Vladek throws out Artie’s old coat
· I take this to suggest
that Vladek doesn’t want Artie (his only living soon) to have to wear
worn down clothing. “It would be a shame for my son to wear such a
coat.” Why would that be? How does this scene work
to get deeper into Artie and Vladek’s relationship? Earlier in the story
the coat was good enough for a “wooden hanger” now it goes out into the
trash? Is Vladek changing or, maybe, reverting as relives his struggle
throughout the Holocaust?
First Homecoming with Vladek and Anja
· There are homecomings throughout the story ( Maja/Vladek
Anja/Vladek) do they ever lose their impact?
In what ways do Vladek's
two relationships compare? Does Anja and Vladek's relationship apply
pressure to Mala’s position in Vladek’s life now? Does Anja and Vladek's
relationship affect your feelings on Mala
and Artie’s relationship? How so? We never see Mala talk about money,
it’s always Vladek reporting to Artie, does the reading suggest anything
for her defense? What roles did the two women serve in his life?
I thought the interactions between Art and his father about the coat were very interesting. In one panel in particular (p. 75) it shows Art coming over to visit Vladek and Mala. His father is reprimanding him for being late and in the background Mala is hanging up Art's coat. There are two captions indicating that 1) this is a new trench coat, and 2) that Mala is putting the coat on a wooden hanger. I'm not sure why Vladek initially insists that Art's coat be put on a wooden hanger and later tells him that the coat is too shabby and throws it away. However, I do think it's sort of funny and sweet that Mala and Art seem to be placating Vladek by giving in to his requests here. Another contradiction I noticed is that Vladek usually holds on to everything (even picking up a wrap of wire from the street) but he throws Art's coat away, despite Art thinking the coat is perfectly acceptable to wear. I think it just speaks to Vladek's personal opinions on what should be kept / salvaged and what is not up to standard or should be gotten rid of.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you as well, I did think it was funny how they can jump from an emotional discussion about war and then redirect the conversation about a coat. It seems ironic but it does lighten the mood after imagining all the tragic events that happened to Vladek, so it may seem silly, but I think it was fitting to add some humor somehow.
DeleteI mostly agree with you about the coat, but I think that events later in the story puts the situation with the coat being tossed into perspective. In Auschwitz Vladek survival relied on him getting a hold on to nice clean shirts. So wanting a clean appearance for Art may be Vladek's way of showing his love for him.
DeleteI'm glad you pointed out those points in the narrative! I actually thought that Spiegelman chose to include these exchanges to really illustrate the nature of him and his father’s relationship. I know someone from the last posting said that it seemed like Art really only associated with his father to get material for his comic and this feels really true: their relationship is strained. Vladek doesn’t seem to be able to show affection to those around him—he harps on Mala and he has expectations of Art that aren’t mutual. Vladek often is controlling and imposes his strange quirks on those around him (with the coat or the drain pipe or his exercise) and it puts a strain on his relationships. I think choosing to include these just kind of highlights the fact that there is a sort of strain there between father and son (and this is just an echo of say, Anja’s diaries being thrown out and Art’s old comic.)
ReplyDeleteThe thing seems to strike me between the two main women in Vladek's life are that Anja is definitely more subservient to Vladek. When she has an opinion of her own he seems to tell her that she shouldn't do or say what she wants, such as the incident with the communist friend. Yes, she could've gotten into some serious trouble and possibly have died, but who is to know if she didn't have communist leanings then. He sort of quashed her ability to have an opinion. On the other hand, Mala is a very independent woman. She learned early how to take care of herself and how to survive on her own. I think her relationship with Vladek is one of sympathy and convenience. She doesn't really want to be with him. She does speak to Artie about money, but only in the sense that she needed something and Vladek wouldn't give her the money to get it. But you're right, Vladek tends to speak more to Artie about money than Mala. Vladek has fit this unfortunate stereotype that he can't seem to get out of. He is a bit miserly.
ReplyDeleteWhen Vladek threw out Artie’s old coat, I felt like it was completely in Vladek’s nature. He wants to control things and throwing out something of his sons that he didn’t like was one instance. This desire to control could of resulted from his time during the Holocaust where he had little control and had to find ways to survive with any means. Artie has shown to not be very close to his father so this instance with the coat was one of the reasons for their personal distance over the years. In the beginning, Vladek was happy and excited for his son to return, but his switch to throwing away the coat was very sudden. Having to look back at his past, realizing that his son might not be living the high brow life that he had in the past, he might see that owning this coat might represent his sons lack of stride in his overall life choices.
ReplyDeleteVladek has such a strong connection to Anja. They were married and went through this horrific even together. Vladek and Maja’s relationship seems much more complicated and stressed. Vladek keeps putting pressure, it seems, on Maja. He’s constantly comparing Maja to Anja and Maja takes it as an offence. In Vladek’s life, Anja was everything. They had a family together. One that was constantly ripped apart. Maja was sort of a replacement for Anja. He needed a companion. Based on their relationship, they each want something completely different from each other and that is hurting their marriage physically.
