Gimpel the Fool by Isaac Bashevis Singer
"Gimpel the Fool" is a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, which was pivotal in launching his literary career when it was translated from Yiddish into English by Saul Bellow. The narrative follows Gimpel, a character embodying the archetype of the schlemiel—someone who is naïve and easily deceived. Throughout the story, Gimpel's unwavering belief in others and in various truths, whether they are real or imagined, showcases the theme of faith in a world that often questions its validity. Despite facing betrayal from his wife, who reveals on her deathbed that none of their children are his, Gimpel grapples with a profound crisis of faith, not only in others but also in God.
His journey transforms him from a gullible figure into a wandering storyteller, which allows him to explore the intersection of belief and narrative. Through storytelling, Gimpel reconnects with the divine and contemplates the infinite possibilities of existence, ultimately choosing to maintain his faith despite the absence of absolute certainty. The story raises important questions about belief, deception, and the nature of truth, making it a significant work in Jewish literature and a touching exploration of the complexities of faith in a modern, often disillusioned society.
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Gimpel the Fool by Isaac Bashevis Singer
First published: “Gimpel Tam,” 1945 (English translation, 1953)
The Work
The publication of “Gimpel the Fool,” in a translation from the Yiddish by Saul Bellow, launched Isaac Bashevis Singer’s career. During the 1950’s and thereafter, his work appeared widely in English, and throughout the history of Singer studies, “Gimpel the Fool” has held a place of honor. Gimpel belongs to a brotherhood of literary characters—that of the schlemiels. In this work, Singer explores the nature of belief, which, in the modern, secular world, is often considered foolish.
Gimpel believes whatever he is told: that his parents have risen from the dead, that his pregnant fiancée is a virgin, that her children are his children, that the man jumping out of her bed is a figment of his imagination. Gimpel extends his willingness to believe to every aspect of his life, because, he explains: “Everything is possible, as it is written in the Wisdom of the Fathers, I’ve forgotten just how.”
When, on her deathbed, his wife of twenty years confesses that none of her six children are his, Gimpel is tempted to disbelieve all that he has been told and to enact revenge against those who have participated in his humiliation. His temptation is a central crisis of faith. His faith in others, who have betrayed him, is challenged, as is his faith in himself and in God, because among the stories he has believed are those pertaining to the existence of God. Gimpel’s belief has always been riddled with doubt; only after he concretizes his spiritual exile by becoming a wanderer does he resolve his faith.
In Singer’s fictional worlds, God is the first storyteller who, through words, spoke or wrote the world into being. Belief in God is linked to belief in stories. Thus, when Gimpel is tempted to disbelieve in God, he responds by becoming a wandering storyteller. In so doing Gimpel links himself with the great storyteller and transforms what was once simple gullibility into an act of the greatest faith. As a storyteller, Gimpel opens himself fully to the infinite possibilities of the divine word as it is transformed into the world. At the end, Gimpel still yearns for a world where even he cannot be deceived. He never finds this world. Despite the void he may face, he chooses to believe, and he finds, in his final great act of suspending disbelief, a faith to which he can firmly adhere.
Bibliography
Farrell, Grace. “Suspending Disbelief: Faith and Fiction in I. B. Singer.” Boulevard 9, no. 3 (Fall, 1994): 111-117.
Pinsker, Sanford. The Schlemiel as Metaphor. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1991.
Wisse, Ruth R. The Schlemiel as Modern Hero. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971.