The Breadgivers by Anzia Yerzierska - Literature review Example

Order 561516 Gender & Sexual Studies Topic: The issues of the womens status in society in The Breadgivers by Anzia Yerzierska. Introduction: You have, perhaps, never heard about a symposium on the subject, “Man-their role in the society.” Such discussions are always about women. The never-ending talk of gender and sexual equality goes on unabated. The various laws and enactments have failed to bring about equality for women. The change has to be achieved through inner transformation of men and women. God has created women with the status of more-equal. As the mother, she gives protection to the divine reproductive force, male or female! In most of the societies, the ground reality is, a female child is victimized at every step of life, from the moment of birth, notwithstanding the fact that it is she who sacrifices at those interventions. This is the general backgrounder information about the life of the female, in societies all over the world. But in this modern materialistic era, the woman finds herself in complex situations. Alice Kessler-Harris, in her foreword to the book, “The Breadgivers,” points out, “Her woman’s voice found a universal audience in a generation that sought to locate its own identities more firmly and mined memoir and biography for the larger meaning of a materially laden world.”(xii) The problem is further aggravated for an ambitious woman. Harris continues, “…as the young woman yearning to find a place in the world; as the aspiring intellectual trying to figure out what to give back; as the isolated adult searching for community.”(xvii) To get uprooted from one country under forced and tragic circumstances and to establish from the scratch in a new country to find an identity is a tough asking. The “Breadgivers” by Anzia Yerzierska (1889-1970), a Polish Jewish immigrant, is the story about one such individual. Through her trials, tribulations, duty and beauty of life she tries to find out assiduously its real meaning. She confronts the normal challenges in the life of a woman and succeeds in finding the answer for the special challenges too. The important themes dealt with in the book are-- the perils of dependence, the pressure of family obligations and individual independence, and the evergreen theme of human life—the elusive happiness. These themes need to be understood from the perspectives of life of women of the era to which the author belonged. 2. Poverty is a curse and abject poverty on the verge of starvation is a double-tragedy for any family. The Smolinksy family is placed in the latter category. The daughters Bessie, Mashah and Fania are unemployed and Mashah is addicted to beauty-aids. Their father, Reb Smolinsky is engrossed in reading holy books and doesn’t work but faithfully does the work of a Jewish father—managing his daughter’s wages. Mrs. Smolinsky, with the onerous responsibility of managing the family, expresses her displeasure over the state of affairs. The situation improves as Sara begins to sell herring and other sisters find jobs. Mrs. Smolinsky rents out the second room of the apartment which helps to further consolidate the family budget. The cupid’s arrow strikes Bessie. The youth of her choice is Berel Berensterin. On invitation, he arrives for dinner one night. When the issue comes to the notice of Reb Smolinsky, he exercises his right on the wages of Bessie. In addition, he demands that Bessie must own the entire wedding expenses and finance him to set up business. Earlier Berel has indicated that he will marry without accepting any dowry. Berel is enraged at the unreasonable demand and counsels her to defy her father and marry him. She doesn’t dare and Berel is engaged to another girl, crushing Bessie’s spirit. The love entanglements of his two other daughters Marshah and Fania are also broken due to the obstinacy of Reb Smolkinsky and his rigid stand on issues. He arranges the marriages of all his three daughters that end up in failure and frustration for them. Sara watches all these happenings with great anguish but her gender and age leave her powerless to act. Reb Smolinsky’s grocery business, in which he had invested money from Bessie’s marriage, ends up in total loss. Tension in the family touches the boiling point with the unrelenting and unreasonable criticisms from Reb Smolinsky. Unable to bear this Sara runs away from home. She encounters lots of personal problems, but preservers and graduates. She gains financial independence. Her mother dies, father remarries, and favorable tidings bring Hugo Seelig, the Principal of Sara’s school and Sara together. Both of them have a common heritage of Poland and Sara’s loneliness ends in his company. 3. Anzia Yezierska has given to the discerning readers a good novel. The themes of the novel and the author’s handling of the themes, both evoke interest. The level of neutral approach achieved by the author in the portrayal and developments of the characters is noteworthy. The various stages of the story manifest clearly. The plot turns meritorious on account of this approach. The lively interaction over the situations between different characters reveal in the most natural way, their convictions and the author’s intent in penning the book. This is the greatness of the novel. Though the subject of immigration and the trials and tribulations of the immigrants is not a new subject, the narrations are beautiful, touching, and pierce the hearts of the readers and at times create poignant situations. But nowhere the story loses is ground and reality. From an ordinary story, the plot takes a big leap with the inner changes Sara discovers. Anzia Yezierska elaborates about the transformation and the impending developments that will engulf Sarah’s life thus: “I began to feel I was different than my sisters... If they ever had times they hated Father, they were too frightened of themselves to confess... But could I help it what was inside me? I had to feel what I felt even it killed me."