Oedipa l theory , 66 ; and orthodo x Freudianism , 76 ; as ethical critic , 67 ; praise o f Greene' s pro Jewish action s a s oppose d t o hi s anti Semitic fictio n characters , by , 264 , 266 ; psychoanalytic orientatio n of , 63 ; view of anti-Semitis m i n Stamboul Train by , 285, 305 . Work s cited : "Negr o an d Jew, Encounte r i n America, " 63 , 65, 333 n. 4 , 34 1 n.30 ; Stranger in Shakespeare, 63-65 , 205 , 33 3 n . 4 , 341 n . 33 ; "To th e Gentiles, " 3 , 33 3 n . 2; "Wha t Ca n W e D o abou t Fagin? " 63-69, 192 , 266 , 296 , 308 , 33 3 n. 4 , 34 1 Fisch, Harold , 21 , 58, 59 , 75-76 , 234 , 334 n. 2 , 34 0 n . 23 , 34 1 n . 2 3

Foreign an d Colonia l Offices , 34 , 37 , 39 , 40, 43 , 33 7 n. 43 , 33 8 nn . 45 , 46 , 48 , 50, 55-6 0 Forster, E . M. , 6 , 31 , 97; and hi s long suppressed homosexuality , 113 ; denouncement o f anti-Semitis m by , 117 ; See also "Jew Consciousness " For Your Own Good (Miller) , 88 , 100 101, 34 4 n . 1 5 Foucault, Michel , 70 , 71 , 342 n . 45 , 342 n . 47 ; and discours e o f power , 70 , 342 n . 44 ; an d rhetori c o f power , 70 , 342 n . 4 4 Fraiberg, Selma , 10 2 Freikorpsmen, 10 , 61 , 126 , 85-10 1 passim , 108, 130 , 134 , 138 , 140 , 145 , 169 , 187 , 205, 219 , 243 , 316 ; fascism an d misogyny of , 12 ; fear o f Jewis h riflewomen by , 86 ; Nazi ideolog y of , 12; text s of , 237 ; White Terro r of , 1 2 Freud, Dora, and Vienna 1900 (Decker) , 84, 34 3 n . 8 Freud, Sigmund , 84 , 97 ; admitted t o Britain, 33 ; phallocentric theor y of , 93 ; psychoanalysis originate d by , 63 ; psychoanalytic theor y of , 66 , 35 3 n . 3 1 Freud, Sophie , 12 , 33 4 n . 1 5 From Shylock to Svengali (Rosenberg) , 55 , 333 n. 7 , 34 0 n . 17 , 35 0 n . 6 1 Futurist Manifesto (Marinetti) , 8 1 "Garbage, th e City , an d Death , The " (Fassbinder), 6 2 Garrard, John , 65 , 34 2 n . 3 6 Gates, Loui s Henry , 71 , 72, 73 , 7 6 Gerhardi, William , 6 German Freikorpsmen . See Freikorpsme n Gilman, Sander , 14 , 20 , 66 , 68 , 73 , 74, 78, 89 , 150 , 175 , 176 , 189 , 190 , 207 , 226, 237 , 306 , 33 3 n . 6 , 33 4 n . 16 , 339 n. 12 , 34 2 n . 48 ; and object s relations theory , 76 ; and Victoria n representation o f Jews an d blacks , 8 3 Grebanier, Bernard , 53 , 33 9 n . 1 4 Greene, Graham , 31 , 64, 68 , 79 , 80 , 2 4 1311, 315 , 34 5 n. 34 ; an d courtshi p an d marriage t o Vivie n Daynell-Brown , 259-63; an d psychoanalysis , 257 , 258 ; and shor t membershi p i n th e

INDEX Communist party , 265 ; agonizin g feeling o f inauthenticit y of , 242 ; as border a t Berkhamsted School , 246-55 ; as Catholic Freudian , 245 ; as friend o f the Israel i govenment , 264 ; attempt t o escape boredo m an d emptines s by , 242 ; attitude towar d Virgini a Wool f by , 81 ; bipolar system o f virgi n an d whore in , 305, 306 ; compulsive trave l int o dangerous place s of , 241 ; condemnation of Naz i persecutio n o f Jews by , 263 ; conversion t o Catholicis m by , 241 , 242, 261, 277 ; defense o f th e Jews i n wartime radi o broadcast s by , 264 ; emptiness an d boredo m of , 93 , 241; Jewish stereotype d character s create d by, 5 , 305 ; need t o defen d agains t female powe r of , 85 ; need t o prov e himself a man, of , 242 ; postwar revisions o f anti-Semitis m i n Brighton Rockt Stamboul Train an d Guns for Sale by, 309 , 33 4 n . 13 , 35 6 n . 18 , 35 7 n . 38; recurrent nightmare s an d phobia s of, 253 ; relationship t o father , 249-53 ; relationship t o mother , 247-48 , 35 5 nn. 8, 14 , 16 ; rigidity an d preoccupatio n with control , boundaries , an d powe r by, 89 ; Russian roulett e playe d by , 241 , 261; stron g stan d agains t fascis m by , 263; stron g stan d agains t Nazis m an d Hitler by , 263 , 264 ; suicidal depressio n of, 241 , 35 4 n. 1 ; suicide attempt s a s a boy of , 241 , 257 ; traumatic childhoo d of, 242 , 245-58 ; unconscious anti Semitism i n the novel s of , 263 , 289 ; use of Jew a s authorial representativ e by , 279, 287, 289 , 310 ; use of Jews a s receptacles fo r spli t of f pai n an d self loathing by , 243 , 266 , 279 . Work s cited : Brighton Rock, 264 , 268 , 298 , 299 , 304 7 passim, 309 , 35 6 n . 22 , 35 7 n. 37 ; "Burden o f Childhood , The, " 245, 355 n . 5 ; Gun for Sale, 264 , 268 , 296 309, 35 6 n . 22 , 35 7 n. 32 ; Journey without Maps, 244 , 246 , 247 , 35 5 n . 6 ; Lawless Roads, 244 , 252 , 253 , 35 5 n . 7 ; Man within, The, 267-77 , 282 , 283 , 286, 289 , 295 , 301 , 35 6 n . 21 ; Name of Action, The, 10 , 267 , 268 , 276-88 , 295 ,

