My Michael

As the title suggests, Amos Oz's My Michael is a piece that concerns itself with the possessive and controlling attitude of the main character, Hannah.  Throughout the novel, Hannah appears as unhappy with her situation.  From her displeasure with her homeland of Jerusalem to her irritation towards her husband Michael, Hannah’s qualms lead her eventually towards her mental deterioration as well as the end of her marriage.  Particularly, Hannah’s inability to cope with her non-responsive and seemingly emotionless husband shows us that her need for control and response from others eventually leads to her decline.

In a minor section of the novel where Michael brings home a small white kitten for their child Yair, Oz has set the precedence for Michael’s shortcomings.  Hannah notes that as the kitten attempted to catch a moth that was near the ceiling of their home it continuously falls short of its goal.  This scenario is reiterated when Hannah is describing Michael’s sensibility and wanting emotions.  Hannah says, “My husband is level and self-restrained.  Sometimes I remember a little, grayish-white kitten we call Snowy.  The kitten’s faltering leaps to catch a moth on the ceiling” (157).  With this seemingly disjointed connection, Oz has alluded to Hannah’s disappointment with her husband as a person. 

It is these feelings will eventually fester into Hannah leaving Michael.  When Hannah describes her divorce from Michael, she says, “I shall not disillusion you.  I am not with you.  We are two people, not one.  You couldn’t go on being my thoughtful elder son.  Fare you well.  Perhaps it is too late to tell you that nothing depended on you” (251).  She also demands “Michael, stop smiling for once” when she is telling him all of this, which agrees with her stance throughout the novel of loathing Michael’s complacent smirk (251).  Through this statement, we the audience can gain a deeper understanding of what it was that Hannah desired.  It is apparent that Hannah felt single in their marriage.  She mentions that Michael was more of an offspring to her than an equal in matrimony and she considers telling him that he was the static force in their relationship that would not let them progress as she had once desired.  Because Hannah was unable to see the change in her husband towards a more open and dynamic individual, she was unable to see their relationship moving any further.