![]() In his writing, Dickens was the champion of such physically abused women as the sympathetic prostitute Nancy in Oliver Twist (whom the smitten Oliver of the musical so sweetly serenades). ![]() Perhaps that is why, when I reopened it this time, I was not only surprised anew by Dickens’ demonization of Fagin “the Jew,” I also could not ignore the depth of a second disconnect between Dickens the author and Dickens the man: his treatment of women. ![]() I must also admit that I chose to mostly avoid being reminded of Fagin by only infrequently taking my copy of Oliver Twist off the shelf. In 1865, after being admonished for his anti-Jewish portrait of Fagin, Dickens created a very positive - and rather forgettable - Jewish character in his final complete novel, Our Mutual Friend.Īnd so, over the years, I came to regard Fagin as a stain but not an obstacle to my vast enjoyment and admiration of Dickens’ great literary genius. ![]() Still, I must also give Dickens credit for his late-in-life attempt to offset his demonic portrait of Fagin, even if it took almost 30 years ( Oliver Twist was published in 1838 as his second novel). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |