ABSTRACT
This chapter explores questions of Jewish identity and religious subjectivity by using Joann Sfar’s graphic novel The Rabbi’s Cat as a point of focus. It considers the relationship between Judaism, animals, and literature and challenges the link between spoken language and religion. Fictional narratives allow us to imagine a world in which animals, both human and nonhuman, can claim religious personhood. Animal representations in literature, far from being isolated from the concerns of real-life animals, can offer alternatives for multispecies engagement. Through this literary case study, we can examine how human and other than human animal identities have been historically constructed alongside one another, particularly in colonial contexts.
