Mala In Maus

In Maus, Art Spiegelman tasks himself with sharing the most accurate retelling of his father’s life story as well as that of him and his father. To achieve a most accurate depiction of his father as well as that of him and his father’s relationship throughout the novel, Spiegelman includes the character Mala, but why? While Mala does not seem essential in telling the history of Art’s father, Vladek, she gives insight to who he is in the present. Married to Vladek after the suicide of his first wife, Anja, but having known the him prior to the war and having survived the holocaust, Mala also serves to impress upon to readers of Maus that no matter how stereotypical Vladek’s traits are, the traits are unshared by others of similar religion and background. Further, as Vladek constantly compares her to his first wife, Anja, Mala provides the entry-point for the

Throughout Vladek telling his story, he is pulled to reality by the present, which includes Mala. She is a reminder of death. She reminds him that Anja is dead, that she killed herself, and that he is reaching his end. Mala is the same size Anja was (pg.133), and in everything throughout the novel, Vladek seemingly cannot help but compare Mala to Anja. She is what Vladek is left with after the dream of Anja is gone, and he does not know how to fully accept the change (pg. 69). She is uncertainty and disappointment. Despite knowing Mala before the war, she is only presented in the present by Vladek, and never with kind words or impressions. When Art thanks Mala and compliments her on the dinner she cooked them, Vladek comments that he thought the chicken was too dry (pg. 46). Vladek complains a lot about her always wanting money as though his frugal ways have only been problematic for Mala (pg. 69, 75, 129) despite Art recalling in conversation that Anja had similar arguments with Vladek whenever trying to make purchases for Art’s needs