Questions tagged [isaac-bashevis-singer]
Questions about the Polish-born Jewish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902 – 1991) and his works. He wrote novels such as 'The Magician of Lublin' (English translation, 1960), short stories and a number of autobiographical works. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. Use this tag with the [yiddish-literature] tag.
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Is there any significance to the dances that the girls perform in "Satan in Goray"?
Before Reb Itche Mates and Rechele's wedding, we have this scene, after the description of the "jester" for the wedding:
The girls nudged one another and giggled. They performed first the ...
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How can we approach analyzing Singer's treatment of race in his works?
While reading A Friend of Kafka (1970), a book of short stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer, a few passages struck me as odd, especially concering race (and the use of the word "Negro" in ...
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Why does Krol Rudy care about spilling the blood of animals so much?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's The King of the Fields, Krol Rudy mentions that he doesn't want the blood of animals to be spilled:
An odd thought began to take shape in his mind; when he died, he would ...
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What happened at the end of "The Key" by Isaac Bashevis Singer?
At the end of "The Key", a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, the old lady who has been our main character lies down on her bed, feeling like she's under anesthesia. She then has a vision ...
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Lack of closure as a theme in the works of Isaac Bashevis Singer
While reading the works of Isaac Bashevis Singer over the past couple months, I've gotten the impression that Singer will often - especially in short stories - leave you with a sense that not ...
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Is Schloimele gay-coded in Singer's "Schloimele"?
Schloimele, in Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story of the same name, is described as having feminine qualities when he's first introduced:
The door opened and a pink-cheeked young man with cherry-...
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Why does "Satan in Goray" mention that Levi supports Sabbatai Zevi so many times?
The first time that Satan in Goray tells us that Levi, Reb Benish's son, is a supporter of Sabbatai Zevi is in part 1, chapter 9:
Levi, the rabbi's son, invited him for supper, for in his controversy ...
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What does "head cut off with no knife" mean in "Satan in Goray"?
When discussing Rechele and Itche Mates's failure to consummate their marriage, the ladies of the town use this phrase:
When the seventh day of the Seven Days of the Marriage Feast was passed, ...
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Why does Singer refer to the name of God in "Satan in Goray"?
Towards the end of Part One of Satan of Goray, there's this scene with Reb Itche Mates:
Meanwhile Reb Itche Mates waited in the dark room in Reb Godel Chasid's home. All day long he sat swaying over ...
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What do the "Evil Spirits" have to do with a house becoming leprous?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "Stories From Behind the Stove", one character associates the "Evil Ones" with being capable of anything, giving a leprous house as an ...
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Why is "The Heritage of the Deer" specifically mentioned here in Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Guests on a Winter Night"?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "Guests on a Winter Night", the aunt of our main character is telling him about his great-grandparents:
She said to me, "Your great-grandfather, ...
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What's the significance of the colors in this song in "The Magician of Lublin"?
In chapter 5 of The Magician of Lublin, when Yasha is in Piask, he overhears this song:
Musicians, sawing small fiddles, chanted a long drawn-out melody. From a wagon of peasant girls jammed together ...
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What do the names of Yasha's animals in "The Magician of Lublin" say about him?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's The Magician of Lublin, our main character Yasha named his horses "Kara" and "Shiva", and refers to them as "Dust" and "Ashes:
He need ...
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Yentl and the Butterfly lovers
(Question after the background)
A woman passes as a man in order to study when women aren't supposed to.
She falls in love with another student.
Reveals to him she is female and he also loves her.
But ...
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What's the point of having both Cybula and Krol Rudy assault Yagoda in the beginning of "The King of the Fields"?
In the beginning of Isaac Bashevis Singer's The King of the Fields, both Krol Rudy, the leader of the "farmers", and Cybula, the leader of the hunters, sexually assault Yagoda, who is ...
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Why does Sylvia's kiss cause swelling in Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Schloimele"?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Schloimele", the narrator receives a kiss from Sylvia and the complains that it's sore:
'But the evening's only just begun!' Sylvia protested as her crimson ...
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What does Oyzer-Dovidl's dream about Nechele mean in Singer's "The Riddle"?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "The Riddle", Oyzer-Dovidl remembers a dream where his wife, Nechele, acted like a young boy:
He was constantly remembering adventures from stories ...
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What's happening at the end of "Pigeons" by Isaac Bashevis Singer?
The final paragraph of Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "Pigeons" goes like this:
The following morning broke autumn-like and drab. The skies hung low and rusty. The smoke of the ...
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How closely do the events in "Satan in Goray" mirror the actual Shabbtai Tzvi events?
In Satan in Goray, Isaac Bashevis Singer mentions several ways in which it's "proven" that Shabbtai Tzvi is the Messiah:
During the time Rabbi Benish still dwelt in Lublin he had heard ...
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What prompted Yasha to commit to Emilia all of a sudden?
In The Magician of Lublin, when Yasha goes to meet his sweetheart Emilia, Emilia starts talking about how Yasha's being non-commital:
["...]About us I certainly couldn't tell you a thing. All ...
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Why does Yasha feel guilty here in "The Magician of Lublin"?
When Yasha is sitting on a café in The Magician of Lublin, observing the other patrons (generally well-to-do Poles) it's mentioned that he feels a certain sadness or guilt:
He, Yasha, was to all ...
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Why does "Satan in Goray" abruptly change in style at the end?
When I glanced at the Goodreads page for Satan in Goray by Isaac Bashevis Singer (translated by Jacob Sloan), part of this review caught my eye:
Unfortunately the ending did fall a bit short. It ...
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What's the significance of Schloimele looking unrecognizable at the end of Isaac Bashevis Singer's "Schloimele"?
At the end of "Schloimele" by Isaac Bashevis Singer, the titular character is described as being almost unrecognizable at the end of the story:
He wore a straw hat, a pink shirt, and a bow ...
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Why is Levi pale with the "fear of punishment" that he and not Ozer is acting as Rabbi in "Satan in Goray"?
During Reb Itche Mates and Rechele's wedding in Satan in Goray, Levi, Reb Benish's son, acts as "master of the sacrament":
Levi, Reb Benish's younger son, he that belonged to the Sabbatai ...
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How do Emilia's beliefs about dreams reflect on her in "The Magician of Lublin"?
In The Magician of Lublin, Emilia tries to contact Chrabotzky, her dead husband, through a medium. She then realized that the medium was a fraud. However, she does believe that she had dreams where ...
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Is Cybula's musings about the birds a metaphor?
In The King of the Fields by Isaac Bashevis Singer, there's this scene early on in the book - the section "Cybula and Nosek" - where Cybula, who is on his way with his daughter for a peace ...
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