1. I think when Vladek hung the coat on the wooden hanger it was at the beginning of the son and father talks. Vladek was showing appreciation by choosing a better hanger for his son. (as in you always want to show your guest you're "not cheap.") As time went on, Vladek explained more and more of his life's story. Over time, Art wasn't a "guest" like he was before. He was more now Vladek's son. (you can be more of yourself around family.) So this is when Vladek could be honest and say how he really felt about Art's coat. He needs to get a new one. Vladek wants to be proud of his son and therefore he needs to represent himself well. A well dressed man.
ReplyDeleteAs for Vladek throwing out Art's old coat i think this is most definitely driven by him reliving his Holocaust struggle-victories. I say struggle-victory because he survived, and those who were in the wrong had been published and incriminated for it, so at this point he is/was living in victory over a very real, very powerful struggle. It is from this stand point that he throws out Art's coat, after all he is the son of someone who was victorious over one of mankinds greatest struggles ever. This point of view is also why i find the characterization of the Jews as mice to be so nearly offensive.
ReplyDeleteThere should be little doubt that Anja and Vladek's relationship puts some pressure on Vladek and Mala's relationship. Without assuming why Vladek married Mala, it is apparent that he really truly loved Anja and hasn't let her go. So in many ways he has tried to replace ANja, and well Mala can't be Anja, so she does not satisfy Vladek as she should, and that is where so much of their stress/tension comes from. From this simple misperception of who Mala is/should be.
I think the book definitely puts a lot of emphasis on both the coat and the coat hanger but I have never really understood that or if there actually is a deeper meaning. At the surface value I think Speigelman is getting at that his father is inconsiderate and arrogant in that it is his way or no way. He doesn't buy Art a new coat but gives him one that he didn't want to wear anymore after buying a new one for himself. He could have done this without throwing out Art's old coat. He could have had two coats. So that has always been apparent, but the coat hanger is revisited and there must be something deeper about why a wooden coat hanger is so important to use.
ReplyDeleteVladek seems to be constantly comparing Mala and Anja and letting Anja win. However, considering that she killed herself, Anja could not have been that happy/great of a wife. It is definitely interesting that we never see Mala complain about money but Vladek talks about her as if that is really her only concern. I mean, I think we have to trust Vladek on this one but I think he is only giving his side of the argument. We can see in everything he does how controlling and miserly he is, which could be hard for Mala to live with and result in her seeming greedy to him. The only defense though is that she is so nice to Art and never appears, from his perspective, to be the type of person Vladek thinks she is.
Good questions. The coat played a more important part than I realized when I first read the panel. Originally I thought that it was just a funny scene about Vladek wanting Art to look representable as his son. Vladek prior to the start of the war was always sharply dressed and worried about status. This is shown in Vladek's distaste of Anja being involved with communism, and in his focus on wealth. Later in the story we see a different motivation possibly crop up. Having nice clothing and accessories repeatedly save Vladek and Anja's lives. They relied on trading jewelery, furniture, and nice clothing to survivor throughout the entire ordeal. In Auschwitz we see this take a direct role as his obtaining a second clean shirt for him and his french friend led to getting food from the guards.
ReplyDeleteThe multiple reunions of Anja and Vladek do not lose any impact as each reunion was under extreme circumstances. The tribulations of the separation, and the joy at reuniting when they most need each other gives the story heart where it would otherwise just crush you with the heaviness of the events surrounding them. The loss of their son after surviving so long, being separated at the concentration camps, living when all of their friends are dying. The story did a great job with hitting you right in the heart.
Vladek and the coat
ReplyDeleteI never made the connection between the coat hanger and the coat being thrown out later. Thinking about the two scenes side by side gives them a much more significance, not only as an insight into Vladek’s values, but also Speigelman’s own depiction of him. Any perception of Vladek, Mala, or Art himself is all based on what Art filters through his account, which means that a certain amount of his work has been shifted away from reality toward his own perspective. Art not only shows his father’s ridiculous decision to throw away his perfectly good coat, he also shows his fussing over how good a coathanger Art gets for his stuff. Given his frustrations with his father, he could’ve easily omitted this particular scene from the book and kept the basic structure of the book the same. But with its addition I think we get a better sense of both of them, with Vladek caring not so much about things as he does the people they are attached to, and Art himself a little more aware and appreciative of his father’s love, if only by including his eccentricities in Maus.
Homecomings
The ties between Vladek, Anja, Art, and Mala provide a lot of the conflict that goes on in the present. Needless to say, Art and Vladek still think about Anja a lot, and this is most likely what brings them together, as well as apart. Despite the fact that she is no longer a physical part of their family, I think that Anja is the dominating force for every individual involved, even Mala. Mala seems to be the worst off in this circumstance, for as much as she and Vladek have in common historically, the shared trauma of the Holocaust may not be enough to bring two people together. I think that Spiegelman does a good job of unpretentiously portraying Mala in a sympathetic and relatable light. Even after their fight in Maus II, neither Vladek nor Mala seem particularly crazy or unhinged. Just tired, haunted by the ghosts of their past.
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