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Frankenstein’s Creature Is Jewish. Dracula Is Goyish.

JL;DR SUMMARY Liel Leibovitz explores how Frankenstein’s creature can be understood as Jewish, contrasting with Dracula, who embodies non-Jewish ideals. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish MythologyGolemRav KookExistentialismLiterary AnalysisFrankensteinDraculaMatthew ArnoldHebraic TraditionHellenism

Places mentioned

London, United Kingdom
"Bram Stoker likely fashioned his Van Helsing after Armin Vambery, a Jewish polyglot and world traveler he met in London who regaled him with tales of the creeps crawling around in the dark Carpathian mountains."
Geneva, Switzerland
"It is therefore quite possible that the young Mary Shelley, tasked one chilly night on the shores of Lake Geneva with telling the spookiest story she could think of, had the golem in mind when she conjured her doctor and his creation."
Vienna, Austria
"Left Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning, Jonathan Harker reports."
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
"Left Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning, Jonathan Harker reports."

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Retrieved 2025-07-30 05:35:44 UTC
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