The Gender Dimension of Yiddish Popular Literature in Shomer’s Writings Cover Image

Genderowy wymiar jidyszowej literatury masowej w twórczości Szomera
The Gender Dimension of Yiddish Popular Literature in Shomer’s Writings

Author(s): Adam Stepnowski
Subject(s): Jewish studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: popular literature; Yiddish literature; Shomer

Summary/Abstract: The article explores a model of construing gender in Yiddish shund (trash) literature. The author focuses on three aspects—womanhood, manhood, and relationships—comparing both cultural ideals and historical reality of Ashkenazic Jewry at the end of the nineteenth century with the gender roles constructed in the novels. The focus is placed on the stories of Nokhem Meir Shaykevitch (Shomer), the most popular shund writer of that time. The author of the article emphasizes the gender ideals in Shomer’s novels and investigates possible ideological inspirations that led the writer to bring the ideals to a textual level.

  • Issue Year: 24/2021
  • Issue No: 47
  • Page Range: 123-151
  • Page Count: 29
  • Language: Polish