The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner by Isaac Goldemberg
**The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner** by Isaac Goldemberg is a poignant exploration of identity and alienation through the experiences of a Russian Jewish immigrant in Peru. The narrative begins on the eve of Don Jacobo's death and unfolds his tumultuous life over twelve years, marked by the loss of self and connection. Escaping a pogrom in Russia, Jacobo arrives in Peru with dreams of marrying a Jewish woman and establishing a family, only to confront a series of disillusionments and moral dilemmas. The story intricately weaves the lives of Jacobo and his illegitimate son, Efraín, both of whom navigate a Catholic society that marginalizes them.
The novel employs various narrative techniques, including objective records, chronicles, and dramatic monologues, to create a layered understanding of its characters and their struggles. Themes of betrayal, ambition, and the quest for identity resonate throughout, as characters grapple with their desires and societal expectations. Ultimately, the novel serves as a reflection on the broader human experience of dislocation and the search for belonging, drawing parallels between specific cultural histories and universal truths. Goldemberg's work resonates with readers interested in the complexities of immigrant life and the enduring impact of cultural heritage.
The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner by Isaac Goldemberg
First published:La vida a plazos de Don Jacobo Lerner, 1976 (English translation, 1976)
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of work: From 1923 to 1935
Locale: Peru, primarily Lima and Chepén
Principal Characters:
Jacobo Lerner , the protagonist, a Russian Jew who has settled in PeruBertila Wilson , the Chepén girl whom Jacobo seduced but refused to marryEfraín Wilson , the illegitimate son of Jacobo Lerner and Bertila WilsonFrancisca Wilson , Bertila’s sister, a substitute mother for EfraínMoisés Lerner , the hypocritical brother of JacoboSara Lerner , the wife of MoisésMiriam Abramowitz , the widowed sister of Sara LernerJuana Paredes , Jacobo’s mistressLeón Mitrani , a friend of JacoboSamuel Edelman , a friend of Jacobo
The Novel
The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner, which begins on the night before Don Jacobo’s death, recounts the major events of his twelve years as a Russian Jew in Peru through objective narratives and through what might be called the testimony of those with whom his life was involved. The novel traces the steps toward the loss of a sense of self in two major characters: Jacobo Lerner himself and his illegitimate son, Efraín.
When Jacobo arrives in Peru, driven from Russia by a pogrom, he intends to marry a Jewish girl, produce a family, make money, and live to a respected old age in the considerable Jewish community. By chance, Jacobo hears that his old friend León Mitrani has settled in the village of Chepén. When Jacobo arrives in Chepén, however, he finds that Mitrani is neither rich nor happy. Married to a local woman, he is alienated both from her narrow Catholic world and from his ancestral faith. Although Jacobo settles in Chepén and becomes prosperous enough to be sought as a son-in-law by the father of Bertila Wilson, Mitrani’s misery haunts Jacobo. When Bertila becomes pregnant and Jacobo must decide whether to marry her and stay in Chepén, he flees.
Although there is an active Jewish community in Lima, Jacobo cannot find the Jewish girl he seeks. Nor do his fortunes improve. Swindled by his brother Moisés Lerner, Jacobo must take to the road as a peddler, moving in fear through the distant villages where he could disappear without a trace, like the Jews of pogroms and of the Inquisition. When he is offered a share in a brothel business, Jacobo returns to Lima with relief. Yet still he cannot manage to establish a family. He cannot marry the Jewish woman whom he loves, Sara Lerner, because she is the wife of his brother. He is jilted by her sister, Miriam Abramowitz, after she hears about the brothel and his mistress. Yet he cannot marry Juana Paredes, his devoted mistress, because she is not Jewish, and he cannot reclaim the son he already has lest he be drawn back into the society of Chepén. At last, almost mad, Jacobo becomes convinced that he is possessed by the dybbuk of Mitrani; exorcised, Jacobo finds himself an empty shell, and he dies.
Like Jacobo, Efraín, his son, is an alien in a Catholic society. Hated by his mother, barely tolerated by his grandparents, Efraín clings to his aunt Francisca Wilson and to the local priest. When he grows older, however, he discovers that his father is not dead and damned, although he will not see his son. When the troubled boy attacks the statue of the Virgin Mary in church for “abandoning” her own son, the priest and Francisca reject Ephraín, and at the end of the novel Efraín, too, is an empty shell, shut in a solitary room with spiders as companions.
