Bread Givers, by Anzia Yezierska is a compelling book, not only in its vivid descriptions of life in Manhattan during the 1910s-1920s, but also its look into an Orthodox Jewish family, and its standards. It is a coming of age story, of the youngest of four daughters, told through her narration.

The familial patriarch is Rabbi Smolinksy, and his wife is Shenah, who is in awe of him, despite her nagging manner. His interactions, decisions and doctrine influence his daughters, Fania, Bessie, Mashah, and Sara in ways that mold their lives, in a negative manner. The three older daughters go along with his dogmatic and fanatical whims and attitude. His manipulations, rants and raves eventually cause them to give in to his dictates. The youngest daughter, Sara, learns at the age of ten, about the family dynamics, and how each daughter was expected to turn over their entire income to support the family. She learns what she wants early in life, due to her father’s looming presence and demands. She is very strong-willed. Family life is seen through her eyes, and they are the eyes of a three-dimensional person, a person of substance and depth.

“I was about ten years old then. But from always it was heavy on my heart the worries for the house as if I was the mother. I knew that the landlord came that morning hollering for the rent. And the whole family were hanging on Bessie’s neck for her wages.”

Sara is astute and cognizant of the family financial situation. She begins to sell herring at the age of ten in order to help support the family. In the back of her mind she is determined to be independent, and not to be lead through life by her father’s decisions. His decisions are often determined due to the fact that he is ignorant in the ways of American life. Rabbi Smolinsky is ignorant in the area of business dealings, and the dealings of life in general. He is bound by Eastern European tradition, and religious tradition, which he enforces with his harsh vocalizations. No man is good enough for his older daughters, despite the fact that they want to marry particular individuals. He finds fault with all of them, and he ends up choosing who they marry, and they do not live happily ever after. His determinations and final edicts are not necessarily positive ones for his daughters, but somehow decisions that gain him some monetary dowry or enhancement.

“Woman! If not for your pretty face I wouldn’t have now a household of females on my neck. But I’ll show you how I can marry them off in one, two, three.”

Rabbi Smolinsky lives by the text of the Talmud, in every aspect. In fact the Talmud is quoted through much of the book to justify why he acts the way he does. He is outrageous in his tirades. He uses religion to enhance his decisions, and is fanatical about vocalizing the teachings, to the extent that hourly and daily life is disrupted. He is a tyrant, a bully, a man of many words, words that are emotionally disgruntling. One of his favorite Torah texts he is always quick to spout off states that, “Only through a man has a woman an existence.”He hangs on tightly to every thread of his Eastern Europe culture and life style, unable to adjust to change, unable to assimilate into the modern world. While his wife and four daughters struggle to earn money to survive with the basics, he deals with his studies, unaware of the reality of life. They beg him to work, even part time, he refuses, and goes back to his studies, even if it means they go hungry. He is a pampered individual, and his every desire is what rules the family. He is not a responsible person, naive in many aspects, and his family suffers greatly. When he has an opportunity to earn a dollar, he makes foolish choices, because he doesn’t understand the way of the world. He has never been made to be responsible. I found him to be pitiful, and pathetic, in the way he used and manipulated his daughters for his own benefit.

Sara, meanwhile, watches and listens to what has occurred with her sisters. She has decided she will not succumb to her father’s domination, and his demands. She will not let him marry her off to someone she doesn’t love. She leaves home at the age of 17, finds a dark room to rent, works, saves money, and puts herself through college. She is a woman of strength and determination, which is what allows her to reach her goals. She has an identity, at a young age, and is discontent with the way the females of the family are treated. Yet, with her independence, she is often bound to her familial ties. Love-hate relationships were strong within the pages.

Yezierska is brilliant in her writing, strong in her ability to depict tradition and assimilation into the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Tradition and modern America do not blend together in a positive fashion, in this novel. Sara is not the ideal of the Rabbi’s daughter. What she is, in my mind, is the ideal of what early feminists were, in their struggles for identity. Eastern European culture and Americanized Sara do not become one unified force. Yezierska weaves a story that incorporates struggles, both emotional and mental, within the pages. Women are considered to be less than life, to be used, manipulated and abused for the gain of the family patriarch. Female identity and immigrant assimilation are major forces that Yezierska evokes within the pages. The conflicts are vividly written, and the reader feels the emotions behind the words. It is a look into the early twentieth century, and Jewish life within the confines of immigration and steadfast ideals.

Yezierska’s Bread Givers is a masterpiece, and an inspiring one at that. Linguistics is a force within the pages, and Sara literally works her way through high school, and learns to speak correct English. Yezierska brings honor, determination and strength to Sara, and shows how through all of Sara’s sacrifices, she was able to reach her dream. She rose from poverty to a position of respect, and did it on her own. She was able to conquer her fears and accomplish her goals. The masterful writing of Anzia Yezierska has given us an inspiring character to admire. The past is ever present, no matter how hard we try to leave it behind. One world was trying to compete with another, and not always successfully, as culture clashes were abundant. The book has much historical value, giving the reader a perspective on the Jewish immigrant experience, and bringing the reader insight into the life of Jews trying to assimilate into the American/Manhattan social structure. I highly recommend Bread Givers. It is an extremely illuminating novel, on many levels.
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Tuesday March 31, 2009 – 6th of Nisan, 5769

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