Re derivation of the word Zhid

[James L. Rice]

Colleagues:                                     August 19. 1998

Dreizin's book, THE RUSSIAN SOUL AND THE JEWS, was reviewed rather
superficially in SEEJ (Fall 1992).  The reviewer declared that _zhid_
"is equivalent to the English 'kike'."  Daniel Rancour-Laferriere seems
to repeat that fundamental semantic error, asserting that since Dostoevsky
often used _zhid_ as a pejorative in letters, the translations 'kike' or
'yid' are "justified."  That is a non-sequitur. The English pejoratives have
been drastically escalated by post-holocaust world ethnic conflict and
hatreds, and so cannot approximate 19th-century _zhid_.  Modern translators
will have to be more resourceful, and they will do will to study the history
of these issues with care before accepting any single-word equivalents.

Meanwhile, the term "zoological" applied to Dostoevsky's antisemitic
expressions in private letters seems to me misleading.  It suggests a
thoughtless knee-jerk reaction, or conditioned response devoid of thought.
In some or many instances that may not be an unfair assessment.  But readers
of Dostoevsky -- if there are some out there -- are best advised to look
carefully at his letters, and his fiction, and the memoir literature about
him, and all the history that bears on the rapidly changing role of the Jews
in Russia in that era: then decide what made the writer tick, and what he
was driving at in references to the Jews, in each case.  Dostoevsky's
thinking was not of the monolithic or knee-jerk variety.  As for the late
Felix Dreizin, my impression is that as a reader of Dostoevsky he was nowhere.

Daniel Rancour-Laferriere's terms applied to Dostoevsky -- "ethnic hatred"
and "paranoid tendencies" -- likewise strike me as misleading. One should be
more cautious about rushing to diagnose Dostoevsky, who is a good deal more
thoughtful and cunning than those labels let on. Except, of course, insofar
as we admit that "ethnic hatred" and "paranoid tendency" are truisms that
apply properly enough to our species at large.

This mounting exchange once more makes me think that email newsletters are
very far down the list of useful media for intellectual discourse.  In
September of 1993, in direct response to that SEEJ review by Harold Shefski
and Dreizin's book, I wrote a few drafts of "A Note on Pejoratives for 'Jew'
in Dostoevsky's Usage," which I have shared with a few Dostoevsky
specialists but haven't finished.  I hereby pledge to say no more on the
subject via SEELANGS, but to try to get it into proper shape for a refereed
journal.

James L. Rice
Comparative Literature Program
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403 USA
jlrice38 at open.org

<I will have a new email address by early September.>

At 05:54 PM 8/18/98 -0700, you wrote:
>18 Aug 98
>
>In response to Jim Rice's comments on the term "Zhid" I would like to
>mention one more author who has dealt with Dostoevsky's use of the term,
>namely: the late Felix Dreizin, in his book _The Russian Soul and the Jew:
>Essays in Literary Ethnocriticism_ (University Press of America, 1990), pp.
>61-113.  Dreizin's work is psychologically more nuanced than previous
>studies.  Dreizin shows that Dostoevsky often used "Zhid" in the pejorative
>sense, especially in his private correspondence.  The translation "Kike" or
>"Yid" is therefore justified.  His was a "zoological" anti-Semitism in
>private, if a somewhat toned-down anti-Semitism in public.  There were also
>interesting projective features to Dostoevsky's ethnic hatred, which fit in
>with his general paranoid tendencies.  Dreizin lays this out in painful
>detail.  Must reading for anyone interested in Dostoevsky.
>
>Daniel Rancour-Laferriere
>University of California, Davis
>darancourlaferriere at ucdavis.edu
>
>