31 pages • 1 hour read
Isaac Bashevis Singer, Transl. Saul BellowGimpel the Fool
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1953A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Allegory
“Gimpel the Fool” has been identified by many critics as an allegory, which is a story that appears to be about one thing but in fact has a hidden meaning that is moral, political, or spiritual. This literary device allows authors to convey complex ideas and teach lessons through symbolic figures and actions rather than direct statements.
In addition to being Frampol’s humble baker, Gimpel is an everyman, or more specifically, a Jewish everyman, seeking happiness in a world that makes it difficult for him to exist. Singer uses Gimpel to dramatize the plight of Jews in Eastern Europe and the culture of shtetls that was already disappearing when he emigrated from Poland in 1935. Gimpel knows that he is despised and unwanted, but he also knows he must exist, and so he must seek his place and forge his own happiness. If he must live in a world that discriminates against him, he will, by choice, forgive them their hatred and live an honorable, nonviolent life. His leaving Frampol could symbolize Jews’ need to reject old traditions that no longer serve them and embrace their own destiny.
First-Person Narration
The entire story is seen through the eyes of Gimpel, who narrates the story in the first-person present and past tense. No real indication is offered as to why the townspeople make fun of him and try to deceive him. They do so because they’ve discovered that he is easily fooled and eager to believe outlandish stories, so he must defend himself against their pranks and abuse. The reader only knows what Gimpel chooses to reveal. For instance, only when discussing Elka’s illness does he mention that he has become quite wealthy. This alone demonstrates that he is not foolish in his life decisions; he must be a responsible businessman and a skilled baker to go from apprenticing at bakery as an orphan to owning a bakery and making it profitable.
As narrator, Gimpel portrays himself as a simple man without extensive education. He tells his story using highly sensory images as verbal illustrations and timing his phrasing to capture the tenor of an itinerant folklorist, the kind who provided entertainment for the people of villages like Frampol, who were illiterate and unsophisticated but never fools. Bellow’s translation undoubtedly exercises literary license in the choice of words, but it is likely that he has captured Singer’s diction. Gimpel avoids hyperbole, leaning instead into understatement, and he expects his audience to extrapolate the underlying messages he plants throughout the story. At all times, the reader feels as though Gimpel is weaving both an intimate admission of a life richly perceived and a simple story aimed at providing a vicarious adventure.
Parable and Biblical Allusion
“Gimpel the Fool” is an adaptation of the biblical Book of Hosea, wherein God instructs the prophet Hosea to marry Gomer, a promiscuous woman, whose infidelity is compared to the Israelites, who have been unfaithful to the Lord (Thomas Hennings, “Singer’s ‘Gimpel the Fool’ and the Book of Hosea.” Journal of Narrative Technique 13, No.1. Winter 1983. pp. 11-19). Hosea obeys the Lord, has a son and a daughter with Gomer, and enables the people of Israel to find redemption by returning to God.
Like Hosea, Gimpel accepts Elka’s unfaithfulness and loves the children she brings to his life, and they love him. In him they have a true father, and in them he has affectionate followers. The extrapolation is that they have learned from his example and, having learned the power of faith, they can lead the people of Frampol back to righteousness. When he gives them his wealth before leaving Frampol, he is essentially passing his legacy onto them with the hopes that they will use it responsibly.
Irony
Literary irony is a narrative technique where there is a significant discrepancy between what is expected or understood and what actually occurs or is meant. Verbal irony occurs when the meaning of words is contrary to their intended meaning; this is often expressed through sarcasm and humor. Situational irony is when there is a stark contrast between the expected outcome of a situation and its actual outcome, while dramatic irony exists when the reader knows more about the narrative’s events than the protagonist.
The primary type of irony that appears in “Gimpel the Fool” is dramatic irony though this is often subverted by Gimpel’s storytelling technique. It is clear from the beginning of the story that the truth is being withheld on multiple levels. Gimpel tells us he is seen as a fool but quickly undercuts this statement with his own assessment of himself in which he claims that he is not. The villagers believe that Gimpel believes their tall tales, and while he may choose not to doubt them, he recognizes that what they say are lies or half-truths. The villagers tell him that Elka’s child is her brother, that the baby she has three months after they are married is his. Elka sets out to deceive him at every turn, but Gimpel refuses to give in to the deception. As a narrator, he feigns a lack of knowledge, giving the illusion of dramatic irony. He admits to the reader that he knows the truth about everything, that he has studied each lie and has decided to believe all rather than be drowned in doubt. Ironically, the villagers don’t realize that he knows the truth, which means that he is exercising dramatic irony—a reversal of the town’s perceived power dynamic—by fooling those who think they are fooling him.
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