The Evolution Changes in Yentl Character - Assignment Example

The Evolution Changes in Yentl Character Yentl, a young Jewish girl, goes against all odds by wanting to study Talmud; she eventually does so by dressing as a man and cutting her hair, setting the stage for a unique transformational story. The transformation begins with her adoption of a male name Anshel so as to able to study Torah. The story is about the deception of the heart, the mystery of appearances and the Devine androgyny of the soul. The familiar feminist presentation of the fable is still intact; a young woman’s resistance to the demeaning and diminishing society’s expectation for her as per the male supremacist hegemony in the region. The theme of change has been brought out effectively as the character struggles to transform in a system that is against female progress. Yentl was a young Jewish woman who longed to become a rabbi and live like a man. Yentl took on a male persona despite the Torah’s prohibition against putting on clothes of an opposite sex. Even after changing her name to Anshel and acting like a man, she fell in love with another rabbinical student by the name Avigdor (Singer & Farrell, 1992). The paper explains the changes that the main character in the story went through in order to accomplish her goals. Yentl was born in a society that was against female education and supported early marriages for young girls. She gets support from the father who can educate her in the privacy while the door and window are closed. The theme of change is depicted when she refuses to get married at a younger age and moves out of her community in such of education with an intention of becoming a rabbi through camouflaging herself as a male. Yentl can explore gender roles; her father explains to her that mistakes can also be made in heaven when she inquires why she was never born a boy. Although she was female, she had hopes of studying and becoming a rabbi. She can perform well in class just like her peers (Singer & Farrell, 1992). No one could discover her gender until at that time when she decided to reveal it. She proves that female too can be able to do those tasks and activities that are performed by women. She gets married to Hadass even though with an intention of preserving her for Avigdor. Yentl‘s story is complex and layered. It depicts the struggles of a woman who disobeys the Jewish law, runs from home and joins a Yeshiva that is a place for rabbinical learning. She can achieve this in disguise. Isaac Bashevis singer’s story equates Yentl’s story with women liberation and fight for gender equity. The character depicts a hard fighting feminist who stops at nothing to accomplish her goal of studying Jewish religion. Yentl is potentially polyamorous and bisexual. Such features enable her to disguise herself as a man while at the same makes use of the male privileges. Her actions indicate that females too can perform activities done by the opposite gender (Singer & Farrell, 1992). She pretends to be a man in order to pursue religious studies and escape marriage. She dresses in her father’s clothes and cuts her hair short in order to look like a man. She does not want to get married and become as housewife. Her father says, “Yentl, you posses the soul of a man”. These outline her father’s view towards her. Her father has recognized that Yentl is just not like any other girl. The view is supported by the character’s love for studying Torah as well as preference towards male activities. The story is all about change. She transforms herself into the opposite sex so as to accomplish her desires of getting education. The approach shows how the Jewish society was against female education. Additionally the community believed that women’s roles were to bear and rear children. It is the reason marriage lodgers flocked her home soon after the death of her father with an intention of convincing her to get married. The relationship between Anshel and Avigdor becomes stronger as they continue with their study. Anshel and Avigdor can forge a strong relationship based on their love for Talmud and Torah. Anshel can learn of the reason her friend is not yet married. She learns that Avigdor was engaged to Hadass, the daughter of the wealthiest citizen and the loveliest girl in town, and that the prospective in-laws broke the engagement after learning that his brother had committed suicide. For the love of Hadass, Avigdor convinces Anshel to marry Hadass as he ends up marrying Peshe, a shrewish widowed shopkeeper with an intention of ensuring that the woman he loves does not end up getting married to a total stranger. Yentl, the Yeshiva boy, is a story that shades light on gender inequality in Jewish culture and tradition. The culture was against women’s participation in the religious life, as well as issues of transgender character and gender dysphoria (Singer & Farrell, 1992). Yentl’s achievement, however, brings out a theme of change. Given the same opportunities just like other young men, she can study and perform well in the religious studies. The experience sends a message to the society that girls too are important and can be able to do activities just as their male counterpart. Her father’s assertion that, ‘mistakes can also be made by even) indicates that his approval towards Yentl’s behavior even though not allowed in the community. Yentl was thin, bony, tall and with small bones and narrow hips. Such characteristics made it easier for her to disguise as a man. Yentl, a passionate and smart woman has a soul of a man and has been informed by her rabbi father; secretly that anyone including heaven can make mistakes. Her father’s statement may imply that she may be transgender. She is accepted in yeshiva where no one can tell her true identity. She could not be able to study at her home since many