This chapter traces the development of the figure of the golem from its early appearance in Jewish text to its presentation in modern literature, as a test case for the boundaries between human and non-human. Unlike the rabbinic literature in which the golem first appears and attracts questions of legal ramifications, modern literature investigates questions of emotion and eros. In the literary treatments reviewed, the golem is narratively acknowledged as an autonomous being when it exhibits the capacity for emotional attachment and agency.