The Slave | Characters
Jacob, the protagonist of the novel, is an honorable and learned man who suffers great misfortune, such as the murders of his wife and two children during a pogrom, his subsequent enslavement, and the death of Wanda/Sarah after she gives birth to their son, Benjamin. Singer mentions, "Like the first Benjamin, this child was a Beboni, a child born of sorrow." The sorrow derives from Jacob's determination to marry a gentile rather than a Jew and to marry for love rather than for social approval and money. Jacob could have married the wealthy and practical widow of Hrubyeshoyv, but he risks...
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