377

296, 299 , 308 , 35 6 n . 25 ; Old School, The, 250 , 34 5 n . 33 , 34 , 34 5 n . 42 , 355 n . 9 ; Other Man, The, 244 , 246 , 258, 264 , 266 , 290 , 35 5 n . 12 ; Rumour at Nightfall, 276 ; Sort of Life, A, 244 66 passim, 268 , 276 , 290 , 33 4 n . 13 , 345 n . 38 , 354n . 1 , 35 5 n . 12 ; Stamboul Train (Orient Express), 264, 267 , 268 , 284-96, 302-1 0 passim , 35 6 nn . 26 , 28 ; War in Heaven, 277; Ways of Escape, 244, 276 , 35 6 n . 2 3 "Greeneland," 106 , 242 , 35 4 n . 2 ; betrayal as prominent featur e in , 25 6 Griffin, Susan , 8 1 Griffiths, Richard , 23 , 33 6 n . 1 8 Gynocentric theory(ists) , 9 3 "H. G . Well s an d th e Jews: Anti Semitism, Socialis m an d Britis h Culture'* (Cheyette) , 61 , 33 5 n . 8 , 338 n . 6 1 Hadfield, Alic e Mary , 193-21 0 passim , 214, 35 2 nn . 17 , 18 , 20 , 22 , 35 3 nn . 24 , 36 Harvey, Joh n Hooper , 2 6 Heart of Darkness (Conrad) , 27 7 Himmelfarb, Gertrude , 24 , 33 6 n . 2 1 Hindus, Milton , 46 , 62 , 33 9 n . 4 Hitler, Adolph , 16 , 24 , 25 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 34 , 37, 41 , 42 , 53 , 70 , 81 , 83 , 85 , 285 , 309 , 343 n . 7 ; an d th e Fina l Solution , 101 , 337 n. 44 ; as giving anti-Semitis m a bad name, 24 ; childhood of , a s described b y Miller, 88 , 100-101 , 103 , 271 ; eventual repudiation of , b y Lewis , 165 ; Lewis' s theory of , 164 ; seen b y William s a s defending hi s countr y agains t Jews, 234 . See also Lewis, Wyndham ; Greene , Graham; Williams, Charle s Holinshed, Ralph , 4 9 Holmes, Colin , 23 , 334-3 5 n . 4 Holocaust, 2 , 5 , 6 , 10 , 24 , 27 , 41 ; Williams minimizin g of , 234 ; victims of , 207 Hopes and Impediments (Achebe) , 3 , 333 n . 5 Horney, Karen , 13 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 98 , 125, 129 , 170 , 190 , 282 , 34 4 n . 2 4 Horton, L . M . 159 , 34 9 n . 4 0

378

INDEX

Howard, Thomas , 192 , 35 2 n . 1 1 Howe, Irving , 6 7 Hughes, Thomas , 10 7 Huxley, Aldous , 6 ; qualifie d statemen t o n Nazi atrocitie s by , 32 , 337 n. 3 8 "Ideology of Difference, An" (Said) , 72 , 343 n. 4 9 Inklings, The , 207 ; C. Williams , C . S . Lewis, J. R . R . Tolkien , Doroth y L . Sayers, a s member s of , 19 1 Intentional Fallacy, The (Wimsat t an d Beardsley), 9 , 33 4 n . 1 1 International Jewis h conspiracy , 31 ; belief in, 25 ; personal versio n of , b y Britis h officials, 3 9 Irigaray, Luce , 8 1 Isherwood, Christoper , 6 , 31 , 32, 33 , 103, 116, 117 , 139 , 153 , 278, 279 , 34 5 n . 32 . See also Lions and Shadows Ivanhoe (Scott) , 4 9 Jacobson, Roman , 5 5 James, Henry , 60 . Se e als o Tragic Muse,

The

Jameson, Frederic , 119 , 131 , 139 , 143 , 17 3 Jeremy Crale (Walpole) , 105 , 111 , 345 n . 36, 34 6 n . 4 7 Jew(s): a s mode l o f th e doubl e image , 59 ; as mutilator an d usurer , 57 ; as religiou s symbols o f th e Antichrist , b y Williams , 206; a s Jungian archetype , 54 , 58 , 64 , 65; a s society' s prostitutes , 61 ; as stand in fo r evi l forces , 54 ; as symbo l o f Satanic lechery , 55 ; as villain(s), 3 , 56 , 57, 83 , 279; British histor y of , 3 , 16-43 ; canonical, o f Chaucer , Marlow , an d Shakespeare, 19 ; conspiracy myt h about, 72 , 34 0 n. 15 ; demonic, 54 ; female representation s of , 6 , 60 , 66 ; in (English) Britis h literatur e an d fiction , 5, 6 , 7 , 17 , 44-77 ; i n th e Warsa w ghetto, 164 ; literary constructio n of , 19 ; myth of , 54 , 58 , 64 ; of Palestine , 40 ; popular theor y abou t masochis m of , 176, 177 ; positive presentatio n o f characters of , 55 ; restriction agains t immigration of , 16 , 28 , 36-40 ;

stereotypes of , 5 ; a s the Wanderin g Jew, 5 2 feyju, The (Cumberland) , 4 9 Jew Bil l o f 1735 , 1 9 "Jew Consciousness " (Forster) , 117 , 346 n . 5 3 few in Drama, The (Landa) , 50 , 33 9 n . 8 few in English Fiction, The (Philipson) , 44, 47 , 48 , 33 9 n . 5 few in English Literature as Author and Subject, The (Calish) , 48 , 33 9 n . 7 few in the Literature of England, The: To the End of the 19th Century (Modder) , 50-52, 33 4 n . 3 , 33 9 n . 9 Jewish Board of Deputies, 19 , 20 , 2 8 Jewish People's Council against AntiSemitism and Fascism (JPC), 2 8 Jewish Representation in English Fiction and Society, 1875-1925: A Study in Semitism (Cheyette) , 6 2 Jew of Malta, The (Marlowe) , 47 , 4 9 Jews o f Europe , 8 , 29 , 30 , 40 , 53 , 206 ; extermination of , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 42 ; fat e of, 163 , 31 3 Johnson, Miriam , Jean , 93 , 125 , 34 4 n . 2 2 Joyce, James , 3 , 31 , 58, 61 , 181 ; attitude toward Jew s by , 179 . Se e also Ulysses Kazin, Alfred , 6 7 Kernberg, Otto , 13 , 59, 89 , 92 , 93 , 120 , 131, 145 , 234, 275 , 34 0 n . 22 , 34 4 nn . 20, 2 1 King Lear (Shakespeare) , 25 2 Kipling, Rudyard , 31 , 107 , 109-1 2 passim , 279, 34 5 n. 34 ; childhoo d of , discusse d by Greene , 245 ; See als o Stalkey and Co. Klein, Charlott e Lea , 59 , 60 , 68 , 75 , 341 nn . 24 , 25 , 26, ; attitud e towar d Zionism by , 61 ; devotion t o Catholic Jewish understandin g of , 59 ; work of , published i n Commentary an d Patterns of Prejudice, 6 1 Klein, Melanie , 12 , 13 , 87 , 88 , 93 , 94. See also "Notes o n Som e Schizoi d Mechanisms" Kovel, Joel, 11 , 65, 33 4 n . 14 . Se e als o White Racism: A Psychohistory Kristallnacht, 27 , 41 , 162 , 164 , 30 9

INDEX Kushner, Toni , 23 , 25 , 26 , 37 , 40 , 42 , 334 n . 4 , 33 5 nn . 4 , 5 , 33 6 nn . 16 , 17 , 26, 30 , 3 1 Lacqueur, Walter , 34 , 36 , 41 , 75 , 33 7 n. 4 4 Laing, R . D. , 10 1 Landa, M . J. , 50 , 76 , 33 9 n . 8 , 34 0 n . 1 5 Lang-Sims, Lois , 195 , 198 , 21 2 Lawrence, D . H. , 3 , 31 , 236 , 33 7 n. 37 ; link betwee n anti-Semitis m an d misogyny i n work of , 3 3 Lebzelter, Gisela , 23 , 25 , 33 5 nn . 4 , 10 , 13, 18 , 28 , 33 6 nn . 18 , 28 , 33 7 n . 37 , 338 n . 5 2 Leeper, Reginald , 3 5 Left Boo k Club , 32 , 161 , 33 7 n . 3 3 Lesbian, autho r as , 2 , 3 ; in literature , 3 ; character of , i n Greene , 28 4 Letters to Lalage (Lang-Sims) , 198 , 200 , 201, 203 , 209 , 210 , 35 1 nn . 2 , 3 , 35 2 n . 20 Letters of Wyndbam Lewis (Rose) , 129 , 130, 34 7 n . 13 , 34 8 n . 21 , 34 9 n . 2 4 Levin, Harry , 67 , 34 2 n. 3 7 Lew, Mike , 13 , 99 , 103 , 107 , 114 , 146 , 345 n . 2 9 Lewis, C . S. , 191 , 207, 208 . See also Inklings, Th e Lewis, Ceci l Day , 30 , 31 , 33 7 n . 3 5 Lewis, Wyndham , 6 , 32 , 68 , 74 , 119-87 , 201, 205 , 214 , 243 , 246 , 248 , 273 , 274 , 275, 282 , 298 , 300 , 311 , 314 , 315 , 349 n. 34 , 35 0 n. 51 ; ambivalence toward psychoanalysi s by , 124 , 125 , 145, 176 ; and attendanc e a t Rugby, 126 , 345 n . 44 ; and battl e wit h "Bloomsbury," 122 , 133 , 172 ; and bod y of anti-Semiti c writing , 207 ; and homosexual fantasies , 127 ; and stron g and exclusiv e mother-so n attachment , 124, 125 , 128-30 , 135 ; and temporar y emigration t o Canada , 136 , 140 , 163 ; and World Wa r I, 133 , 134 , 135 ; as classical narcissisti c personality , 93 ; as self-named "Enemy, " 119 , 120 ; attitude of, towar d Jews, 136-58 ; blindnes s of , 136, 141 ; childhood of , 124 ; chronic poverty of , 132 , 135 ; compulsive

