Bread Givers

Bread Givers is full of men and even women oppressing other women. This is the biggest theme of the novel and there is so much oppression towards women that they believe that oppression is an acceptable way of life. So far in "Book I" we are introduced to all of the characters and their personalities. Right off the bat, in the first chapter on pages 9 and 10, this caught my attention:

"The prayers of his daughters didn't count because God didn't listen to women. Heaven and the next world were only for men. Women could get into Heaven because they were wives and daughters of men. Women had no brain for the study of God's Torah, but they could be the servants of men who studied the Torah. Only i they cooked for the men, and washed for the men, and didn't nag or curse the men out of their homes; only if they let the men study the Torah in peace, then, maybe, they could push themselves into Heaven with the men, to wait on them there."  

Reading this made my jaw fall. I couldn't believe these were actual believes.  The injustice and oppression towards women, during this era, was horrible and truly shows when reading this passage. I understand that these believes are mainly religious but we also see the oppression towards women when Sara goes out to buy food and the seller gives her less than she would a man. The injustices are horrible and reading this made me open my eyes about what women had to go through in order to make money or become somewhat successful. 

I also noticed that the characters’ desire to live life to its full advantage without much worry is really the desire to escape into a new life, but this is no easy task. And we see this through all of the struggles the girls must face throughout the novel, especially with dealing with their father. 

Being a woman back then is way different than it is now, but there is still some oppression towards women in today's society. Can you think of any examples in which women are being oppressed today?