Previous
Shprintzeh Gittel
Muhmenkeh is a woman who sells herring in Sara’s neighborhood. A deeply generous woman, Muhmenkeh loans Mother a feather bed to make the Smolinskys’ front room more appealing to potential boarders. She also offers some old herring to Sara to peddle on the street, an act of charity that Sara is ashamed to accept.
Get the entire Bread Givers LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Muhmenkeh Character Timeline in Bread Givers
The timeline below shows where the character Muhmenkeh appears in Bread Givers. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...initially protests, but eventually, he grudgingly gives in. The next day, Mother sends Sara to Muhmenkeh, the herring woman, for a loaned feather bed. Muhmenkeh, who is poor but generous, helps...
(full context)
...something on the streets so the family can have something to eat for dinner. Outside, Muhmenkeh offers to give Sara some old herring to sell. Sara doesn’t want to accept the...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...Bessie, who is now nine years older than Mother was when she married Father. But Muhmenkeh’s prediction that a wealthy boarder might take interest in Bessie turns out not to come...
(full context)
...learn that Berel is engaged to the forelady who lives on the first floor of Muhmenkeh’s building. When Bessie hears, it’s as though she grows “twenty years older.” Sara, seeing her...
(full context)
