THE EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN WOMAN IN YIDDISH AND WESTERN LITERATURE

This is a thematic study that analyzes the way in which nineteenth and early twentieth century Yiddish and Western heroines differ in their confrontation with modernity. The modern woman is here defined as one who begins to question and/or revolt against her circumscribed role in society.; Section One compares the Yiddish works "Married" by Peretz, "Women's Songs" by Kadye Molodowsky, Stempenyu and Tevye the Milkman by Sholem Aleichem, and Alone by Opatoshu to Effi Briest by Fontane and A Doll's House by Ibsen. Section Two is an in-depth comparison of Mirl, the heroine of Bergelson's When All is Said and Done, and Flaubert's Emma Bovary.; Because the women of this era are primarily wives and mothers, the study focuses on marriage and adultery. It examines how the Yiddish and Western heroines are prepared for marriage, marry, and feel about their husbands and children. It also considers their hopes for marriage, society's expectations of them, their motivations for committing adultery, and the personal and social significance of their breaches of traditional morality.; There are many similarities in the portrayals of women in Yiddish and non-Yiddish literature. In all of the works, the authors depict society's treatment of women critically. Female characters all feel constrained by their femaleness. Some are tempted to adultery by boredom and a sense of purposelessness.; Although all of the works were written at a time when the hold of religion was weakening, the Jewish works reflect a much deeper concern for religious continuity than do the non-Jewish works. This was due to the Jews' precarious position in Western society. The Jewishness of the Yiddish heroine determines her self-perception, actions, and notion of her role in life to a much greater extent than religion and national identity do for the non-Jewish heroine.; These Yiddish writers portray women who, like themselves, are pulled between Jewish tradition and secular modernity. Only with ambivalence do they allow their heroines to take the steps away from Jewish tradition that will result in greater freedom and--a weakening of the Jewish people.