(77) The author succeeds in her endeavor to delve into the depth of the clash of two civilizations, that of relatively backward Poland as applicable to a Jewish family and the modern, materialistic civilization of America—particularly the North American culture and language. The struggle of the womenfolk in particular, with a stubborn father who implicitly practices the tenets of Judaism, with no scope for understanding and adjustments, is depicted in the story. Viewed from all perspectives, historical, social and economic struggles, the novel is a total success and the author’s efforts are praiseworthy. 4. The important themes dealt with in the book are the perils of dependence, the pressure of family obligations and individual independence, and the evergreen theme of human life—the elusive happiness. a) Perils of dependence: One muffled drum spoils the symphony of the entire orchestra. Similarly one imbalanced individual disturbs the harmony of the family. If that person is the head of the family, the issues turn all the more complicated. The wise saying goes, ‘Some achieve greatness.’ Forced circumstances mark the beginning of change in the life of Sara. About her predicament Aniza writes, “This door was life. It was air. The bottom starting-point of becoming a person." (175) Obeying the elders, especially the parents, is the hallmark of a traditional family. The members of this Jewish family, steeped in poverty were trying to come to terms with the problems of immigration. The daughters were totally dependent from all ends of their lives to their religiously staunch and tradition loving father. Not one of the three elder sisters were able to marry as per their choice, and Sara was left with no option but to run away to breathe the air of freedom. Her rebellion marked the beginning of her struggle and she was able to accomplish her goal of financial and social independence. From perils of dependence, she marched towards the goal of self-fulfillment. She achieved everything-- education, work and love-life of her choice. b) The pressure of family obligations and individual independence The pressures of family obligations make a provocative reading. The mind-set of Reb Smolinsky is too difficult for his wife and daughters to understand. This deeply religious individual is greatly concerned with the money matters as well. No one in the family have any independence say, and the daughters are compelled to follow his dictates, even for the important issue like choosing their life-partners. The growth of their personality ends, all creativity and initiative ceases, when road-blocks are created at every turn of their lives. The core problem of adjusting to the cultural marginalization is a tough option; in addition, these girls confront feminist discontent and awakening sexuality and their love affairs are unreasonably terminated by their stern father and they were forced to marry against their will. That was a great blow to their individual independence, and they had to bow before the so-called family obligations and the unreasonable demand of the Jewish sensibilities, as perceived by their father. The author mentions about this aspect of the personality of Jewish head of the family thus: “It says in the Torah, only through a man has a woman an existence. Only through a man can a woman enter Heaven.”(153) c) Human life—the elusive happiness. The seed of happiness was sown in Sara’s mind, when she was a child. The attitude of rebellion against the unreasonable demands of her father was latent within her right from childhood, but waited for an opportunity to find the outlet at the proper time. She was a sensitive child, deeply concerned about the utter poverty of the family. She was observant as would be realized from her grasping power when her sister Bessie returns home with an unsuccessful job-search and the author notes, “One look at her, and I knew she had not yet found work. I went on peeling the potatoes, but I no more knew what my hands were doing. I felt only the dark hurt of her weary eyes.”(1) Deep discontent for an issue of life is the beginning of progress. Sara was convinced that within the four walls of the house, with the domineering attitude of her father not willing to concede ground on any issue, mainly the personal freedom of his daughters, that the exit door was her only option. The marriage out of compulsion had ruined the lives of her three sisters, which resulted in broken lives. She was not willing to become another sacrificial goat. The rigidity of Jewish womanhood was to her disliking. In the end she becomes financially independent, gets education, marries the man of her choice, yet her inner world craves for peace. Memories of her dear mother and her sincere wish that she should take care of her father haunt her. She sees hidden blessings in the curses of her father. This shows that human life is full of complexities and it is difficult to understand the true import of happiness. Is there a change in the attitude of his father? The unrelenting individual says, “She is only good to the world, not to her father. Will she hand me her wages from school as a dutiful daughter should?”