The Shawl

In Ozick's "The Shawl,"  the shawl is considered "a magic shawl."  How is it magical?  In what ways does it nourish?

The shawl is magical because it is what keeps Magda alive. Since Rosa has no more breast milk to give to Magda, Magda begins to suck on the shawl. “Magda took the corner of the shawl and milked it instead. She sucked and sucked, flooding threads of wetness. The shawl’s good flavor, milk of linen,” (1). This shows that although the shawl does not literally provide Magda with milk, it provides her with a sense of comfort. The comfort of the shawl is nourishment enough for Magda. The shawl protects and keeps Magda safe from many things, such as the cold, other people trying to take her, and the Nazis. “She looked into Magda’s face through a gap in the shawl: a squirrel in a nest, safe, no one could reach her inside the little house of the shawl’s windings,” (1). The shawl is magical because it is what has kept Magda alive. “It was a magic shawl. It could nourish an infant for three days and three nights. Magda did not die, she stayed alive,” (1). Throughout the story we keep seeing how the shawl is what has protected Magda. In the end when Stella takes the shawl, Magda starts to cry out because she no longer has her armor and protection. Because of the loss of her magical shawl, Magda ends up being killed.

Are there ways to celebrate the human spirit and the strength of humans based on Ozick's text?

I think that there are ways to celebrate the human spirit and the strength of humans based on the text because we see how strong Rosa was throughout the story. Rosa never gave up, even though she was struggling to survive. She had a perseverance inside of her that kept her going to help her daughter live as long as she could. Although Rosa is also starving and slowly starting to die, she continues to fight for her young child’s life. This shows how strong  and selfless we as humans can be in dire times.