Mary Antin's Reborn Self

The inner drama of a girl who became a different person while keeping physical continuity with her past.

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The Girl inside the Pale

The Girl inside the Pale The Princess in Exile Mary was fed on dreams of a royal past and taught to call herself a princess. The outcast child felt a halo on her brow. The Prisoner's Education She was taught to dodge, cringe, and dissemble before she knew the seasons. Fear of the cross and the Gentile shaped her days. The Seed of Revolt A questioning mind would not rest in the prison of the Pale. She was already seeking her kingdom.

The First Self-Birth by the Polota

The First Self-Birth by the Polota The Plowman's Song On the bank of the Polota, Mary heard a peasant plowman singing. The melody reached her and the meaning sprang up in her heart. A Great Pulse For the space of a wild heartbeat she felt the Great Pulse of Life Universal. Then she was again a simple child. Born by Bits She understood that we are not born all at once, but by bits. The first self-birth happened beside the flowing river.

The Name Changed to Mary

The Name Changed to Mary The Committee of Friends Relatives who had arrived earlier invented American names for the family. Fetchke became Frieda, Deborah became Dora, and Maryashe became Mary. A Slight Disappointment Mary had longed for a strange American name, not her own Hebrew name in English dress. But she was consoled by being called "Mary Antin" on weekdays. The Second Birth The new name marked the beginning of her American self. She was being made over.

The Writer's Transformation

The Writer's Transformation The Printed Page Miss Dillingham showed Mary her composition printed in an educational journal. The words were her own, yet strange, with her name at the end. The Idea of a Book A huge idea was born: she could write again and see her writing printed. She could write a book. The Threshold of Destiny The moment was a spiritual incarnation. She had begun to live as a writer.

The Human Creature on the Library Steps

The Human Creature on the Library Steps The Vision Standing before the Boston Public Library with a jar of specimens in her hand, Mary saw herself emerging from the dim places of history. The human creature crept into light and leaped to the intellectual summit. The Inheriting Self She knew the past was only her cradle and could not hold her. America was the youngest of nations and she its youngest child. The Completed Rebirth The double voyage of discovery had ended. Mary Antin had been made over.

early childhood in Polotzk

a spring day in early childhood

on arrival in Boston

when Snow was printed in a journal

after the Nahant excursion