Hanukkah

Hanukkah frames an annual gathering where ritual, family welcome, and romantic loneliness meet. At a party in a large Islington townhouse, Queenie Jenkins finds herself painfully aware that she and Cassandra are the only unpaired guests; the holiday’s warmth cannot shield her from the uncertainty of her break with Tom or the distance opening between the friends.

The Gathering and Its Rituals

The party takes place at Christmas time, though it is a Hanukkah celebration. Queenie observes that nearly everyone in the room is coupled, while noting that the guests are over fifty and many are in second marriages. The contrast makes her isolation conspicuous: the gathering’s apparent abundance of companionship offers no reassurance about her own relationship.

The evening follows familiar Hanukkah practices. The guests sing Ma’oz Tzur, a song whose rhythm Queenie finds difficult to follow, play dreidel, and pray. These repeated customs give the party the character of a tradition rather than a one-off occasion. Queenie says the gathering means a great deal to her every year, and Jacob confirms that it would not be the same without her.

Queenie’s Break with Tom

During the party, Jacob asks where Tom is. Queenie explains that she and Tom went on a break in October, that he has not been speaking to her, and that although he asked for three months, she suspects he may need longer. She asks Jacob how long such breaks are supposed to last. As she speaks, she removes a toothpick from her mouth and angrily spears an olive, a small gesture that gives physical form to her frustration.

Jacob responds with concern, setting aside his serving duties to sit beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. Queenie describes herself as lost and confused, and admits she had expected Tom to return after a week apart. His reassurance that matters will work out if they are meant to does not settle the question of when, or whether, Tom will come back. The holiday gathering becomes a place where Queenie’s private uncertainty is briefly witnessed by the assembled couples.

Welcome and Friendship Under Strain

Cassandra is present, but her attention is fixed on the arrival of her new boyfriend, whom she is preparing to introduce to her family. While Queenie waits for her friend to respond to her distress, Cassandra watches the door and later explains that she is nervous because this is the first boyfriend she has kept long enough to meet the whole family. The celebration therefore holds two different relationship anxieties at once: Queenie’s fear that her relationship is ending and Cassandra’s anticipation of a new one taking a step forward.

Cassandra acknowledges that Queenie is having a difficult time and says she cares and is worried, but insists that she must put herself first. Her reference to Queenie’s feelings about maternal abandonment lands as casual psychoanalysis rather than comfort, intensifying the distance between them. After the rituals, Queenie leaves feeling lonely. At the door, Jacob notices that she has lost weight and urges her to eat and look after both her mind and her body; he sends her away with a Tupperware box full of food. Hanukkah thus becomes both a recurring measure of Queenie’s belonging and the setting for a painful evening in which her need for care is met most directly by Cassandra’s father.