Maus Guilt Essay

Exploring Survivor's Guilt Throughout Art Spiegelman’s Novel Maus

The Holocaust was a dark chapter in human history, and its aftermath continues to affect generations to this day. In the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman, we are presented with a powerful and unique account of this tragedy, told through the eyes of a survivor and his son. Among the many themes explored in the graphic novel, one that stands out most is survivor's guilt. This intense emotion is not solely limited to those who lived through the Holocaust, but is also experienced by their children. Throughout the novel, we witness how survivor’s guilt is portrayed vividly through the experiences of the mother Anya, the father Vladek, and the son Art.

To begin, the novel Maus

In this chapter, Vladek’s cousin, Miloch, takes Vladek to a shoe shop with a secret tunnel leading to a hidden bunker. Miloch instructs Vladek to keep the bunker a secret from everyone except his nephew Lolek and Anya. Vladek and Anya attempt to persuade Lolek to stay with them in the bunker for safety, but Lolek ultimately refuses, leading to devastating consequences when he is later taken to Auschwitz. When hearing this, Anya becomes absolutely devastated. As illustrated in Figure 1, Anya's feelings are vivid as she appears to be in a state of complete distress while lying on the floor and shouting, “The whole family is gone! Grandma and Grandpa! Poppa! Momma! Tosha! Bibi! My Richieu!! Now they’ll take Lolek! … Oh God. Let me die too!” (Spiegleman 124). This quote is a powerful expression of Anya's deep

In this chapter, Art visits with his therapist, Pavel and when discussing Art’s relationship with his father Pavel suggests, “Maybe your father needed to show that he was always right - that he could always survive - because he felt guilty about surviving” (204). This quote perfectly portrays Vladek's survivor's guilt by suggesting that he feels guilty for surviving and needs to prove to himself and others that he deserved to live. This is evident earlier in the novel in chapter five, when Art is awakened by a call from his step mother, Mala: “I’m telling you, I don't know what to do with your father - he just climbed onto the roof!” (98). Here, Vladek insisted on fixing the drainpipe and needed to prove that he still has the strength and abilities that assisted him in surviving the holocaust. This is further proven on the next page when Art hangs up the phone and speaks to his wife Francoise about his childhood with Valdek: “He wants me to go help him fix his roof or something. Shit! Even as a kid I hated helping him around the house… He loves showing off how handy he was… and proving that anything I did was all wrong” (99). His desire to show that he is always correct and could always survive the Holocaust could stem from a need to justify his survival and ease his