The role of the main character in 'The Shawl' is to keep herself and her daughter and her niece survived during the Holocaust.
The dominant theme of the story is 'survival' which is portrayed by the main character, first, in her thoughts of passing her daughter to someone who would take care of her, or help her daughter survive the cruelty of the concentration camps. Second, when they were in the camp. Third, when she witnessed her daughter being electrocuted and do nothing for the sake of her own survival.
Explanation:
'The Shawl' is a short story written by Cynthia Ozick. The Shawl is one of the most absorbing and enrapturing story by Cynthia. The story is set during the time of Holocaust.
The protagonist of the story is Rosa, a Jewish woman who is confined in the Concentration Camp along with her infant daughter, Magda, and niece, Stella. Rosa plays the role of a survivor throughtout the story.
Survival is also the dominant theme of the story. All the three character's main propoganda is to survive in the harshness of the concentration camp. But main role in this surviving was played by Rosa, who is responsible not only for own survival but her daughter and niece as well.
When Rosa alongwith her daughter and niece was being marched, she thought of handing her daughter to someone standing beside the road because her daughter would be found, she would be killed. She was thinking at that moment for her daughter's survival.
'Rosa, floating, dreamed of giving Magda away in one of the villages. She could leave the line for a minute and push Magda into the hands of any woman on the side of the road. But if she moved out of line they might shoot.' (textual evidence)
The second instance where Rosa contributed to the survival theme of the story when they were in the concentration camp. They had to struggle daily with survival in the concentration camp. Rosa's main intent in the camp was to keep her daughter alive more than her own life. Magda was an infant so thin and vunerable. Rosa would offer mostt of her food to her daughter to keep her alive and survived.
'Rosa gave almost all her food to Magda, ...' (textual evidence)
The third instance when Rosa contributed to the theme of survivor was when she thought of keeping herself alive. When her daughter, Magda was being electrocuted by the soldier, she ceased herself from going out and comforting or gathering the dead body of her daughter, because if she would go out she would be killed too.
'And the moment Magda’s feathered round head and her pencil legs and balloonish belly and zigzag arms splashed against the fence, the steel voices went mad in their growling, urging Rosa to run and run to the spot where Magda had fallen from her flight against the electrified fence; but of course Rosa did not obey them. She only stood, because if she ran they would shoot, ...' (textual evidence)
These instances also reveals the role of Rosa as a survivor.
