Hannah has the gift of hindsight. As someone from the late 20th century, she knows all about the Holocaust, during which the Nazis murdered over six million Jews. So she feels compelled to warn Feyge about what's in store for the Jews of the village after the Nazis arrive.
Feyge, however, is unconvinced. Tragically, she doesn't have the benefit of hindsight and so naturally assumes that Hannah/Chaya is acting like a regular Chicken Little, exaggerating the threats posed by these fearsome-looking men who've just arrived in army trucks. As she doesn't have the benefit of hindsight, Feyge has no sense of perspective; all she's focused on that fateful day is her wedding. And she's annoyed at Chaya—not the Nazis—for spoiling her big day.
The conversation between Chaya (or Hannah) and Faygve occurs on Fayge’s wedding day (Chapter 9). The process of assuming Chaya’s identity has been very disconcerting to Hannah as she struggles to reconcile past and present.
Before the wedding, as they gather outside the synagogue, the badchan identifies the soldiers as the “malach ha-mavis, Angel of Death.” Hannah flashes back to her uncle saying those words when she referred to the numbers tattooed on his forearm. When the Nazis arrive to round up the Jews for “resettlement,” she realizes they mean to take them to the death camps and gas them.
When she attempts to warn her people of this, Fagye—who is already upset over her ruined wedding—scolds Hannah for attracting the Angel of Death to them. The others dismiss her stories as fairy tales or the effects of her recent illness.
No comments:
Post a Comment