tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post2921094772272532828..comments2024-01-06T10:36:04.084-05:00Comments on A Commonplace Blog: The literary shlimilD. G. Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-53361183790612186062009-06-10T17:42:06.813-04:002009-06-10T17:42:06.813-04:00Wisse discusses Schwarz-Bart's Ernie Levy, The...Wisse discusses Schwarz-Bart's Ernie Levy, <i>The Last of the Just</i>, to name one French example.D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-3380916229458357532009-06-10T16:59:49.415-04:002009-06-10T16:59:49.415-04:00Wisse discusses Adalbert von Chamisso's Peter ...Wisse discusses Adalbert von Chamisso's <i>Peter Schlemihl</i> (1813), but does not distract herself by pursuing the other German Romantic <i>shlimils</i>. The <i>shlimil</i> is a common type in early 19th century German fiction, for example in Joseph von Eichendorff's <i>Life of a Good-for-nothing</i> (1827) and a number of E.T.A. Hoffmann's fantasies. I assume that some of this comes from folk tales shared with Yiddish - the stupid third son who becomes prince because he's kind to animals, that sort of story. <br /><br />Nikolai Gogol introduced the type into Russian, possibly via French translations of Hoffmann, or possibly through keen observation. The heroes of "The Nose" and "The Government Inspectors" are examples. Variations persist through Chekhov, at least.<br /><br /><i>Ma femme</i> and I were racking our brains, trying to think of French <i>shlimils</i>. We were completely stumped. French characters, even French fools, are too elegant, or decadent, or knowing. We were, however, able to come up with several French <i>shlimazels</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-55113297860475321762009-06-01T17:29:10.426-04:002009-06-01T17:29:10.426-04:00Wisse does indeed discuss Singer’s story as the fi...Wisse does indeed discuss Singer’s story as the first example, she says, of a post-Holocaust <I>shlimil</I>. In fact, the passage that I quote regarding the “schlemiel’s naïve substitution of his illusory world for the real one resembles the mystic’s supernaturalism” is from her analysis of “Gimpel the Fool.”D. G. Myershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10659136455045567825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3458341.post-42046804379141884842009-05-31T16:11:39.662-04:002009-05-31T16:11:39.662-04:00How about Singer's "Gimpel the Fool"?How about Singer's "Gimpel the Fool"?Jonathannoreply@blogger.com