379

heterosexual activit y of , 127 , 130 ; conception an d abandonmen t o f illegitimate childre n by , 130-31 ; crossing o f fictio n an d nonfictio n boundaries by , 142 ; dependency o n women of , 145 ; fascist opinion s by , 137-40; friendship wit h Poun d of , 131 ; hatred o f homosexualit y by , 127 , 147 ; horror an d terro r of femal e sexualit y of , 184; life histor y of , 148 ; links betwee n misogyny an d anti-Semitis m i n work of , 14; married t o Glady s Ann e Hoskin s (Froanna), 135 , 136 ; misognyny of , 131 , 136, 240 ; misogynist an d racis t ideolog y of, 190 ; need t o defen d agains t femal e power of , 85 ; paranoid an d narcissisti c authorial structur e of , 92 , 188 ; paranoid personality disorde r of , 119 ; paranoid system consistin g o f women , homosexuals, Jews , children , of , 120 ; persecution comple x of , 120 ; politics of , 27, 34 9 nn.25 , 34 ; preoccupation wit h control, boundaries , an d power, by , 89 ; reference t o "Lef t Win g Orthodoxy " by, 29 ; relationship t o hi s fathe r of , 126, 129 , 135 ; rejection o f nonwhites , members o f th e working class , an d communists, by , 120 ; support o f Hitle r and th e Naz i movemen t by , 123 , 137 , 139, 149 , 186 ; writing fo r Time and Tide by , 137 , 138 ; writing of , a s an expression o f th e "molte n colum n within," 121 . Se e als o Apes of God, The; Art of Being Ruled, The; Count Your Dead; Paleface. Work s cited : Apes of God, The, 125 , 138 , 153 , 166 , 172 86, 213 , 283 , 350 ; Art of Being Ruled, The, 125 , 137 , 141-50 , 152 , 156 , 161 , 165, 166 , 170 , 184 , 186 , 283 , 13 3 n. 1 , 347 n. 11 , 34 9 nn . 28 , 29 ; Blasting and Bomhardiering, 131 , 133 , 134 , 137 , 348 n . 22 , 34 7 n . 9 , 35 0 n . 48 ; "Cantleman's Sprin g Mate," 152 , 165 , 166-68, 180 , 35 0 n . 48 ; Count Your Dead: They Are Alive, 138 , 151 , 157 , 160, 161 , 164 , 350 , n . 42 ; Doom of Youth, 125 , 127 , 138 , 151 , 156 , 157 , 349 nn . 37 ; "Enemy o f th e Stars, " 140; Hitler, 137 , 139 , 151-56 , 164 , 174 ,

380

INDEX

Lewis, Wyndham , (Continued) 349 nn . 33 , 34, 35 ; Hitler Cult, The, 122, 140 , 161 , 163 , 350 n . 46 ; Jews, Are They Human, The, 122 , 139 , 141 , 161, 163, 172 , 35 0 nn. 44 , 45 ; " 'Lef t Wing 5 and th e C 3 Mind, " 138 ; Left Wings over Europe, 138 , 151 , 157 , 158-59 , 164 , 349 nn . 38 , 39 , 41 ; Paleface, 125 , 141, 142, 143 , 151 , 152 , 156 , 174 , 347 n. 12 , 349 nn . 30 , 31 ; Rude Assignment: An Intellectual Biography, 122 , 125 , 126 , 127, 128 , 134 , 158 , 164 , 165 , 347 n. 5 , 347 n. 15 , 34 8 n . 17 , 43 9 n . 32 , 35 0 n . 47; Satire and Fiction, 172 , 173 , 35 0 n . 54; Self Condemned, 141 ; Tarr, 121 , 130, 131 , 161 , 165 , 166 , 168-70 , 175 , 220, 227 , 34 7 n. 6 , 35 0 nn. 50 , 5 2 Life of Graham Greene, The (Sherry) , 241-65 passi m Lions and Shadows (Isherwood) , 116 , 278, 345 n. 46 , 34 6 n . 5 2 Literary Theory (Eagleton) , 9 , 17 , 31 , 71, 75, 33 3 nn. 6, 8 Little Hug h o f Lincoln , 1 8 Loewald, Hans , 87 , 98 , 34 4 n . 1 3 Londonderry, Lord , 27 , 33 6 n . 2 9 Loom of Youth (Waugh) , 112 , 34 6 n . 49 ; as expos e o f Sherborn e School , 112 ; Lewis attac k agains t them e of , 127 , 15 6 MacNeice, Louis , 3 1 Mahler, Margaret , 12 , 87 , 98 ; Benjamin' s criticism of , 9 7 Male Fantasies vol. 1. Women, Floods, Bodies, History (Theweleit) , 12 , 84-87 , 334 n . 12 , 34 3 nn. 9 , 10 , 1 2 Male Fantasies vol. 2. Male Bodies: Psychoanalyzing the White Terror (Theweleit), 12 , 84 , 85 , 148 , 168 , 33 4 n . 12, 34 3 n. 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 Mansfield, Katherine , 3 3 Marconi Scanda l o f 1911-13 , 2 1 Marinetti, F . T. , 81 , 121 , 131 , 132 , 138 , 140 Maritain, Jacques , 20 6 Marlowe, Christopher , 19 , 47 , 4 9 Marxism, 76 , 8 2 Marxist criticism , 7 0 Masaryk, Jan , 4 1

