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Originally Posted by barryem
I remember learning about cultural relativism in a sociology course in college; the idea that we should judge a culture on it's own terms and not on our own. I think that's exactly what we should do in the case of old novels.
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With regard to Sayers, though, there were allegations of anti-Semitism about her even in her lifetime. Even her own translators often asked her if they could alter the language to be less objectionable in translation.
She denied such charges, maintaining that her treatment of Jewish people was actually more favorable than that of anyone else. She felt that she was holding up a mirror to social views rather than supporting those views.
There's a lot of nuance there, but it's not a case of modern society imposing its values on the era. The discussion was there out of the gate.
moment [sic] magazine has
an thoughtful article on the allegations with respect to Sayers:
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Just how did the celebrated detective novelist actually feel about her Jewish characters—and why, in these books, can’t she seem to shut up about them? Why are there so many? Something is going on, something more complicated and personal than casual anti-Semitism and a good deal more interesting…
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