The Complete Maus essays

The Complete Maus essays Ones ability to love changes from romance to romance and over time. In Art Speigelmans comic book novel, The Complete Maus, the central character, Vladek Speigelman, a Holocaust survivor, values his relationships with his first and second wives strikingly different. Speigelmans novel gives an enlightening and affective narrative account of the Holocaust through Vladek, a Polish Jew. The author, Vladeks son, Artie, uses an extended metaphor throughout the novel, portraying the Jews as mice, the Nazis as cats, and the Polish as pigs. Vladek displays his love for Anja, his first wife and Arties mother who killed herself years after the Holocaust, by constantly providing for her financially. He uses his money to keep her alive both before and after time at Auschwitz, a concentration camp. However, in the case of Mala, his second wife, he provides her with little financial support, which drives her away from him. Furthermore, Vladek supplies Anja with emotional support and consta nt love. Both before and after her death, it is clear that Anjas well-being is always on his mind. However, Vladek shows little emotional regard for Mala. He frequently speaks harshly about her to Artie and makes it clear that Anja is and will always be his one and only true love. In Speigelmans novel, the manner in which Vladek generously supports Anja financially demonstrates that he truly loves and values their relationship. Throughout his narrative, there are situations in which money is necessary in order to keep them both alive. Vladek often supports her financially even before the Holocaust. For example, when Vladek goes to Bielsko, a town in Poland, to run his factory, Anja begins a bout with depression. Her family feels that it is necessary to send her to a sanitarium, one of the most expensive in the world, so Vladek leaves behind his financial responsibilities in order to be with her, and learns...