Massingham, Hugh , 6 2 Mead, Margaret , 99 , 34 4 n . 26 ; an d mal e initiation rites , 105 , 14 6 MeinKampf (Hitler) , 100 , 137 , 16 3 Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare) , 3 , 48, 49, 53 , 64 , 318 ; See also Shyloc k Mermaid and the Minotaur, The (Dinnerstein), 96 , 34 4 n . 2 5 Meyers, Jeffrey , 119-7 6 passi m Milford, Si r Humphrey , 19 7 Miller, Alice , 13 , 88 , 99 , 107 , 114 , 115 , 127, 246 , 253 , 258 , 271 , 290; an d th e repetition compulsion , 131 ; poisonous pedagogy describe d by , 104 , 11 0 Millett, Kate , 13 , 80 , 82 , 84 , 89 , 93 , 116 , 121, 144 , 187 , 288 , 34 3 n. 6 ; identification o f lin k betwee n misogyn y and racis m by , 80 , 83 , 31 6 Mitchell, Gina , 6 2 Michtison, Naomi , 17 3 Modder, Montague , 5 , 50-52 , 56 , 71 , 76, 334 n . 3 , 33 9 nn. 9 , 14 ; distinction o f better fro m wors e Jews by , 5 2 Moseley, Oswald , 7 , 309 ; close associatio n with Lewi s by , 13 8 Moseley's Britis h Unio n o f Fascist s (BUF), 7 , 25 , 26 , 28 , 30 , 34 , 234 , 30 9 Mussolini, B. , 25 , 37 ; Lewis admiratio n of, 13 8 Mythlore: journa l devote d t o work s o f Tolkien, Lewis , an d Williams , 192 , 352 n . 12 ; Nancy-Lou Patterso n a s editor of , 19 3 Nadell, Ir a B. , 20 , 33 5 nn. 6 , 8 , 9 , 35 0 n . 60 Nana (Zola) , 23 7 National Counci l fo r Civi l Liberties , 2 8 Nature of Prejudice (Allport) , 115 , 33 4 n . 14 Nazi atrocities : Huxley' s statemen t on , 32; Britis h disbelie f of , 33-4 3 Nazi Germany (Wolf) , 26 , 33 6 n . 2 5 Nazi(sm), 3 , 16 , 17 , 20 , 30 , 34 , 42 , 62 , 101, 187 ; and hatre d o f Jews, 86 ; Nazism a s a misogynist system , 8 3 Neurotic Styles (Shapiro) , 91 , 196 , 34 4 n . 19 New criticism . See Ne w literar y criticis m

INDEX New literar y criticism , 8 , 9 , 44 , 71 , 76, 312 New Testament , 17 , 22 , 34 3 n. 51 ; as earliest literatur e whic h attacke d th e Jews, 49 ; Christia n ambivalenc e towar d the Jews expresse d in , 5 8 Nicols, Beverly , 3 5 Nicolson, Harold , 31 , 37, 41 , 338 n . 5 2 Niederland, William , 88 , 34 4 n. 16 ; an d revision o f Freud' s Schrebe r case , 8 8 "Notes o n Som e Schizoi d Mechanisms " (Klein), 94 , 34 4 n . 23 . "Now an d Sevent y Year s Ago " (Garrard) , 65, 34 2 n. 3 6 Object relation s theory , 12 , 13 , 99 Obsessive Personality, The (Salzman) , 89 , 344 n . 1 7 Oedipal theory , 66 , 76 , 87 , 123 , 125 , 344 n . 1 3 Oldfield, Sybil , 12 , 30 , 81 , 82, 131 , 337 n . 34, 34 3 n. 1 , 4 Old Testament , 17 , 22 , 58 , 34 3 n. 51 ; story o f Abraha m an d Isaa c in , 64 ; story o f Judith an d Holoferne s in , 7 3 Old School The (Raven) , 111 , 345 n. 34 , 346 n . 4 8 Oliver Twist (Dickens) , 3 , 49 , 318 . See also Fagin "On Lewi s Politics " (Chace) , 140 , 34 9 n . 27 "On 'th e Ric h Jew* of Fassbinder : A n Essay o n Literar y Antisemitism " (Dolanova), 62 , 34 1 n . 2 9 "Order o f th e Companion s o f th e Co Inherence, The, " 193 ; membership in , by Gle n Cavaliero , Ann e Ridler , Mar y McDermott Shidele r an d Kathlee n Spencer, 193 ; Williams's foundin g of , 206; Mar y Alic e Hadfiel d a s on e o f th e founding member s of , 193 ; importan t position i n Williams' s lif e of , 20 8 Orientalism (Said) , 7 , 71 , 202; an d Western ethnocentri c discourse , 71 , 333 n. 6 , 34 2 n . 4 5 Orwell, George , 6 , 11 , 24, 29 , 30 , 31, 127, 128 , 289 , 290 , 33 6 n. 23 , 34 5 nn . 34, 40 , 34 6 n . 50 , 347 n. 16 ; and hi s public schoo l experience , 105 , 106 ; as a

