“Your father! He treats me as if I were just a maid or his nurse… WORSE!” (Spiegelman,
Artie 130). Women in the Holocaust era were expected to be married and to be either a maid or a nurse. They would have an absence of say against their husbands, as men made all the decisions. Many married couples (like Mala and Vladek) were only together out of convenience. Therefore, being a single woman was greatly uncommon. The Holocaust had a horrendous impact on Vladek Spiegelman. Suffering from PTSD, Vladek struggled to preserve his marriage with Mala. Depression is a challenging condition to overcome and it can affect a relationship negatively. For instances, Mala and Vladek were both depressed and depression can be seen throughout the entire book. In Maus, Artie Spiegelman illustrates the relationship between Vladek and Mala to show the social conflict between man and women in this era.
Marriage is not always based on love, but many other factors. Artie portrays his
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“Mala makes me crazy. Only she talks about money, always about my will ” (Spiegelman, Artie 67). Vladek's opinionated phrase shows how he views Mala as his wife. “But if I give it to you, Mala will drive me crazy. She wants everything only for her” (Spiegelman, Artie 127). In Vladek's perspective, objects are more important to Mala, than his own love. Mala and Vladek are aware of the absence of love and its residual effects on them. Between Mala and Vladek, it's just the convenience that keeps their marriage stable. In conclusion, women were expected to be married even if love was not always the origin of their