In Anzia Yezierska’s novel Bread Givers Fania, one of the four daughters of the Smolinski household, experiences internal and external conflict due to marriage which ultimately leads to her static status throughout the story and thematic value of serving as a means to juxtapose the protagonist, Sara. In the novel, Father states, “How would I look before the world if I introduced such a hunger-squeezed nobody for a son-in-law...”, and Fania replies, “That diamond show window that you brought into the house can’t hold a candle before Lipkin’s brains...I know what I want for my happiness” (75). Fania’s protection of her lover against Father’s disapproval and appeals to her own happiness determine that she is an assertive and practical person.
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But even if Abe Schmukler was a rag-picker, a bootblack, I’d rush into his arms, only to get away from our house….If I seem so excited about Los Angeles, it’s only because it’s a dream city at the other end of the world, so many thousands of miles away from home” (80). Fania’s internal conflict is that she has to decide to either marry Morris and be shamed by Father or marry Abe and escape Father’s wrath, and she ultimately values escaping her father over her undying love for Morris. Due to her angst to escape Father she marries a man whom she does not love over a man who she has so much affection for which demonstrates her static status, because she did not fight hard enough to be with the one she truly desired, Morris, and instead did what made Father happy, not what made her happy. Fania’s overall thematic value is that her static status juxtaposes with Sara’s dynamic status. Fania was unhappily forced into an arranged marriage just like Mashah and Bessie were, so Fania’s plight helps with the development of Sara’s character and the development of major themes like love and duty vs. desire. Ultimately, Fania’s predicament over marriage unravels her character, overall conflict, methods of characterization, status and thematic
But even if Abe Schmukler was a rag-picker, a bootblack, I’d rush into his arms, only to get away from our house….If I seem so excited about Los Angeles, it’s only because it’s a dream city at the other end of the world, so many thousands of miles away from home” (80). Fania’s internal conflict is that she has to decide to either marry Morris and be shamed by Father or marry Abe and escape Father’s wrath, and she ultimately values escaping her father over her undying love for Morris. Due to her angst to escape Father she marries a man whom she does not love over a man who she has so much affection for which demonstrates her static status, because she did not fight hard enough to be with the one she truly desired, Morris, and instead did what made Father happy, not what made her happy. Fania’s overall thematic value is that her static status juxtaposes with Sara’s dynamic status. Fania was unhappily forced into an arranged marriage just like Mashah and Bessie were, so Fania’s plight helps with the development of Sara’s character and the development of major themes like love and duty vs. desire. Ultimately, Fania’s predicament over marriage unravels her character, overall conflict, methods of characterization, status and thematic