Inadequate Providers
Nearly all of the men in the novel fail to provide sufficiently for
the women in their lives. Reb Smolinsky denies his family sufficient
finances and wisdom, refusing to contribute any money to the household and
either giving away or making foolish choices with the money his children
bring in. According to Jewish faith, only men are allowed to study the
Torah. Women are destined only to ease the lives of the men in their
families, keeping them fed and clothed so they need to do nothing more than
focus on the holy word. This service should be a woman’s highest aspiration,
because the Torah teaches that it is only through a man that a woman can
enter heaven. The men in a woman’s life define her very existence. The title
of the novel, Bread Givers, refers to the inadequacy of the
men in the Smolinsky women’s lives: though the women refer to men as “bread
givers,” they themselves must do the largest share of the providing.
Reb Smolinsky’s wisdom also fails his daughters in another way, as his
authority to choose their husbands traps his three oldest into unhappy and
sometimes abusive marriages. Mashah’s husband fails her and his children in
every way possible, denying them basic necessities while he can afford to
eat out and buy himself fancy new clothing. Though Fania’s husband keeps her
well fed and draped in fancy clothing, he holds so much back from her
emotionally that she feels more alone with him than she did when she was
single. Sara’s teachers at the college fail her academically, not willing to
take any extra time to help her satisfy her voracious need for knowledge.
None of these men give the women in the novel what they need to survive,
leaving them either to perish or, as Sara did, to learn how to fulfill their
own needs.
The Oppression of Women
Bread Givers is full of men and even women oppressing other
women, so much so that many women consider oppression an acceptable way of
life. Reb Smolinsky constantly berates his far-wiser wife for attempting to
make decisions and demands all of his daughters’ wages for his own use. He
denies his older daughters a chance at happiness, pushing their sweethearts
away because he resents not having chosen them himself. Mashah’s husband
emotionally abuses her and doesn’t allow her to defend herself or her
children against his injustice. Max Goldstein oppresses Sara in a more
subtle manner, constantly attempting to deny her the right to have her own
thoughts and opinions. Women even oppress other women. One refuses to rent
Sara a single room because of her gender, and the female servers at the
cafeteria consider her less worthy of meat than the man standing behind her
in line. Sara must fight against this oppression nearly every moment of her
life, which emphasizes her struggle to gain acceptance on the strength of
her own identity.
The Yearning for Pleasure
At several points in Bread Givers, people express a
desire to get out and enjoy life, though none of them ever seem able to
fulfill that wish. After Bessie meets Berel, she tells her mother that they
should save less and enjoy life more—but her ability to enjoy life is
crushed when Berel leaves. Sara complains that instead of geometry she wants
to learn subjects that will help her truly live her life, but she is taunted
for that desire for the rest of her time in school. Fania berates Sara for
studying by telling her she should get out and enjoy life, but Fania herself
has admitted on several occasions that her own life gives her no pleasure at
all. Sara nearly rejects her studying for Max’s sake because he makes her
feel more fun and full of life, but she later discovers that Max’s pleasure
is hollow and not dependent on any interest in Sara herself. The characters’
desire to live life is truly a desire to escape into a new life, a process
that takes far more work than a simple wish.
