Language:
Polish
Year of publication:
2020
Titel der Quelle:
Kwartalnik Historii Żydów
Angaben zur Quelle:
273 (2020) 69-89
Keywords:
Hirschbein, Peretz, Criticism and interpretation
;
Yiddish literature History and criticism
;
Shtetls in literature
;
Country life in literature
Abstract:
Article examines the process of producing a narrative about the countryside and agriculture in the texts of the Yiddish writer Peretz Hirschbein. Through an analysis of his childhood reminiscences, his Argentine travelogue, as well as his play Grine felder, it shows that the village topos is one of the central components of his output. The article demonstrates that Hirschbein sees the village as idyllic space, as opposed to the unfriendly shtetl. Hirschbein clearly distinguishes the village, the shtetl and the town, assigning different meanings and roles to each of these Jewish spaces. In his epic writings and his plays the writer uses autobiographic elements and poses as a person molded by the rural environment. Hirschbein’s countryside is woven into Jewish modernization movements, including the plans for the Jews’ return to farming. In this way, the village does not look as a bastion of oppressive tradition (which the shtetl is), but as space with transformation potential.
Note:
With an English summary.
URL:
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