Some glimpses of Malamud's world view in The Fixer

At moment of greatest despair in Bernard Malumud's The Fixer, there is maybe, just maybe, a slight glimmer of hope for the unjustly imprisoned Yakov. He's considering varying forms of suicide as he sees no hope whatsoever for a trial let alone an aquittal, when a few things happen: he gets a long letter from the mother of the boy he's accused of killing; he wonders if the letter is a put-up on the part of the prosecutor, trying to get him to confess, but he's smart enough to "deconstruct" the letter and notice that she says several times that people have been saying nasty things about her: Do some people actually realize she may not be on the square and that a man is unjustly held in prison? Then, he gets a copy of the indictment - which he notes accurately does not accuse him a ritual killing for religious purposes, a small victory there - but what's the larger meaning? Then, his ex-father-in-law Shmuel visits - having bribed a guard - it's the first Yakov knows of anyone in his family or among friends aware of his fate; the engage in a long discussion about God: Y understandably has completely turned away from a god who has abandoned him; S urges faith. Finally, his ex-wife, Raisl, turns up at the prison - so the doors to the outside world are letting in a bit of light - however her entire message is to encourage him to confess, which as Y knows will no doubt not free him, despite whatever anyone has promised, and will also unleash a storm of anti-Semitism - he won't do it. He's a great moral character in this regard - but what will become of him? At times he seems (ironically?) Christ-like; at other times he is just pitiful. If he is saved, the method of his salvation will say a lot about Malamud's world view: will he be saved by concerted action among his people, his family, the forces of justice, what? Or will her perish, one of many religious martyrs of the horrible century?