The Endless Steppe

Early in the book, Esther admits: “When I was younger, I had thought the moon was God. A rather too good child, I nevertheless used to make a list of my wrongdoings […] and recite them to God when He appeared as the moon, and ask for His forgiveness” (31). Although Esther no longer believes that the moon is God, it remains a symbol to her of God’s presence. On the train to Siberia, Esther sees the moon through a hole in the car and asks God what she has done wrong to deserve her fate. This symbol of God follows her beyond Vilna; she sees the moon from the car, from the barracks, from the hut, and on the steppe.

Esther and her family seem to find themselves at the mercy of irrational governments and even sheer luck. Out of this chaos, Esther seeks to control her life through prayer. She believes that these prayers must be explicit—“Dear God, please do not let the bomb fall on the Rudomin house” (8)—and regrets that she “neglected to pray to God to save us from a gypsum mine in Siberia” (42). At other points, Esther does not make requests to God; she tries to give orders, willing that her family will survive the challenges they face.