The Ways of the Old Country

Mary Kate Ryser-Oatman

Journal #7

Abraham Cahan, "The Imported Bridegroom"

January 29, 2009

"...but old Stroon had cut him short, in his blunt way: his child was to marry a God-fearing business man, and no fellow deep in Gentile lore and shaving his beard need apply. As to Flora, she was burning to be a doctor's wife" (Cahan 764).

Flora dreams of marrying a doctor, but her father Asriel Stroon is very old fashioned and still does things in the way of his old country. He wants her to marry a business man like himself, and he has put a dowry on Flora.

Many immigrants face a culture shock when they come to America. It is a melting pot of different nationalities and religions, so there will not always be a city completely populated by people who share the same religion as you. Immigrants have to come over here and assimilate into American society while still practicing their traditions they are so familiar with. When they have children who are born in America, the children automatically become different from their parents because they are natural born citizens. They are more "Americanized" than their parents; they do not have an accent and they are unfamiliar with seeing the countries their parents originated from first hand. The parents will still keep their old traditions in the household and raise their children speaking English and their native language. The children are so used to American life that they shy away from what is considered normal or morally correct in their parent's culture.

This was the position Flora was in with her father. Asriel Stroon was born in a Polish town, far away from America. Flora was born in America. Asriel Stroon has very traditional expectations for Flora, and she does not want to accept them. She wants to marry a doctor, someone who was educated and well respected, so that she too would be well known and would live in a nice part of town. I would think that an arranged marriage would really bother her because in America that was not the normal thing to do. Flora seems to accept the arranged marriage, as long as she can marry a doctor. All of her friends have been married to business men, and she wants to be different.

When I read this quote, I imagined if I were in Flora's position and my dad wanted to involve me in an arranged marriage with someone I did not even know. I would never agree to that. I feel bad for Flora because Asriel is so against adopting any American ways of life that he is subjecting his daughter to the culture of his old country. Normally, I would not think this would be a problem, I think it is important for traditions to be passed down through the generations. When it is something like an arranged marriage in a country where that is not practiced with a daughter who opposes the kind of man her father wants her to marry, then I think that tradition should either be modified or not practiced at all. What they will end up with is an unhappy bride who is stuck in a loveless marriage.

According to Wikipedia, even Abraham Cahan assimilated into American society more than Asirel Stroon, "Cahan quickly mastered the English language, and four years after his arrival in New York taught immigrants in one of the evening schools. Later he began to contribute articles to the Sun and other newspapers printed in English..." Cahan learned the English language well, and contributed to many English newspapers. Asriel Stroon did not speak English as well as he could be, and he still has the traditional Jewish beard. Even Cahan shaved off his beard eventually, and instead sported a mustache. Sometimes, it is important to realize that while traditions are important, you do not always have to follow them.