THE WASHWOMAN
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
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Biography
(July 14, 1904 Radzymin, Polonia - July 24, 1991 Miami, Florida)
Polish-American author, was admired for his recreation of the forgotten
world of nineteenth- century Poland and his depiction of a timeless
jewish ghetto.
He was born in Poland and his family moved to Warsaw, Poland, when he
was four years old. Both of his grandfathers were rabbis, and Singer was
also groomed for hasidism, a strict spiritual practice, and attended a
seminary. However, he decided on a writing career. His older brother
was a well known Yiddish writer. Singer was impressed by jewish folk
tales told by his parents, these tales set the ground work for some of
Singer's fictional characters and religious faith.
He worked as a journalist for Yiddish press in various parts of Poland.
Moving to the United States in 1935, Singer became a reporter for the
Daily Forward in New York City.
In 1925 he made his debut with the story "In old age", which he
published in Warsaw under a pseudonym. His first novel, Satan in Goray,
was published in Installments in Poland shortly before he immigrated to
the United States in 1935.
As a Journalist he signed his
articles with the pseudonym Varshavski or D. Segal. He also translated
many books into Yiddish from Hebrew, Polish and particularly, German.
Among them works by Thoman Mann and Erich Maria Remarque . In 1943 he
became a U.S. citizen.
Historical Background
Although Singer's works
became most widely known in their English versions, he continued to
write almost exclusively in Yiddish, personally supervising the
translations. Some of his novels and short stories were published in
Yiddish in the Forverts, for which he wrote until his death.
Singer evokes in his writings the vanished world of Polish Jewry and it existed before the Holocaust. His most ambitious novels -The FamilyMoskat, has large casts of characters and extend over several generations. These books chronicle the changes and eventual breakup of large jewish families during the late 19th. and early 20th centuries. Several films have been adapted from Singer's works, including The Magician of Lublin (1979)
Expectation/Prediction about the text
Is the story of a woman who wash
clothes of other people to earn some money to survive. She goes through
many problems to live because she doesn't have family but someone else
help her to have a better life.
Summary
She was an old woman, sickly and weak who wash the clothes for other people.
She worked hard, had to carry the
bundle of laundry on her shoulders. For her was not easy that work
because she hadn't running water and she was old but she worked because
she didn't want to be a burden to her son who was rich and hge was
ashamed of her and never came to see her. He didn't support her even.
One day the woman no longer
arrived, pass some weeks and she didn't bring back the clothes, the
family was sad and thought that she had passed away. They didn't know
where she lived.
More than two months later, the
woman back, she was thinner and pale. She was ill but when she got well,
began to wash clothes again. That dayt sghe promissed to get back in a
few weeks but she never back.
Analysis or conection between literary work and historical background.
She was poor and had to work
under very difficult conditions to support herself. She suffers fatigue
and illness, but she always remains positive and determined to do her
duty.
She proved that people can endure and find satisfaction in their work.
Country
A city in Poland.
Literary Movement
Realism
Genre:
Short Story
Did I confirm my predictions?
I confirm my predictions by the way that she was a woman who wash clothes for other people, but I didn't imagine all the work that she had to do to her job, how hard was for her and all that she suffered during her life, and no matter what she always complied to her clients.
I was wrong by the way I thought she hadn't family, but she had a son who was rich but never helped her.
I was wrong by the way I thought she hadn't family, but she had a son who was rich but never helped her.
References
Isaac Bashevis Singer Biography
World biography, EU
Recovered from www.notablebiographies.com
Isaac Bashevis Singer/American Author/Britanica.com/Chicago, IL (2017)
Recovered from https//www.Britanica.com/biography/Isaac-Bashevis-Singer
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