A Wedding in Brownsville
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
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A story that may be loosely classified as surrealistic, conveying the horrors of the Holocaust and its devastating effect on the human psyche through an intense personal experience. Dr Solomon Margolin, a successful Jewish physician in New York, reluctantly attends a wedding in Brownsville among fellow survivors from his destroyed hometown of Sencimin. Though outwardly a success, Margolin feels a secret failure, haunted by the extermination of his family and community by the Nazis and by the loss of his one great love, Raizel, who he believes was shot by the Germans. On his way, his taxi is halted by a traffic accident in which a man in a bloodstained shirt and bow tie, strangely familiar, is carried away. At the wedding, amid talk that repeatedly returns to who 'died, shot, burned', Margolin suddenly encounters a young woman who turns out to be Raizel, supposedly long dead. As his joy and confusion grow, he discovers his wallet is missing, cannot feel his own pulse or breathing, and begins to suspect that he himself was the victim of the accident and that his 'Astral Body' is hovering in a world of twilight. The story leaves it ambiguous whether the wedding or the reunion with Raizel is the illusion, a haunting meditation on love, death and survival.
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The story uses surrealistic techniques to explore the deep psychological scars left by the Holocaust, blurring the line between reality, memory and death.
A reluctant guest
Dr Solomon Margolin, a successful New York physician, unwillingly attends a wedding in Brownsville among survivors from his destroyed hometown of Sencimin. Outwardly respected and prosperous, he secretly feels a failure, weighed down by the memory of his family and community, tortured, burned and gassed by the Nazis.
The accident on the way
On his way to the wedding, Margolin's taxi is halted by a traffic accident on Eastern Parkway. A wounded man in a dark suit, bloodstained shirt and bow tie, with a strangely familiar face, is carried away on a stretcher. Margolin thinks the man might even have been going to the same wedding.
The wedding and the memory of the dead
At the wedding, amid noise, music and dancing, the conversation constantly returns to those who were 'died, shot, burned' in the Holocaust. Margolin feels intoxicated and detached, contemplating the survivors, each carrying death in his heart. He then sees a familiar young woman who beckons to him.
The reunion and the twilight world
The woman turns out to be Raizel, his one great love, whom he believed had been shot by the Nazis. Overwhelmed with joy and confusion, Margolin proposes to marry her by Jewish law, but finds his wallet gone and cannot even find a penny for the ring. Examining himself, he can detect no pulse or breathing and suspects he himself was the victim of the accident, his 'Astral Body' hovering in a world of twilight. The story ends ambiguously, leaving it unclear whether the wedding, the reunion, or his very existence is the illusion.