Eliza Marian Butler (29 December 1885 – 13 November 1959), was an English linguist, academic, and scholar of German who successively held two prestigious endowed professorships: the Henry Simon Chair in German (1936–1944) at

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

; and the Schröder Professor of German at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(from 1945). She was the first women ever appointed to either of these chairs. Controversial when first published, and banned in Germany, her 1935 book ''The Tyranny of Greece over Germany'', became a classic of German cultural analysis in the English-speaking world after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In addition to academic works, published as E. M. Butler and Elizabeth M. Butler, she published two novels and a memoir.

Early life

Eliza Butler, known as "Elsie", was born in Bardsea,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, to a family of Anglo-Irish ancestry. She was educated by a Norwegian governess (from whom she learned German) and subsequently in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

from age 11, Paris from age 15, the school of domestic science at Reifenstein Abbey from age 18, and

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

from 21. As a teenager, she watched Kaiser Wilhelm II inspect his troops. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

she worked as an interpreter and nurse in Scottish units on the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

s (she had learned Russian from Jane Harrison) and treated the victims of the German assault.

Career

After working in hospitals, she taught at Cambridge and in 1936 became a professor at the

. Her works include a trilogy on

ritual magic Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitione ...

and the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

, especially in the

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

legend (1948–1952). In her 1935 work, ''The Tyranny of Greece over Germany'', she wrote that Germany has had "too much exposure to Ancient Greek literature and art. The result was that the German mind had succumbed to 'the tyranny of an ideal'. The German worship of Ancient Greece had emboldened the Nazis to remake Europe in their image." It was controversial in Britain and its translation was banned in Germany. Butler also wrote two novels. Her autobiography, ''Paper Boats'', was published by

William Collins, Sons William Collins, Sons & Co., often referred to as Collins, was a Scotland, Scottish printing and publishing company founded by a Presbyterianism, Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins (publisher), William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in par ...

in the year of her death. Butler was awarded an honorary doctorate (D. Litt.) from London University in 1957 and one from Oxford University in 1958.

Legacy

In her research on German

orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

, the scholar Suzanne L. Marchand built upon Butler's German cultural critique; Marchand, too, emphasised the political overtones of ('Oriental studies') and Germany's

philhellenism Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron, Charles Nicolas Fabvier and Richard Church to a ...

. Marchand is critical of

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic, and political activist. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he was among the founders of Postcolonialism, post-co ...

's view, expressed in his ''

Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

'', that German orientalism was not of the same pernicious quality as the

of the colonial powers, France and Britain. Said's belief was that Germany historically had a mostly "classical" interest in the Orient. In contrast, Marchand agrees with Butler in concluding that the use of classical Greece by 18th- to the early-20th-century German nationalism was a factor in the rise of fascist ideology.

Personal life

Butler had a long-term committed relationship with fellow-scholar Isaline Blew Horner. From 1926 until Butler's death, the two lived and travelled together. Butler died in London on 13 November 1959.

Selected works

* ''The Saint-Simonian Religion'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1926) * ''The Tempestuous Prince'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1929) * ''Sheridan: A Ghost Story'' (London: Constable, 1931) * ''The Tyranny of Greece Over Germany: A Study of the Influence Exercised by Greek Art and Poetry Over the Great German Writers of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries'' (Cambridge University Press, 1935; reprinted 1958 Boston: Beacon; and 2012 Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, ). * ''Rainer Maria Rilke'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1941; reprinted 1946 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) * ''The Myth of the Magus'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1947) * ''Ritual Magic'' (University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1949; reimpression 1998) * ''Daylight in a Dream'' (London: The Hogarth Press, 1951) * ''Silver Wings'' (London: The Hogarth Press, 1952) * ''The Fortunes of Faust'' (Cambridge University Press, 1952) * ''Heinrich Heine: a biography'' (Hogarth Press, 1956) * ''Paper Boats'' (London: Collins, 1959), a volume of reminiscences

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Eliza Marian 1885 births 1959 deaths British Germanists Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Schröder Professors of German People from Lancashire (before 1974)