Was Interfaith Marriage Uncommon In The 1920s?

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The Concept Comes To 'Downton Abbey' But Is The Tension Just "Classic Crawley"?



Leah Thomas
16 hours ago

Lily James’ character on Downton Abbey has always been a bit rebellious. She entered the series by sneaking out to go to jazz clubs. Now, her latest beau Atticus Aldridge is Jewish — Could Rose marry a Jewish man on Downton Abbey? Their relationship blossomed around the same time that Edith learns the father of her child was killed in a Nazi riot in Germany. Of course, 1924 is a far cry from the Second World War in some aspects, but this season of the show has given us a keen reminder that it was a long time coming. The real question is, would interfaith marriage be controversial in 1920s England?

The Crawleys don’t strike me as particularly anti-Semitic, but they are old-fashioned. What about the social conventions of the early 1920s? Whether the Crawleys were ahead or behind, there still are the times to consider.

Atticus’ family fled the pogroms in the Ukraine, a series of Anti-Semitic attacks lead by the Russian Empire that took lives and property away from many Jewish families. Not to over-simplify this horrifying era in history, but to put it in context — the pogroms during that period are also the subject matter of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Atticus’ family has escaped persecution once before. England may be more polite about it, but there was prejudice there at the time as well.

Of course, it was controversial when Lady Sybil Crawley married Thomas Branson, but more because he was working class than because he was Irish Catholic. So this isn’t the first time that an interfaith relationship has graced the halls of Downton Abbey. Last week, Isobel commented that it was better than the Catholics because Rose would not be expected to convert. “There’s always something, isn’t there,” retorted the Dowager Countess.

http://www.bustle.com/articles/63013-was-interfaith-marriage-uncommon-in-the-1920s-the-concept-comes-to-downton-abbey-but-is-the