381

victim o f post-traumati c stres s disorder , 114; attitud e towar d Jews , 32-33 . See also "Such, Suc h Wer e th e Joys. " Works cited : "Anti-Semitis m i n Britain," 116 ; 1984, 110 , 116 , 209 ; "Notes o n Nationalism, " 116 , 33 6 n . 39; "Shootin g a n Elephant, " 116 ; "Such, Suc h Wer e th e Joys," 108 , 113 , 116, 289 , 290 , 33 7 n. 39 , 34 5 n . 3 5 Other Germany, The (Bolhito) , 34 , 33 7 n . 42 Our Mutual Friend (Dickens) , 4 8 Oxford Universit y Pres s (OUP) , 35 3 n . 28; an d connectio n wit h William , 189 , 195, 196 , 202 ; a s publisher o f Williams' s poems, 19 7 Paleface (Lewis) , blatan t racis m in , 149 51; attac k o n D . H . Lawrenc e in , 149 , 150, 15 1 Palestine, 21 , 22, 37 , 38 , 39 ; as Jewish homeland, 22 ; Wells i n favo r of , a s a Jewish homeland , 22 . See also Zionis m Paris, Mathew , 4 9 Patterson, Nancy-Lou , 193 , 200, 201, 352 nn . 12 , 2 3 Penkower, Mont y Noam , 34 , 40 , 337 n . 44, 33 8 n . 5 1 Philipson, Rabb i David , 5 , 44 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 71, 76 ; and hi s theor y o f agency , 4 7 Pogroms, 23 , 27. See also Kristallnach t Porteus, Hugh , 130 , 136 , 172 . Se e als o Satire and Fiction "Portrait o f th e Jew i n Englis h an d German Fictio n an d Drama , The " (Klein), 59 , 43 1 n . 2 4 Post-Holocaust critics , 7 6 Poststructural critic(ism) , 3 , 7 , 8 , 9 Pound, Ezra , 24 , 32 , 64 , 137 ; antiSemitism linke d t o misogyn y of , 31 ; apology fo r hi s anti-Semitis m befor e hi s death by , 165 ; as supporte r o f Lewis , 161, 168 , 35 0 n. 51 ; enthusiastic revie w of Lewis' s Tarr by , 168 ; reception o f Bollingen Priz e by , 7 5 Price-Ward, George , 3 5 Prince o f Wales . See Edward , Princ e o f Wales "Prioress Tale , The " (Chaucer) , 3 , 56 , 31 8

382

INDEX

Progress of Julius, The (D u Maurier , D.) , 60, 34 1 n . 2 5 Projective identification , 59 , 65 , 234 , 281; in anti-Semitism , 59 ; in Williams , 212 ; originated b y Klein , 9 4 Protocols of the Elders of Zion, 21 , 25, 180, 235 , 33 5 n. 9 ; internationa l Jewis h conspiracy in , 30 2 Psychoanalysis, 76 , 30 1 Psychoanalytic: literar y criticism , 14 ; theory(ist), 3 , 312 , 313 , 31 4 Public schools . Se e Englis h publi c school s Rabinach, Anson , 85 , 34 3 n. 1 0 "Race," Writing, and Difference (Gates) , 71, 72 , publishe d i n tw o issue s o f Critical Inquiry, 33 3 n . 6 , 34 2 n . 48 , 343 nn. 49 , 50 , 5 2 Ratcliffe, Alexander , 2 6 Rathbone, Eleanor , 4 1 Raven, Simon , 111 , 112 , 34 5 n . 34 , 34 6 n . 48 Redeeming the Times (Maritain) , 20 6 Reed, Douglass , 26 , 3 5 Reed, John , 107 , 34 5 nn . 36 , 40 , 4 4 Rees, Si r Richard , 11 5 Richmond, Kenneth , 250 , 257-58 , 35 5 n . 14 Richmond, Zoe , 250 , 257-58 , 35 5 n . 1 4 Ricks, Christopher , 3 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 33 3 n . 4, 33 6 nn . 19 , 21 , 339 n . 11 , 342 nn . 42, 43 ; and anti-Semitis m i n Eliot' s poetry, 69 , 75 ; discussion o f Eliot' s insinuation t o trigge r prejudic e by , 6 9 Ridler, Anne , 200 , 203 , 207, 35 1 n . 5 , 352 n . 23 , 35 3 n . 3 5 Riegner, Dr . Gerhart , 3 5 Rosenberg, Edgar , 5 , 55 , 59 , 68 , 75-7 7 passim, 83 , 158 , 237 , 256 , 34 0 n . 19 , 341 n . 23 ; and lis t o f anima l metaphor s for Jews , 278 ; praise o f Green e fo r hi s pro-Jewish action s a s opposed t o hi s anti-Semitic fictiona l characters , by , 264-66; commen t o n Williams' s anti Semitism by , 192 ; view o f anti-Semitis m in Stamboul Train by , 28 5 Rosenberg, Harold , 67 , 34 2 n . 3 8 Rosenfeld, Isaac , 192 , 35 2 n . 9 Royden, Maude , 30 , 33 7 n. 3 4

