Who was Svengali?

A Svengali is "a person who manipulates or exerts excessive control over another." Curious about the history of this intriguing and rather unusual word, I looked it up and learned that Svengali was a character  in the novel Trilby by George Du Maurier (published 1894). Subsequently the novel was made into several stage plays and movies. The dictionary explains:

I read the Oxford World's Classics edition, which
is unabridged and highly annotated.

"Svengali's maleficent powers of persuasion made such an impression on the reading public that by 1919 his name was being used generically as a term for any wickedly manipulative individual." (Merriam-Webster definition)

Curious about the origin of this intriguing word, I decided to read the novel. What I did not expect: Du Maurier's creation Svengali is a casually antisemitic portrayal of an Eastern European Jew, with a stereotyped appearance, problematic personality, strong accent in both English and French, and lack of humanity. These hateful features were typical of antisemitic writings of the late 19th century, and you may recognize them because they are being reactivated by modern violent white supremacists in our society right now.

I found it very painful to read this book. It was agonizingly familiar to see such descriptions as they were over a century ago and as they are returning to public discourse now. In fact, I regretted deciding to read it. However, because I have done so, I feel that I should look carefully at these stereotypes. First, there's the appearance of Svengali:

"He was very shabby and dirty, and wore a red beret and a large velveteen cloak, with a big metal clasp at the collar. His thick, heavy, languid, lustreless black hair fell down behind his ears to his shoulders, in that musician-like way that is so offensive to the normal Englishman. He had bold, brilliant black eyes, with long heavy lids, a thin, sallow face, and a beard of burnt-up black, which grew almost from under his eyelids; and over it his moustache, a shade lighter, fell in two long spiral twists." (p. 11).

His face and his attitude both bore out these stereotypes: "He was so fond of making fun of others that he particularly resented being made fun of himself— couldn’t endure that any one should ever have the laugh of him." (p. 19). Not to mention his "long, thick, shapely Hebrew nose" (p. 240) and "bold, black, beady Jew’s eyes." (p. 44).

And his devious and disgusting ways: "And here let me say that these vicious imaginations of Svengali’s, which look so tame in English print, sounded much more ghastly in French, pronounced with a Hebrew-German accent, and uttered in his hoarse, rasping, nasal, throaty rook’s caw, his big yellow teeth baring themselves in a mongrel canine snarl, his heavy upper eyelids drooping over his insolent black eyes." (p. 92).

Many features of the character Svengali, especially his skill in manipulating the innocent Trilby, heroine of the novel, were already commonplace racial slurs in the 1890s and have never gone away. By association, Jews were under attack at the time: two notable contemporary events were the Dreyfus affair in France (1894-1906) and the rise of the antisemite Christian Democrats under leader Karl Lueger in Vienna during that decade. Pushback was also beginning, for example the novel Children of the Ghetto by Isidore Zangwill (1892-93) and The Jewish State by Theodore Hertzl (published 1895), but it didn't stop the haters. Antisemitism in word and deed inspired Hitler who was born in 1889 and very much partook of the hatred of Jews expressed in word and deed during the late 19th century.

But let's return to Trilby! Most of the novel is actually dedicated to the irresponsible, self-indulgent, possibly appealing, and also very stereotyped antics of a few British/Scottish aristocrats and would-be artists. The author is flippant and sometimes condescending about the characters, who are living a bohemian life in Paris in the 1850s. There are many interesting cultural references to popular poems, foods, and habits: without the racism it would be fun to read and learn what was popular then. (Of course the racism IS part of that era's popular culture.) Trilby was kind of a historical novel about the era previous to when it was written -- though the author says outright that he's not seriously interested in historical accuracy because "history is always repeating itself." (p. 165).

Svengali joins this circle of friends, which also includes Trilby, the beautiful and open-hearted girl who gives the novel its name. Trilby works as an artist's model, a specialty laundress who washes fine clothing, and perhaps as a kind of 19th century version of an escort. One of the artistic circle, a very talented young man called Little Bilee, would like to marry her, but she knows she's beneath his family's expectations, and his mother shows up and puts a stop to it. Most of the book concentrates on the comic antics of the Englishmen, and on the tragic doomed love of Little Bilee and Trilby.

