Many characters in the novel are forced to make choices about whether or not to take a risk. While not all risks are rewarded in the novel and there is sometimes a price to pay, the narrative shows that characters who make bolder choices experience greater fulfillment.

The central risk in the plot is Ester’s decision to secretly write her own thoughts and ideas and send them to other thinkers and philosophers. Ester feels hesitation about the risk because she fears hurting Rabbi Mendes, and as Aaron and Helen later discuss, she risked social ostracism and potential imprisonment and death for her radical ideas. Ester’s risk is thrown into sharp relief because she is urged to choose a safer path (marrying a respectable man) and repeatedly turns down marriage offers from Manuel HaLevy. Even though she could take a more cautious path, Ester risks everything so that she can express herself and her ideas. At the end of her life, she is unrepentant about this choice, declaring that “the world and I have sinned against each other” (529).

While Ester’s plotline explores the dangers and costs of someone who risks everything in pursuit of living an authentic life, other characters are shown either at the crossroads of a significant choice, or looking back with regret.