Rembrandt's Hat by Bernard Malamud
"Rembrandt's Hat" by Bernard Malamud is a poignant exploration of the complexities of relationships and self-identity through the interactions of two main characters: Rubin, a sculptor grappling with personal loss and artistic frustration, and Arkin, an art historian who attempts to connect with him. After Rubin's wife leaves him, he starts wearing a distinctive white cap, which Arkin likens to Rembrandt's iconic hat in his self-portraits, suggesting a profound depth to Rubin's loneliness. The story unfolds as Rubin increasingly distances himself from Arkin following this remark, leading to an exploration of their strained acquaintance marked by misunderstandings and miscommunications.
As Arkin reflects on their relationship and his own insecurities, he realizes the weight of his words and the impact they've had on Rubin, prompting a journey toward reconciliation. The narrative culminates in a moment of vulnerability when Rubin reacts emotionally to Arkin's apology, symbolizing a fragile bridge between their worlds. In the end, Rubin dons his white cap once more, embodying both a sense of failure and lingering hope—a testament to the human experience of striving for connection and understanding despite the challenges faced. This story invites readers to contemplate the intersection of art, identity, and empathy in our interactions with others.
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Rembrandt's Hat by Bernard Malamud
First published: 1973
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: The 1960's
Locale: New York City
Principal Characters:
Arkin , an art historian at a New York art school, age thirty-fourRubin , a sculptor and teacher at the same art school, age forty-six
The Story
After his wife left him, Rubin, the sculptor, took to wearing various odd hats. Now, at age forty-six, he favors a visorless, soft, round white cap. Arkin, the art historian at the New York City art school where Rubin also teaches, thinks that the hat "illumines a lonely inexpressiveness arrived at after years of experience." He tells Rubin that the hat resembles Rembrandt's hat—the one that Rembrandt wears in the profound self-portraits of his middle age. The day after Arkin makes this remark, Rubin stops wearing the hat and begins to avoid him.
Arkin—"a hypertensive bachelor of thirty-four"—has considered himself friendly with Rubin, although they are not really friends. Arkin has been at the school for seven years, having left an art curator's job in St. Louis to come to New York. Arkin could never get Rubin to say anything at all about his artwork. Arkin remembers that when he first arrived, Rubin was working in wood, altering driftwood objects with a hatchet. At that time Rubin was persuaded by the director of the art school to present an exhibition—his only one. The exhibit was not a success, and Rubin spent the time sulking in a storage room at the rear of the gallery. Recently, Arkin suggested that it might be a good idea for Rubin to show his new work, which is constructed from welded triangular pieces of scrap iron. The suggestion obviously irritated Rubin.
After the hat remark, months pass during which Rubin avoids Arkin. After a while Arkin, too, becomes irritated, reasoning that "he didn't like people who didn't like him." He usually worries, however, that it might be his fault. He decides that he has probably done three things to alienate Rubin: not mentioning Rubin's driftwood show; suggesting the possibility of a new show that Rubin obviously does not want; and commenting on Rubin's white cap. He makes up his mind to apologize to Rubin and to put their acquaintanceship back on its normal track.
Before he is able to apologize, Arkin receives a present for his thirty-fifth birthday from one of his students: a white ten-gallon Stetson hat. Immediately after Rubin sees the Stetson, it is stolen. Arkin realizes that Rubin is the thief. Even though they try to avoid each other, they begin to encounter each other everywhere they go. At this point, "The art historian hated Rubin for hating him and beheld repugnance in Rubin's eyes." After a yelling scene between the two in front of the art school, Arkin again realizes that he should apologize, "if only because if the other couldn't he could."
Half a year after the yelling scene, on his thirty-sixth birthday, Arkin decides to visit Rubin's studio to look around for his Stetson. He inspects Rubin's work in welded triangular iron pieces, set amid broken stone statuary he has been collecting for years. Rubin has come from abstract driftwood sculptures to figurative objects such as flowers and busts of men and women colleagues. He discovers only one lovely piece: a sculpture of a dwarf tree. Arkin begins to understand why Rubin does not like to talk about a new exhibition of his work—for there is only the one fine piece.
Several days later, Arkin is preparing a lecture about Rembrandt's self-portraits. In doing so, Arkin realizes that it is not Rembrandt's hat that resembles Rubin's white cap; rather, it is the expression in the artist's eyes that is similar: "the unillusioned honesty of his gaze." Rembrandt's expression is "magisterially sad," as Arkin notes. Realizing this, Arkin decides to put himself in Rubin's position. He realizes that his previous remark about the hat was too much for Rubin to bear, because it forced him to ask himself once too often: "Why am I going on if this is the kind of sculptor I am going to be for the rest of my life?"
Finally realizing this, Arkin goes directly to Rubin's studio. Shortly afterward, Rubin enters, and the first thing Arkin says concerns the dwarf tree: "It's a beautiful sculpture, the best in the room I'd say." At this, Rubin stares at him in anger. Arkin then apologizes for his earlier remarks, and Rubin beings to cry. Arkin immediately leaves.
After this, the two men stop avoiding each other. They speak pleasantly when they meet, which is not often. One day Rubin reappears in his white cap—the one that seemed to resemble Rembrandt's hat. The narrator's concluding remark is "He wore it like a crown of failure and hope."
Bibliography
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Field, Leslie A., and Joyce W. Field, eds. Bernard Malamud and the Critics. New York: New York University Press, 1970.
Nisly, L. Lamar. Impossible to Say: Representing Religious Mystery in Fiction by Malamud, Percy, Ozick, and O'Connor. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.
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Sío-Castiñeira, Begoña. The Short Stories of Bernard Malamud: In Search of Jewish Post-immigrant Identity. New York: Peter Lang, 1998.