Becoming American: Jewish Women Immigrants 1880-1920 (article excerpt)

Title

Subject

Immigrants

Women (Jewish law)

Immigrants--Clothing

Description

Article excerpt
They don't wear wigs here'. These were Yekl's words of greeting to his wife, Gitl, rejecting her protestations that she wanted to spruce 'herself up for the big event' - on her arrival in America in Abraham Cahan's story of Yekl, A Tale of the New York Ghetto (1896). At the end of her long journey from Russia, Gitl puts on the sheitel (wig) not only to honour the Sabbath but to celebrate her long-awaited reunion with Yekl. The symbolism, however, is lost on her Americanised husband. During their three-year separation, he has frantically embraced the customs of his new home, changing his name to Jake and rejecting his heritage. The image of his bewigged wife is a painful reminder of the past he is trying to forget. From the moment that Gitl steps off the boat at Ellis Island, Jake begins his relentless criticism of her dowdy appearance. Much of this anger is directed towards Gitl's 'voluminous wig of a pitch-black hue'.

In both their oral and written accounts, turn-of-the-century immigrants reported that American clothing and appearance were among the first symbols they adopted as a sign of cultural intermingling. Wearing fashionable clothing was second in importance only to learning English in their quest to become American. Indeed, some prospective emigres, after hearing about the differences in American styles from friends and relatives, began to make sartorial adjustments even before they left Eastern Europe. Mary Antin described the significance of this gesture in her autobiographical novel, The Promised Land, (Boston, 1912) Mashke's father who has come to America, writes to his wife in Russia urging her to 'leave her wig in Polotzk' when she comes to the New World as a 'first step of progress'. And Rose Cohen wrote that her aunt brought her a 'very pretty pair of black patent-leather slippers' to be worn when she arrived on American soil because 'shoes more than any other article of clothing showed the 'greenhorn'.

Other immigrants confirmed that they did not have to wait until they reached American soil to discover either the appeal or the power of American fashion. In letters sent back to the 'old country', relatives and friends spread the gospel of a new clothing consciousness. When Joe Braufmann of Lehr, North Dakota wrote to his mother-in-law Riva Lazar in Romania, he made it perfectly clear that things were different in America:

I want to inform you I sent money for
tickets for second class passage ... Also
I sent you $50 for traveling expenses ...
When you get this letter make sure you
are ready to go. Don't take any clothing,
because when you get here we will
not let you wear those clothes. Take
only two dresses and a few things to
change on the way. And please don't
cry, because your eyes are supposed to
be healthy.
Certainly, Jewish emigres were not alone in the emphasis they placed on 'looking American'. Indeed the potency of dress as a major symbol of assimilation is a unifying theme of the immigrant experience. Yet, there are unique circumstances surrounding the migration of Eastern European Jews which are particularly germane to this investigation. Certainly, their dominant role in the garment industry and needle trades gave them ample exposure to the latest clothing trends and a heightened fashion-consciousness. Moreover, many Eastern European Jews grew up in a religious culture which used clothing as symbolic wares to give meaning to their lives. They honoured the Sabbath with special outfits and acquired new articles of dress as an integral part of holiday celebrations. Dress patterns followed a rigid code of modesty, marked important rites of passage, and reinforced the spiritual frame-work of their lives. And although not all Jews followed Orthodox customs, these clothing traditions were part of their shared heritage.
Additionally, of all the ethnic and religious groups who came to America between the peak immigration years of 1880 and 1924, Eastern European Jews were the most likely to envision their move as permanent. …

Creator

Schreier, Barbara

Date

1994

Source

Schreier, Barbara. "Becoming American: Jewish Women Immigrants 1880-1920." History Today 44, no. 3 (1994): 25.

Rights

Fair use

Type

Article excerpt

Format

Text

Language

English

Coverage

United States
New York
19th Century
20th Century

How to Cite

Schreier, Barbara. "Becoming American: Jewish Women Immigrants 1880-1920." History Today 44, no. 3 (1994): 25.

Item