The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post-Holocaust Fiction

241 Pages·2014·5.419 MB·English

by  Elizabeth R. Baer

The Golem Redux
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Golem mosaic (approx. 3.5 feet by 1.5 feet) set into the sidewalk in the former Jewish Quarter
in Prague. Photograph taken in May 2007 by Elizabeth Baer.
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T h e
G o l e m
R e d u x
From Prague
to Post-holocaust Fiction
Elizabeth R. Baer
Wayne State University Press Detroit
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© 2012 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 48201. All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be reproduced without formal permission. Manufactured in the United States of America.
16 15 14 13 12 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Baer, Elizabeth Roberts.
The Golem redux : from Prague to post-Holocaust fiction / Elizabeth R. Baer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8143-3626-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8143-3627-4 (ebook)
1. Golem in literature. I. Title.
PN57.G56B34 2012
809’.93351—dc23
2011035239
Typeset by Maya Rhodes
Composed in Warnock Pro and Meta
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This book is dedicated to my favorite golems,
my granddaughters,
Della Rae Baer and Flora Eshatine Baer,
and to my grandson
Ansel Rees Baer
who lives in my heart
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1
The Golem Redux: Variations on the Golem Legend in Jewish
Tradition 17
2
German-Language Appropriations: The Golem Runs Amok 37
Gustav Meyerink, Der Golem (1915); Paul Wegener, Der Golem: Wie
er in die Welt kam (German film, 1920); Julien Duvivier, Le Golem: The
Legend of Prague (French film, 1936)
3
Traditional Retellings of the Golem Legend 69
Isaac Bashevis Singer, The Golem (1969, 1982); Elie Wiesel, The Golem
(1983); Frances Sherwood, The Book of Splendor (2002)
4
The Comics Connection 111
Marvel Comics: Strange Tales Featuring the Golem (1970s); James
Sturm, The Golem’s Mighty Swing (2001); Pete Hamill, Snow in August
(1997); Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
(2000)
5
Golems to the Rescue 151
Cynthia Ozick, The Puttermesser Papers (1997); Thane Rosenbaum, The
Golems of Gotham (2002); The X-Files: “Kaddish” (1997); Daniel Handler,
Watch Your Mouth (2000)
vii
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Epilogue 185
Notes 193
Bibliography 203
Index 217
viii Contents
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Acknowledgments
I began reading post-Holocaust fiction and memoirs that incorporated
fairy-tale motifs sporadically several years ago. As my exploration of these
intertexts proceeded, I noticed a similar relationship between the golem
legend and post-Holocaust literature. Eventually I chose that as my sole
focus for this book. Along the way, I have received help and encouragement
from many colleagues, friends, and strangers for which I am profoundly
grateful. These include:
* Arnold Goldsmith, whom I have never met but whose book, The Golem
Remembered, 1901–1980, has been invaluable in my own research
* The three people who read the initial proposal for the book and gave
astute advice on revisions and on the manuscript in progress: Lou Rob-
erts, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin (and my sister);
Myrna Goldenberg, professor emeritus and my coeditor on an earlier
book; and Hester Baer, associate professor of German and film studies
at the University of Oklahoma (and my daughter)
* Scholars Stephen Feinstein of blessed memory, Simon Sibelman, Carol
Rittner, Eric Carlson, and Lynn Higgins, who generously shared their
knowledge of film, Holocaust studies, and German history, as well as
their enthusiasm for the project
* Colleague Chris Johnson, who loaned me a crucial Marvel comic fea-
turing the golem
* Hester Baer and Ryan Long, my son-in-law, who found other golem
comics and presented me with the DVD of Paul Wegener’s Der Golem
* The superheroic librarians who borrowed innumerable books and arti-
ix
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