Hideous Characters and Beautiful Pagans: Performing Jewish Identity on the Antebellum American Stage

297 Pages·2017·2.718 MB·English

by  Heather Nathans

Revised Pages
Hideous Characters and Beautiful Pagans
Revised Pages
Revised Pages
Hideous Characters and
Beautiful Pagans
Performing Jewish Identity on
the Antebellum American Stage
Heather S. Nathans
University of Michigan Press
Ann Arbor
Revised Pages
Copyright © 2017 by Heather S. Nathans
All rights reserved
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form
(beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except
by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publisher.
Published in the United States of America by the
University of Michigan Press
Manufactured in the United States of America
c Printed on acid- free paper
2020 2019 2018 2017 4 3 2 1
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication data has been applied for.
ISBN 978- 0- 472- 13030- 6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978- 0- 472- 12270- 7 (e- book)
Revised Pages
Acknowledgments
Many years ago while I was a PhD fellow at the McNeil Center for Early
American Studies, I met historian William Pencak. My time at the Mc-
Neil Center changed my life in many ways, and my first encounter with Bill
proved to be one of them. He was kind enough to show an interest in my re-
search while I was at the McNeil, and he followed my work after my gradu-
ation. An invitation from him to join a panel about Jewish representation in
early American culture led me down a research path I might not otherwise
have envisioned, and it ultimately led to this book. To the last, Bill encour-
aged my work, and he died far too soon on December 9, 2013.
Venturing into previously unknown research territory has allowed me
to build a new network of colleagues at institutions such as the American
Jewish Archives and the American Jewish Historical Society. While I was
in residence at these archives I drew eagerly on the wisdom of the archivists
who steered me toward sources that might be useful for my study. And while
I am always awestruck in an archive, the sheer determination and force of
will that created these two institutions still leaves me dumbfounded.
Throughout my research process I received support from a number
of institutions and foundations, including fellowships from the American
Society for Theatre Research, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a Gug-
genheim Foundation Fellowship, the Lowenstein- Wiener Fellowship at the
American Jewish Archives, the Sid and Ruth Lapidus Fellowship from the
American Jewish Historical Society, and the General Research Board of the
University of Maryland. Without the generosity of these institutions my
plunges into the archives would not have been possible, as I spent time trav-
eling between archives in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York,
North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and
Washington, DC. I owe special thanks to Harlan Greene and Dale Rosen-
garten at the College of Charleston; Gary Zola, Dana Herman, and Kevin
Proffitt at the American Jewish Archives; Cornelia S. King at the Library
Company of Philadelphia; and Stephen Ferguson at the Princeton Univer-
sity Library.
Revised Pages
vi Acknowledgments
Portions or earlier versions of this work have appeared in articles or
book chapters in previous publications. I thank the editors of those journals
and collections for the critiques that helped to shape and refine my argu-
ment. Thank you particularly to Toni Bowers, Tita Chico, Henry Bial, and
Scott Magelssen.
The encouragement and support of my colleagues at the University of
Maryland and Tufts University has been vital in sustaining forward mo-
mentum on this project over the past several years while I have transitioned
between institutions. Many thanks to those colleagues at UMD, including
Stephanie Bergwall, Faedra Carpenter, Laurie Frederik, Frank Hildy, San-
dra Jackson, Leigh Smiley, Dan Wagner, and Anne Warren, as well as my
former UMD students, who all graciously shared comments on various as-
pects of my work-i n- progress. At Tufts I encountered a similarly generous
community and have been so grateful for the observations and support of
department colleagues Joanne Barnett, Renata Celichowska, Rita Dioguar-
di, Barbara Grossman, Laurence Senelick, and Jo Williams, as well as my
