Abstract
An zia Yezierskas 1923 novel Salome of the Tenements ends with a surprising scene of attempted rape. Sonya Vrunsky, the Russian Jewish protagonist, is assaulted in her apart ment one night by her ex-husband, the Protes tant philanthropist John Manning. She thwarts his attack and, in a disturbing concluding scene, forgives her would-be rapist, recognizing that she loves him: 'After all,' she thought,. . He will be to me always Romance. The madness, the daring, the deathless adventure of youth (184). Sonya's closing words suggest that she sees her ex-husband's attack as a sign of love, but her tendency to harbor affectionate feelings for a man who almost violates her is at odds
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