The Family Battle Over Assimilation

The Captain and Ann Barbara

The internal conflict between orthodox observance and American freedom within the Antin household.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Lamp in the Night The Lamp in the Night from "The Captain and Ann Barbara". The Lamp in the Night The Violation Seen Mary watched her father turn down the Sabbath lamp by degrees. It was a monstrous sin by the law of the Pale.

The Lamp in the Night from "The Captain and Ann Barbara". The Lamp in the Night The Violation Seen Mary watched her father turn down the Sabbath lamp by degrees. It was a monstrous sin by the law of the Pale.

The Lamp in the Night The Violation Seen Mary watched her father turn down the Sabbath lamp by degrees. It was a monstrous sin by the law of the Pale. The Silent Understanding She realized he did not believe the law was sin. He was a secret heretic who must hide for the sake of his children's bread. The Two Worlds She too was learning to live in two worlds. The family's religious unity was already cracking.

The Wig Left Behind The Wig Left Behind from "The Captain and Ann Barbara". The Wig Left Behind The Progressive Husband Pinchus wrote urging his wife to leave her wig in Polotzk. He wanted to purge the house of superstition.

The Wig Left Behind from "The Captain and Ann Barbara". The Wig Left Behind The Progressive Husband Pinchus wrote urging his wife to leave her wig in Polotzk. He wanted to purge the house of superstition.

The Wig Left Behind The Progressive Husband Pinchus wrote urging his wife to leave her wig in Polotzk. He wanted to purge the house of superstition. The Reluctant Wife Hannah Hayye obeyed, but the process cost her pain. The fabric of orthodoxy was interwoven with her soul. The First Step The wig was the beginning of the domestic revolution. The children were to become Americans first and Jews only privately.

The Sabbath Store The Sabbath Store from "The Captain and Ann Barbara". The Sabbath Store The Husband's Order Pinchus kept the store open until Sunday morning while his mother or wife might light Sabbath candles at home.

The Sabbath Store from "The Captain and Ann Barbara". The Sabbath Store The Husband's Order Pinchus kept the store open until Sunday morning while his mother or wife might light Sabbath candles at home.

The Sabbath Store The Husband's Order Pinchus kept the store open until Sunday morning while his mother or wife might light Sabbath candles at home. He allowed Jewish observance only up to the point it slowed Americanization. The Children Sent to School The children were sent to school on holy days. Religion could not interfere with their progress. The Price of the Conflict The first generation clung to tradition while the second led the life of the new land. Nothing could be more pitiful, more inevitable, or more hopeful.

The Atheist in the Schoolyard

The Atheist in the Schoolyard The Disputed God Rachel Goldstein challenged Mary about Passover, and Mary announced she did not believe in God. A crowd of believers demanded to know who made her. The Freedom Fight Mary defended her right to atheism in the name of the Constitution. She felt the battle was for American liberty. The Teacher's Truce Miss Bland taught her that religious arguments did not belong on school territory. Church and state were separate, and so were school and creed.

The Ham on the Teacher's Table

The Ham on the Teacher's Table The Instinctive Revulsion At Miss Dillingham's tea, Mary recognized ham as forbidden food. The liberal, the free, was afraid to touch it. The Forced Bite She took a slice and ate it in defiance of her own revulsion. Every mouthful was a battle with the inner Jew. The Two Religions in Her Body The test showed that emancipation was not complete. Her flesh remembered the ages her mind denied.

a Friday night in Polotzk

the eve of emigration

the American years in Chelsea and Boston

the Chelsea school years

during the Chelsea years