Ruderman, Judith , 31 , 337 n. 3 7 Rychlak, Josep h F. , 188 , 190 , 207 , 220 , 254, 35 1 n . 1 , 35 2 n . 1 6 Said, Edward , 7 , 70 , 76 , 202 , 33 3 n . 6 , 342 n . 45 , 34 3 n. 49 ; and attack s o n Israeli imperialism , 7 2 Salomon, Ernst , 87 , 34 3 n. 1 1 Salzman, Leon , 13 , 89 , 93 , 108 , 147 , 177 , 189, 190 , 194 , 34 4 n . 1 7 Sartre, Jean Paul , 11 , 139 , 33 4 n . 1 4 Satire and Fiction, 172 , 17 3 Schapiro, Karl , 6 7 Schiff, Sidney , 17 8 Schiff, Violet , 17 8 Scott, Walter , 49 , 5 7 Seldon, Raman , 44 , 33 9 n . 1 , 34 2 n . 44 , 342 nn . 46 , 4 7 Sex and Character (Weininger) , 8 4 Sexual Politics (Millett), 82 , 84 , 316 , 343 nn. 5 , 6 , 7 Seymour-Smith, Martin , 13 9 Shakespear, William , 19 , 48-5 0 passim , 57, 318 ; and hi s representatio n o f women, blacks , an d Jews, 65 ; attitude s toward Jew s of , 19 , 45-70 ; Jewis h stereotype establishe d by , 174 , 179 . See also Shy lock; Merchant of Venice; King Lear Shapiro, David , 13 , 88 , 89 , 93 , 101 , 102, 105, 107 , 126 , 147 , 189 , 190 , 197 , 206 , 209, 213 , 34 4 nn . 18 , 19 , 34 7 n. 3 Shaw, B. , 31 , 341 n . 27 ; an d ambivalenc e of portrai t o f Jews by , 6 2 Sheepshanks, Mary , 3 0 Sherry, Norman , 241-6 5 passim , 35 4 n . 1 , 355 n . 14 , 35 6 n . 24 , 35 7 n. 3 1 Shideler, Mar y McDermott , 203 , 35 1 n . 4 , 352 n . 2 2 Shuckburgh, Si r John, 39 , 33 8 n . 6 0 Shylock, 5 , 17 , 48-5 1 passim , 56 , 57 , 64 , 67, 69 , 110 , 278 , 290 . Se e als o Merchant of Venice; Shakespeare , Willia m Shylock: The History of a Character (Sinsheimer), 52 , 33 9 n . 1 3 Sibley, Agnes , 216 , 35 2 nn . 8 , 13 , 22 Simon, Shera , 3 0 Sinsheimer, Hermann , 52 , 53 , 33 9 n . 1 3 Sisson, C . H. , 139 , 34 9 n . 2 5

INDEX Smith, Elaine , 23 , 336 nn . 16 , 3 1 Smith, Graham , 287 "Snow Queen , The " (H . C . Andersen) , 265; Ka y in , 265 , 299, 30 0 Snow, C . P. , 6 , 5 8 Snow, T . M. , 3 9 Social Mobility in the English Bildungsroman (Alden) , 9 , 33 4 n . 1 0 Spanish Civi l War , 29 , 138 ; compared t o Munich, 3 0 Speed, John , 4 9 Spencer, Katherine , 197 , 199 , 228 , 35 2 n . 19 Spender, Stephen , 29 , 31 , 67, 153 , 337 n . 33, 34 2 n . 39 , 34 5 n. 42 ; and Jewis h problem o f self-consciousness , 67 ; parodied b y Lewis , 18 3 Stalky and Co. (Kipling) , 107-12 , 116 , 279, 34 5 n. 45 ; and worl d governe d b y homoerotic an d sadomasochisti c code , 109; "double-think " in , 11 0 Stern, Daniel , 87 , 34 4 n . 1 4 Stockard, Jean , 93 , 125 , 34 4 n . 2 2 "Such, Suc h Wer e th e Joys" (Orwell) , 108, 113 , 116 , 289 , 290 , 337 n. 39 , 345 n. 35 ; and attemp t b y Andre w Go w at suppression , 115 ; and discredite d b y biographer Bernar d Crick , 115 ; Coli n Kirkpatrick's rebutta l o f them e of , 115 ; description o f Orwell' s ow n traumati c public schoo l experienc e in , 113 , 115; repudiation b y hi s tutor , 11 5 Svengali, 57 , 281 , 341 n . 23 . Se e als o Trilby; D u Maurier , Georg e Symons, Julian , 134 , 142 , 143 , 161, 347 n. 4 T. S. Eliot and Prejudice (Ricks) , 68 , 333 n. 4 Taylor, A . J . P. , 33 , 34 , 33 5 n. 10 , 33 7 n . 40 Terr, Leonore , 13 , 99, 102 , 114 , 34 5 n . 30; an d textua l production s o f Hitchcock, Poe , an d King , 102 ; stud y of Chowchill a kidnappin g by , 10 3 Theweleit, Klaus , 10 , 12 , 13 , 61 , 80, 84 , 85, 90 , 93 , 97, 99 , 167 , 206 , 237 , 316 ; overliteral us e o f objec t relation s theor y

383

by, 87 , 89 ; use o f psychoanalyti c theor y by, 12 . Se e als o Male Fantasies Thirties and After, The (Spender) , 34 , 337 nn. 33 , 4 0 Thorpe, W . A. , 143 , 249 n . 2 8 Three Guineas (Woolf) , 156 , 34 3 n . 2 Thurlow, Richard , 23 , 33 6 n . 1 8 Todorov, Tzevetan , 73 , 343 n . 5 2 Tolkien, J . R . R. , 191 , 207. See also Inklings, Th e Tom Brown's School Days (Hughes) , 10 7 Trachtenberg, Rabb i Joshua, 53 , 56 , 58 , 75, 230 , 33 9 n . 1 4 Tragic Muse, The (James) , 6 0 Treitschke, Heinric h von , 81 , 343 n. 4 Trilby (D u Maurier) , 57 , 34 1 n . 25 . See also Svengali Trilling, Lionel , 24 , 33 6 n . 1 9 Trollope, A. , 3 , 51 , 57, 60 , 61 , 335 n . 7 , 340 n. 19 . Work s cited : Prime Minister, 60, 33 5 n. 7 ; Way We Live Now, The, 3, 51 , 57, 35 5 n . 7 Truth about Shylock, The (Grebanier) , 53 , 339 n . 1 4 Turnell, Martin , 261 , 356 n . 20 , 35 7 n. 3 3 Ulysses (Joyce), 4 , 31 , 61, 186 , 34 0 n . 2 3 Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Sexual Child Abuse (Lew), 102 , 34 5 n . 2 9 Waite, A . E. , 199 , 200 , 34 3 n . 9 , 35 2 nn . 22, 2 3 Walpole, Hugh , 105 , 112 , 34 5 nn. 34 , 36 . See als o Jeremy Crale Wasserstein, Bernard , 34 , 38 , 39 , 33 5 n . 12, 33 6 n . 32 , 337 nn. 43 , 44 Watson, George , 24 , 30 , 33 6 nn . 20 , 22 , 337 nn. 33 , 3 5 Waugh, Alec , 112 . Se e als o Loom of Youth Waugh, Evelyn , 6 , 137 , 34 5 n . 3 4 Webster, Nesta , 25 , 158 , 33 6 n . 2 4 Weil, Simone , 29 , 3 0 Weininger, Otto , 162 , 279 ; a s Jewish anti Semite an d misogynist , 8 4 Wells, H . G. , 21 , 22, 31 , 335 n. 8 ; an d anti-Semitism, 41 ; attitude agains t

