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Sinister Svengali
This infmous character, created by George Du Maurier,
was a Jew. But you'll never imagine how the author
finished his career.
ELIZABETH AP _ PLEBAUM
AppleMea Editor
Q: I've often heard the term "Svengali,"
meaning someone who manipulates
another for less than honorable reasons.
Now I hear that the original Svengali
was Jewish. Is that true, Tell Me Why?
A: It is true. Svengali•is the evil, cruel, manipulative
Jew in George Du Maurier's Trilby.
Published in 1894, Trilby is the story of a young
girl, Trilby O'Farrell, who "couldn't sing a single
note in tune!" but who, at the hands of
Svengali, becomes a star.
Svengali is an artistic genius, but an evil
one, who uses black magic and hypnotism
to get what he wants. He is a man, Du
Maurier writes, who could be found
"walking up and down the earth seeking whom he
might cheat, betray, exploit, borrow money from,
make brutal fun of, bully if he dared, cringe to if he
must." He is "very shabby and dirty" and wears a
dark coat and lets his hair grow to his shoulders, "in
that musician-like way that is so offensive to the
normal Englishman."
Du Maurier (father of Daphne Du Maurier, per-
haps most famous as the author of the novel
Rebecca) was known, and remains known, primarily
as an illustrator. His parents were of British and
French origin, and Du Maurier
worked for the still-popular
British magazine Punch, where
he was quite successful before
delving into literature.
Du Maurier certainly was a
talented artist, but critics agreed
that he had little — make that
no — talent as an author. He
was obsessed, for example, with
exclamation marks. Rather than
finding words to express excite-
ment, he would simply add
more exclamation marks, as can
be found in this unforgettable
excerpt from Trilby: "Paris!
Paris!! Paris!!!"
Though Svengali is
Du Maurier's most
infamous character, he
is not the only Jewish
figure the author creat-
ed. There'S also a Col.
Ibbetson who, like Svengali, is
inherently evil because of his "Jewish blood."
Ibbetson, the protagonist in Du Maurier's Peter
Ibbetson (published in 1891), is not only wicked,
he's ugly, with "thick lips, wide-open nostrils and
big black eyes with yellow whites," which, Du
Maurier suggests, is most likely due to African
ancestry in his background.
The story, however, does not end here.
Amazingly, awful though his books were, Du
•
•
Tell Me
by
Maurier went on to write a third novel, The
Martian, published posthumously in 1897. The pro-
tagonist in this forgettable work is Leah Gibson. She
is beautiful and wise and noble — and Jewish.
To this day, critics are mystified by Du Maurier's
apparent about-face. Sadly, however, no one remem-
bers the name Leah Gibson — it is Svengali who
has stayed with us. ❑
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Q: Every year I wonder, now I am finally going to ask: Why
is it traditional to drink red, rather than white, wine at the
Passover seder?
A: According to the Talmud, red wine is simply better than white wine. Since
Pesach is such an important Jewish holiday, of course we want to bring out the
best as we celebrate.
Interestingly, however, there was a time when Jews actually avoided red wine
— specifically at Pesach.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, rumors began to circulate that Jews were using
the blood of Christian children for their Passover celebrations. Known as the
blood-libel accusations, these may have been sparked by the fact that Jews were
using only red wine during Pesach. Consequently, some rabbis ruled that red
wine must not be used during the holiday.
While blood libels continued well into the 20th century, and are still a
favorite of anti-Semites everywhere, most rabbis today advocate the use of red
wine at the seder. ❑
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CONCORD GRAPE
4/ 9
2004
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