He presents us with several
characters, each at a different place in the gray zone between
Jewish and Christian cultures: two Cantonists, one clinging to the
Jewish side (Jacob); one closer to the non-Jewish side (Samuel, the
narrator); as well as a Jewish convert unhappy with her lot (Anna,
whose abuse of Samuel we later understand as the 'self-disdain'
often seen among those who had left Judaism); her daughter Marusya,
who although fully Christian is ostracized as being a Jewess, and
struggles unsuccessfully to find her place in life; and Peter
Khlopov, a full Christian who finds Jewish culture agreeable.
Steinberg's portrayal of Samuel makes it clear, even in the first
few pages, that Samuel, although Jewish, thinks very much like a
Russian peasant; in a very real way he straddles that fringe zone
between the two distinct societies.
_____________________
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Serge Ivanovich
acute accent over the a, throughout the text
At such moments he would be ready to hug
"be" was erroneously "he" in source text
Zhidovka
acute accent over the o, throughout the text
nebulae
ae written as a ligature
Vassil Stefanovich Zagrubsky
acute accent over the u, throughout the text
manoeuvres
oe written as a ligature
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In Those Days, by Jehudah Steinberg
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THOSE DAYS ***
This file should be named oldmn10.
Pages:
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162