The Expanding Universe of a Former Ghetto Child

The movement of Mary Antin's mind from the little world of Polotzk to the embracing cosmos of science and history.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The River That Crossed Borders

The River That Crossed Borders The Same River in Another Town Mary was astonished to find the Dvina in Vitebsk. She had believed the river stopped where Polotzk stopped. The Boundary Fence Falls The world was Polotzk, then more Polotzk, then Vitebsk. There was no dividing fence after all. A New Theory of the World Russia was more Polotzk, not an alien void. Her geography expanded with the river.

Vitebsk and the World of Print

Vitebsk and the World of Print The Great City Vitebsk was a metropolis with bookstores, avenues, and students in uniform. Mary explored it alone and found adventures. Cousin Hirshel's Books She admired her cousin's uniform and learned from his recitations. Then she discovered secular books and read them greedily. Stretching the Boundaries The boundaries of life had stretched; she filled her lungs with air from a great Beyond. Polotzk was too small when she returned.

The Ocean's Solemn Voice

The Ocean's Solemn Voice The Great Waters The steamship was a small world on a boundless sea. Mary watched the huge billows and the gray sky with awe. Robinson Crusoe Real She imagined herself alone on the ocean and felt the presence of something she did not understand. She loved the sea as if it were part of herself. A Wider Earth The voyage broke the limits of the Pale. She was entering the middle of the great world.

The Public Library as Palace

The Public Library as Palace Carved Inscriptions Mary walked slowly up the steps of the Boston Public Library and read: Public Library, Built by the People, Free to All. It was her palace. Bates Hall and the Courtyard She spent long hours in Bates Hall under the soaring arches. The courtyard reminded her of Athens and made the classics real. Polotzk Remembered She compared her prison birth with this freedom and found a miracle. The beggar girl was dwelling in a palace.

The Spider and the Cosmos

The Spider and the Cosmos The Unwelcome Subject Mrs. Black brought Mary to the Natural History Club, and the speaker turned out to be an authority on spiders. Mary's nerves knotted in fear. The Web Takes Shape Mr. Emerson wove a giant spider's web as he talked. Mary forgot her terror and saw the drama of the spider's struggle for existence. Revelation Through Nature The natural history of a living creature filled her with wonder. The universe was being remade on a grander scale.

The Nahant Vision

The Nahant Vision Tide Pools and Seaweed Cushions The club studied marine life at Nahant, scrambling over rocks for starfish and sea urchins. The tide rose and stole their seaweed cushions. The Vision on the Library Steps Returning to Boston, Mary stood before the Public Library and saw herself emerging from the dim places of history. The human creature climbed toward the intellectual summit of the latest century. The Past Becomes Hers She realized that the past belonged to her, not she to the past. America and all its heritage were hers to inherit.

a visit to Vitebsk at about age eight

the six-month visit to Vitebsk at age twelve or thirteen

during the sixteen-day Atlantic crossing

during the Dover Street years

a Friday evening at Hale House

after the Natural History Club's field excursion to Nahant