Dorothee Metlitzki
Encyclopedia
Dorothee Metlitzki (July 27, 1914 - April 14, 2001) was an author and professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley
and, for most of her career, at Yale University
. She was a specialist in medieval English literature
and history, Arabic literature
and language and of the author Herman Melville
.
In addition she was a Zionist who played an important role in the foundation of the modern State of Israel.
, one in medieval English and one in classical Arabic. After helping found Hebrew University in Jerusalem's department of English she moved to the US to attend Yale University, graduating with a PhD in 1954.
She then took a position at the University of California, Berkeley's English department as lecturer and later, in 1964, as an associate professor, the department's second woman to ever be tenured. This was followed, in 1966, by teaching for 36 years at Yale University and also becoming the second woman to ever be tenured by that University's department of English as well.
She published several academic books dealing with her interests including Celestial Origin of Elpheta and Algarsyf in Chaucer's "Squire's Tale," Melville's "Orienda" and The Matter of Araby in Medieval England
.
, (East Prussia
) but soon moved to Yekaterinburg
, Russia
, where her father worked as a tradesman.
Her father was imprisoned during the Russian Revolution and her mother moved the rest of the family to Lithuania
, where her father rejoined them after his stay in prison.
Having left Lithuania for London following outbreaks of anti-semitism
, Metlitzki became an active Zionist in England, working with fellow Zionists Eban
, Golda Meir
and Moshe Sharet on the development of the State of Israel. She moved to Jerusalem after World War II
and spent 15 years there founding the English department at Hebrew University.
In 1943 she married the Arabist
Paul Kraus
who had come with his baby daughter from Cairo, after his wife's death at birth. Kraus left back to the University of Cairo alone, as Dorothee was ill at a Jerusalem hospital. Within several months Kraus was found dead, alleged to have committed suicide. She remarried the Jewish Egyptologist Bernhard Grdseloff in 1945, and the couple had a daughter, Ruth. In 1947 Grdseloff developed cancer, and was hospitalized in Cairo, before the family was able to leave for Palestine, towards the establishment of the State of Israel. Dorothee spent the next years traveling between Israel and Egypt - then enemy states, and tending to her husband, till his death in a Cairo
hospital in 1950.
In 1953, she moved to Connecticut with her sole daughter, and worked at Yale University. There she had a short marriage with the Assyrologist Jacob Finkelstein, moving after him to Berkeley, California
, but the two quickly parted, and she returned to Yale where she taught until her death.
, Metlitzki worked for advancing the Zionist movement, visiting various countries and speaking before Zionist women.
During the reign of Golda Meir in Israel, Metlitzki worked in the government there as a press officer for the Foreign Ministry and secretary for the affairs of Arab women in the Israeli Federation of Labor. Using her knowledge of the Arabic language and culture, she served the Arab women, protecting their rights, with the vision of a bi-lingual bi-cultural state.
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and, for most of her career, at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. She was a specialist in medieval English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and history, Arabic literature
Arabic literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
and language and of the author Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
.
In addition she was a Zionist who played an important role in the foundation of the modern State of Israel.
Academic Life
Dorothee Metlitzki received a BA and two MA degrees from the University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, one in medieval English and one in classical Arabic. After helping found Hebrew University in Jerusalem's department of English she moved to the US to attend Yale University, graduating with a PhD in 1954.
She then took a position at the University of California, Berkeley's English department as lecturer and later, in 1964, as an associate professor, the department's second woman to ever be tenured. This was followed, in 1966, by teaching for 36 years at Yale University and also becoming the second woman to ever be tenured by that University's department of English as well.
She published several academic books dealing with her interests including Celestial Origin of Elpheta and Algarsyf in Chaucer's "Squire's Tale," Melville's "Orienda" and The Matter of Araby in Medieval England
The Matter of Araby in Medieval England
The Matter of Araby in Medieval England is a 1977 book by Dorothee Metlitzki in which the author attempts to show the beginnings of the relationship between medieval England and the Arab world...
