Miriam’s Red Jewel: Jewish Femininity and Cultural Memory in Hawthorne’s The Marble Faun

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is excellent academic work, providing an original perspective on _The Marble Faun_ and contributing to multiple fields of study. I have very few suggestions for improvement, and some of the hiccups in the essay (such as missing citations, punctuation errors, etc.) will likely be addressed in the publication process. 

However, there is one place where the scholar makes a claim about the novel that I think needs further consideration. The scholar claims on page 8, line 328 that Hawthorne "never directly identifies Miriam as Jewish..." I'm not sure, though, that it's accurate to say that Hawthorne never directly addresses this because at the end of the novel in chapter 47, Miriam explains her (until then) mysterious background, and the novel reads, "She described herself as springing from English parentage, on the mother's side, but with a vein, likewise, of Jewish blood..." I think that attending to this particular description of Miriam's identity could help strengthen the author's argument. 

In general, I think the scholar sometimes rushes through the explorations of the primary sources, including jumping back and forth between primary sources without properly orienting the reader. I think that a little more thoroughness and attention to detail of primary source analysis would make this already excellent work better. 

Author Response

There is one place where the scholar makes a claim about the novel that I think needs further consideration. The scholar claims on page 8, line 328 that Hawthorne "never directly identifies Miriam as Jewish..." I'm not sure, though, that it's accurate to say that Hawthorne never directly addresses this because at the end of the novel in chapter 47, Miriam explains her (until then) mysterious background, and the novel reads, "She described herself as springing from English parentage, on the mother's side, but with a vein, likewise, of Jewish blood..." I think that attending to this particular description of Miriam's identity could help strengthen the author's argument. 

Thank you for this important correction. I have revised my wording throughout to avoid the overstatement. Instead of saying Hawthorne “never directly identifies Miriam as Jewish,” I now specify that he withholds explicit naming until the final chapters, when Miriam reveals “a vein, likewise, of Jewish blood” (ch. 47). I highlight how this late disclosure complicates her characterization: it confirms her Jewish heritage, but only after the narrative has already constructed her through hints, symbols, and Orientalist codes. I believe this adjustment makes the argument stronger by acknowledging Hawthorne’s textual moment of disclosure while still emphasizing his deliberate narrative strategy of delay

 

In general, I think the scholar sometimes rushes through the explorations of the primary sources, including jumping back and forth between primary sources without properly orienting the reader. I think that a little more thoroughness and attention to detail of primary source analysis would make this already excellent work better. 

I appreciate this suggestion and have revised accordingly. To give readers better orientation, I slowed down my treatment of the primary texts by:

• Adding bridging sentences between case studies (e.g., between Rebecca/Rowena and Miriam), so the typological connections are clearer and less abrupt.

• Inserting contextual reminders (dates of publication, plot moments, character roles) before moving from one text to another.

• Clarifying transitions with short signposting phrases (e.g., “This typology resurfaces in Miriam…”).

These adjustments ensure that each source analysis flows more gradually, and the argument develops with greater clarity.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This was a fascinating read! It's wonderful also to have more scholarship on Hawthorne and Hebrew Bible/Jewish studies. Your work reinforces how integral an understanding of Hebrew Bible/Jewish studies are to a fuller understanding of Hawthorne's work. 

The only moment I that gave me pause was the reference to Fine's scholarship on the menorah: "The menorah... stands as a literal and symbolic artifact of Jewish displacement and Roman conquest" (Fine, 2016). True, but balancing this with the menorah's positive symbolism of perseverance despite minority status/impossible odds (and perhaps with the miraculous?) might fill out the the analogy. 

Author Response

Reviewer Comment:
The only moment that gave me pause was the reference to Fine's scholarship on the menorah: "The menorah... stands as a literal and symbolic artifact of Jewish displacement and Roman conquest" (Fine, 2016). True, but balancing this with the menorah's positive symbolism of perseverance despite minority status/impossible odds (and perhaps with the miraculous?) might fill out the analogy.

Response:
Thank you for this valuable suggestion. I have revised the section on the menorah to reflect its dual symbolic valence. While I retain Fine’s important framing of the menorah as a Roman spoil and symbol of displacement, I now also emphasize its enduring positive associations within Jewish tradition—particularly its connection to miraculous survival, resilience, and the illumination of truth. I highlight how Hawthorne’s description of the menorah’s “colored lustre” resonates with both trauma and hope, reinforcing the jewel’s doubleness as wound and lamp. This balancing enriches the analogy and underscores the layered cultural meanings that Miriam’s jewel carries

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a nuanced and original study.  I'm impressed by the focus on Miriam's jewel, and by the author's ability to link this to other similar images in both fiction and painting.  A bit more on the Rothchild painting would be useful, in particular with regards to how and why it was deemed as so sexually suggestive.  Overall, though, this is an incisive and valuable essay--it's also well-written and nicely paced.  Congratulations on an excellent piece of scholarship!

Author Response

Reviewer Comment:
This is a nuanced and original study. I’m impressed by the focus on Miriam’s jewel, and by the author’s ability to link this to other similar images in both fiction and painting. A bit more on the Rothschild painting would be useful, in particular with regards to how and why it was deemed as so sexually suggestive.

Response:
I am grateful for this generous assessment and for the helpful suggestion regarding the Rothschild portrait. I have expanded that section to clarify both the artistic and cultural sources of its perceived eroticism. Specifically, I added detail on Ingres’s compositional choices (the Baronne’s relaxed posture, the contouring drapery, and the directness of her gaze) and explained how contemporary critics such as L. de Geffroy found these features excessive, reading them through an Orientalist lens. I also note that the reception was shaped by Rothschild’s Jewish identity, which made this overt sensualization culturally permissible in ways it would not have been for a Catholic aristocrat. This expansion strengthens the analogy with Miriam’s jewel by showing more precisely how artistic detail and cultural bias intersected in producing the portrait’s sexual suggestiveness.