The Washerwoman’s Daughter
Published in Issue #10 Translated from Ladino by Michael Alpert(Excerpt from a Novel)
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‘Where is my father’s money?’ said Léontine to her brother. ‘My father left a lot of money. He was a carpenter, very skilled, and when he died he left a large inheritance. What happened to all that money?’
‘But I married you off, dear Léontine’, said Merovak to his sister. ‘I gave you a big dowry and I found you a husband, as was right.’
‘It was worthwhile giving away so much money to get a thieving husband, a drunk of ahusband, was it? It would have been better for you to find me a craftsman who knew how to earn his bread with the sweat of his brow and would always live honourably. But now, poor me, I’m always on tenterhooks. Every minute I think they’ve arrested my husband and have taken him off to prison and sentenced him. He’s already served two stretches of a year each and God save us from a third one.’
‘Something’s got into you today, Léontine. It’s not like you. The husband I chose for you is a good young man. If I had given you a husband who worked with his hands, he wouldn’t earn much and you would not live as well as you do now. What do you lack? He earns lots of cash and satisfies all your wishes as soon as you ask for them.’
‘That’s true, but in the end, what will become of that thief? Isn’t it gaol? Isn’t it punishment? And what good is it for me to have a...
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