Midwife Of Venice Character Analysis
Risking oneself for others
Risk is when there is a hazard or chance of loss. In the book The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich, Isaac and Hannah are forced to take risks for the ones they love. The situations Isaac and Hannah are faced with, concerning their loved ones, pressures them to take risks.
Throughout the book Hannah is constantly shown taking risks in order to save the ones she loves and cares about. She firstly agrees to help a Christian woman deliver a baby, thus breaking the rule which bans the Jews from doing just that. Helping a Christian woman deliver a child is risking the Jewish ghetto as a whole; if Hannah failed to deliver the child properly her whole ghetto would be blamed. However her husband is being held …show more content…
First of all, Isaac makes a deal with Joseph where if Isaac can win the heart of Gertrudis for Joseph, he will let Isaac be free, although if Isaac is not successful his destiny will lead to death. When discussing the deal Joseph states, ““I warn you Isaac. If you do not succeed in winning her for me…the galley casts off with you tied to the oar.”… “And if I succeed in winning her heart, you shall grant me my freedom” (112). Joseph having a bad reputation will have a very hard time wining this girl’s heart; however Isaac sees a chance at freedom so he makes the deal. He risks his life to create a deal where it is a life or death situation, Isaac holds the opportunity at going back to Venice to his wife, though he must complete the task first. Moreover, he takes a chance at catching up with the Provveditore by rowing a skiff towards it. He, “concentrated on rowing with equal strength on both oars, [and] it followed the course he set toward the Provveditore” (274). Isaac hears a couple of soldiers before he starts rowing, he waits for a few minutes then come up with a plan to sneak out without them seeing him. He takes a chance with his life; as if he gets caught again he will die for sure, though he successfully rows away from the soldier and catches up to the Provveditore ship to head home to Hannah. Lastly, when offered a choice by the Rabbi to choose between his wife and not coming back home and coming home as a divorced man, Isaac chooses his wife. As hector describes to Isaac about his situation, he tells him, “The Rabbi has finally been able to raise the money for your ransom from private benefactors, but it is conditional upon your…divorcing Hannah” (226). Isaac is angered by the choices as he is determined to stay and love Hannah forever, even if it means refusing the Rabbis help to get home. Isaac is loyal to Hannah and cannot think about harming her in
Risk is when there is a hazard or chance of loss. In the book The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich, Isaac and Hannah are forced to take risks for the ones they love. The situations Isaac and Hannah are faced with, concerning their loved ones, pressures them to take risks.
Throughout the book Hannah is constantly shown taking risks in order to save the ones she loves and cares about. She firstly agrees to help a Christian woman deliver a baby, thus breaking the rule which bans the Jews from doing just that. Helping a Christian woman deliver a child is risking the Jewish ghetto as a whole; if Hannah failed to deliver the child properly her whole ghetto would be blamed. However her husband is being held …show more content…
First of all, Isaac makes a deal with Joseph where if Isaac can win the heart of Gertrudis for Joseph, he will let Isaac be free, although if Isaac is not successful his destiny will lead to death. When discussing the deal Joseph states, ““I warn you Isaac. If you do not succeed in winning her for me…the galley casts off with you tied to the oar.”… “And if I succeed in winning her heart, you shall grant me my freedom” (112). Joseph having a bad reputation will have a very hard time wining this girl’s heart; however Isaac sees a chance at freedom so he makes the deal. He risks his life to create a deal where it is a life or death situation, Isaac holds the opportunity at going back to Venice to his wife, though he must complete the task first. Moreover, he takes a chance at catching up with the Provveditore by rowing a skiff towards it. He, “concentrated on rowing with equal strength on both oars, [and] it followed the course he set toward the Provveditore” (274). Isaac hears a couple of soldiers before he starts rowing, he waits for a few minutes then come up with a plan to sneak out without them seeing him. He takes a chance with his life; as if he gets caught again he will die for sure, though he successfully rows away from the soldier and catches up to the Provveditore ship to head home to Hannah. Lastly, when offered a choice by the Rabbi to choose between his wife and not coming back home and coming home as a divorced man, Isaac chooses his wife. As hector describes to Isaac about his situation, he tells him, “The Rabbi has finally been able to raise the money for your ransom from private benefactors, but it is conditional upon your…divorcing Hannah” (226). Isaac is angered by the choices as he is determined to stay and love Hannah forever, even if it means refusing the Rabbis help to get home. Isaac is loyal to Hannah and cannot think about harming her in