Updated: We Are Not Alone
Written with permission
By Katharine Trauger
katharinetrauger.wordpress.com
Imagine yourself as Maria, wife of a famous Jew, whose family has made—and had to leave behind—fortunes, many times, forced to leaveIsraelduring the Roman destruction, andSpainduring the Inquisition. Arriving inEnglandviaVenice, and again wealthy, your husband is a famous writer, admired by Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, before you marry him. Now facing anti-Semitism inEngland, it seems you can find acceptance nowhere, and your son begins to need an education.
Your husband fears the better English schools, although your family can afford them, because of the attitudes of the elite. Therefore, he tentatively places your son in one of the lesser schools. You mourn for your son as he faces daily, rude reminders of his differences—his darker hair and skin, his slight stature, and his unbelieving stance toward Jesus Christ. To compensate, he learns boxing and regularly demolishes his classmates.
And is miserable. (more…)