This extremely rich and very important book is a crucial document in our attempt to understand ourselves. -- Charles Taylor, author of "Sources of the Self" Do you have an identity? National, ethnic, religious, sexual? Not really? Have nothing to fear! You are a postmodern baroque subject. Your kaleidoscopic wanderings could well be the source of a new creativity, and yet one that has been in the works since ... the Marranos. You weren't aware of it? Read Yirmiyahu Yovel's book. With an alert and inspired plume, and working at the crossroads of history, sociology, philosophy, and narration, this great expert on Spinoza reveals to specialists and nonspecialists alike that modern subjectivity was invented by Spanish Jews coerced into converting to Christianity six centuries ago... By transcending historical religions, might they have created the 'philosophy of immanence'? Even to Yovel, who shakes the tree of preconceived ideas and identities, the answer comes as a surprise. And the pleasure of it is all ours. -- Julia Kristeva Through an astonishing work of historical and cultural archaeology, Yirmiyahu Yovel recounts the lost narrative of the Marranos, Conversos, or New Christians-Jews of the Iberian peninsula who over the centuries had to convert to Christianity without, however, ever losing aspects of their Jewish heritage. This is a poignantly written work, which argues that the Marrano experience of concealing 'the Other within' is also paradigmatic for the adventures of modern subjectivity. A must-read for anyone interested in the multicultural complexities of the birth of modernity in the West! -- Seyla Benhabib, Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, Yale University The Other Within succeeds brilliantly in its twofold purpose. Yovel provides a gripping narrative of Marrano history, with many illuminating examples of the varieties of religious (and secular) experience that it encompassed. And he also provides a deep philosophical analysis--persuasive too!--of Marrano subjectivity, skepticism, and irony as a prefiguring of the modern mind. -- Michael Walzer, professor emeritus of social science, Institute for Advanced Study A comprehensive, wide-ranging, lively, thoughtful, and savvy history of a fascinating and illuminating topic. Yirmiyahu Yovel brings to the study of the Marranos in Spain (and elsewhere) an impressive range of linguistic tools and a deep sympathy for his subject. He combines a philosopher's ability to provide clear distinctions between different responses to the experience of persecution and conversion with a historian's dedicated immersion in the fascinating sources he mines to tell his story. Probing beneath the surface without ever disrupting its contours, he demonstrates a finely honed sense for what is possible within given historical situations, and a powerful sensitivity to the texture of different individual experiences. His overall picture of the uncertain, shifting, multiple forms of identity fostered by the situations in which Marranos had to live, and of their connection to the larger problems of modern selfhood, should make his book of great interest to a wide variety of readers. -- Jerrold Seigel, William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of History Emeritus, New York University, and author of "The Idea of the Self"
Preface ix Acknowledgments xvii Part One: A Millennium of Jewish Spain Chapter 1: Sefarad, the Spanish Jerusalem 3 Chapter 2: Reconquest and Revival: The Cross Is Back 29 Chapter 3: Pogroms and Mass Conversions 40 Part Two: Marrano Otherness and Dualities Chapter 4: Conversos: The Other Within 57 Chapter 5: The New Otherness: Duality in Many Faces 78 Chapter 6: Marrano Mosaic I: Places, Persons, Poems 103 Chapter 7: The Arias d'Avilas: Hidden Jews or Marrano Dualists? 126 Part Three: The Growing Marrano Problem Chapter 8: Enrique the Impotent: Prosperity, Anarchy, and Inquisition on the Horizon 139 Chapter 9: Ferdinand, Isabella, and the "True Inquisition" 153 Chapter 10: The Great Expulsion 176 Part Four: Portuguese Marranism Takes Over Chapter 11: Trap in Portugal 189 Chapter 12: Portuguese Inquisition, Pure Blood, and the "Nation" 209 Part Five: New Christian Religions and Spanish Culture Chapter 13: A Judaizing Marrano Religion 227 Chapter 14: New Christians at the Forefront of Spanish Culture 240 Chapter 15: A Christian Religion of the Interior 246 Chapter 16: Picaresque Antiheroes 263 Part Six: Dispersion and Modernity Chapter 17: Marranos Globalized: The Networks, the "Nation" 287 Chapter 18: Marrano Mosaic II: Wanderers, Martyrs, Intellectuals, Dissenters 315 Chapter 19: Marranos and Western Modernity 337 Chapter 20: Marranos and Jewish Modernity 359 Epilogue Present-Day Marranos 378 Appendix: Trends in the Literature 389 Notes 405 Works Cited 457 Index 477
Yirmiyahu Yovel is the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research and chairman of the Jerusalem Spinoza Institute. He has written widely on philosophy and history, and his books include "Spinoza and Other Heretics" (Princeton); "Kant and the Philosophy of History" (Princeton); and "Dark Riddle: Hegel, Nietzsche, and the Jews".
"The Other Within remains a brilliant reappraisal of modernity's birth."--Giulia F. Miller, Times Higher Education "Impressive and detailed, The Other Within will ... leave many questions unanswered for new generations intrigued by its subject."--Jewish Book World "Here we have a respected author who makes a mammoth endeavour to unravel the long Saga and minds of the Marranos... One can only give praise for the delving efforts, of this lengthy book."--Gloria Mound, Casa Shalom Members Journal "Yovel tackles in considerable depth how the mass conversions of the Jews enforced a psychological duality... Yovel's efforts of historical research are remarkable."--Gloria Mound, European Legacy "[E]rudite and comprehensive study... With a literary style that exhibits clarity of purpose interlaced with passion, Yirmiyahu Yovel supports his thesis with a series of scholarly portraits based on contemporary trial records, personal stories, prayers, customs, and popular poems."--Paulette L. Pepin, Historian "This book is a major contribution to the field of Marrano studies, following on previous major academic studies."--Judith Oumani, Sephardic Horizons "[T]his is a captivating synthesis that reveals much about religious identity and mentality on the eve of modernity."--Gary K. Waite, Canadian Journal of History
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