Reading of “En Jøde” by Meïr Aron Goldschmidt

A TRANSITION Culture Club event.

For the next TRANSITION Culture Club, we will read Meïr Aron Goldschmidt’s novel En Jøde from 1845 (find the English translation) – a central work in Danish literary history and an early literary exploration of Jewish life, belonging, and exclusion in 19th-century Denmark.

The novel follows Jacob Bendixen, a young Jewish man who tries to find his place in Danish society. Torn between his Jewish background and his wish to be accepted by the surrounding Christian majority, Jacob moves through a world shaped by prejudice, social expectations, and fragile possibilities of belonging. Through his story, Goldschmidt offers both a social critique and a psychological portrait of what it means to live between communities and identities.

TRANSITION Culture Club is a shared reading format where we gather to read a selected literary text and explore how fiction can inform reflections on rural–urban transitions and historical change. Everyone with an interest in literature and societal transformation is welcome to join.

Sign up for the event.