The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 18.0557 Saturday, 25 August 2007
[1] From: Bob Lapides <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 11:59:39 EDT
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[2] From: Virginia Byrne <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 12:05:09 EDT
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[3] From: John Briggs <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 17:06:22 +0100
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[4] From: Nicole Coonradt <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 17:39:41 +0000
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[5] From: Nicole Coonradt <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 17:39:41 +0000
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[6] From: Larry Weiss <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 15:57:04 -0400
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[7] From: JD Markel <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 14:15:32 -0700 (PDT)
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[8] From: Nicole Coonradt <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 21:32:15 +0000
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[9] From: Judi Crane <
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Date: Thursday, 23 Aug 2007 09:45:20 +1000
Subj: RE: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[10] From: Carol Morley <
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Date: Thursday, 23 Aug 2007 11:00:18 +0000
Subj: RE: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[11] From: JD Markel <
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Date: Thursday, 23 Aug 2007 17:02:05 -0700 (PDT)
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0548 Redheads
[12] From: Joseph Egert <
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Date: Friday, 24 Aug 2007 14:05:53 -0700 (PDT)
Subj: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Bob Lapides <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 11:59:39 EDT
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
Abigail Quart writes, "the name "Adam" is supposed to mean "red man."
Etymologically, Adam is related to the Hebrew words for "red" and for
"earth," probably because Adam was supposed to have been made from the
earth, which was reddish. But I think Adam in Hebrew means "man," not
"red man."
Bob Lapides
[2]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Virginia Byrne <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 12:05:09 EDT
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
It seems to me from my days of studying Physics that red is produced by
the electromagnetic wave with the longest waves and therefore is
considered to be the most powerful of the colors i.e. the most
passionate...hence the red rose-the symbol of deep and lasting
passionate love...
Virginia Byrne
[3]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: John Briggs <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 17:06:22 +0100
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
Hardy M. Cook wrote:
>The _Bedazzled_ to which Nicole refers is a re-make of
>the classic 1967 film of the same name that starred Peter Cook and
>Dudley Moore and was directed by Stanley Donen. Images at the Internet
>Movie Database remind me that Lilian Lust - played by Rachel Welsh -
>wore a variety of skimpy two-piece attires, some sparkly, some white,
>and at least one was red:
Funnily enough, "Raquel Welch" was her real name, and not an adaptation
of "Rachel Welsh".
John Briggs
[4]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Nicole Coonradt <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 17:39:41 +0000
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
Ooh! I just noticed at the links for film reviews on AYLI via the "SHK
18.0551 Branagh's _As You Like It_" thread that Bryce Dallas Howard is
definitely a ginger Rosalind/Ganymede. She may well be a redhead in
reality, but I've also seen her with tresses both blonde and brunette.
Seems that at least Branagh got that bit right! "Your chestnut was ever
the only colour" (3.4.10-11).
--Nicole Coonradt
[5]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Larry Weiss <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 15:57:04 -0400
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
Let us not forget the "hot wench in flame-color'd taffata" (1HIV,
I.ii.10). Perhaps Hal was there referring the Sunday, but it seems that
women of sale advertised themselves by petticoats of that fashion.
[6]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: JD Markel <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 14:15:32 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
Nicole writes:
"Liz Hurley as the sexy Devil in _Bedazzled_, "
A very red film. The American epic of redness is Gone with the Wind,
whose passionate leads are Scarlett and Rhett. Scarlett and Rhett were
dark haired but brothel/saloon owner Belle Watling had a much commented
upon red mane.
[7]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Nicole Coonradt <
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Date: Wednesday, 22 Aug 2007 21:32:15 +0000
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
To the point regarding citation/evidence.
First, how could I possibly have overlooked Fagin in Oliver? I feel so
foolish now. (Guess I had women-of-ill-repute in mind at the time!)
Dickens certainly got his Jewish stereotype from someplace. Fagin is
described as, "A very old shriveled Jew, whose villainous-looking and
repulsive face was obscured by a quantity of matted red hair."
Furthermore, when Bill Sike's dog barks at the old Jew, Sike's
reprimands him saying, "Lie down. Don't you know the devil with his
greatcoat on?"
In a closed-circuit television address for the Canadian Jewish Congress,
Professor Ilja Wachs (Prof. of Lit. at Sarah Lawrence College, NY)
delivered "The Jewish Stereotype in English Literature: Shylock and
Fagan," circa 1985-89 (date was unclear, sorry!). Here are two quotes
from the address, which can be accessed in its entirety via this link
http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/multimedia/pdf/merchant_study_guide.pdf :
"The extent to which this stereotypic image of the Jew had become a
theatrical convention during Elizabethan days is indicated by the fact
that, in playing both Barabbas and Shylock, actors (so far as we know)*
used the standard paraphernalia for depicting Jewish characters: a
capacious cloak, a big red putty nose, claws and cloven hooves" (8).
[* Note: one wonders perhaps how it's a "fact" if Wachs then says
parenthetically "so far as we know"?]
