Meyer Gold Character Analysis in The Golden Age

Frank’s father and Ida’s husband, Meyer is a former businessman from Hungary who now works in a factory and as a soft-drinks deliveryman. Meyer is much more relaxed and personable than his wife; even Frank would rather his soft-spoken father visit than his frenetic mother. However, Meyer himself sees his purpose in life as standing between the world and Ida, whom he respects as a musical genius. This is an unusual perspective for a man in the patriarchal 1950s, and establishes him as a touching contrast to Jack Briggs, the notably self-centered husband of Margaret. While both of the Golds are hardworking, Meyer adjusts more easily than his wife to his new life as a working-class laborer; he feels at home in work clothes, quickly gets a tan, and wears his hat like a cowboy. Having lost most of his siblings in the Holocaust, Meyer is frequently troubled by flashbacks to their deaths, as well as by an inability to feel at home after being so violently expelled from the society he once thought of as his own. It’s his connection and (unconsummated) attraction to Sister Penny, and the contented solitude she embodies, that teachers Meyer it’s possible to be alone without feeling isolated.

Meyer Gold Quotes in The Golden Age

The The Golden Age quotes below are all either spoken by Meyer Gold or refer to Meyer Gold. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Why do I refuse it? he thought, wheeling off. His parents, he knew, regarded his lost legs as one more tragedy they had to bear. I refuse to be their only light. I want to be my own reason for living.

Related Characters: Frank Gold (speaker), Meyer Gold, Sullivan Backhouse, Ida Gold

Page Number and Citation: 38

Explanation and Analysis:

When Frank meets Mr. Backhouse, for the first time, he notices that Sullivan is always cheerful and brave during his visits, understanding how devastating his illness is for his father and trying to alleviate his burden. Frank is also intensely conscious of his parents’ fear and worry, but he stubbornly refuses to comfort them, often complaining or mouthing off when they visit. Frank’s impatience with his parents reflects his wish, on the brink of adolescence, for a greater degree of independence; but it also shows he lacks Sullivan’s maturity and doesn’t understand that growing up means starting to take care Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. D

Sometimes his parents forgot themselves over drinks with Hungarian friends and spoke of the country they once knew […] then they fell silent. They’d been guests, after all, in that country. As they were guests in this one.

Related Characters: Frank Gold (speaker), Meyer Gold, Ida Gold

Page Number and Citation: 61

Explanation and Analysis:

Meyer and Ida often feel isolated and out of place in Australia, where they are poor refugees with little standing and no roots in the society. It’s easy to long for Hungary, where they were ensconced in urbane, affluent families and had satisfying careers and wide networks of friends. However, not only do they know that world no longer exists, they’re burdened by the memory of being betrayed and targeted by the society they considered their own. The Golds’ isolation in Australia is therefore compounded by their disillusionment with Hungary. This doubled sense of displacement is similar to Frank’s feeling Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum

Over and over again, Frank thought, he, Meyer and Ida had been forced to live within breathing distance of strangers, like animals in a burrow. Knowing about their underclothes, the smells and habits of their bodies. The little meannesses, the same old jokes, the sulks and temper flurries […]

Related Characters: Frank Gold (speaker), Meyer Gold, Ida Gold

Page Number and Citation: 65

Explanation and Analysis:

Frank makes this frustrating remark to himself while watching Warren Barrett loudly chew candy in the neighboring bed. Visiting day is over, and after an afternoon with his parents, he’s painfully conscious that he’s once again living with people he doesn’t know for the foreseeable future. Just as Frank’s experience confined in the attic mirrors his immobility as a polio patient, the early childhood he spent in crowded ghettos and refugee camps seems to replay itself now. While his circumstances are vastly different from those of his childhood, moments like this show that he’s surviving some of the same challenges Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi nec

He had a suspicion that never again would he feel at home as he once had. Never again on this earth. And another suspicion: that to love a place, to imagine yourself belonging to it, was a lie, a fiction. It was a vanity. Especially for a Jew.

Related Characters: Meyer Gold (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 92

Explanation and Analysis:

Meyer has just finished his shift at the factory, and spontaneously decided to visit Frank at the Golden Age. Looking at the austere Australian landscape, which contrasts so painfully with the lost Hungarian forests of his childhood, Meyer experiences a moment of profound despair. Not only does he feel it’s impossible to feel “at home” in Australia, it seems useless to try; Meyer’s already been ejected from one society in which he felt fully integrated, so he’s too disillusioned to try again. This is the culmination of Meyer’s isolation and conception of himself as an outsider. It’s important that he’ll Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam c

She was vibrant with life and yet she was solitary. Unburdened by domesticity. She was brave, even audacious. Kept her disappointments in their place. How had a woman like that come to live alone?