people were aware of her gender (Singer & Farrell, 1992). Even after meeting and falling in love with Avigdor, she still maintains her name as Anshel. At the end of the story however, she can reveal her identity to Avigdor as female but ends abandoning her identity as a woman so as to survive in the society as a complete man. She only enjoys the freedom only after disguising herself as a man. Yentl had to change her gender so as to be able to be able to achieve her goals and succeed in her path. She was born a society where women roles were clearly set and was majorly associated with giving birth and taking care of the children. Her father realized that his daughter was quite different based on her love and interest in studying religious study. Even though the father was a rabbi, he taught his daughter religion although in secrecy. Women were being controlled by men at the time and tradition could not permit women to be educated or say the prayers. Yentl hated this and went to the extent of questioning her gender. She disliked the way women were being mistreated and realized that she was different and could not be able to perform some of those activities associated with women at the time. She tells Avigdor that, “I did not want to waste my life on kneading troughs and baking shovel”. These shows how she hated women activities and how she developed her interest in male activities. Yentl realized that the only way to accomplish her wish of studying Torah was to change her appearance and look like a young man. She also changes her name so as not be recognized by her female name she moves to a new area. She decides to assume the name of her late uncle. But despite being able to study Torah in such a restrictive environment, she is not allowed to practice it as a woman but only as a man. Transformation and change seem to have taken place throughout the story. Even after being closer to Avigdor during her school period she is unable to reveal her love towards him as a result of wanting to maintain her physical appearance. Even though she remains in disguise, she is able to show love towards Avigdor. Avigdor at some points says, “Why can’t people of female gender be like men”. His statement indicated that had discovered something unique with Anshel that was associated with the female gender, even though he continued to believe that Anshel was a man. She gets into a difficult situation when she ends up getting married to Hadass the daughter of a rich man. The society expects them to have children something that is impossible since she is female. Anshel tries to teach her wife Torah, but she ends up not paying attention. Hadass is aware that Torah is a man’s thing, and therefore she doesn’t see the need to know about it. These show how it is difficult to change some women on issues of gender (Singer & Farrell, 1992). She was the only girl in the society whose father had taught her Talmud. The society at such a time was against women reading scripture. But her urge to be different had resulted to so many changes that are aimed at ensuring that she can achieve her goal. After the death of her father, she realizes that the only way of accomplishing her goal is to move out of her home into another town for studies. She realizes that the only way of doing this is by ensuring that he can appear like a man by putting on male clothes that belonged to her father. Her struggles reveal the difficulties that women went through to bring change in the society as they fought for gender equality. Her father treasured the relationship between him and her daughter even though he is the reason behind her negative attitude toward feminine way of life and marriage (Singer & Farrell, 1992). Yentl becomes more anxious and adamant to live a different life after the demise of the father. During the mourning period, she is prevented from reciting Kaddish because she is female. These show one among the many activities that women are prevented from participating into. Her determination, however, reveals the struggles in which women go through as they fight for their rights in the society. While being disguised as a man, she can enjoy many privileges that are associated with male (Singer & Farrell, 1992). Even though after getting married she admits that being a man is not a blessing since they too have responsibilities that are sometimes difficult to achieve. By being closer to Avigdor, Yentl can accomplish her dream of studying religion. For the first period in her life, she can feel like an intellectual just like other men. She can enjoy the freedom that she always desired, the freedom that was only associated with men. Little was she aware that men too have responsibilities and roles that they are supposed to fulfill in the society. She, however, discovers this when she marries Hadass. She is however unable to act as a man before Hadass and decides to reveal to Avigdor that she is a woman after she realizes that she can’t continue cheating on her after the honey moon was over. Yentl tells Avigdor that, “I am a woman but not a man”. She goes ahead to reveal her feminine name. Yentl, the main character in the story has transformed herself into many different ways to enable her achieve her childhood goal. She always yearned to have freedom and be able to study Torah just like any other male (Singer & Farrell, 1992). She begins by changing her dwelling place and moving to a new area with a different identity. She changes her appearance by putting on male clothing that belonged to her father. She also changes her name to Anshel that is a male name. She did all this in order to accomplish her childhood goals of studying Torah and having freedom just like men. References Singer, I. B., & Farrell, G. (1992). Isaac Bashevis Singer: Conversations. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Read More