Wachs goes on to say, "Fagin's hair is described as red, and red hair,
we know, was a stock method (in medieval mystery plays) of identifying
the Jew as the Devil" (13). He further notes that Fagin has fangs
rather than teeth, another link to the diabolical (13).
In another source, "Shylock in Celluloid," a commentary by Kathryn
Bernheimer on the Al Pacino MOV film, directed by Michael Radford (Sony
Pictures, 2005), includes the following, access this article at
http://www.ijn.com/archive/2005%20arch/020405.htm
"Radford points out that at the time the lending of money with interest
was forbidden to Christians but permitted for Jews, who were not allowed
to own property, were locked in a ghetto at night and forced to wear a
red hat in public -- all details included in the film" (para. 22).
"Richard Burbage and Will Kempe were two actors of the 16th century,
contemporaries of Shakespeare. Little is known about their portrayals of
Shylock except that Shylock was supposed to have been presented with a
red-beard and a false nose. The reason for the red beard may be related
to the tradition of presenting Judas with a red-beard" (para. 31). [But
no red hair or bulbous red nose on Pacino, thank goodness!]
An additional source, which, unfortunately, I was unable to access in
full (lacking the requisite subscription) is Robert A. Rockaway's
"Demonic Images of the Jew in Nineteenth Century United States."
_American Jewish History_ 89.4 (2001). 355-81. Following is an excerpt:
"Stereotypes of the Jew as Christ-killer, Shylock , and eternal alien
became common . . . he is a fat man with a hook in his nose, red hair,
squat features."
Finally, a study guide to the Radford film includes this interesting
information (an erstwhile prof left it in my mailbox when I was working
on MOV):
Noting published travel accounts as a possible source of information for
the Bard, one visitor, a Laurence Aldersey, who wrote "Account of
Venice," printed in 1581 as part of Richard Hakluyt's _Principal
Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of the English Nation
(in 3 volumes, London 1598-1600), mentions the mandatory distinguishing
red hat. Aldersey writes:
"They all and their offspring use to wear red caps (for so they are
commanded) because there they may be known from other men."
Another account by Thomas Coryate, in his travel narrative _Coryat's
Crudities_ (London, 1611**) echoes this saying, "They are distinguished
and discerned from the Christians by the habits on their heads; for some
of them do wear hats and those red."
[** Note this date of publication post-dates the Bard's penning of MOV
by some distance.]
Interestingly, Francis Bacon in his essay "Of Usury" (London, 1626)
notes that, "Usurers should have orange-tawny bonnets, because they
judaize."
Anyhow, since some kind of citation was requested (and really should be
standard anyway), this, I hope, will at least provide some further
support. (Frustratingly, my own MOV research notes are still MIA from
our recent cross-country move.)
Best,
Nicole Coonradt
University of Denver
[8]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Judi Crane <
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Date: Thursday, 23 Aug 2007 09:45:20 +1000
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: RE: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
Early Modern reproductive theories (which often had their roots in
Aristotle and Galen, compounded with folklore) tried to explain away
various birth attributes. Almost invariably it was the mother's
'fault'; from the baby being the wrong sex through to hair colour and
birth marks. One explanation for redheads was that they were conceived
as a result of intercourse during the menstrual period (generally
regarded as a time of enforced abstinence). This, or similar belief,
could possibly explain the Jewish antipathy to redheads, and the
difficulty red haired girls had finding husbands, as described by
Abigail's grandmother. Living proof that mum had disobeyed the rules as
laid down in Leviticus about sex and menstruation, and possibly would
follow mum's example! Lest this all sound very fanciful, try to get
hold of a copy of "Aristotle's Masterpiece", a sort of a sex education
manual known to have been in print since at least the 17th century, and
still around early in the 20th century. It quotes Aristotle as the
authority for everything, including the amazing information that cats
give birth through their mouths!
Cheers,
Judi
[9]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Carol Morley <
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Date: Thursday, 23 Aug 2007 11:00:18 +0000
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: RE: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
In my recent edition of the plays of William Heminge, I touched on
possible reasons for his Jewes Tragedy having no record of contemporary
performance. Its inordinate length for one thing, would have put any
company off and Heminge/ King's Men family friction may also have closed
doors. The idea that a stage populated scene after scene by large
quantities of Jewish characters putting a strain on any conceivable red
wig budget had never occurred to me before. Probably just as well.
[10]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Frank Whigham <
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Date: Thursday, 23 Aug 2007 10:37:10 -0500
Subject: 18.0548 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0548 Redheads
No doubt this topic can morph in a variety of directions. One is this
question of distinctive Jewish dress. It certainly seems reasonable to
think of Shylock, per Ed Taft, as dressed more plainly than the
"Christians with varnished faces," esp. if men such as Bassanio are the
correlative (see Vecelli's illustration of an "Italian Young Man"
reproduced at p. 30 of the new Oxford edition).
