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Reflection on Salome of the Tenements by Anzia Yezierska

I enjoyed Salome of the Tenements by Anzia Yezierska. The novel was intentionally

obvious with its juxtaposed imagery: the refrain of light vs dark, fire vs ice, and life vs death was

used to intensify the contrast between the young, poor and Jewish Sonya and the older, rich,

Anglo-Saxon John. The third-person omniscient narrator was a good choice for this story, as

Yezierska was unambiguous with her characters’ motivations and flaws. I thought perhaps she

overexplained the rational behind every emotion and action, but it did help to create a linear and

coherent narrative that necessarily snowballed from one event to the next. We know why Sonya

wants to be with John so badly, and we understand why John falls for her, and we understand her

disillusionment and why she escapes his puritan stoicism.

As I’m writing this, I have realized that the linear, highly motivated way this novel is

structured and the romantic, near melodramatic style of the prose lends itself perfectly for a

musical adaptation. We learn Sonya’s objective (Get Manning, attain beauty) near immediately,

and this clarity of desire is essential as that’s usually what drives the plot of a musical. The

settings and side characters pop out as well; the set design would be outrageous to accommodate

the scene changes, a la Legally Blonde the Musical, and the side characters would be a

memorable chorus. The costumes, of course, would be insane. End of Act One would be

Manning and Sonya’s union. Act Two would be the fallout of their relationship. This could be

Broadway’s next mega musical! And it’s set in New York! And they could use Klezmer music in

the ghetto and more conventional Broadway tunes with the WASPs! This book is a musical

waiting to happen.

Creative epiphany aside, I wanted to discuss the female relationships represented in this

book. Gittel and Sonya are the prime examples, but generally, women do not like each other in
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this world; they see each other as enemies in the battle to get a man. On page 6, when Sonya tells

Gittel about Manning, Gittel is filled with envy for her youth and contempt for her supposed

idiocy. The root of her jealousy is how Sonya effortlessly attracts men, whereas Gittel feels

invisible. Gittel is set up as a representation of wasted youth and female potential, envious of the

young and beautiful Sonya, who actively pursues what she wants. The solidarity between the two

is fragile, as shown by how Gittel, on page 158, feels vindicated by Sonya’s broken relationship

with Manning and uses her superior status to reject Sonya for marrying a Christian. Women do

not help each other in this world and if they do, then they are secretly wishing for the other’s

downfall. The narrative does not trouble this representation of female animosity; in fact, Sonya

thrives when she partners with the male Jacques Hollins. It’s interesting how while the novel

represents both negative and positive male-female relationships, like with Sonya and Manning

and Sonya and Hollins, it exclusively portrays female-female relationships in a negative light.