Research Description:

Yaakov Shabtai: Re-Negotiating Narrative and Masculinity in Modern Hebrew Narrative

My project aims to analyze the works of Israeli writer Yaakov Shabtai with an eye on the ways in which he negotiates masculinity, and how this is mutually informed by this unique narrative form.

Israeli literature is often read in dialogue with the myths and ideals of the state. One of the most dominant ideological strands informing Israeli society is the Zionist construction of masculinity.

Zionism attempted to completely refigure the concept of the Jew by negating the image of the Diaspora Jew with the creation of the "New Hebrew" or "Sabra" male. Unlike the weak, feminized, and passive Diaspora Jew, the Sabra is constructed as an active, strong man, subject of his own history and normalized by a return to his national homeland. The image of the Sabra played a central role in shaping the early national consciousness, and strengthened a developing ethos of heroism, militarism, and self-sacrifice.

In his prose, Shabtai (1934-1981) struggles with the gap between the national male ideal and the reality of of the masculine self. In the existing scholarship on Shabtai's works, two main strands are to be found: one concerned with Shabtai's treatment of masculinity, and the other addressing Shabtai's form and style.

This second focus makes sense, since Shabtai is best known for his first novel, Past Continuous (1977), which is written in a single paragraph stretching over hundreds of pages.Regardless of focus, research is almost entirely limited to Past Continuous.

My research will address the author's body of work as a whole: two novels, Past Continuous and Past Perfect (1981), and Uncle Peretz Takes Off (1972), a collection of short stories. Research will be conducted using the original Hebrew-language primary texts. I will also draw on secondary texts, including Hebrew-language scholarship.