Gender Stereotypes, Vladek, Survivor's Guilt, and Anja's Journals
In class today, we spent some time describing both Vladek and Anja. I found it interesting that the characterization of both adhere very closely to gender stereotypes. Vladek is the strong-willed, resourceful, hardworking man, while Anja is the frail and almost helpless damsel.
The interactions between both these characters are illustrative of this. For example, Anja has a breakdown of sorts earlier in the story and Vladek is forced to drop his job as a factory manager to come to her rescue.
Another topic we discussed in class was the narrative of Vladek’s survival. In some regards, the tale has inconsistencies and non-logical elements. It was proposed that these elements arise because Vladek’s tale has the subjective influence of survivors’ guilt. Vladek is incapable of simply accepting the luck and randomness involved in his surviving over the countless others he watched die. Thus, he constructs a narrative in which his survival is instead the result of his own cunning and intellectual prowess.
I wonder if Anja’s portrayal is also reflective of this. If we are willing to accept that some details are accurate, her anxiety for instance, than this is a serious challenge to Vladek’s narrative (which is essentially survival of the fittest). How could someone who is anxious under normal circumstances possibly be equipped to survive the Holocaust? Thus, instead of a story of how she simply survived through simple luck and chance, Vladek creates a story for her that fits within his own. He saved her. She was unfit to survive on her own, but through his advice, giving her food, and lending assistance from afar she was able to persevere.
If we view Vladek through this lens, then the destruction of Anja’s journals begins to appear more logical. Realistically, there were probably many details in her journals that would conflict with or challenge Vladek’s narrative. The narrative itself being a mechanism to live with the survivor’s guilt and continue to survive. Thus, the existence of Anja's journals could be seen as a threat to Vladek's narrative, his very means of survival.
I can easily imagine Vladek stumbling upon them one day, reading them, and being forced to relive the traumatic experiences of the Holocaust and the realities of his survival. Being inundated with information that challenges his narrative, Vladek slowly starts to break down. In an attempt to save himself from Anja’s fate, he disposes of the source of his anxiety. Once Anja’s journals no longer exist, then Vladek’s narrative can't be challenged and it becomes truer in a way. Thus ensuring his sanity and survival.
Alternatively, it could be argued that the journals are simply an extension of his guilt, which he can barely withstand on its own. It's important to note that Vladek and Anja were caught because Vladek didn't listen to Anja’s concerns and trusted the smugglers. This directly led to their experiences in the Holocaust and subsequently to his wife's suffering (which may have been described in detail in her journal) and her death. It's not difficult to imagine that being reminded of this, and learning more of his wife's suffering, would have created an immense burden on Vladek. Perhaps Vladek simply wasn't strong enough to bear two guilt complexes and destroyed the journals so he wouldn't have to confront that reality.
4 Replies
What an amazing set of reflections, Josh. While we'll never know the "answer," you point out some very important possibilities. I think Art, too, ultimately plays a role in the marginalization of Anja's story--while he's not responsible for burning the journals, he gives us so few memories of her beyond the very disturbing comic about her suicide. We learn so much about Vladek the survivor, but Anja survived too. What was she like? Art really doesn't tell us, and so Anja becomes less of a survivor, and more another silent victim of the Holocaust who happened to die later than the others.
I think that’s a fair point, but I wonder if Art even knows the answer to those questions. Looking at the “Prisoner on the Hell Planet” comic, it appears that Art and his mother weren’t particularly close. The contextual clues provided by the comic indicate that Art was a typical rebellious and troubled teen. He ran off for the weekend to spend time with his girlfriend that his parents didn’t like and had just gotten out of a mental hospital 3 months prior to Anja’s suicide. It’s been rather common for teens to be at a disconnect from their parents for decades. I can imagine Art’s rebellious actions and his later need to be admitted into a state mental hospital put a great deal of strain on the family.
