Prev | Current Page 109 | Next

Steinberg, Jehudah

"The Story of an Old Man"

Then Hanna
gave in, did as she was urged, and was renamed Anna.
Now what Anna found in actual life far exceeded what Hannah had
prophesied. The women of the village kept aloof from her, and for
many reasons. The first reason was that she never visited the
village tavern. She never drank any liquor herself, nor treated her
visitors with it. And nothing in the world brings such people
together as liquor does. Then the men hated her for the purity and
chastity which she brought from her father's house. Besides, men
and women alike envied the prosperity of Khlopov's household, which
was due only to Anna's thrift. All those reasons, as well as many
others, were included in the one word "Zhidovka." So that word may
stand for anything you choose. As to Peter's brothers and
relatives, they not only kept away from him but also became his open
or secret enemies.
By and by Peter recognized that Hannah's fears were not the result
of mere imagination, but the true prophecy of a mature young woman,
who had foreseen her own future, and he could not help feeling hurt.


Pages:
97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121