Another possible clue to Shylock's appearance occurs in 1.3, when he
taunts Antonio with having spit upon [his] Jewish gaberdine" (109). I've
always wondered if this signaled distinctive dress.
Possible data may occur in the illustration of the Jew poisoning a well
and crucifying a (presumably Christian) infant, in Pierre Boaistuau's
Histoires Prodigieuses (Paris, 1561). The image became available in
England in Edward Fenton's English translation, Certaine secrete
woonders of nature (1569).
Another line of influence on popular perceptions of Jewish appearance
may be the visual-arts tradition of the "Asiatically" dressed Wise Men
who came to visit Bethlehem. The Boiastuau image seems to be influenced
by this tradition, at least so far as headgear goes. There the Jew's
quasi-turban is anything but plain.
Frank Whigham
[11]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: JD Markel <
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Date: Thursday, 23 Aug 2007 17:02:05 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: 18.0548 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0548 Redheads
Someone mentioned the Oxford MOV and a look via Google at a footnote
says Stoll (1927) supports the red wig theory. But I looked at Stoll's
primary source and found it mentions a red beard but no wig. "A Royal
Arbor of Loyal Poesie..." (1663) by Thomas Jordan contains a poetic
abridgement of MOV:
"The Forfeiture: A Romance.
Tune, Dear let me now this evening dye.
1.
You that do look with Christian hue
attend unto my Sonnet,
I'le tell you of as vilde a Jew
as ever wore a Bonnet;
No Jew of Scotland I intend,
My story not so mean is,
This Jew in wealth did much transcend
Under the States of Venice.
2.
Where he by usury and trade
did much exceed in Riches;
His beard was red, his face was made
Not much unlike a Witches;
His habit was a Jewish Gown,
That would defend all weather;
His chin turn'd up, his nose hung down,
And both ends met together. .." [omitted stanzas 4-13]
First thing I thought of when I read about the beard and nose touching
was not "Judas" but Pantalone. But then I thought witches do have
curling noses and chins and the next stanza contrast's the Jew's
daughter's beauty
3.
Yet this deformed Father had
A daughter and a wise one,
So sweet a Virgin never Lad
Did ever set his eyes on;
He that could call this Lady foul
Must be a purblinde Noddy,
But yet she had a Christian soul
Lodg'd in a Jewish body.
Taking into account what others have said I tend to think for Jordan the
red beard is not a religious signifier but intended as a symbol of
ugliness, like green skinned witches.
[12]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From: Joseph Egert <
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Date: Friday, 24 Aug 2007 14:05:53 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: 18.0554 Redheads
Comment: Re: SHK 18.0554 Redheads
Bob Lapides writes:
>"According to Frank Felsenstein's *Anti-Semitic Stereotypes: A Paradigm
>of Otherness in English Popular Culture, 1660-1830*, it was the 18C
>actor Charles Macklin who first gave Shylock a red hat and a big nose."
Not according to Furness' New Variorum MERCHANT.
John Payne Collier in his MEMOIRS OF ACTORS (1846) produced a third copy
of a manuscript entitled "A Funeral Elegy, on the Death of the Famous
Actor, Richard Burbadge, who died on Saturday in Lent, the 13th of
March, 1618". It reads in part:
Heart-broke Philaster, and Amintas too,
Are lost forever; with the red-hair'd Jew,
Which sought the bankrupt merchant's pound of flesh,
By woman-lawyer caught in his own mesh,
What a wide world was in that little space,
Thyself a world---the Globe thy fittest place!
Collier's "discovery" proved too good to be true---an outright fraud by
consensus of current scholarship.
A ballad by the actor Thomas Jordan may however be genuine. Titled "The
Forfeiture, a Romance; tune--Dear, let me now this evening dye", it was
published in 1664 in his ROYAL ARBOR OF LOYAL POESIE and reprinted by
who else but Collier in his NEW PARTICULARS. It begins:
1. You that do look with Christian hue,
Attend unto my sonnet,
I'll tell you of as vilde a Jew,
As ever wore a bonnet.
No Jew of Scotland I intend,
My story not so mean is:
This Jew in wealth did much transcend
Under the States of Venice.
2. Where he by usury and trade,
Did much exceed in riches;
His beard was red; his face was made
Not much unlike a witches.
His habit was a Jewish gown,
That would defend all weather;
His chin turn'd up, his nose hung down
And both ends met together.
The ballad goes on to recount how the "deformed" usurious Jew's daughter
("a Christian soul lodg'd in a Jewish body"), enamored of the "gallant"
merchant, assumes a legal "Doctor's apparel" to save him from her
bloodthirsty father at trial, all ending happily in her marrying the
merchant and despoiling her father, followed by her baptism. O happy day!
Here's a link to the entire ballad:
http://books.google.com/books?id=nD8OAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA461&lpg=RA1-PA461&dq=%22jordan's+ballad%22&source=web&ots=rsj1zZPv5P&sig=1m2h9zc2jBrInjFRr9RUvhioHc4
Enjoy!
Joe Egert
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