Federation Star - January 2017

24A Federation Star January 2017
Book review by Philip K. Jason, Special to the Federation Star
Phil Jason
JEWISH INTEREST
Ambition, loyalty and obsession darken
dazzling bio-fiction treatment of Marc Chagall
The Bridal Chair, by Gloria
Goldreich. Sourcebooks Landmark.
496 pages. Trade Paperback $14.99.
Who was Marc Chagall? Of
course he was an immensely
talented and prolific artist in
many styles and various media whose
works brought him a towering reputation
and towering
sales figures over
several decades.
He was a Russian
Jew raised in a religious
household
whose life, until
after the end of
World War II, was
a series of relocations
brought on
first by the need to escape Russian/Soviet
anti-Semitism and later the Nazi’s
brutal takeover of France. Though he
spoke Yiddish and employed Jewish
imagery and themes in some of his
most renowned works, he was not otherwise
attached to Jewish culture, theology
or ritual.
While these elements of Chagall’s
identity are well dramatized in Gloria
Goldreich’s book, her main concerns
are his personality and his relationships.
The central strategy in revealing
these aspects of the historical Chagall is
Goldreich’s brilliant decision to make
Chagall’s daughter, rather than the man
himself, the book’s central character. It
is through tracing (and perhaps imagining)
Ida Chagall’s journey from the
age of seven into early middle age as
the adoring daughter, business manager,
and enabler of Chagall’s best and
worst qualities that the author paints
her astounding word picture of the man
in his time and in his places.
The teenage Ida is a ravishing
young woman, a real head-turner who
enjoys the smiles on men’s faces. She
is confident, intelligent, fashionably attired
and articulate. Living in a world
of art and artists, she is already quite
knowledgeable about that world. She
is pleased to be her father’s daughter.
In time, she will want to be more than
that – but Marc’s approval will always
be important.
In fact, Marc’s estimate of people
is directly proportional to how well
they serve his needs. Vain in matters
of appearance and status in the world
of art, he is insecure and dependent in
other ways. In some ways a rebel, he
is also a slave to propriety. When Ida
becomes pregnant, he is horrified. He
and Ida’s mother, Bella, insist on an
abortion. This is not Ida’s preference,
but she agrees to it. Somewhat less
threatening to Marc is Ida’s marriage to
a non-Jew, but he accommodates himself
to it as long as Ida puts her father’s
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needs above all else.
And, sometimes reluctantly,
she does. Her place
in the world is not as someone’s
wife, or an independent
identity (which she
often longs for), but as
the great Marc Chagalls’
daughter.
Ida becomes the
manager of the Chagall
domestic situation and
the Chagall industry. She selects their
various residences, arranges for the
smooth running of these households,
and becomes the principal agent for the
display and marketing of her father’s
artworks. Thus, she is in constant contact
with prominent collectors, dealers,
gallery owners and museum curators.
These overlapping responsibilities,
which she handles with determination
and skill, define her place in the world.
They also limit it. She couldn’t
be doing this for Picasso, or for herself.
Indeed, her personal artistic ambitions
are sacrificed to serving her
father, whose appreciation is rarely
shown. She even arranges for his mistresses
(officially housekeepers), one
of which, non-Jewish, brings a Chagall
son into the world.
Marc is a grand manipulator,
whose practiced ineptness in many areas
leaves others to pick up the pieces.
He is not lazy. Indeed, his dedication
to his art consumes him, but he shuns
everyday responsibilities and insists
that his work demands ideal environments
without distractions.
Generally, he gets what he wants.
Eventually, Ida also gets what she
wants: a fine, devoted husband; three
children; respect; and much-needed
peace of mind.
Goldreich’s narrative
has many strengths
beyond those of characterization
and the
exploration of relationships
(though the large
cast of vividly depicted
characters is a powerful
achievement). Readers
will learn a great deal
about the history of modern
art, artistic technique
and the business of art. The author’s
descriptions of particular artworks are
spectacular.
Her handling of setting is also superb.
Readers are invited to visit many
places exquisitely described, places
that have not only dimensions, materials
and colors, but atmosphere. We explore
homes in Paris and its environs,
other communities in France, New
York City, upstate New York, Zurich,
and many more. Goldreich’s descriptions
are lavish backdrops for her characters’
actions. Almost too lavish.
The pace is leisurely, and on occasion
seems too slow. The detailed
descriptions slow it down. Some readers
will feel that less would have been
more. Others will enjoy every morsel
of information.
All in all, The Bridal Chair is a towering
achievement: emotionally powerful,
psychologically deft, and a feast
of sensory images.
Philip K. Jason is Professor Emeritus
of English from the United States Naval
Academy. He reviews regularly for
Florida Weekly, Jewish Book World,
Southern Literary Review, and other
publications. Please visit Phil’s website
at www.philjason.wordpress.com.
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