More than halfway thorough the  book, the break-up with Little Bilee drives Trilby into the clutches of Svengali. Surprisingly, there is really not that much detail about the process by which Svengali overwhelms the character of Trilby and creates in her a musical sensation of extraordinary popularity; it's not at all a psychological thriller, though the book's subsequent reputation makes it seem so.

Svengali and Trilby, illustration by the author.

Under the mesmerizing spell of Svengali, Trilby's singing conquers audiences in virtually all the major concert venues in Europe, singing as she stares into his evil eyes. Only in the last few pages does the reader learn how his hypnotic skill controlled her and forced her to perform far beyond her almost non-existent talents. Finally the reader understands why her magic singing took place in a trance which she could not recall while awake.

In any case, when Svengali dies of a heart attack in mid-concert, she's unable to perform any more. Obviously, she dies tragically. (This is a spoiler but you aren't going to read the book anyway.)

Mostly, the book stresses the lighter -- one might say trivial -- side of life. The members of Trilby's circle of self-indulgent Englishmen especially love the famous and wonderful food of Paris. A few examples from the many food descriptions in Trilby:

Cooking in the apartment in Paris where the Englishmen live: "Near the stove hung a gridiron, a frying-pan, a toasting-fork, and a pair of bellows. In an adjoining glazed corner cupboard were plates and glasses, black-handled knives, pewter spoons, and three-pronged steel forks; a salad-bowl, vinegar cruets, an oil-flask, two mustard-pots (English and French), and such like things— all scrupulously clean." (p. 4).

Dining out: "If it was decently fine, the most of them went off to dine at the Restaurant de la Couronne ... Good distending soups, omelettes that were only too savoury, lentils, red and white beans, meat so dressed and sauced and seasoned that you didn’t know whether it was beef or mutton— flesh, fowl, or good red herring— or even bad, for that matter— nor very greatly cared. And just the same lettuce, radishes, and cheese of Gruyère or Brie as you got at the Trois Frères Provençaux (but not the same butter!). And to wash it all down, generous wine in wooden brocs — that stained a lovely aesthetic blue everything it was spilled over.." (p. 25). 

Strolling on the streets of Paris: "Then, still arm-in-arm and chatting gaily, across the courtyard of the Louvre, through gilded gates well guarded by reckless imperial Zouaves, up the arcaded Rue de Rivoli as far as the Rue Castiglione, where they would stare with greedy eyes at the window of the great corner pastry-cook, and marvel at the beautiful assortment of bonbons, pralines, dragées, marrons glacés— saccharine, crystalline substances of all kinds and colours, as charming to look at as an illumination; precious stones, delicately-frosted sweets, pearls and diamonds so arranged as to melt in the mouth; especially, at this particular time of the year, the monstrous Easter-eggs of enchanting hue, enshrined like costly jewels in caskets of satin and gold...." (p. 26). 

French pastry, including Madeleines mentioned decades before Proust's famous passage: "The cakes were of three kinds— Babas, Madeleines, and Savarins— three sous apiece, fourpence-halfpenny the set of three. No nicer cakes are made in France, and they are as good in the Quartier Latin as anywhere else; no nicer cakes are made in the whole world, that I know of. You must begin with the Madeleine, which is rich and rather heavy; then the Baba; and finish up with the Savarin, which is shaped like a ring, very light, and flavoured with rum. And then you must really leave off." (p. 58).

Back in London, still wishing for French food: "First of all they dined together at a delightful little Franco-Italian pothouse near Leicester Square, where they had bouillabaisse (imagine the Laird’s delight), and spaghetti, and a poulet rôti, which is such a different affair from a roast fowl! and salad, which Taffy was allowed to make and mix himself; and they all smoked just where they sat, the moment they had swallowed their food— as had been their way in the good old Paris days." (p. 161). 

Trilby is a very weak novel compared to works of other authors who wrote about society and social issues in the 19th century; for example, Zola, George Eliot, and Dickens. It's quite understandable that Trilby has pretty much been forgotten, except for the character Svengali. The antisemitism in the novel is even more painful when you consider how Du Maurier didn't really expect readers to take anything seriously, not the characters, not the thoughtlessly hateful attitudes, and not the mistreatment of little Trilby.

NOTE: A few interesting articles about the impact of the character Svengali:

• Review of 1931 movie: "John Barrymore does forgotten Villain Svengali Proud"
• Recent uses of word Svengali: "How Svengali Lost His Jewish Accent"
• Cultural history of Svengali: "Svengali: The Master Manipulator"

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