The Trace Of Judaism: Dostoevsky, Babel, Mandelstam, Levinas

The Trace ofJudaism Northwestern University Press Studies in Russian Literature and Theory Series Editors Robert Belknap Caryl Emerson Gary Saul Morson William Mills Todd III Andrew Wachtel The Trace ofJudaism DOSTOEVSKY, BABEL, MANDELSTAM, LEVINAS Vai Vinokur NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY PRESS / EVANSTON, ILLINOIS Northwestern University Press www. nupress .northwestern. edu Copyright © 2008 by Northwestern University Press. Published 2008. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America 10 987 6 54321 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vinokur, Vai. The trace of Judaism : Dostoevsky, Babel, Mandelstam, Levinas/Vai Vinokur, p. cm. — (Northwestern University Press studies in Russian literature and theory) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8101-5208-3 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8101-2585-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Russian literature—History and criticism. 2. Levinas, Emmanuel—Criticism and interpretation. 3. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821-1881—Criticism and interpretation. 4. Babel’, I. (Isaak), 1894-1941—Criticism and interpretation. 5. Mandel’shtam, Osip, 1891-1938—Criticism and interpretation. 6. Ethics. 7. Judaism and literature. 8. Judaism in literature. 9. Aesthetics. I. Title. II. Series: Studies in Russian literature and theory. PG2987.E85V56 2008 891.709—dc22 2008014825 ® The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. For Rose and Elia Contents Acknowledgments ix List of Abbreviations xi Introduction Levinas and Russian Literature Chapter One Idiots and Demons: Dostoevsky’s Aesthetic Perils 15 Chapter Two “And I Most of All”: Levinas in The Brothers Karamazov 35 Chapter Three Isaac Babel’s Dirty Ethics 60 Chapter Four Osip Mandelstam’s Judaism: Chaos and Cares 93 Conclusion The Ethics of Aesthetics, the Aesthetics of Ethics 3 133 Notes 137 Bibliography 167 Index 179 Acknowledgments This book first emerged as a dissertation under the kindly and hyperac­ tive direction of Caryl Emerson, who did for me only what she continues to do for most of her Ph.D. students—which is to say, far more than can be optimistically expected even from the best of mentors. As a compara­ tive literature student at Princeton, my work also benefited—intellectually, materially, or morally—from the company and attention of Bob Gibbs, Olga Hasty, Leora Batnitzky, Jacob Meskin, Christine Hayes, Stanley Comgold, Thomas Trezise, Bob Fagles, Clarence Brown, Sandie Bermann, Judy Lewin, Gabriella Safran, Inessa Medzhibovskaya (later a colleague at the New School), Peter Gordon, Eileen Reeves, Claudia Brodsky, Thomas Pavel, April Alliston, the late Earl Miner, Elaine Showalter, Robert Fagles, Robert Wuthnow and the Center for the Study of Religion, Carol Szymanski, and Charlotte Zanidakis. Beyond Princeton, I have been blessed with many thoughtful inter­ locutors and venues for my work. I am grateful to such readers as Harriet Murav, Bob Mandel, Gwen Walker, Harry Keyishian, Gary Rosenshield, Irene Masing-Delic and Kurt Schultz of the Russian Review, Jeff Perl of Common Knowledge, Brian Horowitz, Nancy Ruttenberg, Jim Rice, Sam Moyn, Janneke van de Stadt, Sasha Senderovich, Peter Atterton, Adam Newton, Sandor Goodheart, Paul Mendes-Flohr, Dale and Lorna Peterson, Stanley Rabinowitz, the Amherst Center for Russian Culture, and the Saul Z. Cohen Fund for Russian Jewish Culture. My colleag