Character Clues
Character Analysis
Family Life
We learn a lot about Morris, Ida, and Helen from their interactions as a family.
Morris is a man of deep conviction and regret. He desires what is best for his family (strangers as well), and it tears him up inside that he hasn't been able to give them the life he wishes he could have:
When he thought of what he could do for Helen with a little money his regret deepened that he had nothing. (8.5.15)
Helen, for her part, shares her father's dedication to her family. She freely gives her own income to help keep the store afloat, and criticizes herself harshly for not doing more for her father. However, she also feels a distance from her parents. She will lie to them, as she does when she starts seeing Frank Alpine. She also wants more than her family can provide:
To stick so close to where she had lived her whole life was a crime. (5.1.4)
Ida loves Morris, but she also regrets the life they've lived, constantly worrying about money and whether they'll be on the street the next day. "But maybe it's my fault," she muses, "because I didn't let him be a druggist" (9.5.14). Family life is a constant source of worry for Ida. She stresses over her husband's health and her daughter's love life. Can somebody give these guys a chill pill? Sheesh!
Food
The Jewish faith is very important to Morris and Ida. They've raised their daughter Helen to identify herself as a Jew and to desire the faith for her own children. For Morris, nothing is more important than following the Jewish law, by which he means the command to be honest and good to others. He's less concerned, however, with the laws governing what you can eat and when you should and shouldn't do business. He stays open on some Jewish holidays. He also sells ham and will, at times, taste it:
This is not important to me if I taste pig or if I don't. To some Jews is this important but not to me. No one will tell me that I am not Jewish because I put in my mouth once in a while, when my mouth is dry, a piece of ham. (5.4.14)
Morris's willingness to eat ham tells us about his religiosity—the specific character of his religion. What a rebel.
Occupation
Morris and Ida feel that they're imprisoned in their occupation. When Frank Alpine seeks employment with Morris, the grocer at first refuses, telling Frank, "A store is a prison. Look for something better" (2.2.18). Morris believes this, not because grocery stores are always bad business, but because he's failed at the profession. He can't compete with higher-class stores, not to mention the supermarkets on the horizon. To him, his grocery business is a constant reminder of his failure as a husband and a father. "To be a boss of nothing is nothing," he muses (2.2.20).
Social Status
Morris and Ida are poor and see no future for themselves. They have hope for Helen because she might marry a rich professional man. Swoon. Nat Pearl, for example, is a young Jewish man with prospects of becoming a respectable lawyer. Ida especially would like Nat for Helen, and she worries endlessly that Helen will opt for the grocery clerk in their store.