Page - 156 - in Entangled Entertainers - Jews and Popular Culture in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna

156 | Entangled Entertainers phorical Palestine, proclaims that he has fallen in love with a shiksa (non-Jewish woman). In addition, no comprehensible motive seems to underpin Lebele’s aff ection for Rosl. In Vienna, many Jews married non-Jews for social advance- ment.23 Non-Jewish women often belonged to a higher social class, into which Jews could marry. Although Jewish religious authorities did not accept and cer- tainly did not legitimize such marriages, this pattern of behavior was to a certain extent understandable. In Armin’s play, however, Rosl is a simpleminded peas- ant woman. Her family name, Teppenhuber, suggests such a social background. Th us, conditions in Grosswardein not only seem to perpetuate assimilation, but they are even more pronounced here than in Vienna. Grosswardein (i.e., Pales- tine) thus aggravates the conditions that Zionists cautioned against and equated with the Diaspora. Th e exaggeration of certain core elements of Zionism for the purpose of hu- morous eff ect indicates that Th e Journey to Grosswardein functions as an anti- Zionist piece. It shows that Zionism does not represent a reasonable escape from the antisemitism that Jews faced in Vienna. Articulating Jewishness None of these Volkssänger plays that I have analyzed defi nes Jewishness in terms of religion. Nonetheless, it is impossible to pin Jewishness down precisely, be- cause it can and will always change. I argue that Jewishness does not have a fi xed defi nition. Context thus determines Jewishness. Th e only consistent character- istic is that Jewishness distinguishes Jews from non-Jews. Th ese “Jewish” farces represent Jewishness as an inclusive diff erence. Although Jewishness as a category varies, the features employed to articulate it remain largely constant. I have identifi ed four primary features that tend to indicate what or who is Jewish. Within the context of these four features, I also discuss the notion of diff erence as well as a conceptual alternative to it. Inclusivity, Individuality, Interactionality, Performance Both Th e Apostle of Schottenfeld and A Tale from Yesteryear conclude with note- worthy statements. Th e Apostle of Schottenfeld ends with “Father Lorenz does not only pray for Christians, but also for Jews, if they are decent humans [Men- sch en].” Th e fi nal line in A Tale from Yesteryear is “Whether a Jew or Christ / As long as he is human [ein Me nsch].” Th e concept of a human (or person) is central to the two pieces. However, the term does not remain a neutral category; it is laden with signifi cance. For Hirsch, a human (ein Mensch) is “decent,” as Th e Apostle of Schottenfeld suggests, when he or she is characterized by certain ethical qualities. Th is particular understanding of “human” probably originated in Yid- This open access edition has been made available under a CC BY 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched.