The Jewish Woman & America.
and S o n y a Michel.
By C h a r l o t t e Baum, Paula Hyman,
P p , x i i i + 290, b i b l i o g r a p h y , index, i l l u s t r a t i o n s .
: D i a l P r e s s , 1976.
$8.95 c l o t h .
N. Y .
Reviewed by Gerald E
.
Warshaver
T h i s book grew out of two of t h e a u t h o r s q i n t e r e s t i n t h e
l i t e r a r y d e p i c t i o n of Jewish women. Barn and Niche1 noted
t h a t up u n t i l t h e 1930s t h e f i c t i o n of t h e o l d c o u n t r y and t h e
s t o r i e s of t h e immigrant p e r i o d p o r t r a y e d *a r i c h assortment
of a c t i v e women who f u l f i l l e d many r o l e s both i n s i d e and outs i d e t h e home." S i m i l a r l y , t h e y observed t h a t from t h e 30s on
t h e l i t e r a r y t r e a t m e n t of Jewish women r e f l e c t e d i n c r e a s i n g
adherence t o e i t h e r t h e s t e r e o t y p e of t h e s t u p i d , domineering,
and o v e r p r o t e c t i v e "Jewish Nother** o r t h e s e l f - c e n t e r e d ,
I n o r d e r t o subm a t e r i a l i s t i c lgJewish American P r i n c e s s ,
s t a n t i a t e t h e i r t h e o r y t h a t t h e change i n l i t e r a r y t r e a t m e n t
r e f l e c t e d a t r a n s f o r m a t i b n i n t h e r e a l s o c i a l r o l e of t h e
Jewish woman, Baum and Michel joined w i t h P a u l a Hyman, a prof e s s o r of Nodern Jewish H i s t o r y a t Columbia U n i v e r s i t y , t o
examine t h e h i s t o r i c a l dimensions of t h e experience of Jewish
women i n t h e United S t a t e s ,
F o l k l o r i s t s can, I suppose, use t h i s work t o g a i n a c u r s o r y
acquaintance w i t h t h e broad scope of t h e g e n e r a l p a t t e r n of
t h e Jewish woman's s o c i a l h i s t o r y . A l i s t i n g of t h e c h a p t e r
headings suggests t h e a r e a s covered. They a r e as f o l l o w s :
"Women i n t h e Jewish T r a d i t i o n , " "The German Jewish Woman i n
America," "Jewish Women i n E a s t e r n Europe," "Eastern European
Jewish Women i n America," "Jewish Women Move t h e Movementw
(mainly concerned w i t h women i n t h e garment i n d u s t r y u n i o n s ) ,
"The Uptown Lady and t h e Downtown Woman: Two Kinds of Jews
"The Changing Image of t h e Jewish Woman i n L i t e r a t u r e ,*@ and
"Jewish Women Today, ** Readers, however, who approach t h i s b2001t
s e e k i n g i n f o r m a t i o n of t h e folkways of Jewish-American women
w i l l be d i s a p p o i n t e d , Despite t h e t i t l e and p r e f a t o r y s t a t e m e n t s ,
t h e a c t u a l phenomenon under s t u d y i s n e i t h e r t h e s o c i a l r o l e
n o r t h e c u l t u r e o f t h e Jewish woman i n America, but rather the
image of h e r r o l e and c u l t u r e as e x p r e s s e d i n t h e E n g l i s h
language w r i t i n g s of American Jews. C l e a r l y , t h e i n i t i a l
l i t e r a r y i n t e r e s t t h a t gave r i s e t o t h i s undertaking has, t o a
l a r g e e x t e n t , determined i t s focus.
It i s u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t i n t h e i r a t t e m p t t o uncover t h e basis o f
t h e n e g a t i v e abstractions and g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s t h a t are expressed
i n t h e l i t e r a r y s t e r e o t y p e s of t h e Jewish womscn, t h e a u t h o r s s o
i n f r e q u e n t l y t u r n from t h e g e n e r a l and a b s t r a c t l e v e l of image,
r o l e , and l i t e r a r y t r e n d s t o f i r s t - h a n d testimony about how
r e a l women l i v e d t h e i r s p e c i f i c l i v e s . The a u t h o r s a r e aware
t h a t popular f i c t i o n and t h e memoirs of notable women, sources
which form t h e 'bulk of t h e examined m a t e r i a l of t h i s book, are
of l i m i t e d value f o r a proper understanding of t h e t e x t u r e and
meaning of t h e l i v e s of common Jewish women. A t s e v e r a l p o i n t s
Baum, Hyman, and Michel o f f e r t h e i r r e a d e r s b r i e f e x c e r p t s from
interviews t h a t t h e y conducted with a few women of t h e E a s t e r n
European immigrant generation. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , only about twelve
pages out of t h e e n t i r e work a r e given t o t h e o r a l biographies
of such women. Indeed, t h e p a u c i t y o f interview material and
t h e p r e d i l e c t i o n o f t h e a u t h o r s t o rephrase t h e i r s u b j e c t s words
becomes hard t o understand i n l i g h t of t h e fact t h a t t h e y admit
t h a t t h e o r a l biographies of women who do not w r i t e memoirs
r e v e a l f e e l i n g s and a t t i t u d e s which their a c c u l t u r a t e d and educated c h i l d r e n d i d not d e t e c t and consequently c ould not w r i t e
about. A s b r i e f as t h e e x c e r p t s from t h e o r a l biographies are,
t h e y give us more o f a f e e l i n g f o r t h e understanding o f t h e .
r e a l , f i r s t - h a n d , experience of Jewish women t h a n it i s p o s s i b l e
t o gain from t h e authors' a n a l y t i c a l l y derived models of t h e
v a r i o u s images of t h e s o c i a l r o l e o r l i t e r a r y s t e r e o t y p e of
these women.
I i f e h i s t o r i e s o r o r a l biographies as f o l k l o r e c r e a t i o n s ensure
t h a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l w i t h i n t h e c o l l e c t i v e h i s t o r i c a l mass i s
recognized and appreciated as both a c r e a t o r and a c a r r i e r of
i n d i v i d u a l and c o l l e c t i v e expressive s t y l e , R e a l i s t i c f i c t i o n
c a l l s f o r t h e suppression o f t h e a u t h o r ' s p e r s o n a l voice; the
o r a l autobiography demands t h a t t h e audience c o n s i d e r the style
of t h e t e l l i n g . L i f e h i s t o r i e s a r e more formally diverse than
a r e works of f i c t i o n that attempt t o r e p r e s e n t r e a l i t y . F u r t h e r more because t h e y complicate t h e p i c t u r e o f r e a l i t y given i n
published memoirs and s i m i l a r e l i t e s o u r c e s , l i f e h i s t o r i e s l e s s
readily lend themselves t o facile sociological generalization.
G r e a t e r use o f this type o f folkloric m a t e r i a l would have
undoubtedly f r u s t r a t e d the a u t n o r s v tendency t o be overly abstract and general. As L i n d a ~6gh's r e c e n t p u b l i c a t i o n P e o p l e
i n t h e Tobacco Beltr Four Lives (~ttawaaNational Museum of Man
Mercury S e r i e s , 1975) demonstrates, the, immigrant l i f e h i s t o r y
is valuable n o t only f o r t h i s reason., but a l s o because it offers
a good deal o f information i n s p e c i f i c and s t r i k i n g manner about
the i n t a n g i b l e ideas and assumptions t h a t influence t h e process
of v a r i o u s i n d i v i d u a l immigrants1 a c c u l t u r a t i o n and a s s i m i l a t i o n .
_I_-