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Chapter 11
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Name is Asher Lev, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Divine vs. the Demonic
Art and Religious Faith
Creativity, Self-Expression, and Truth
Family Conflict
Summary
Analysis
Now that Asher’s parents have lived for years without him, he observes that “they possessed a language of shared experience in which I was nonexistent.” They have private jokes and a “knowing intimacy.” Aryeh displays a reviewed vigor, and his success is respected by the Ladover community. Even Rivkeh has put on weight and looks “luminous.”
In his absence, Asher’s parents have come into their own as well. They have both been able to pursue their callings without the strain of dealing each day with what they view as Asher’s rebellion, and Asher has thrived in his own pursuits. However, this doesn’t necessarily resolve lingering conflicts.
Themes
Now that Aryeh has achieved so much, he is able to be “indifferent” and unthreatened by Asher’s art. Rather, he dislikes Asher from afar. Nonetheless, he shares Asher’s indignation about the harsh critic and says that he’s glad Asher’s work “didn’t shame us.” Rivkeh asks Asher about his next show—will there be nudes? Asher says yes. Rivkeh says that Aryeh won’t attend the show if there are nudes.
Aryeh’s attitude suggests that at least some of his anger about Asher’s art was rooted in a kind of envy. Successful in his own sphere, he no longer feels this way, but he still isn’t reconciled to the person his son has become—especially the ways in which Asher’s art clashes with community norms.
Themes
Later, Rivkeh approaches Asher to talk about a neighborhood family with a daughter. When Asher realizes what she’s getting at, he bursts out laughing. Rivkeh looks hurt.
Rivkeh is gently nudging Asher toward the possibility of dating and marriage. This is clearly not a priority for Asher. For Rivkeh, though, his reaction feels like a rejection of community expectations, and perhaps especially of her motherly role.
Themes
Aryeh tries to talk with Asher about his painting. Asher explains that he doesn’t paint stories; he expresses his feelings. Aryeh says that sometimes feelings are from the sitra achra and should be concealed. Asher says that some people can’t conceal their feelings. Aryeh says that such people can be dangerous. When Asher brings up this conversation with Jacob, Jacob says that Asher should not be surprised by his father’s “aesthetic blindness.”
Aryeh makes an attempt to connect with Asher over his art. However, in light of his religious background, he construes Asher’s talk of “feelings” in terms of either holiness or the sitra achra. Jacob continues to argue that Asher should expect nothing more—his father just doesn’t see the world in the same way.
Themes
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When Asher flies to other cities to attend art exhibits, he begins carrying messages to other Ladover Jews at his father’s request. Jacob smiles at the Rebbe’s cleverness in recruiting Asher in this way.
The Rebbe’s ploy is a way to ensure that Asher remains engaged with his community even in the midst of art-related activities, as well as allowing him to be genuinely useful to the community.
Themes
That summer, Rivkeh tries to get Asher to come to the Berkshires for a couple of weeks. Asher explains that he needs every minute to prepare for his next exhibition. Rivkeh says that Asher has no idea what it’s like “to be standing between you and your father.”
Rivkeh, feeling torn as ever, continues to make overtures to Asher, but Asher is uncomfortable being part of his father’s life, and the Berkshires are no longer home for him in the way that Provincetown with the Kahns has become.
Themes
After the summer, Asher returns to New York without his sidecurls, but still with his beard and ritual fringes. Aryeh seems relieved. Later, as they walk to the subway together, Rivkeh asks Asher why he must paint nudes. Asher explains that he is an artist. Rivkeh says that Aryeh will be hurt. When the time comes for the show, the nudes are included. His parents do not attend.
Aryeh’s relief is due to the fact that, although Asher has given up one external marker of his faith, he has not abandoned all of them. Rivkeh tries to understand Asher’s artistic choices, but the nudes are an impasse—anticipating a greater one to come as Asher continues to experiment and mature through his art.
Themes
After the show, Jacob and Asher take a walk. Asher feels empty and horrified, not wanting to repeat himself in his future work. Jacob just tells Asher that the critics believe he has surpassed his master. He tells Asher that it’s time for him to “find other worlds.” The next day, Jacob falls ill. Asher later hears from Anna that Jacob has requested an exhibition for that fall and is hard at work. “The master is jealous of the apprentice,” she tells Asher.
Asher’s success threatens Jacob, and from this time forward, they are no longer as close. This is a father-son conflict in its own way, suggesting that such conflicts come up even in loving relationships—Jacob no longer has anything to teach Asher and feels the need to prove himself again before he dies.
Themes
That Shabbos evening, the subject of the nude paintings comes up. Asher tries to explain that there’s a distinction between a naked woman and a nude. A nude is an artist’s “personal vision” of a body. Aryeh maintains that displaying such things in public is still offensive. Why does Asher have to paint them? Asher explains that he is “part of a tradition” in which the form of the nude is very important. Aryeh says that respect for one’s father is also a tradition. Asher says that he can’t respect Aryeh’s “aesthetic blindness.” Aryeh asks, “And what about moral blindness, Asher?” He warns Asher that someday, his attitude will hurt people; he’ll be doing the work of the sitra achra.
Asher and Aryeh come to open conflict as well. Aryeh doesn’t understand the role that nudes play in Asher’s art; to him, it’s simply religiously offensive, part of the sitra achra. Asher doesn’t see his work as morally or religiously problematic in any way. This exchange shows how far apart their perspectives are, suggesting that there’s a limit to the reconciliation between Asher’s art and the expectations of his community. They are two different traditions with their own ways of interpreting the world.
Themes
A few days later, Aryeh questions Asher about some of the artistic concepts mentioned in the reviews of Asher’s last exhibition. Aryeh listens carefully, but “he possessed no frames of reference for such concepts. He could not even ask intelligent questions.” Eventually, they give up the discussion as futile. Rivkeh asks Asher if he is still seeing Jacob Kahn. Asher says that he hasn’t recently. When he looks out the window of his parents’ apartment, the street seems “colder” than ever.
Despite their argument, Aryeh continues to make an effort to understand, but the two men continue to talk past one another. At this point, no longer seeing Kahn, Asher doesn’t really have a father figure. Even his beloved street has taken on a certain strangeness that no longer inspires him, reflecting the alienation he feels in all realms of life: artistic, familial, and religious.
Themes
Aryeh begins traveling for the Rebbe again. Rivkeh tells Asher that she thought she’d grown used to this: “How many windows have I waited at? But I’m not used to it at all.” Asher chooses this moment to tell Rivkeh that he’d like to travel to Europe this summer, after he graduates from college. While his mother is subdued, Aryeh is “elated” to hear of these plans. He promises to give Asher the names of Jews in Florence, Rome, and Paris. “Europe is something I happen to know about,” he adds.
Rivkeh’s fears about her loved ones’ travel never fully subsides, making Asher’s decision to leave all the more painful. But for Aryeh, this is finally a chance to have something in common with Asher. His eagerness to help Asher with his travels shows that Aryeh still loves his son and longs to be involved in his life, despite their differences.
Themes
