Due to their unique physical features, the lack of solid religion, and nomadic lifestyle, for a long period of time, the gypsies were looked down by mainstream society. Numerous western literatures in the 18th century directly / indirectly reflected the social role of the gypsies of the time, such as <La Gitanilla> (by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra), <Wihelm Meisters> (by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), <Notre Dame de Paris> (by Victor Hugo), and <Carmen> (by Prosper Merimee).
"Deep Melancholy, heart-piercing grief, and wild despair" (qtd. in Bellman 1998 75) is the appropriate description for the life of the gypsy people. The history of the gypsies can be considered as one of misery. It is true that due to their physical appearance, foreign tongue, behaviors and exotic customs, the gypsies were subjected to disapproval by others. However, what was considered even more outrageous was their rootless lifestyle combined with, not only the lack of a Christian faith, but a complete absence of fixed religious beliefs altogether. It is obvious that such a lifestyle was deemed abnormal to a Europe that "associated personhood, for most of society, with the locality of ones birth". (Bellman 1998 75) Moreover, in 16th century Europe, people believed that from nobility to peasantry, each caste of the societal hierarchy had its own particular place and mission. It can be clearly seen the difficulties to fit the gypsies into such a political-religious system. The gypsies therefore were regarded as rude, wild, and dangerous strangers. They were the target of suspect and satire. The occupations they typically took were various low-pay, low-level social positions, such as blacksmiths, magicians, musicians, and dancers. Some even had the ill fortune to work as slaves.
The gypsies had started to appear in western literature during the emerging period of the Style Hongrois (around the 18th century). In many works, the gypsies were characterized with wandering, irresistible attraction, and betrayal. At times, they even were symbolized as baby-snatchers, thieves, and witches. In Bellman's "Gypsies in literature & culture" chapter, there are interesting descriptions of the exaggerated gypsy stereotype in western literature at that time.
"If the author needs loneliness and gloom, this is what the Gypsies represent; if a threatening criminal class is called for, particularly where theft is concerned, the Gypsies can always serve; if one simply needs a group of wonderers, the Gypsies come immediately to mind. They also do yeoman's duty as the personification of sexual infidelity, particularly in cases where circumstances have led one's characters into temptation". (Bellman 1993 76)
Apparently, these mysterious and fairy-like social roles reflected the Europeans' fear and distrust on the wandering alien. The Gypsies (1824) by Alexander Pushkin, (Upon which, Rachmaninov composed an opera called Aleko) well illustrated an aspect of the gypsy stereotype. This play tells the story of the protagonist, Aleko, who falls in love with a charming gypsy girl during his travels with a band of gypsies. A year later, the gypsy girl betrays him. The whole story, to a certain extent, sounds similar to Carmen (1847) by Merimee and shares similar results: the male protagonist kills the gypsy girl and her lover to express his hatred.
Even though literary stories in the 18th and 19th century which colored the gypsies with biases were abound, some works in which the authors expressed their sympathy for the mistreatment of the gypsies can be found. Such works include Ludwig Achim von Arnim's Isabella von Agypten (1812) and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's play Gotz von Berlichingen (1773).
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