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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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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Why does Avrom Wolf say he'll never tell his story again in Singer's "The Wager"?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "The Wager", the "guest", Avrom Wolf, tells his hosts of a bet when he was a kid that wound up with two people dead. The story leaves off ...
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What does the culture of Europe have to do with Yasha needing to acquire a large sum of money?
When Yasha is sitting in the restaurant and thinking before attempting his theft, we have this paragraph:
"Why would all France glorify a tart?" Yasha wondered. Was this France? Was this ...
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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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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'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 would the young scholar who was obsessed with Maimonides become an unbeliever in Singer's "The Primper"?
At the end of Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "The Primper", there's a small anecdote about a young man who studied the Rambam / Maimonides until he became an unbeliever:
In Rovna there ...
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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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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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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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What does the name "Hodel" mean?
In Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "The Primper", Adele's real name is "Hodel":
Her two sisters and three brothers married in due time, but she, Adele - her real name was ...
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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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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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