Have you ever wondered why the Jewish moneylender in the film «Chasing two hares» has almost lost his Jewish features? Rostyslav Semkiv invites us to look at Mykhailo Starytskyi’s famous comedy and Viktor Ivanov’s film adaptation from an unexpected angle — through the lens of how the image of the Jewish character has changed.
Rostyslav Semkiv is a literary scholar, Candidate of Philological Sciences, associate professor in the Volodymyr Morenets Department of Literary Studies at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and senior research fellow for the project.
The article focuses on a comparison of Mykhailo Starytsky’s comedy «Chasing two hares» with its literary source — Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky’s play «At the leatherworkers’» — and Viktor Ivanov’s famous 1961 film adaptation. The researcher traces how the image of the Jewish moneylender has evolved: from a psychologically individualized character to a generalized theatrical type, and later to a character whose distinct ethnic traits have almost disappeared.
“Thus, even at the level of the comedy’s overall ethnic composition, it is clear that Starytskyi is not depicting a conflict between Ukrainians and Jews, but rather the complex interplay of several cultural systems. Ukrainian culture forms the foundation of the depicted world, Russian culture defines the social hierarchy, French culture symbolizes prestige and fashion, and Jewish culture is associated with the city’s economic infrastructure.”
The article shows that changes in the character’s portrayal were linked to the historical context. While Mykhailo Starytskyi still portrays the Jewish character as an important part of 19th-century multi-ethnic Kyiv, in the Soviet film adaptation his ethnic identity almost disappears under the influence of de-ethnicization policies. At the same time, the researcher notes that Jewish culture does not completely disappear from the film. Its presence is preserved through music—the appearance of an authentic klezmer ensemble, which serves as a reminder of the multicultural environment of old Kyiv. Rostyslav Semkiv’s article offers a fresh perspective on this well-known classic and explores how literature and cinema reflect changes in society, culture, and attitudes toward ethnic diversity.
The full article will be available this summer following the online publication of the project’s Imagological Collection on the website.
This publication was produced as part of the project "Jewish Heritage in Ukraine: Interdisciplinary Reflections through the Lens of Archival Documents, Culture, History, and Literature", implemented by the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy with the support of UNESCO Ukraine and the European Union.
All publications are produced with the financial support of the European Union. Their content is the sole responsibility of the partners and does not necessarily reflect the position of the European Union.