New Faculty Publication by Annegret Oehme: “He should have listened to his wife!” 

Submitted by Michael Neininger on
Annegret Oehme, New Faculty Publication

The Construction of Women’s Roles in German and Yiddish Pre-modern 'Wigalois' Adaptations

This publication uncovers two previously dismissed pre-modern adaptations of the Middle High German Wigalois (1215) by exploring their different approaches to female agency in comparison with the original Wigalois, the Yiddish Viduvilt (14th ct.) and the German Wigoleis (15th ct.). Traditionally, scholarship often concentrated on the Yiddish text presenting female figures as behaving in a "Jewish manner" or embodying famous Jewish mythical figures such as Lilith (see Achim Jaeger / Robert G. Warnock). Rather than trying to argue for or against a figure’s "Jewishness," I evaluate these interpretations from the perspective of Arthurian Literature by showing that the construction of female agency is at the center of all three adaptations of this important chapter of German-Jewish literature and culture.

Publisher: De Gruyter 

Publication Date:
January 2020
Copyright year:
2020
ISBN
978-3-11-062440-3

Here is the book in brief in the UW Book Review: 

Annegret Oehme, an assistant professor in the Department of Germanics, has published a new book about adaptations and translations of Wigalois, a centuries-old tale describing the adventures of an Arthurian knight, across different languages and media.

He Should Have Listened to His Wife: The Construction of Women’s Roles in German and Yiddish Pre-Modern ‘Wigalois’ Adaptations” was published in January by De Gruyter.

The publication explores two previously dismissed pre-modern adaptations of the Middle High German 1215 verse-novel “Wigalois,” and their different approaches to female agency in comparison with the original text and later Yiddish and German versions, in the 14th and 15th centuries respectively.

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More news: Q&A with Annegret Oehme.

This interview by Jesús Hidalgo is part of the #UWtranslators series by the UW Translation Studies Hub at the Simpson Center.

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