Enemies: A Love Story: Analysis of Major Characters
"Enemies: A Love Story" explores the complex lives of its major characters against the backdrop of post-World War II Brooklyn. Central to the narrative is Herman Broder, a Polish Jewish refugee grappling with his traumatic past and torn between three women: his devoted second wife, Yadwiga, who saved him during the Nazi occupation; Masha, his passionate lover seeking a divorce from her estranged husband; and Tamara, his first wife who unexpectedly reappears after surviving the war. Each character represents different aspects of Jewish identity and cultural experience, reflecting themes of love, loyalty, and the struggle for personal fulfillment in a world marked by loss. Yadwiga embodies quiet devotion, Masha showcases a more assertive and complicated love, while Tamara offers a perspective of resilience and forgiveness. Supporting characters, such as Rabbi Milton Lampert and Leon Tortshiner, add depth to the narrative, highlighting the intertwined relationships and societal expectations that shape these individuals. This intricate portrayal invites readers to reflect on the nature of love and loyalty in the face of adversity, making it a poignant exploration of human emotions and connections.
Enemies: A Love Story: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Isaac Bashevis Singer
First published: Sonim, de Geshichte fun a Liebe, 1966 (English translation, 1972)
Genre: Novel
Locale: New York City and upstate New York
Plot: Domestic realism
Time: The postwar 1940's
Herman Broder, a refugee from Poland, where the Nazis have destroyed his family. He lives in Brooklyn and makes a living by ghostwriting for a rabbi, though he tells his wife, Yadwiga, that he is a traveling book salesman so that he can spend time with his lover, Masha Tortshiner, in her apartment in the Bronx. He observes Jewish dietary laws but otherwise has largely forsaken his Jewish faith, having become utterly fatalistic. Perhaps it is this fatalistic attitude, coupled with a smoldering eroticism, that makes him attractive to the three women who love him.
Yadwiga Broder, a Polish peasant girl, Herman's second wife and his savior. She hid Herman in the barn of her parents' farm during the Nazi occupation of Poland. She fell in love with Herman when she worked for his family as a servant and has been devoted to him ever since. She worships Herman and after her conversion tries hard to be a good Jewish wife. Extremely shy and unable to speak much English, she avoids her kindly neighbors and lives only for Herman, with whom she finally has a child.
Masha Tortshiner, Herman's lover, separated from her husband, Leon, who refuses to give her a divorce. Neurotic, beautiful, and demanding, she wants Herman to divorce Yadwiga and marry her. She is not above tricking him into consent.
Shifrah Puah Bloch, Masha's deeply religious mother, who is pained by her daughter's behavior but bears it stoically. She keeps a kosher home and likes Herman, despite her disapproval of the affair with her daughter. Her dying effort is to prevent Herman and Masha from running away together to California after Yadwiga has become pregnant.
Tamara Broder, Herman's first wife, believed to have been killed by the Nazis after her two children were taken by them and murdered. Miraculously, she survives the war and the camps and turns up at her uncle's home on the East Side of New York City. She has retained her good looks, despite everything, but accepts her fate and her husband's and does not wish to interfere with his new life. Her generosity grows even to helping Yadwiga care for her child when, at the end, Herman disappears. The two women live together, and she operates a bookstore left to her by her uncle.
Leon Tortshiner, Masha's husband, who for a long while refuses to agree to a divorce. When he does, he also reveals to Herman the kind of woman Masha is, including giving Herman an account of her infidelity. Outraged, Herman refuses to have anything more to do with her and returns briefly to Yadwiga and to a religious life. Even Leon's revelations are insufficient, however, to keep Herman from Masha.
Rabbi Milton Lampert, a sophisticated, modern rabbi who supports Herman by paying him to write speeches for him. He arranges for Masha to run an old people's home in New Jersey, where Shifrah Puah also can live, after Herman and Masha break up. The arrangement does not last long, however, before Masha returns to the Bronx and calls Herman.
Reb Abraham Nissen, Tamara's uncle, who runs a bookstore in the Jewish section of the Lower East Side of New York. When Tamara comes to America after her ordeal, he places an ad in the personals column of a Yiddish newspaper to find Herman and arrange a reunion. After he dies, Herman briefly runs the bookstore, until Masha calls him; Tamara then takes over the store and helps support Yadwiga and her child.