My Name Is Asher Lev: Analysis of Major Characters
"My Name Is Asher Lev" is a novel that explores the complex journey of a young Hasidic Jewish boy, Asher Lev, who pursues his passion for art amidst the constraints of his religious community. Central to the narrative is Asher's struggle to reconcile his artistic ambition with the expectations of his family and the Hasidic sect he belongs to. Asher's father, Aryeh Lev, embodies the traditional values of their faith and prioritizes the preservation of Jewish culture, which often puts him at odds with his son’s creative aspirations. In contrast, Asher's mother, Rivkeh, shows more understanding and support for his artistic talent, navigating the difficult balance between her husband's expectations and her son’s needs.
The story also features significant figures such as the Ladover Rebbe, who represents the overarching authority of the sect, and Jacob Kahn, Asher's mentor, who teaches him the deeper emotional costs associated with being an artist. Asher’s narrative is marked by feelings of pain and regret, underscoring the tension between his desire for self-expression and the love he has for his family and community. Ultimately, the novel delves into themes of identity, belonging, and the sacrifices one makes in pursuit of personal truth, making it a poignant exploration of the conflict between individual genius and collective tradition.
My Name Is Asher Lev: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Chaim Potok
First published: 1972
Genre: Novel
Locale: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York
Plot: Domestic realism
Time: The 1950's and 1960's
Asher Lev, a young Hasidic Jew who becomes a famous artist. Asher Lev's name is not unusual, but everything else about the protagonist of this book is. Asher begins his story as a defense of himself and his art, especially of his most notorious painting, Brooklyn Crucifixion. He wants to make it clear that he is not the traitor to his culture and religious beliefs that many, including his parents, have accused him of being. Asher explains the long and painful process that has led him from being a good boy in the ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jewish community of Brooklyn to the artist in exile that he is as a young man. From earliest childhood, Asher's compulsion to draw and paint has set him against his father and his sect; art is not a suitable Hasidic profession. Although his family and community love him, they do not understand Asher, and he grows further and further away from them. When his talent is so great that even his own leaders must recognize it, his painting earns Asher no peace, only progressive estrangement from the world that he loves. The tone of Asher's tale is largely that of pain and regret, but he makes it clear that he carries the knowledge that his path is the right one, that he is doing what he must do. An interesting component of Asher's personality is his self-absorption, absolute immersion in his art that is so often a hallmark of greatness.
Aryeh Lev, Asher's father. Aryeh is a good and caring man, devoted to his religion and the Hasidic community worldwide. For much of his life he travels, trying to save Soviet Jews from Joseph Stalin and to strengthen Hasidic groups in war-torn Europe. He is kind to his wife, although he must leave her for long periods of time, and he sincerely loves his son. Aryeh's life is the preservation of Jewish tradition, tradition that Asher's art threatens to destroy. When forced to choose between encouraging the individual genius of his son and supporting the values of Hasidism, it is inevitable that Aryeh will turn away from Asher.
Rivkeh Lev, Asher's mother. Rivkeh is a devout woman and a good wife and mother, traditional and homebound in many ways. At the novel's beginning, she suffers a serious nervous collapse over the untimely death of her brother. She recovers, however, and grows through the story as she attends college and takes over her brother's Hasidic work. Rivkeh is far more sympathetic to Asher's gift than is his father, buying him paints and taking him to forbidden museums. Rivkeh is torn between the demands of her husband and those of her son; her pain is the subject of the painting Brooklyn Crucifixion.
The Ladover Rebbe, the leader of Asher's Hasidic sect. The Rebbe has absolute power over the lives of his followers, including Asher. He has the wisdom to understand the magnitude of Asher's talent, and although he does not encourage his undertaking, he arranges for Asher to study under the greatest living Jewish artist.
Jacob Kahn, Asher's teacher. Kahn is a great Jewish sculptor and painter and recognizes that Asher's greatness will surpass his own. He is moody and unpredictable, but he teaches Asher much—both about art and about the emotional price paid by the artist who is true to his work.