I had Naomi Ragen on my to-read list for a long time, but fate wanted that my first real encounter to be not a novel, but a play. Based on a real story of a haredi woman who was blocked from having access to her children, it continues the usual discussion regarding the disregard towards women among some Haredi groups. Although women are celebrated and appreciated for their dedication to bringing children to the world, taking care of the house and most often also working while the men are learning in the yeshivot, the moment when a women is requesting her right to think and decide, the pressure of the community often turns against her.
It is not necessarily the rule, but such things happen and it can be enough to offer inspiration to the writer. I really liked the idea of the physical absence of men in the play, while they continue to be the background noise and the constant reference - both as a source of fear and source of authority - for the women characters assuming that: 'We are just women. There are things we can't understand. We're not on their level'.
The play has a more optimistic note than the reality, as the destitute Chana fights for and wins the chance of being heard, in the front of a 'minyan' of 10 other women, among which her daughters and mother-in-law. The open heart breaks the barriers the men rose for women to keep them weak. 'They enforce marriage and divorce laws that keep us chained like prisoners to men we despise'.
From the literary point of view, I particularly liked the first part of the play, where tensions and symbolic details are added in order to create a crecendo of expectations. Unfortunately, the closer we are from the end, the slower the pace and the dialogue is less dramatic.
Although I am fully aware of many of the realities of the daily wife within Orthodox communities presented in the play, I always pledge for nuances and more colours than black and life. However, this play increased my interest to discover more works by Naomi Ragen.
Rating: 3 stars
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