Ariel Horn on Alisa Solomon's "Jewish Fantasia" essay

From: arielh@sas.upenn.edu (Ariel Horn)
Message-Id: <200101232313.f0NNDxt26706@mail1.sas.upenn.edu>
Subject: special report on "Jewish Fantasia" essay
To: whseminar@dept.english.upenn.edu
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 18:13:59 -0500 (EST)

In the essay "Wrestling With Angels: A Jewish Fantasia," Alisa Solomon 
argues that "Angels in America" is even more of "A Jewish Fantasia" than 
it is "A Gay Fantasia," as Kushner approaches multiple themes throughout 
the play with distinctly Jewish imagery and ideas. Solomon writes that 
central Jewish characters, notions of crashing angels, the afterlife, 
heavens, and flaming alephs are all evocative of Kabbalah (a school of 
Jewish thought founded in Safed which focuses on mysticism). Solomon also 
points out that at the end of "Angels," the plays emphasis is on moral 
and ethical conduct on Earth, a primary tenant of Judaism. Beyond her 
explanation of the distinctly Jewish themes in "Angels," at the heart of 
Solomons essay is her belief that Jewish characters, ideals, 
philosophies, and mannerisms are used to explain gay themes throughout 
the book; Jewish ideas unfold in tandem with gay themes, and ultimately, 
the norms of each culture grow more and more parallel throughout the 
play. 

Solomon uses several examples throughout her essay to prove how themes of 
homosexuality and Judaism are parallel in "Angels." One of Solomons most 
interesting examples is her explanation of Roy Cohn and Louis as 
archetypes for both Jewish and gay stereotypes. Solomon explains that in 
Roy and Louis, Kushner juxtaposes two Jewish stereotypes with two gay 
stereotypes. Roy is a "Tough Jew" (a self-described "heterosexual who 
fucks around with guys") and a "macho man," whereas Louis is a "Jewish 
victim" and a "sissy boy." Each gay character takes on a Jewish role; Roy 
isnt just a closeted gay man in power, he is a Jewish man with power 
because he is Jewish. Louis isnt just a dramatic gay man leaving his 
lover with AIDS, he is a Jewish victim overwrought with Jewish guilt at 
having left Prior. Solomon writes that Kushner intentionally overlaps gay 
and Jewish tropes in order to make each groups internal conflicts more 
salient. Solomon goes as far to say that even Prior, a gay WASP, becomes 
a metaphorical Jew learning to grapple with life in the Jewish way. 
(Solomon explains that in the beginning of the play at the funeral, Prior 
is associated with the dead.)

Solomon also describes why Jews and homosexuals are similar and therefore 
appropriately paired. She writes that both Jews and gays are perceived as 
economically well-off, educated, and "disproportionately represented in 
the cultural elite" which causes suspicion among people that the groups 
have participated in corruption or conspiracy. Solomon writes that Jews 
and gays are connected through issues surrounding their blood as 
well--the Jews with the Blood Libel, and gays with the infected blood of 
AIDS; each group is seen to somehow have the ability to "infect" or 
"poison" society. Solomon also mentions the parallels between 
anti-Semitism and homophobia when she explains how the anti-gay movement 
looked to the structure of anti-semitism as a model for its own organization.

Additionally, Solomon points out specific scenes in which distinctly 
Jewish ideas overlap with gay themes. Primarily, she emphasizes how 
almost all the visions in the play are from the Old Testament (except for 
Harpers), and how the idea of Judgment Day approaching is more Talmudic 
than it is Christian. As an example, Solomon focuses on a scene in which 
Louis fails as both a Jew and a gay man when he thinks about the question 
that God asks Jews before they enter heaven ("have you dealt honorably 
with your fellow man?") and contemplates his rejection of responsibility. 
Because Louis left his lover as he lay dying, Louis failed as "a typical 
gay man of New York" to care for Prior. As a Jew, Louis also failed by 
not "dealing honorably with his fellow man." Solomon similarly shows how 
Jewishness and gayness overlap when she describes Roys death scene with 
Ethel Rosenberg, which is rife not only Jewish ideas such as forgiveness, 
retribution, expiation, and the burden of being Jewish but also the 
meaning of being gay. As Roy is in the hospital dying of AIDS, he shrieks 
out Yiddishisms and mocks Ethel, who is described by Solomon as yet 
another symbol of the pervasive Jewish themes in the play, as she is "an 
archetype of female Jewishnessa Yiddishe momma."

Solomon writes that through Louis, Roy, and Ethel, and even the Rabbi, 
Sarah Ironson, and Prior, Kushner suggests that "American Jews have 
abandoned their commitment to political and erotic liberation." 
Ultimately, Solomon argues that Jews and Gays are parallel figures 
because they both bear responsibility to their community. Through 
comparing gay and Jewish qualities of characters, Solomon asserts 
"Angels" isnt only a "gay fantasia" but a story that unfolds Jewish 
themes equally.