The Characters
In The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner, the events of the characters’ lives and their own qualities are revealed gradually through four kinds of narration, which alternate as the book progresses. The most objective narrative consists of quotations from the public record—from the birth registration of Efraín, for example, or from Jewish Soul, whose social notes, pleas for taking Peruvian citizenship, and historical comments on past persecutions reveal the always nervous background of the Jewish community and its attempts to attain some feeling of security in an alien society. In addition, dated “Chronicles” reveal public events and private musings in a stylized objectivity. Interspersed with this deliberately emotionless material are third-person accounts, sometimes with limited omniscience. The fourth method, and the most revealing, is the dramatic monologue. Because the monologues are not chronologically ordered but are interspersed among the chronological quotations and “Chronicles,” there is an alternation between chronological narration and psychological narration which produces suspense somewhat in the mode of a murder mystery. Events are discovered, and therefore characters must be reinterpreted, or characters are revealed by their reactions to events which have already been discovered.
For example, as the protagonist, Don Jacobo appears first as a rather weak man who has seduced and abandoned Bertila. Later, however, the reader learns that he has never revealed the thievery of Moisés to the Jewish community, enabling Moisés to rise to the presidency of the Hebrew Union; that he has provided support for Miriam Abramowitz, who jilted him; and that he has been generous to the husband of his mistress’ sister, the “only poor Jew” in Lima. In contrast, Miriam admits that she had agreed to marry Jacobo only because she needed a husband with money, and Sara, who thinks that Jacobo has never contributed to the Jewish community, considers taking in Efraín after Jacobo’s death only because it would impress that community. Thus, by the interplay between chronological and psychological techniques, between objective statements and subjective revelations, Goldemberg moves toward at least an approximation of truth about each major character.
It is ironic that most of the characters who complain bitterly about their fates are angry only because their selfish ambitions were defeated. If Bertila was seduced and her father left with an illegitimate grandson, it is only because the scheme of acquiring a rich son-in-law did not succeed. If Miriam was left without a husband, it is only because she did not care enough about Jacobo to check on the strange story which came to her. On the other hand, Moisés rises without hindrance, cheating and using his brother, then despising him, and Sara, who knows of Jacobo’s generosity to the family, is so obsessed with image that she thinks poorly of Jacobo because his kindness is not known.
It is also ironic that affection for Efraín is terminated when he is perceived as more Jew than Catholic. The kindness of the priest and the kindness of his Aunt Francisca cannot extend to one who looks and acts like one of “those others.” Nor can those two, who have consistently lied to him about the fact that his father is alive, understand his need to find an indentity. Like the rest of the Chepén community, they cannot tolerate any deviation from the Catholic norm. It is this narrowness which supports the continuing suspicions of León Mitrani and of Jacobo Lerner that another pogrom might occur at any moment, despite Peruvian citizenship, despite public praise of the contributions of Jewish residents to Peruvian life.
Critical Context
This novel can be seen in the context of South American literature. Like Gabriel García Márquez, Goldemberg is interested in the stifling effects of life in a small village where nothing has changed for centuries. The novel should also be seen in the context of Jewish literature, which points out the fear engendered by centuries of persecution and the sense of separateness which persists even after the faith which was its reason has dwindled or disappeared.
Obviously, Jacobo is a modern version of the legendary Wandering Jew. Yet he becomes a metaphor for modern man, sentenced to spiritual homelessness for no sin that he can identify. If man wishes to avoid this disease, he must merge into one community or another, whether the little Catholic community of Chepén or the thriving Jewish community of Lima. Perhaps those who can do so are fortunate. Yet those who, like Jacobo, recognize the fact that all is not well, who seek a principle by which to organize their lives but who cannot find it are the contemporary wanderers, regardless of their religious background. In his exploration of universal truths which extend far beyond the limited society of which he writes, Goldemberg has displayed the gifts of a considerable writer.
Bibliography
MacShane, Frank. Review of The Fragmented Life of Don Jacobo Lerner, by Isaac Goldemberg. The New York Times Book Review 76 (June 12, 1977): 15, 33. A prominent and perceptive review.
Ryan, Bryan, ed. Hispanic Writers: A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Entry on Goldemberg gives an overview of his life, writing, and critical reaction to his work.
Speck, Paula K. “Fragments of a Vanished World.” Americas (May/June, 1982): 63. An interesting discussion of Goldemberg’s writings.