Related Characters: Meyer Gold (speaker), Sister Penny

Page Number and Citation: 101

Explanation and Analysis:

Arriving at the hospital to visit Frank, Meyer encounters Sister Penny leaving for a concert. Although they exchange a few superficial words, they share a mutual understanding and attraction to each other. Like Meyer, Sister Penny is aloof and a little unconventional, but she emanates an aura of pleasant solitude, rather than the isolation Meyer feels so keenly. Because of this, she’s the first Australian with whom he feels any kinship and whom he wants to emulate. This moment marks the beginning of Meyer’s fascination with Sister Penny and his conception of her as a blueprint for a tolerable life Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita de

He had an image suddenly of sitting with her at a table in one of the little cafes overlooking Lake Balaton […] around it, brothers, their girlfriends, guests from Budapest. The peace of couples who have been swimming and then taken a siesta together in the afternoon […] such a capacity she had for living. A purity about her, as engrossed in life as an insect going about its tasks, embedded in all that is natural.

Related Characters: Meyer Gold (speaker), Sister Penny

Page Number and Citation: 194

Explanation and Analysis:

Driven by inexplicable intuition, Meyer makes a detour on his normal delivery route and finds Sister Penny at the beach, toweling off after a solitary swim. As always, he’s struck by the calm and tranquility she emanates, which in turn reminds him of the tranquility of his pre-war life. While Meyer’s nostalgia usually leads him to isolation and despair, now it leads him to admire Sister Penny’s life in Australia, with its “purity” and focus on the “natural.” Since Meyer considers himself much like Sister Penny, her contentment shows him his own way forward toward a good life in Australia. Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati.

The vision seemed to come to him out of the sky, unfolding like a cloud or flock of tiny birds, the outline spreading and contracting. A smallholding, a tiny farm. With ploughing, fertilizing, watering, he could pasture a goat on a block like this, grow fruit trees and vegetables, feed his family from the land. It was what his father had done.

Related Characters: Meyer Gold (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 212

Explanation and Analysis:

While the Golds are visiting the Briggs’ for afternoon tea, a sudden thunderstorm descends, and everyone rushes into the yard to help Margaret take her laundry off the line. In the melee, Meyer stands back and watches the approaching clouds. For most of the novel, he’s been demoralized by the Australian landscape, comparing it to his native Hungary and despairing of ever coming to like it; his preoccupation with the land, of course, represents his inability to see himself fitting into Australian society in general. In this moment of epiphany, he sees himself working a small Australian farm and following Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi n

Meyer Gold Character Timeline in The Golden Age

The timeline below shows where the character Meyer Gold appears in The Golden Age. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...cockatoos fly over the hospital; the children know they’re signaling rain. Frank’s parents, Ida and Meyer Gold, also hear the birds from their house in North Perth. Meyer is watering his... (full context)

Meyer encourages Ida to play the piano; they in fact chose their current house because the... (full context)

Since she won’t play, Meyer says she should go to bed, but Ida knows that when she’s tired her nightmares... (full context)

...has always suspected he had a vocation, although he inherited neither Ida’s musical ability nor Meyer’s handiness. Now he knows he’s a poet, and this conviction makes him feel like an... (full context)

...feverish Frank was, she ran down the street to the phone box yelling and cursing. Meyer had to carry him out of the house while the neighbors watched. In the midst... (full context)

...knows it’s up to him to finish “On My Last Day on Earth.” He calls Meyer and tries to tell him this but can’t communicate his thoughts well. After hanging up,... (full context)

...is wearing old shoes and a hat. All winter she’s gone bareheaded in solidarity with Meyer, who’s in a freezing Ukrainian labor camp without a hat. Now, she has fake papers... (full context)

Strength, Physicality, and Femininity Theme Icon

...believe she’s been reduced to making such grim choices for her son and worries that Meyer would have wanted her to keep Frank by her side. (full context)

...important contest as a young woman, and on a celebratory trip with her family met Meyer. In the following years, new laws prevented Ida from studying or performing, but she was... (full context)

Ida hoped to have a child who looked like Meyer, but Frank turned out to be disappointingly like her, both in looks and personality. Now,... (full context)

In Australia in the present, Ida and Meyer and their Hungarian friends sometimes reminisce about the country they once loved and all its... (full context)

When Frank wakes up in the hospital on the day of Sullivan’s death, Meyer is there. He says that the hospital has arranged for Frank to move to the... (full context)

On Frank’s first Sunday at the Golden Age, Ida and Meyer come to visit. They befriend the parents of Fabio, one of the babies, who are... (full context)

Meyer leaves the factory after his shift and feels invigorated by the unusually mild weather, which... (full context)

Even though he thinks of Perth as an “innocent” city, Meyer can imagine the streets bombed and bodies littering the steps of public buildings. Caught up... (full context)

