אישה עברייה מי ידע חייך?
הפולקלור היהודי והשתקפויותיו בסיפוריו של י' שטיינברג 'העיוורת' ו'בת ישראל'
פורסם: מחקרי ירושלים בפולקלור יהודי כרך כא , תשס"א (2001-2000)
(English abstract follows)
( קובץ זה ניתן לקריאה והדפסה,
אך אינו מכיל טקסט בר-חיפוש )
Jacob Steinberg's short stories usually focus on the inner world of his heroines and avoid the straightforward melodrama of his predecessors (who portrayed the female protagonist with unabashed sentimentality). His subtle, allusive style maintains an indirect dialogue with canonical Jewish sources, as well as with recent folkloristic traditions (folk songs, epigrams and popular sayings widespread in the Ukraine) and their adaptation by contemporary Hebrew authors (especially Y. L. Gordon and H. N. Bialik). This paper attempts to trace the archetypal image of Jewish family life in general and the image of the Jewish woman in particular as they are portrayed by Gordon and Bialik, and as these images are reflected — and altered — in Steinberg's stories. The survey concludes that Steinberg's stories respond both to ethnocentric and universal interpretations, though the ethnocentric "national" mode of explication yields a more satisfying analysis, since these stories are permeated with concepts typical only to Judaism.