Oppositional constructions of Jewishness, gender and ethnicity in the works of James Joyce (1882-1941) and Gertrud Kolmar (1894-1943) (Ireland).

Abstract

In this dissertation I explore the role that religious discourses (especially the Hebrew Bible), ethnic nationalist movements, and shifting configurations of gender played in the works of German-Jewish and Irish Catholic writers during the early twentieth century. I focus on the works of Gertrud Kolmar and James Joyce because they take up oppositional and critical positions vis-a-vis not only the dominant forces of their oppression, but also towards the movements and groups which fostered their oppositional consciences. Thus, while Kolmar found a defense against German anti-Semitism in Jewish tradition, she also struggled against the misogynistic discourses within Judaism. And while Joyce was adamant in his rebellion against the British Empire and the English language, he was equally committed to challenging the parochialism, anti-Semitism, and suffocating Catholicism of the Ireland from which he fled at age 22. The works of both authors are important today because they elucidate the inextricably bound nature of ethnic, religious and gender identities, and offer insights into our continuing struggle to deal with these issues and their modern origins in the early twentieth century.