Elya Yelnats is the great-great-grandfather of Stanley Yelnats.
In the film, he was portrayed by Damien Luvara.
Role in Holes[]
Elya Yelnats was from a villiage in Latvia. There, he was friends with Madame Zeroni, an elderly Egyptian woman.
He was shoveling in Morris Menke's barn, where he saw Morris' beautiful daughter, Myra walk by. Elya went to her father and asked for his daughter's hand in marriage, but Morris Menke had Igor Barkov had a suitor for his daughter, offering his fatest pig. Elya went to Madame Zeroni for advice. Madame Zeroni warned Elya that Myra Menke's head was as empty as a flowerpot and her father was a " schmuck" and advised him to go to America, where her son was. However, Elya was adamant on making Myra his wife. Instead, Zeroni gives Elya her smallest pig and tells him to carry it up the mountain and let it drink at the springs. She instructs him to also sing "If Only, If Only" as it drinks. Everyday the pig will grow bigger. She also adds that when he gives the pig to Myra's father, then Elya should carry her up the mountain and sing the song as she drinks from the fountain so she could get stronger too. However, Madame Zeroni warns Elya that if he does not return for her, then Elya and his family would be cursed for always and eternity.
When the time came for Elya to present the fat pig he had, Elya found that what Madame Zeroni told him was true: Myra was empty-headed, as she could not decide for herself which suitor: Igor or Elya. Angered, he gave away his pig as a "wedding present" before angrily storming off. Elya followed Madame Zeroni's advice and went to America. However, he forgot to go back for the elderly woman, leaving a curse on the Yelnats family.
When arriving in America, Elya attempted to look for Zeroni's son in order to break the curse on him, but could not find him. He later married an American woman, Sarah Miller and one day told her of his curse. However, Sarah loved her husband nonetheless and refused to abandon him. They eventually had a son named Stanley and began the tradition of naming their sons after the fact their last name was also Stanley spelled backwards.
After Elya passed away, Stanley Yelnats IV was told by his father and grandfather they had bad luck because of his no good, pig stealing great-great-grandfather. The curse was finally broken when Stanley carried Hector Zeroni, Madame Zeroni, up the mountain of Green's Thumb and sang "If Only, If Only" as Hector drank from the stream.
At the end of the novel, Mrs. Zeroni reveals the entire poem, because she knew her ancestor's song.
Relationships[]
Sarah Yelnats[]
- “He fell in love with a woman named Sarah Miller. She could push a plow, milk a goat, and, most important, think for herself. She and Elya often stayed up half the night talking and laughing together.”
- ―Sarah and Elya's true love
Sarah was the first woman Elya fell in love with and she was undoubtably the love of Elya's life. Unlike Myra Menke, Elya's former love interest, Sarah could think for herself and milk a goat. She and Elya often stayed up half the night talking and laughing together, eventually marrying. Even when Elya revealed his family curse to her, Sarah refused to abandon him and loved him no matter what. The couple had a son, who they named Stanley because it was Yelnats spelled backwords and Sarah altered the lyrics to "If Only, If Only."
Madame Zeroni[]
- “The other boys of his village liked to mud wrestle. Elya preferred visiting Madame Zeroni and listening to her many stories.”
- ―Elya's relationship to Madame Zeroni
Before placing the family curse on the Yelnats family, Madame Zeroni was great friends with Elya, acting as his close friend and mentor. Instead of playing with the other boys, Elya instead loved going to visit Madame Zeroni She highly disapproved of his infatuation with Myra Menke, the empty-headed daughter of Morris Menke but nonetheless helped him with trying to win him over. In exchange for giving Elya her smallest pig, Madame Zeroni hoped Elya would also carry her to the same stream and sing so she can get strong.
Elya forgot all about helping Madame Zeroni, thus ensuring the family curse placed upon the Yelnats family. He had come to regret breaking his promise to Madame Zeroni, as it put a heavy toll on his family.
Eventually the curse was broken by Elya's great-great grandson when he carried Madame Zeroni's great-great-great-grandson, Hector Zeroni up the mountain of God's Thumb and sung to Hector while he drank from the fountain. Thus the Zeroni and Yelnats family friendship was rekindled through Hector and Stanley's, with Madame Zeroni's spirit smiling down on them.
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