Thematic Comparison: The Rivals and The Inheritance Essay

This essay provides a thematic comparison between Yonah Rozenfeld's short stories, 'The Rivals' and 'The Inheritance,' focusing on the portrayal of patriarchy and its impact on family relationships. The analysis centers on how both stories depict the influence of societal norms and traditions, particularly the patriarchal ideology prevalent in Yiddish society. The essay examines the father-child dynamics, the roles of men and women, and how the characters' experiences shape their perceptions and interactions. It highlights the psychological effects of patriarchal structures, exploring themes of power, suppression, and the inheritance of trauma. The essay uses textual evidence to support its arguments, illustrating the complexities of family dynamics within a patriarchal context. It concludes by emphasizing how both stories reflect the broader societal impact of patriarchal values.

Running Head: THEMATIC COMPARISON BETWEEN ‘THE RIVALS’ AND ‘THE
INHERITANCE’
Thematic Comparison between ‘The Rivals’ and ‘The Inheritance’
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

1THEMATIC COMPARISON BETWEEN ‘THE RIVALS’ AND ‘THE INHERITANCE’
Thematic Comparison between The Rivals and The Inheritance
The short stories by the Yiddish author Yonah Rozenfeld show the prevalence of the
norms and tradition, which reflects the patriarchal ideology embedded in society. Both the
short stories, namely- The Rivals and The Inheritance is constructed on the portrayal of
different forms of patriarchy, which prevails without the acknowledgment of the victim or the
perpetrator. The thesis statement of the essay is the portrayal of patriarchy from two different
perspectives, which results in a similar way they look at their father and effects the way they
view their father throughout their life.
The short story The Inheritance shows the pain of toothache being compared to the
labor pain bore by the mother. It shows how the pain suffered by the man of the house was
observed with the amplified vision. The pain of the father was not bored by him alone; it was
shared by every single person in the house. Whereas, in The Rivals, one can see the
difference in the patriarchal working in the psychology of Malka when she steps up above her
age to ensure that her father goes out and work for her (Rozenfeld). The conception that the
man of the house can live upto the position only when he fulfills the need of the family
monetarily is reflected in both Malka and her mother.
Rozenfeld's portrayal of affinity towards father’s teeth by the narrator shows how an
insignificant entity such as the death, which was the medium of restriction and suffering for
him during his childhood, is claimed as the ‘inheritance’ by him showing the acceptance of
the suppression they experienced (Rozenfeld). However, in The Rivals, we see that the victim
of patriarchy is the man himself. Though he does work in the house, but he feels smaller
doing it. He could not take his life and always run away from it, and only when he beat his
children, he felt alive.

2THEMATIC COMPARISON BETWEEN ‘THE RIVALS’ AND ‘THE INHERITANCE’
The association and the affinity of the protagonist in The Inheritance with his father’s
teeth can be seen as the psychosomatic effect of the trauma and pain which he experienced as
a child to the only memory he could associate with his father’s existence (Rozenfeld and
Eitan). The fact that his father had to be buried by strangers shows the lack of intimacy in
their relationship. The character of Meyer BeRavi Yitskhak and the embedded patriarchy can
be seen to emerge with clarity when he cannot understand the duality of his nature when he
calls his daughter his rival when it comes to the fight for his position in the house
(Rozenfeld). His way of asserting his power and position in the house goes back to the
patriarchal understanding where, despite knowing the poverty they lived in, he makes his
wife pregnant.
In conclusion, we see the protagonist of The Inheritance and The Rivals as the
examples of individuals who grow up in the patriarchal society. The stories show the way the
ideology of the position of men was amplified in the Yiddish society and the way it reflects in
the society affecting the relationship of the members of the family.

3THEMATIC COMPARISON BETWEEN ‘THE RIVALS’ AND ‘THE INHERITANCE’
References
Rozenfeld, Yona and Eitan Kensky, ed. The Inheritance: Amherst, MA: Yiddish Book
Center, 2017. 180-184.
Rozenfeld, Yonah. Konkurentn: Konkurentn Dertseylungen. 1929. 104-119.