ABSTRACT
Nathan Englander’s short-story collection For the Relief of Unbearable Urges revolves around the experience of being Jewish, and spans a time period from the World Wars to the modern day. Englander’s focus is on the persecution of Jews throughout the twentieth century, whether it be in Stalinist Russia or Hitler’s Germany. Englander puts the blame on the acquiescence of the secular public sphere, which allowed the persecution and genocide of Jews. With modernity comes secularization, which is a problematic point because it takes away the recourse for a possible spiritual regeneration that for Englander and his protagonists is the only means for rescue in a world that has abandoned the Jewish man. Englander proposes as the alternative a discourse that is not purged of religious significance, a religious public sphere where the publicness of one’s religious identity need not be a hindrance in order to contribute to a discourse. This paper will focus on how secular and religious publics have failed to address issues of genocide and violence with a keen focus on Englander’s stories, and the need to rethink public discourse, which should be post-religious and perhaps even post-secular, if there can be such a thing.
