Jewish Population of Victorian England

The Jewish Population of Victorian England

HISTORY

The Jews had their roots in Eastern Europe but were also scattered in western European countries such as England. The Jewish population has been historically scapegoated since the time of the medieval Church. Stereotypes have been formed of the people practicing this religion for hundreds of years in England and elsewhere on the Continent. The timeline shows the progression of the population in England and the strides they have made over a century.

YEAR # OF JEWS IN ENGLAND

1815 25000

1851 35000

1880 60000

(Naman 47)

"In 1800, the overwhelming majority of London's Jews, rich and poor, were still living in the East End of London, in and around the city" (Black 63). Not until decades later would Jews move out of the East End and move outwards from London and form their own communities. East End was the complete opposite of West End London. Black describes " a great part of the East End in gloomily picturesque panorama. The angular meanness of the buildings is veiled [with] the dusk" (Black 63). Similar to a ghetto and being the poorer side of town, it perpetuated the stereotype that the Jewish population consisted of shady people. map

THE STEREOTYPES

"The images that originated with the attitude of the medieval Church towards Jews may be termed the archetypal images: The moneylender, the murderer, the devil converged to form the image of the pariah--an outcast from society, a being separate from other beings" (Naman 31). With the Church backing the discrimination of the Jewish population, the stereotypes continued and increased the unfavorable views Anglicans held for this separate religion. As a result of this, Jews have been the social p...

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...ese physical attributes may not have been very accurate but are the "stamp of a Jewish man" so that the reader may always remember and acknowledge such a character as being Jewish. The physical characteristics Dickens utilizes also includes "a rusty large-brimmed low crowned hat", "staff" and someone who employs a "graceful Eastern action of homage" (Dickens 273). Such stereotypical attributes are prevalent of Jewish characters in Victorian novels.

SOME PROMINENT JEWISH MEN OF THE VICTORIAN ERA

Benjamin Disraeli

Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild

Sir David Salomons

Works Cited

Black, Gerry. Jewish London: An Illustrated History. Derby: The Breedon Books Publishing Company Limited, 2003.

Dickens, Charles. Our Mutual Friend. New York: Penguin Group, 1997.

Naman, Anne Aresty. The Jew in the Victorian Novel . AMS Press, Inc.: New York, 1980.