Tufts graduate students who have read pieces of various chapters in class and
offered welcome critiques. I also extend my appreciation to friends across
the country, including Henry Bial, Dorothy Chansky, Mark Cosdon, Jean-
nine Dolan, Michelle Granshaw, Lisa Harvey, Amy Hughes, Odai Johnson,
Douglas A. Jones Jr., Karl Kippola, Adam Mendelsohn, Amanda Nelson,
Matthew Rebhorn, Peter Reed, the late Jeffrey Richards, AnnMarie Saun-
ders, Renee Serio, Matthew Shifflett, Naomi Stubbs, Kathy Weinstein, and
many others, for listening to me “pitch” various parts of my argument.
Over the past four years I have enjoyed working on an exhibit titled “By
Dawn’s Early Light: Jewish Contributions to American Culture from the
Nation’s Founding to the Civil War,” which premiered at the Center for Jew-
ish History in New York before it was transferred to the Princeton Uni-
versity Art Museum. The project emerged out of Leonard Milberg’s deep
commitment to telling the story of American Jews’ involvement in music,
art, theatre, literature, and science from the colonial period through the
mid- nineteenth century. I felt honored to collaborate on the project and very
grateful for Mr. Milberg’s interest in my work on those years. I have appreci-
ated our lengthy conversations, and his passion for bringing this aspect of
Jewish history to public attention has been inspiring.
I owe tremendous thanks and appreciation to Aaron Tobiason, who
assisted in so many ways with the completion of this manuscript. I first
worked with Aaron during his days in the graduate program at UMD, and
Revised Pages
Acknowledgments vii
it has been a joyful and humbling experience to see firsthand what a talented
scholar he has become. Throughout my first round of revisions on this work
I appreciated his penetrating questions and the humor with which he enliv-
ened even his most pointed observations. I also thank the outside readers
of the book manuscript. Their insights and thoughtful comments proved
extremely helpful during the final revisions to the project. And I am grateful
to the meticulous copy editors at Michigan for their thorough review of the
manuscript, particularly Kevin Rennells and Drew Bryan.
During the development of this book a series of family medical situa-
tions repeatedly upended carefully laid travel plans and pushed back antici-
pated deadlines. If nothing else, these past four years have encouraged me
to be more patient with my own work process. They have also given me a
profound sense of gratitude for the patience of my friends, colleagues, and
my editor, LeAnn Fields. All of them have been unwavering in their support,
and for that, I thank them— especially LeAnn.
Any scholar’s family has much to endure while watching the researcher
soar from giddy happiness when the work goes well to gloom and doom
when the work moves slowly. Elizabeth Studley Nathans, Stephen Nathans-
Kelly, Traci Nathans- Kelly, Henry Nathans-K elly, Sydney Nathans, and
Judith White all shared their encouragement throughout the research and
writing process. And I give my profound thanks and love to my husband,
Garvan Giltinan, who watched uncomplainingly as his wife drove off on
research trip after research trip and who learned not to wince too visibly
when I interrupted his writing with the phrase, “Can I read you something?”
He has heard almost every word of this book aloud at some point, though I
spared him the bibliography.
Acknowledgments are like Tony Award speeches: as soon as they are
over the speaker remembers friends and colleagues she has inadvertently
omitted. Coming to this point in a book process reminds the scholar how
much she owes to the generosity of others, but it is a welcome debt and one
I gladly assume.
Revised Pages
Revised Pages
Contents
Introduction: Something in the Jewish Character 1
Chapter 1 / Crisis and Change: Transforming Jewish
Masculinity from the Revolution to the Jew Bill of 1826 19
Chapter 2 / Blood and Sacrifice: Jewish Citizenship,
Masculinity, and Violence, 1826– 1861 51
Chapter 3 / Strangers in a Strange Land: From the
Wandering Jew to the Cosmopolitan Citizen 83
Chapter 4 / “For They Abide with Us”:
Forging Communities on and off the Stage 111
Chapter 5 / Beautiful Pagans: Dramatic
and Domestic Encounters 137
Chapter 6 / “If I Forget Thee”: Performing Jewish
Rituals on the Antebellum Stage 173
Epilogue: Idealists and Dreamers 203
Notes 207
Bibliography 255
Index 271