Sharon Lockett

14 June 2006

Yezierska's "Autobiographical" Stories: 
Fact, Fiction, or Somewhere in Between?

            "How did AnziaYezierska's life parallel with those of her autobiographical protagonists?  This is the question I asked myself upon reading Alice Kessler-Harris's foreword in Bread Givers in which she maintains that most of Yezierska's works are not as autobiographical as scholars have thought.  Since I had formed an initial interest in Yezierska years ago while reading Hungry Hearts (my first experience with Jewish immigrant literature) for an American Realism course, I was surprised at discovering this information.  I had thought that Yezierska's life offered nothing but indescribable poverty, hunger, and despair, and that she had surpassed seemingly impossible odds in order to realize at least a portion of the American Dream.  Now, as my perception has begun to shift, the question arises as to how Yezierska's life really did compare with those of her autobiographical heroines.  The purpose of my research is to find, at least partly, an answer to this question.   

            During a search of the UHCL Library's database, I found several articles relating to Yezierska, many relating her works to those of other immigrant writers, offering political perspectives, presenting ethnic issues, or discussing common themes/character types/gender roles; some included limited biographical information.  In particular, "Anzia Yezierska: New Light on the 'Sweatshop Cinderella'" by Carol Schoen seemed particularly relevant for my search.  In the article, Schoen mentions several of Yezierska's works and points out contrasts that lie between her heroines' lives and her own life.  Ultimately, Schoen suggests that Yezierska was not as "sweaty" as readers have been led to believe.  She maintains that, while some of Yezierska's stories prove loosely autobiographical, fact is then combined with fiction to create the narrowly-defined "Sweatshop Cinderella" image that has prompted so much sympathy and interest.  Schoen concludes her article by posing a yet-to-be answered question: Why did Yezierska distort or hide the truth about herself?  I am interested in this question and plan to seek out possible answers for my next research posting.

            My search of the database led me to yet another article, "The Ultimate Shaygets and the Fiction of Anzia Yezierska" by Ann R. Shapiro.  Even thought I didn't know what "shaygets" (the Yiddish term for "Gentile man") were, I became intrigued.  In her article, Shapiro brings forth some of the domestic similarities and contrasts between Yezierska and her heroines.  Shapiro explains that most of Yezierska's heroines seek higher-status Gentile men to rescue them from the trappings of Jewish domesticity, just as Yezierska did.  Unfortunately, as Shapiro points out, these romances usually fail because the shaygets are viewed as father figures and spiritual guides, not as lovers or husbands.  Shapiro concludes by highlighting many of Yezierkska's domestic and relational failures and ultimately implies that Yezierska's heroines often end up better off than the author herself.

            In reading these articles, I found, at least partially, an answer to my question.  I gained from Schoen that, while Yezierska's works are based loosely on her life, much of what the author offers is over-dramatized, enhanced, or altogether omits the facts.  In many stories, the immigrant child heroine suffers daily battles with tenement life, poverty, hunger, illiteracy, sweatshop bosses, and overbearing and relentless father figures.  While Yezierska faced similar struggles--as a child she immigrated with her family to New York's lower East Side and was probably forced to work at a young age--she was also privileged to attend Columbia University's Teachers College and later enjoyed status as manager for humanitarian organizations.  And instead of suffering from geographic confinement, as her heroines do, Yezierska was able to enjoy traveling and also worked in California.  Finally, while the tyrannical Jewish fathers of her works remain immersed solely in Jewish religious writings, her biological father was well-versed in many types of literature, even those in foreign languages.      

            From Shapiro I discovered that, just as Yezierska's heroines seek higher-status Gentile men to rescue them from Jewish domesticity, Yezierska herself sought a love affair with John Dewey, Dean of Columbia University's Teachers College.  And like her heroines who reject traditional confinements of marriage, household duties and motherhood, Yezierska abandoned gender and sexual roles and eventually rejected her own daughter in order to pursue a writing career.  As opposed to her protagonists, however, who ultimately find a measure of happiness with someone of their own status (some even finding reconciliation with their Jewish heritage), Yezierska suffered two broken marriages, a failed affair with a married man (Dewey), and alienation from her daughter.  At the end of her life, she was alone.  Ultimately, Yezierska never realized her dream, even though her heroines do.

            Overall, I discovered that Yezierska's life loosely paralleled those of her heroines (some occasions "looser" than others) and that many of her autobiographical works contain just as much fiction as fact.  However, I have also determined that, even though there exist many points of over-dramatization and reshaping of truth, Yezierska's works should be taken for their "spirit" and not their "letter."  The flavor of her personal experience permeates throughout her stories, and in reading them we find accurate pictures of the Jewish immigrant experience. 

            This assignment has heightened my interest in Yezierska, and even though my research posting concludes at this point, I will continue to study the life of this "page turning" author.  Below are some sites for further research on Anzia Yezierska.  In addition, the biographical work Anzia Yezierska: A Writer's Life, authored by Yezierska's daughter Louise Levitas Henrikson, should definitely provide insight. 

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/culture/literature/
FinalEditTOJewishAmericanLit.htm

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/yezierska.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzia_Yezierska

Works Cited

Schoen, Carol.  "Anzia Yezierksa: New Light on the 'Sweatshop Cinderella.'"  MELUS. 7.3 (Autumn 1980):  3-11.  Academic Search Premiere.  EBSCO.  University of Houston Lib.  8 June 2006  <http://search.epnet.com> 

Shapiro, Ann R.  "The Ultimate Shaygets and the Fiction of Anzia Yezierska."  MELUS. 21.2 (Summer 1996):  79-88.  JStor.  University of Houston Lib.  8 June 2006 <http://www.jstor.org> 

For Future Reference:

Henriksen, Louise Levitas.  Anzia Yezierska: A Writer's Life.  New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1988.