384

INDEX

Wells, H . G . {Continued) Zionism by , 62 ; development o f anti Semitism of , 61-62 . See also " H. G . Wells an d th e Jews." Work s cited : Marriage, 21 , 61, 341 n . 25 ; TonoBungay, 6 1 West, Rebecca , 151 , 168 , 34 9 n. 32 , 350 n . 52 ; comparison o f Lewis' s Tarr to Dostoevsk y by , 16 8 White Racism: A Psychohistory (Kovel) , 11, 34 2 n . 1 , 34 2 n . 3 5 Williams, Bill , 2 5 Williams, Charles , 6 , 64 , 68 , 79 , 243 , 246, 274, 275 , 282 , 298 , 300 , 303 , 309 , 310 , 311, 314 , 315 , 35 2 n . 8 ; an d sadisti c religious mentorship , 93 ; and th e Oxford Universit y Press , 189 , 210 , 233; and importanc e o f Kin g Arthu r an d th e Holy Grai l (Graal ) legend , 189 , 197 , 223; a s modern exampl e o f anti Semitism, 192 ; attitude towar d Virgini a Woolf of , 81 ; characterized b y rigidit y and preoccupatio n wit h contro l boundaries an d power , 89 ; critica l reaction t o wor k of , 191-93 ; framewor k of Anglica n Christianit y of , 190 ; gende r patterns o f dominanc e an d victimizatio n of, 82 ; hatred an d venom , toward women an d Jews by , hidde n unde r religiosity, 240 ; image o f extrusio n presses i n writin g of , 189 ; interest i n freemasonry, th e Kabbalah , th e Tarot , and Rosicrucianis m by , 99 , 200 ; loathing o f femal e sexualit y by , 203 ; marriage of , t o Florenc e Conway , 202 ; membership i n inne r circl e o f th e Companions o f Co-Inherenc e by , 191 ; need t o defen d agains t femal e powe r of , 85; relationshi p wit h hi s disciple s of , 210; ritua l sadis m towar d wome n of , 190; romanti c lov e fo r Phylli s Jones by , 202, 203 ; terror o f wome n by , 204 ; th e double rol e o f Jews an d black s i n writing of , 219 ; "Thi s als o i s Thou : neither i s Thou" a s magic formul a by ,

189, 35 1 n . 3 ; use o f Jew a s sel f by , 237; Worl d Wa r I I year s i n Oxfor d of , 207. Se e als o All Hallows' Eve. Work s cited: All Hallows' Eve, 192 , 214 , 2 3 140, 236-40 , 35 4 n . 41 ; "Black Lette r Days," 201 ; Figure of Beatrice, The, 193, 203 , 221; House of Octopus, The, 220; "Jews , The, " 206 , Outlines of Romantic Theology, 203 ; Region of the Summer Stars, The, 193 , 208-10 ; Shadows o f Ecstacy , 200 , 214-22 , 235 , 236, 35 3 n. 34 , 35 4 n . 39 ; Silver Stair, 198; War in Heaven, 214 , 222-31 , 233 , 237, 35 3 n . 37 ; Witchcraft, 201 , 204, 220, 235 , 25 4 Wimsatt, W . K. , 9 , 33 4 n . 1 1 Wolf, John , 66 , 158 , 33 6 n . 2 5 Women Against the Iron Fist (Oldfield) , 81 Woolf, Virginia , 13 , 30, 31 , 68, 80-8 3 passim, 93 , 97 , 108 , 111 , 116 , 121 , 288, 342 n. 41 , 347 n. 1 0 ; anti-Semitism of , 137; Cambridg e an d Oxfor d identifie d as seats o f mal e trainin g by , 108 ; girlhood inces t experience s of , 123 ; misogyny an d racis m linke d togethe r by, 80 . Se e also Three Guineas World Jewis h Congress , 3 5 World Jewry , 2 1 World Wa r I , 21 , 23, 25, 30 ; an d Freikorpsmen, 84 . See also Lewis ,

Wyndham

World Wa r II , 3 , 21 , 26, 32 , 76 , 165 ; and Wells, 62 ; an d attitud e o f Britis h government t o Jews, 112 ; influence of , on representatio n o f Jew s i n Britis h fiction, 10 , 32 , 309 , 33 4 n . 13 , 356 n . 18, 357 n. 38 ; labeled a s th e "Jews ' War," 21 , 26, 34 , 23 4 Zeitlin, Jacob , 32 , 337 n. 3 8 Zionism(ist), 22 , 38 , 42 , 62 , 72 , 158 ; opposition to , b y Anglo-Jewry , 61 ; See also Klein, Charlott e Lea ; Palestin e Zygielbojm, Szum , 4 1