["Betrothed"] has some moments of lyrical description and of direct psychological notation which are immediately successful. Yet we are absolutely compelled—by the deliberate insubstantiality of its central events and characters, by its studied narrative disjunctions, and by the author's own interpolated comments—to take it allegorically….
[Reading] Agnon's tales one feels that anything can happen next; and that the author fully intends that the secret of why one thing happens rather than another should remain his own….
This is a free excerpt of 75 words. There are 269 words (approx.
1 page at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Agnon, S(hmuel) Y(osef) 1888–1970: Critical Essay by Dan Jacobson Access Pass.
