Dorta Dubik Character Analysis

Dorta is Joe Dubik’s wife and a close friend of the Krachas and the Dobrejcaks. When Dubik dies in a mill accident, Dorta marries Steve Radilla. Throughout the novel, Dorta serves as a kind of surrogate mother for the Kracha and Dobrejcak families, especially for young Mike Dobrejcak. She cooks, cleans, cares for the young children, and hears out the others characters’ woes and problems, as well as dispenses advice about life and family. Like Kracha, Dorta also functions as a symbol of Old Country Slovak culture. She is a woman who comes to America early, but never attempts to become “American.” She does not adopt the habit of wearing underwear (something that distinguishes Slovak from American women in the novel), makes little effort to learn English, and stubbornly keeps and maintains her homes in the old First Ward neighborhood even after many Slovaks (including Dobie) move away. Throughout the novel, Dorta is an ever-present link to the Old Country in an American environment that demands that characters sever most, if not all, of their Old Country ties. In this respect, Dorta serves as a counterpart to women like Mary and especially Julie, who come from Slovak backgrounds but strive to become full-fledged American women.