A Simple Story: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Simple Story: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the intricate dynamics of relationships and societal expectations within a Jewish community through its central characters. Hirshl Hurvitz, the indecisive son of a wealthy shopkeeper, grapples with his love for his cousin Blume, who becomes a servant in his household after losing her parents. Forced into a marriage with Mina Ziemlich—an educated woman from a wealthy family—Hirshl experiences a tumultuous journey marked by depression and eventual recovery, aided by Dr. Langsam. The characters' interactions reveal the influence of family and tradition, particularly through Hirshl’s overbearing mother, Tsirl, who orchestrates his life choices. Mina tries to adapt to her joyless marriage, while Blume, quietly harboring her love for Hirshl, faces disillusionment when he accepts his marriage to another. Supporting characters, such as Gedalia Ziemlich and his industrious wife Bertha, underline the themes of fortune and familial duty. The narrative ultimately explores the struggle between personal desire and societal obligations, highlighting the complexities of love, loyalty, and the quest for happiness.
A Simple Story: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Shmuel Yosef Agnon
First published: Sipur pashut, 1935 (English translation, 1985)
Genre: Novella
Locale: Szybusz, Poland and Galicia
Plot: Psychological
Time: The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
Hirshl Hurvitz (HUR-shuhl), the weak-willed son of a wealthy shopkeeper. He falls madly in love with the family servant, Blume, who is also his cousin. His domineering mother manipulates him into a more suitable marriage, which he spinelessly accepts. His feelings for his wife range from detached tolerance to hatred. In the first year of his marriage, he falls into a deep depression that culminates in insanity. With the help of Dr. Langsam, he slowly returns to health and is able to find a measure of happiness within the conventions of family life and the traditions of the Jewish community.
Blume Nacht (BLEW-meh nahkt), Hirshl's beautiful, penniless cousin, who becomes a servant in his household after the death of her parents. She is a paragon housekeeper and cook, yet quiet and retiring and as mysterious as her name, meaning “night flower,” suggests. She secretly returns Hirshl's love, but when she learns of his betrothal, she leaves her employment with the Hurvitzes. Deeply hurt, idealistic, and proud, she remains loyal to her secret love, although two other men want her. By the novel's end, she has faded from sight.
Mina Ziemlich (ZEEM-lihk), the daughter of a wealthy tavern keeper of a nearby town. She has been educated in a city boarding school and is considered cultured and fashionable. Although her betrothal to Hirshl is a product of matchmaking and misunderstanding, she admires her groom and is attracted to him. She knows in her heart that her husband does not love her, however, and although she tries to make the best of their joyless and uncommunicative marriage, her pregnancy debilitates her, and she gives birth to a sickly child. Her second child, conceived after Hirshl's return to mental health, is a healthy product of her newly happy marriage.
Tsirl Hurvitz (TSUR-ehl), Hirshl's mother, clever, determined, forceful, and a consummate diplomat. She is able to implement her will in her business dealings, her social relationships, and her family. She steers Hirshl in the direction she wants in everything—his diet, his occupation, even his exercise habits—and she chooses Mina to be his wife.
Baruch Meir Hurvitz (bah-REWK mah-YEHR), Hirshl's father, a completely conventional man who wants nothing more from life than that it run smoothly. He performs his duties, and somewhat more than his duties, to his family, his community, and his business. He quarrels with no one. Although he is always ready to help his son in any way he can, he finds his son's unhappiness and depression to be beyond his understanding.
Gedalia Ziemlich, Mina's father, a wealthy innkeeper and manager of the count's estate. He worries continuously that his good fortune will be reversed, plunging him back into his former destitution. His daughter's marriage to a Hurvitz seems an undeserved stroke of good luck, and his son-inlaw's insanity seems one piece of expected catastrophe.
Bertha Ziemlich, Mina's mother, an industrious woman who continues to work hard and prides herself on putting on no airs, although her husband has attained a high place in their town. She and Hirshl's mother form a bulwark of tradition for the young couple. At the end of the novel, she nurses her sickly infant grandson back to health while her daughter and Hirshl begin to be happy.
Yona Toyber, the matchmaker who arranges the marriage of Hirshl and Mina. For himself, long after the death of his first wife, he chooses a no-longer-young, ill-tempered hunchback who, after their marriage, becomes a good-natured angel of domesticity.
Getzel Stein, a clerk in the Hurvitz store, a political activist, idealist, and ambitious founder of the local chapter of Workers of Zion. He is in love with Blume.
Dr. Langsam, a neurologist who uses no drugs and administers no psychological tests. He nurses Hirshl back to health with gentle conversations and a peaceful environment.