.
Personal life
Dorothee Metlitzki was born in 1914 in the city of KönigsbergKönigsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, (East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
) but soon moved to Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, where her father worked as a tradesman.
Her father was imprisoned during the Russian Revolution and her mother moved the rest of the family to Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, where her father rejoined them after his stay in prison.
Having left Lithuania for London following outbreaks of anti-semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, Metlitzki became an active Zionist in England, working with fellow Zionists Eban
EBAN
This article is about the European business investment organization. For the Israeli statesman, see Abba Eban.EBAN is the independent and non-profit European Trade Association for angel investors, Seed Funds, and other Early Stage Market Players....
, Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
and Moshe Sharet on the development of the State of Israel. She moved to Jerusalem after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and spent 15 years there founding the English department at Hebrew University.
In 1943 she married the Arabist
Arabist
This is an article about the western scholars known as Arabists, not the political movement Pan-Arabism.An Arabist is someone normally from outside the Arab World who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, and often Arabic literature.-Origins:Arabists began in medieval...
Paul Kraus
Paul Kraus (Arabist)
Eliezer Paul Kraus was a Jewish Arabist, born in Prague. In the late 1930s he moved to Cairo, where in 1944 he committed suicide; there is no evidence that he was politically assassinated.-Academic Studies and Work:...
who had come with his baby daughter from Cairo, after his wife's death at birth. Kraus left back to the University of Cairo alone, as Dorothee was ill at a Jerusalem hospital. Within several months Kraus was found dead, alleged to have committed suicide. She remarried the Jewish Egyptologist Bernhard Grdseloff in 1945, and the couple had a daughter, Ruth. In 1947 Grdseloff developed cancer, and was hospitalized in Cairo, before the family was able to leave for Palestine, towards the establishment of the State of Israel. Dorothee spent the next years traveling between Israel and Egypt - then enemy states, and tending to her husband, till his death in a Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
hospital in 1950.
In 1953, she moved to Connecticut with her sole daughter, and worked at Yale University. There she had a short marriage with the Assyrologist Jacob Finkelstein, moving after him to Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, but the two quickly parted, and she returned to Yale where she taught until her death.
Political and Social Activity
In the late 1930s, Before the establishment of the state of IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Metlitzki worked for advancing the Zionist movement, visiting various countries and speaking before Zionist women.
During the reign of Golda Meir in Israel, Metlitzki worked in the government there as a press officer for the Foreign Ministry and secretary for the affairs of Arab women in the Israeli Federation of Labor. Using her knowledge of the Arabic language and culture, she served the Arab women, protecting their rights, with the vision of a bi-lingual bi-cultural state.
Academic work
Metlitzki published several books and papers, most on the positive impact that the Arabic language and culture had on medieval Europe. She lectured about the role of woman, and woman of minorities in particular, in the modern state. She believed that once the importance of woman and minority cultures will be understood, they will be able to fully integrate with the majority cultures in the west.Further reading
- Paul Kraus (Arabist)Paul Kraus (Arabist)Eliezer Paul Kraus was a Jewish Arabist, born in Prague. In the late 1930s he moved to Cairo, where in 1944 he committed suicide; there is no evidence that he was politically assassinated.-Academic Studies and Work:...
Metlitzki's first husband - Her MA Thesis in London 1938 A study of Arabic influences on the literature and thought of the English Middle Ages.
- The mater of Araby in Mideival England Metlitzki's most important book, Yale Press, (ISBN 9780300114102) Reprint July 2005
- A tribute to Dorothee Metlitzky
- Newspaper clipping from the Canadian Jewish Review where Devorah Metlitzky, head of Arab Women's section in the Histadrut, is invited as guest speaker at a Zionist banquet.
- Melville's Orienda Book by Dorothee Metlitsky Finkelstein (ISBN 0300116462), Yale Books, 1961
- Obituary of Berkley University
- Eduard Said on Metlitzki (Hebrew) in his foreword for the Hebrew edition of his book.