The First Seven Years

An allusion is a reference to a person, place, thing, or other literary work. In “The First Seven Years,” the central allusion is the story of how Jacob, one of the patriarchs of the Jewish people, labored for Laban for seven years to secure the hand of Rachel, Laban’s younger daughter, as his wife. Laban tricks Jacob by substituting Leah, Rachel’s older sister, for Rachel after Jacob completes the seven years of labor as Rachel’s bride price. Jacob is so entranced by the beauty of Rachel that he agrees to work a second seven years to take her as a second wife.

In “The First Seven Years,” Feld’s focus on a financially sound future for Miriam, his daughter, makes him the Laban character in this modern tale. Sobel, the longsuffering man who works year after year for little money to ingratiate himself with Feld, is the Jacob figure. Miriam, the object of all this maneuvering, is the Rachel in this retelling, although she exercises more autonomy than those Biblical figures by objecting to her father’s first choice.

Malamud’s use of allusion underscores that although the historical and geographic settings have changed, modern Jewish people continue to grapple with what it means to be a moral person and the sacrifices people are willing to make for the sake of love and connection to others.