Galina's Scapegoat

When reading "There Are Jews in My House," one line particularly jumped out of the page at me; "Galina watched [Raya praying], feeling that her own guilt was fading, making a place for her resentment of Raya"(41). Vapnyar, through Galina's perspective, seems to be saying that Galina's resentment for Raya is a way of escaping the harsh reality of Galina's own life. Galina seems to wish she were Raya; though she criticizes Raya's every detail, she is painfully aware that Raya gets more attention and more wealth. This disparity causes Galina to feel ashamed of her daughter's gobbling the sausage up, the Christian gravestones and of her husband's performance in bed. The part of this scene which stunned me initially was the setting. Raya is innocently trying to play along with her daughter, yet, at the same time, is seriously and fearfully praying for her husband. Galina, however, can only dwell on the fact that Raya has not been to "church"(39), and the children look as though they are uttering "Christmas wishes"(39). All of these words involve Christianity, and Galina makes no mention of Judaism, despite the fact that two Jews are praying right next to her. Instead, she refuses to accept their difference, and insults their inability to pray correctly, while she "couldn't remember any words [but] 'Amen'"(40). Instead of wholeheartedly engaging with her daughter, Galina's tone is distant and critical. She even asks, whether "she wanted [Sergey] to die"(40). She, then begins to realize how distant she is from her family, and feels "guilt"(41) because of it. Raya, thus, in this line begins to use Raya as a scapegoat,"feeling that her own guilt was fading, making a place for her resentment of Raya"(41). Galinas follows exactly along the party lines of the Nazis. She feels anger because of the terrible situations in her own life, and, instead of dealing with her problems, takes out her anger on all of the Jews.