(274) Father finds his happiness in following the religious injunctions scrupulously. From Sara’s perspective, she makes a big leap in life, viewed from the angle of independence of a woman. 5. Marilyn French in her book “The Woman’s Room” provides the insight into the working of the minds of those individuals who know the true meaning of love. Notwithstanding the rigid stand adopted by her father as for social/religious norms, Sara still loves him and wishes to bring him back with her as per the wishes of her late mother. She writes, “The true mysteries of the true Church, if there ever were one, would be those: Why do we love and hate?” (337) It is of no use if one has the cross dangling on the neck, unless one has Christ in the heart. Submissiveness to husband seems to be the watchword for the women in the nineteenth century. The character of Edna Pontellier in “The Awakening,” compares favorably with that of Mrs. Smolinsky. How she totally accepts the unorthodox views on womenfolk and endures her husband’s stubbornness bordering mental torture! Kate Chopin writes about Mrs. Pontellier, “She had all her lifelong been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken the form of struggles. They belonged to her and were her own.”(p.79) Achieving equality for women in all spheres of life is an ongoing process backed up by the legal system. In the introduction to this paper mention has been made about the failure of various laws and enactments to bring equality for women. With the spread of education amongst women, the legal arm acquires more strength to transform the status of women. Stanley N. Katz in his introduction to the book “Commentaries on the Laws of England: A Facsimile of the First Edition of 1765-1769, Vol. 1” writes, “…with the establishment of the new American nation in 1789, Americans increasingly turned to the Commentaries as the model for the legal system of a democratic republic.”(xii) Women like Sara need not worry about the legal protection available to them in their fight against all forms of religious and social injustice—provided they are willing to fight for their rights! The Joy that Kills is a 1984 film adaptation of Kate Chopins short story "The Story of an Hour,” directed by Tina Rathbone. An ill woman learns about the sudden death of her husband who doesn’t love her. She feels a sense of freedom even under that tragic circumstance. The movie leaves it to the imagination of the viewer, what a suppressed life the woman must have lived! Her independence is short-lived, her husband is still alive and returns home hale and hearty. It would be too cruel on our part to compare the life of Mrs. Smolinsky with that of Mrs. Mallard, the woman who is ill. Mrs. Smolinsky died earlier and her widower husband remarried soon. Later Mrs. Mallard dies of the shock of ‘return of her husband.’ The movie creates the final sympathy to the feminist character. Written in 1916, Susan Glaspell’s one-act play Trifles is more or less based on true events. Farmer John Wright has been murdered. His wife Minnie Wright is the prime suspect. The crime scene is inspected by men attorneys and their wives and the story describes how the perspectives of men and women are different. Women interpret the things they see in the kitchen like ruined fruit preserves, left over bread in its box, an unfinished quilt, the messy table top, and most importantly an empty bird cage, may not be any forensic evidence. These shows the emptiness of Mrs. Wright’s emotional life, which can be compared to the life of Mrs. Smolinsky. Men do not appreciate women and would like to take them to task on silliest of the issues. All sorts of restrictions are imposed on womenfolk. Conclusion: About eight decades have elapsed, and the intensity and power of Anzia Yezierska’s “Breadgivers,” holds still good. The combustible younger generations of women have important messages to learn from the characters of four daughters, and their parents. The damage done to the psyche of followers of dogmatic principles in religious texts, without understanding their proper interpretation is seen through the lives of characters. When the head of the family is not willing to change or concede an inch from his fixed interpretation of the religious tenets, it damages the psyche of the persons that one is commanding. Cultural marginalization is a tough issue to handle. This coupled with feminist discontent makes the going even tougher. The reading of this novel, for those who have undergone the trials mentioned in the book, is an emotionally shattering experience. The story of the book is mostly autobiographical. What impacted the lives of the four sisters more? Rigid attitude of father or the issues related to migration? I would give credit to the former. Works Cited Anzia, Yezierska(Author) Kessler-Harris, Alice (Introduction). The Breadgivers. Persea Books, Third edition, May 1999. Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: A Facsimile of the First Edition of 1765-1769, Vol. 1. University Of Chicago Press, 1 edition, November 15, 1979 Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Avon, 10th Printing edition, February 10, 1982. French, Marilyn. The Womens Room. Ballantine Books, September 12, 1988. Keller, Mathias. Symbolic realism in Susan Glaspells Trifles’. GRIN Verlag, November 26, 2007. The Joy That Kills. Director: Tina Rathbone, IMDb, 1984. www.imdb.com/title/tt0491780/ - CachedSimilar . . Read More