Mendele Mokher Seforim: Literary Analysis

Mendele Mokher Seforim (מענדעלע מוכר ספֿרים, alternatively transcribed as Moykher Sforim or Sfarim; 1835–1917) is the pen name of Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh, whom Sholem Aleichem dubbed the “grandfather” of Yiddish literature (Miron). Scholars still agree that Abramovitsh established modern Yiddish prose (ibid). Beginning his literary career in Hebrew, he soon turned to Yiddish for a realistic portrayal of Jewish life. The novella Dos kleyne Mentschele (1864) constitutes his first Yiddish publication and was, due to the bad reputation of the language, released anonymously in Kol mevaser. This circumstance, as well as the fact that the novella was “presented as an authentic testament [..] entrusted to a real local book peddler” (ibid) lead to Abramovitsh becoming known as Mendele, although technically the book peddler is merely a fictional character. The fact that Mendele refers to the publication of Kol mevaser, a real newspaper (Abramovitsh 3) aids the illusion. Only in the second half of the 20th century did literary criticism begin to emphasize the distinction between the author Abramovitsh and Mendele, and question the narrator's reliability (Miron).
The novella explores the situation of the 'little man', a type of person who seeks their own advantage in grovelling to a more influential person. …show more content…
The fictional narrator, Mendele the Book Peddler (Mendele Moykher Sforim), first introduces himself, after which he provides the frame around a confessional memoir by Isaac Abraham. As Isaac Abraham describes his benighted quest for 'the little man', he vividly describes shtetl life. In particular, he shows the the difficulties that beset a young Jewish man – who starts out as the exploited apprentice of a craftsman – as he tries to find an occupation. Abramovitsh enlists the reader's sympathy for Isaac Abraham, despite his increasingly blatant flaws