The Slave: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Slave: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex lives of individuals ensnared in the challenging socio-cultural dynamics of a historical setting marked by slavery and oppression. Central to the narrative is Jacob, a devout Jewish man who, after surviving a massacre, is sold into slavery and becomes a cowherd for Jan Bzik, a Polish peasant. Jacob's internal struggle is highlighted through his relationships, especially with Wanda, Jan's daughter, who falls deeply in love with him despite the cultural and religious barriers between them.
Wanda is portrayed as a strong yet tragic figure, determined to support Jacob while grappling with her own identity and societal expectations. The character of Adam Pilitzky, the village overlord, adds a further layer of complexity, as his ruthless governance contrasts with the emerging Jewish community in Pilitz. Other characters, such as Jan Bzik, Gershon, Dziobak, and Miriam, contribute to the intricate web of human relationships and the harsh realities of their respective lives. Together, these characters reflect themes of love, guilt, identity, and the struggle for survival in a world rife with suffering and moral ambiguity. This character analysis invites readers to delve deeper into the narrative's exploration of the human condition amidst the brutality of historical realities.
The Slave: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Isaac Bashevis Singer
First published: Der Knekht, 1961 (English translation, 1962)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Poland and Palestine
Plot: Historical
Time: The mid-and late seventeenth century
Jacob, a devout, scholarly Jew, twenty-nine years old as the novel opens. A survivor of a massacre, he is sold as a slave to Polish peasant Jan Bzik, who uses him as a cowherd. He is tall, with brown hair and blue eyes, and he is descended from rabbis. He resists the temptation to commit adultery with Wanda, Jan's daughter, in a mountain village in which diseased sexuality is rampant, but he finally succumbs and is tormented by shame and desire. After five years, Jacob is ransomed by fellow Jews. Their account of Cossack atrocities in his village and of the death of his wife and children increases his guilt. He returns to Wanda after seeing her in a dream. It is Jacob's faithful nature that makes him return to Pilitz twenty years after her death, and there he dies, faithful to the last.
Wanda Bzik, the widowed daughter of Jan. She is almost pagan but comparatively civilized, a fair-haired, good-looking, capable, and healthy woman. Managing her father's household, she falls in love with Jacob and helps him by bringing him food and treating a snakebite. She pursues him passionately and is eager to learn his doctrine. When he is ransomed, she falls sick; she is in this condition when he rescues her. She accompanies him to Pilitz, pretending to be a deaf-mute, Dumb Sarah, and trying to behave as a Jewish married woman should. She dies giving birth to a son and reveals, in her agony, the truth about her origins. She appears to Jacob in dreams for the rest of his life.
Adam Pilitzky, the fifty-four-year-old overlord of the village of Pilitz, whose youth was spent in the West. He is ruthless with his peasantry but is a poor manager, with corrupt bailiffs. Against his declared intent, a Jewish community forms in Pilitz. He hangs himself when Pilitz passes to a creditor.
Theresa Pilitzky, Adam's wife. She is small, plump, sprightly, and as loose-living as her husband. For her own amusement, she tries to tempt Jacob. She dies alone after giving her remaining wealth to an impoverished nobleman, her last lover.
Jan Bzik, Wanda's father and Jacob's master. He has a certain innate intelligence that prevents him from ridiculing Jacob. Once a man of importance in the village, he is now old, sick, and morose, so that his wife wishes him dead. He dies, leaving Wanda, his favorite daughter, unprotected.
Gershon, a powerful man in Pilitz who has leased the manor's fields. A cunning dealer and a leader of the Jewish community who collects (and embezzles) their taxes, he dresses like a rabbi, looks like a butcher, and dislikes Jacob and all scholars. He is a stickler for the forms of religion and is loud in condemning Jacob when the truth emerges.
Dziobak, a Catholic priest in the mountain village, where pagan superstitions prevail. He is short, broad, clumsily built, lame, dirty, and often drunk. He is the father of many children.
Miriam, Jacob's sister, who survived the massacre. Formerly handsome and well-to-do, she is now toothless and ragged. She shrilly enumerates the atrocities.
Tirza Temma, a Jewish woman forced into marriage with a Cossack. Hearing that her first husband will be allowed to be divorced from her, she berates the community in Cossack, having forgotten her Yiddish.