Meyer shakes his head to dispel the memory. When he remembers his dead family now, it... (full context)

Meyer walks past the prestigious Perth Modern School. Even though Frank spoke no English when they... (full context)

Arriving at the Golden Age, Meyer finds Frank reading One Thousand and One nights. Frank is delighted to see his father,... (full context)

Meyer has endured many things, but Frank’s polio has been the hardest for him, since it... (full context)

As Meyer is leaving he runs into Sister Penny, who’s dressed up for a play at her... (full context)

As he walks home, Meyer feels different, more kindly disposed to the city and landscape he normally considers harsh and... (full context)

As the train pulls into the station, Meyer remembers walking on the beach with Ida and Frank shortly after their arrival in Australia.... (full context)

Most of the children go home for Christmas, but Meyer and Ida volunteer to serve lunch to those staying at the Golden Age so the... (full context)

...it hard to understand why the Golds don’t celebrate Christmas, the lunch goes off well. Meyer entertains everyone by exaggerating his own accent and Ida plays Christmas carols on the piano.... (full context)

Returning to the Golden Age, Sister Penny is inexplicably pleased to see Meyer. She feels that he’s much like here and that “nothing escapes him.” Ida plays Mozart... (full context)

When Meyer and Ida return home, Ida asks what he thinks of Sister Penny. Meyer equivocates, not... (full context)

...While the children are at the sea, she comes into the unlocked entry to see Meyer standing there with a crate of soft drinks which he had brought over as a... (full context)

Meyer tells Sister Penny that he’s beginning to understand Perth, meanwhile admiring her “incongruous” beauty–he’s surprised... (full context)

Looking at Meyer, Sister Penny is struck by the sense that he’s lost a lot. She’s reminded of... (full context)

Meyer asks Sister Penny if she has a home of her own, and she tells him... (full context)

Meyer drives away from the Golden Age still thinking about Sister Penny. He doesn’t feel like... (full context)

...wetting the bed, and Frank and Elsa walk everywhere instead of using their wheelchairs. Meanwhile, Meyer is skeptical of the obsession with the royals, especially coming from citizens of a peripheral... (full context)

...the Golden Age, as well as having a new dress made by an immigrant friend. Meyer is happy to hear her playing again, and reports to Frank that she’s very nervous,... (full context)

Meyer comes home on the afternoon of the concert to hear Ida practicing. He’s sweating in... (full context)

Meyer enters the living room to see a sweaty Ida playing in only her slip, her... (full context)

...and nurses help the children to their seats. Families of patients and staff have come. Meyer is setting out soft drinks donated by Bickford’s. Ida is comforted and unsettled to know... (full context)

Sister Penny watches Meyer, noting how it always seems like he’s watching events from a distance. She’s invited Elizabeth... (full context)

Meyer watches Sister Penny usher the audience towards the drinks. In the midst of the crowd,... (full context)

...While she sleeps, she wonders about the cause of her malaise. She remembers looking at Meyer’s face during the concert; observing his complete detachment, she felt the connection between them was... (full context)

Meyer and Ida aren’t angry with Frank; they’re amused by his expulsion, which they see as... (full context)

At night, Ida and Meyer worry over Frank. Ida says she hears him talking to himself in the bathroom. She... (full context)

...on the radio. He weeps in bed, and then goes onto the porch to see Meyer. Meyer jokes that their house now is better than the conditions in his Ukrainian labor... (full context)

On a hunch, Meyer drives out to the beach after making a delivery nearby. He feels like he’s driving... (full context)

Meyer and Sister Penny smile at each other without saying anything. To Meyer, she looks like... (full context)

Sister Penny informs Meyer that she’s moving to Darwin to accept a new position. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Ann is engaged... (full context)

Meyer says that he’s worried about Frank, who is too quiet and seems to have lost... (full context)

Meyer knows that they will soon part and probably never see each other again. He wants... (full context)

Meyer and Sister Penny get into their respective cars and drive away. Sister Penny feels light... (full context)

Meyer realizes that Margaret reminds him of his buxom younger sister, Roszi. During the war she... (full context)

...help her. The backyard, full of greenery, is beautiful before the storm. Marveling at it, Meyer imagines owning a tiny farm and cultivating vegetables just as his father had once done... (full context)

...into an old hiding place by the fence where hanging branches make a tiny room. Meyer notices them leaving but says nothing; Jack also notices and thinks to himself that “you... (full context)

Meyer Gold Character Analysis

Meyer Gold Quotes in The Golden Age

6. The Poet Quotes

7. The Trains Quotes

8. The First Time Frank Saw Elsa Quotes

13. Meyer Walks Home Quotes

28. The Hunch Quotes

31. The Visit Quotes

Meyer Gold Character Timeline in The Golden Age