Frieda's Fate as the Firstborn

The price of being the eldest daughter in an immigrant family, from Polotzk to an East Boston kitchen.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Little Woman of the Family

The Little Woman of the Family The Second Mother Fetchke helped her mother from babyhood, tumbling behind the counter and learning to work. She became the family's right hand. The Lack of Luck Mary had the luck of being born after her and was marked for special attention. Fetchke had her hands so full of work that the sunbeam slipped. The Saintly Older Sister She learned to see sugar plums lie around without asking for her share. Her destiny was service.

The Family Breadwinner in Chelsea

The Family Breadwinner in Chelsea The Job at the Machine Frieda went to work while Mary went to school. She came home in the evening to study English around the kitchen table. The Name in the Paper Wherever she went, she heard of Mary Antin whose poems were printed. Her sister's glory was her compensation. The Vicarious Dream Frieda had a genuine talent for joy in other people's triumphs. She asked for almost nothing for herself.

The Graduation Dress Maker

The Graduation Dress Maker The Spendthrift Season Frieda suddenly turned spendthrift and went to bargain sales. She bought fine muslin, lace, and patent-leather shoes. The White Disorder She spent every evening cutting, basting, and stitching, refusing Moses's pleadings. The dress was not her trousseau but Mary's graduation dress. The Sash with Silk Fringes She added the sash with silk fringes to make her sister perfect. It was an act of love disguised as extravagance.

The Marriage at Seventeen

The Marriage at Seventeen The Escape from the Workshop Moses Rifkin offered Frieda a way out of the needle. Her father, still poor, allowed the marriage as an act of welfare. The American Difference Had she been two years younger, Mary reflected, she might have had a girlhood and free choice in marriage. Frieda came too late for the American promise. The East Boston Kitchen She married and left home, making a new kitchen where Mary came to read poetry. Her sacrifice continued in a quieter form.

The Reader of Virgil

The Reader of Virgil The Cosey Kitchen Mary visited Frieda in East Boston, where the lamp shone on brown roses and a clean tablecloth. The kitchen was more beautiful than Frieda's plush parlor. Latin and Longfellow Mary read Longfellow, Whittier, Tennyson, and even the Aeneid aloud. Frieda's delight doubled the meaning of the lines. The Silent Teacher Frieda taught Mary that education could be shared by those denied it. The humblest kitchen could become a seat of inspiration.

childhood in Polotzk

after the family arrived in America

the spring before Mary's grammar school graduation

before the move to Dover Street

evenings after Frieda's marriage