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The Lost "Beautifulness"
A mother dances on the edge of self-destruction when she paints her kitchen white for her son returning home from the military but has her rent raised by her cruel landlord as a response. Anzia Yezierska wrote about the struggles of female Jewish immigrants in New York's Lower East Side. She confronted the cost of acculturation and assimilation among immigrants. Her stories provide insight into the meaning of liberation for immigrants—particularly Jewish immigrant women.
19 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 23, 2021
20 people want to read
About the author
Anzia Yezierska
38 books85 followersAnzia Yezierska was a Jewish-American novelist born in Mały Płock, Poland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. She emigrated as a child with her parents to the United States and lived in the immigrant neighborhood of the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 14, 2026
#short stories in the shortest month
“The dogs! The blood-sucking landlords! They are the new czars from America!”
(…) “There used to be a time when poor people could eat cheap things”, the toneless voice went on. “But now there ain’t no more cheap things. Potatoes – rice – fish – even dry bread is dear.”
Década de 20 do século XX ou do século XXI? Descubram as diferenças.
With all her breeding, with all the restraint of her Anglo-Saxon forbears, Mrs. Preston was strangely shaken by Hanneh Hayyeh’s consuming passion for beauty. She looked deep into the eyes of the Russian Jewess as if drinking in the secret of their hidden glow.
“I am eager to see that wonderful kitchen of yours”, she said.
Para melhor receber o filho que está na Europa em combate, Hanneh Hayyeh poupa tudo o que consegue no seu trabalho de lavadeira e pinta ela mesma a cozinha de um branco refulgente. Toda a comunidade a felicita, mas o senhorio vê antes uma grande oportunidade de negócio: se a casa está remodelada, tem ali uma mina de ouro que lhe permite subir a renda ou passá-la a quem pague mais.
”Mrs. Preston says this war is to give everybody a chance to lift up his head like a person. It is to bring together the people on top who got everything and the people on the bottom who got nothing. She’s been telling me about a new word – democracy. It got me on fire. Democracy means that everybody is America is going to be with everybody alike.”
“Och! Stop your dreaming out of your head. Close up your mouth from your foolishness. Women got long hair and small brains”, he finished, muttering as he went to bed.
Inconsolável mas convencida do apregoado sonho americano, recorre à justiça. Seja a dos tribunais, seja a feita pelas próprias mãos, Hanneh segue o velho ditado: “Olho por olho, dente por dente”, mas a que custo?
What had she gained by her rage for vengeance? She had thought to spite the landlord, but it was her own soul she had killed.”
“The dogs! The blood-sucking landlords! They are the new czars from America!”
(…) “There used to be a time when poor people could eat cheap things”, the toneless voice went on. “But now there ain’t no more cheap things. Potatoes – rice – fish – even dry bread is dear.”
Década de 20 do século XX ou do século XXI? Descubram as diferenças.
With all her breeding, with all the restraint of her Anglo-Saxon forbears, Mrs. Preston was strangely shaken by Hanneh Hayyeh’s consuming passion for beauty. She looked deep into the eyes of the Russian Jewess as if drinking in the secret of their hidden glow.
“I am eager to see that wonderful kitchen of yours”, she said.
Para melhor receber o filho que está na Europa em combate, Hanneh Hayyeh poupa tudo o que consegue no seu trabalho de lavadeira e pinta ela mesma a cozinha de um branco refulgente. Toda a comunidade a felicita, mas o senhorio vê antes uma grande oportunidade de negócio: se a casa está remodelada, tem ali uma mina de ouro que lhe permite subir a renda ou passá-la a quem pague mais.
”Mrs. Preston says this war is to give everybody a chance to lift up his head like a person. It is to bring together the people on top who got everything and the people on the bottom who got nothing. She’s been telling me about a new word – democracy. It got me on fire. Democracy means that everybody is America is going to be with everybody alike.”
“Och! Stop your dreaming out of your head. Close up your mouth from your foolishness. Women got long hair and small brains”, he finished, muttering as he went to bed.
Inconsolável mas convencida do apregoado sonho americano, recorre à justiça. Seja a dos tribunais, seja a feita pelas próprias mãos, Hanneh segue o velho ditado: “Olho por olho, dente por dente”, mas a que custo?
What had she gained by her rage for vengeance? She had thought to spite the landlord, but it was her own soul she had killed.”
August 22, 2014
" But Mrs. Preston does make me feel that I’m alike with her,” returned Hanneh Hayyeh, proudly. “Don’t she talk herself out to me like I was her friend? Mrs. Preston says this war is to give everybody a chance to lift up his head like a person. It is to bring together the people on top who got everything and the people on the bottom who got
nothing. She’s been telling me about a new word democracy. It got me on fire. Democracy means that everybody in America is going to be with everybody alike.” "
nothing. She’s been telling me about a new word democracy. It got me on fire. Democracy means that everybody in America is going to be with everybody alike.” "
February 21, 2016
A short story.
February 15, 2025
"You are not a 'nobody,' Hanneh Hayyeh. You are an artist — an artist laundress."
"What mean you an artist?"
"An artist is so filled with love for beautiful that he has to express it in some way. You express it in your washing just as a painter paints it in a picture."
"What mean you an artist?"
"An artist is so filled with love for beautiful that he has to express it in some way. You express it in your washing just as a painter paints it in a picture."
October 18, 2018
3.7
I hated the first sentence, which is irrelevant, but Hanneh Hayyeh's determination was powerful and pitiful at the same time. I was surprised at the unexpected turns present in such a short story. It was a fascinating look into a specific time and place (twentieth-century New York in a community of Russian Jewish immigrants).
I hated the first sentence, which is irrelevant, but Hanneh Hayyeh's determination was powerful and pitiful at the same time. I was surprised at the unexpected turns present in such a short story. It was a fascinating look into a specific time and place (twentieth-century New York in a community of Russian Jewish immigrants).
June 28, 2024
good writing - I suppose the lesson here is to not show off what you have, lest it creates jealousy and malice.
September 5, 2024
An emotional rollercoaster that only ends in a downward spiral.
March 17, 2025
although the story was short, i found myself loving hanneh hayyeh and her character!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews