Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Vladek and Mala's relationship is very interesting because of the way he treats her. I don't understand how he can be with her if he can't stand anything she does. Also, it seems like he drives her crazy too with all his little habits and attitude. Is it because they shared the experience of the Holocaust? Is that what keeps them together? And why does she seem to always be obedient to him? Art never mentions anything about their relationship other than they were friends throughout the Holocaust. This has just been bothering me throughout the story and hopefully it'll be explained later.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I found out their relationship interesting as well. It is unfortunate that Vladek is so often upset by Mala, when Anja was his sole companion and best friend during their ordeal in the war. It was a little ironic to me that when I look at the name Mala, I think of "bad" because the spanish word "mal" means bad. I think that there is also something to be said about the fact that Art does not want to worry himself in his father's problem with his new wife. He seems very distant now from his stepmother and how his father perceives her. I wonder if Art is still longing for his mother... He obviously took her death harshly; the comic strip about his mother's suicide was clearly a cry for emotions to be purged. Perhaps Art still hides those emotions inside. Maybe that is Vladek's problem with Mala as well.
ReplyDeleteWell, Maus 2 should give us an idea of what happened in Auschwitz--maybe more of Mala's or Anja's story will be revealed then. Mala and Vladek seem to have two things in common, besides that they are both Holocaust survivors. One, they can't stand each other, and two, neither is willing to end the marriage. Both moan constantly to Artie about the other and complain over and over that they can't possibly take another day of living together, yet neither one actually acts on those feelings. My guess is that they have been through so much suffering and lost so many loved ones that neither could bear losing another.
ReplyDelete