Svengali

This article is about the fictional character. For other uses, see Svengali (disambiguation).
Svengali as a spider in his web. Illustration by George du Maurier, 1895

Svengali (/svɛŋˈɡɑːli/) is a fictional character in George du Maurier's 1895 novel Trilby. Svengali is a man of Eastern European origin who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young English girl, and makes her a famous singer.[1]

Definition

The word "svengali" has come to refer to a person who, with evil intent, dominates, manipulates, and controls a creative person such as a singer or actor.

In court, a "Svengali defense"[2] is a legal tactic that purports the defendant to be a pawn in the scheme of a greater, and more influential, criminal mastermind.

Wilton Lackaye as Svengali

Novel

[Svengali] would either fawn or bully, and could be grossly impertinent. He had a kind of cynical humor which was more offensive than amusing and always laughed at the wrong thing, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. And his laughter was always derisive and full of malice.[3]

In the novel, Svengali transforms Trilby into a great singer by using hypnosis. Unable to perform without Svengali's help, Trilby becomes entranced. The novel is less a discussion of the relationship between Svengali and Trilby than an evocation of "Bohemian" Paris during the 1850s.

Portrayals

Svengali was first portrayed by the actor Wilton Lackaye in the United States and by Herbert Beerbohm Tree in London, in the 1895 stage play, Trilby. The general story has also been used for multiple movies. The character was portrayed in the following films, all titled Svengali: by Paul Wegener in the 1927 German silent film; by John Barrymore in 1931; by Donald Wolfit in 1954 (in Technicolor); by Peter O'Toole in a 1983 made-for-television modernized version co-starring Jodie Foster; and by Martin Freeman in 2013. In both the 1983 and 2013 movies, the names of the characters were changed. Derren Brown performed an Olivier Award–winning live show titled Svengali in 2012.

References

  1. ↑ Rosenberg, Edgar, "From Shylock to Svengali: Jewish stereotypes in English fiction." (Stanford University Press, 1960)
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Du Maurier, George. Trilby. Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. Volume 88, number 525. February 1894. p. 329.

See also

External links

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