Introduction

Augustus Melmotte, the central figure in Anthony Trollope’s The Way We Live Now, is a ruthless financier of unknown origins. When he arrives in England he brings with him a wife, daughter, and rumors of vast wealth and the cunning used to acquire it. Trollope’s depiction of Melmotte and his wife, Madame Melmotte, a known “Jewess,” utilize stereotypical characterizations of Jews in order to create the Melmottes and a number of secondary actors. These stereotypes change based on whether the character in question is Jewish or just rumored to be Jewish, but in either situation Trollope alters and adds to these stereotypes to make these fictional people more realistic. Because of the anti-Semitism that follows through the literature of the period, these tropes were familiar enough to be readily recognized by contemporary readers. Though this is a satirical novel and a certain level of inversion of these motifs is expected in order to exaggerate their ridiculousness, Trollope does just the opposite. He shows that all the rumors that surround the Jewish characters and their exaggerated stereotyping are accurate reflections of their characters.