Furthermore, the scene where Anja comes to visit Art in his bedroom is particularly telling. Anja comes to confirm that Art still loves him and he turns his back on her and gives her a non-answer. It shows Anja’s insecurity as a mother and the tension between them. He notes that he felt “resentful of the way she tightened the umbilical cord…” which to me indicates that he felt she was smothering him. This could serve to explain his rebellious behavior and possibly some of his mental issues. The scene itself is also illustrative of this. Art’s bedroom resembles that of a small child, perhaps save for the volumes of books composed on his shelves. He even looks oversized for the bed he sleeps in. I think the following monologue that displays him inside a prison is representative of his general remorse over the way he treated his mother and an expression of guiltiness. Specifically, I also think the fact that he uses “mommy” multiple times on that page indicates the realization that he still has some emotional and psychological dependencies, or simply that he still needs her.
I imagine that Art never really understood his mother nor did he know her well. Her suicide is likely the most lasting memory he has of her. I would also surmise that many of his other memories have been colored with that of her suicide as well. Thus, rather than risk misportraying his mother, he opts not to speak much about her. I imagine Vladek would have been rather upset if Art included her in his work and portrayed her inaccurately.
Hi Josh, nice post! My comment below on Patrick's post concerning Art's coat talked about some similar ideas. I have to say, I agree with you!
To answer Prof. Rosenblatt: I feel like, in some way or another, you could consider Anja to be a victim of the Holocaust as opposed to a survivor. I don't mean to be rude or insensitive here, by any means, but the Holocaust did break her to the point where even AFTER surviving it all and being one of the lucky few, she was still too scarred to move on with her life, and instead ended it herself. It proves the ultimate power and control the Nazis had over many Jewish people, as even when their reign was over they continued to instill fear. They were branded on the hearts and minds of many, and could not be erased -- to the point where after fighting for so many years and suffering so much, Anja in some ways "let them win" by giving them exactly what they wanted: her life. In some ways, her story could never be the story of a survivor because in the end she did not survive.
Josh: I like your analysis of the comic-within-a-comic. I didn't really notice his child-like room, though I do agree about his use of the word Mommy. I felt like when Anja came in and asked if Art still loved her, it was a sign that perhaps there had been an abundance of problems in the household, most likely due to her depression. It made me sense that there was probably a lot of fighting between he and Anja, Anja and Vladek. Perhaps she drank or had other substance problems. It just seems like the type of question someone asks who knows they have hurt their child on unimaginable levels, and hates themselves, and is desperately seeking any ounce of reassurance she can find (even if she has to force it out of Art). For these reasons, I agree.. Art probably knew next to nothing about his mom other than she was a part of his life that ultimately caused him pain and confusion -- pre and post suicide.
Hi Josh, nice post! My comment below on Patrick's post concerning Art's coat talked about some similar ideas. I have to say, I agree with you!
To answer Prof. Rosenblatt: I feel like, in some way or another, you could consider Anja to be a victim of the Holocaust as opposed to a survivor. I don't mean to be rude or insensitive here, by any means, but the Holocaust did break her to the point where even AFTER surviving it all and being one of the lucky few, she was still too scarred to move on with her life, and instead ended it herself. It proves the ultimate power and control the Nazis had over many Jewish people, as even when their reign was over they continued to instill fear. They were branded on the hearts and minds of many, and could not be erased -- to the point where after fighting for so many years and suffering so much, Anja in some ways "let them win" by giving them exactly what they wanted: her life. In some ways, her story could never be the story of a survivor because in the end she did not survive.
Josh: I like your analysis of the comic-within-a-comic. I didn't really notice his child-like room, though I do agree about his use of the word Mommy. I felt like when Anja came in and asked if Art still loved her, it was a sign that perhaps there had been an abundance of problems in the household, most likely due to her depression. It made me sense that there was probably a lot of fighting between he and Anja, Anja and Vladek. Perhaps she drank or had other substance problems. It just seems like the type of question someone asks who knows they have hurt their child on unimaginable levels, and hates themselves, and is desperately seeking any ounce of reassurance she can find (even if she has to force it out of Art). For these reasons, I agree.. Art probably knew next to nothing about his mom other than she was a part of his life that ultimately caused him pain and confusion -- pre and post suicide.
Adam Rosenblatt
Apr 18, 2013 at 2:39 PM