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Chapter 17
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Bread Givers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Immigration, Poverty, and Struggle
Independence
Religion, Gender Roles, and Oppression
Change and Anxiety
Summary
Analysis
Now that she’s back in New York, Sara sets out to find her parents—she hasn’t spoken with them in a while. She hopes that they will see her six years away at college as a necessity rather than a betrayal. When she arrives at the address from which their last letter was sent, she hears Mother weeping after Father as he leaves for the synagogue. Mother cries out that she is ill and her days are numbered, but Father snaps that there’s nothing he can do about it. But if he goes to pray, then perhaps she’ll find a cure. He offers to call the widow Mrs. Feinstein to be with Mother, but Mother angrily refuses—she accuses Mrs. Feinstein of just waiting out the days until Mother dies, so Father can become her boarder.
The scene that Sara observes when she goes to visit her parents is troubling. Father’s treatment of Mother indicates that he hasn’t changed a bit—he’s still just as selfish and dismissive as before. And he’s also still using religion to excuse his own poor behavior, suggesting to Mother that his going out to pray for a cure for her illness is an adequate substitute for staying home to actually tend to her himself. In fact, it seems more likely that he just can’t be bothered to stay home and care for his ailing wife—that would be women’s work.
Themes
After Father leaves, Sara steps inside and greets Mother. Mother is overjoyed to see Sara. But Sara can’t ignore Mother’s weak, sickly appearance. Gangrene eats away at her body. Sara tells Mother her days of scrounging for pennies are over—Sara has a government job now, teaching in the public schools, and she will buy Mother the best doctors she can afford. Mother tells Sara she hasn’t much time left. Fania enters just then and starts to criticize Sara for being away for so long, but Mother orders her to hush—all that matters is that they are together now. Mashah and Bessie enter next. Sara is shocked to see how old and worn the once-beautiful Mashah is now. And Bessie looks grayer than she was the last time Sara saw her.
Sara’s reunion with her entire family for the first time in a long time occurs under decidedly tragic circumstances—Mother is very ill, perhaps near death. The sadness of the occasion underscores the enormous sacrifice Sara has undertaken to get an education and achieve her independence: precious moments to be with her family, whose time together, it seems, is now limited due to Mother’s poor health. When Sara sees how worn and tired her sisters look, though—especially the once vibrant Mashah—it reinforces how necessary it was for her to make that sacrifice. Because of her sacrifice, she now has a very different life from her sisters, one that energizes and fulfills her rather than exhausting and aging her.
Themes
Father returns then with a doctor. Mother cries out to him that Sara is already a teacher, but Father is dismissive. He asks if Sara will bring home her wages like a good daughter ought to. As the doctor inspects Mother, Father brags about all his daughters. He says that Sara is smart, “even though she’s only a girl.” He boasts about letting her go to college despite “all those years of wages that [he] lost.” On his way out, the doctor speaks with Fania and Sara and tells them that Mother is in danger of getting blood poisoning and that her foot must be amputated immediately. Mother resists the idea, not wanting to go to a hospital, so the family hires a day nurse to care for her. For a time, it seems that she may improve. But gradually, it becomes clear to Sara that Mother is dying.
Themes
Mother dies, and Sara feels immense remorse at having been away at school when she could have spent more time with family. Later, the family gathers around Mother’s coffin. Sara’s sisters rip their hair out, and Sara sees Father cry for the first time in her life. “Who’ll take care of me now?” he wails. The widow Mrs. Feinstein is there, too, and she weeps with him. All the mourners express their condolences to the family, but Sara only feels numb inside. After the coffin is sealed shut, it’s time for everyone to tear their garments according to Biblical tradition. Sara refuses though—she’s wearing her only suit, and she needs it for work. “Look at her, the Americanerin!” cries out one person.
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