Feminist Criticism Paper

Leah Mancuso
Feminist Paper
Period 3
1/22/12
Art Spiegelman’s two books; Maus I and Maus II, are both very bold writings of
his father’s survival in the Holocaust. After their publications, they opened up many criticisms
from people around the world. Most readers thought they were great representations, but
others thought Spiegelman exploited his father, and even some feminists believed the books
were sexist to women due to the incredibly “weak” women characters. Spiegelman’s portrayal,
however, of women in Maus I and Maus II, is merely based off of his father’s accounts, and is
neither negative or positive.
One way that his books were not a negative representation of women, is that the
main female characters were split by different time periods. Lucia and Anja were written mostly
in a WWII and post-WWII setting, where things were much different. At the time, the world was
in a state of war-panic and paranoia. It’s understandable that even little things would worry
someone more in this time period then the current one. Francoise, on the other hand, lives in
more of a present-day time and in America where freedom isn’t questioned like it was in Europe
in WWII. Mala, who also lives at this time, is considered weak, but this could be from the affects
of WWII, which she was alive for.
With different time periods comes different viewpoints, specifically of women.
The women’s rights movement, a going movement from the 18th century, was still working
on making much progress in the 1930s/40s, when WWII was happening. The movement still
had not reached it’s current status until much later in the 20th century. This shows that there
was still a much more negative view of women at the time, making Lucia and Anja’s struggles
more emphasized. In the late 20th century, where Francoise’s story took place, the feminist
movement was at it’s high point. Women were top leaders of their industries, and had the right
to stand up for what they believed in, like Francoise often does. The completely different overall
view of women at the time more then likely affected their strength and how they were perceived
to us now.
Another reason Spiegelman’s writings were not meant to be negative on
women, is that the women all went through very different situations that would affect how strong
they are. For example, Anja went through the Holocaust, and Francoise did not. Of course
their experiences are very different, so to belittle Anja for her “lack of strength” is unfair. Lucia,
who may or may not have went through the Holocaust, is more debatable as far as if she has
a “right” to be weak, but it all goes back to the time period. Mala went through the Holocaust as
well, and it could be argued is the reason for her weakness in the present-day.
Maus I and Maus II are just Spiegelman’s written accounts of his father’s
experiences in the Holocaust, and should not be up for debate, especially on feminist grounds.
To even try and compare any of the women’s situations to each other is like comparing apples
to oranges. Spiegelman’s portrayal of women are only based off of what his father, Vladek, told
him, and is neither negative or positive.

Anja's POV Journal

Leah Mancuso
1/11/12

November 17th, 1936

Today I recieved a letter about Vladek, the man I’m engaged to. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read it. In it, someone, a woman presumably, said the most hateful things about Vladek that really made me think. By the end of the letter, my eyes were so full of tears I could barely make out the faint “L” that was signed. Who “L” was was barely a thought that crossed my mind. All I could think was how could Vladek betray me like this? The man I loved, the man who I would be married to in a very short amount of time. How could he keep this from me? The letter said he had many girlfriends back at home. Well I’m sure that’s true, I’m nobody special. I bet a girlfriend wrote this very letter. He’s probably run back to her already. And he is just marrying me for my money? Well I bet that’s true as well. I’m not beautiful, or clever. All that I’m worth it my money. But...I love Vladek and I was so sure he loved me too.

-Anja

November 19th, 1936

Vladek came to visit me yesterday. He still loves me! How did I doubt him? I cried when I saw him and he comforted me so well. I can’t wait to marry him in just three short months. How did I get so lucky?

-Anja

Maus 2 Reaction Paper

Leah Mancuso
1/11/12

How would you evaluate...how the Holocaust affected Artie and Vladek’s lives together? While Vladek was the one who had to physically go through the Holocaust, it’s apparent that it had strong effects on even Artie as he grew up. It’s debatable who felt the effects worse, however. Some could argue that Vladek had to actually go through the horrors of the POW and concentration camps, while Art just had to hear about it. On the other hand, just hearing about it could be as bad or even worse for a child growing up. Two ways we can evaluate how it had an effect on their lives is in Art’s writing and Art and Vladek’s relationship and personalities.
You can see a strong connection with growing up as a “child of the Holocaust” and the way Art writes and draws. His drawings, black and white cartoons of mice, have often dark and graphic undertones. This is most prominent in Maus 2, Chapter 2, where it starts off with Artie undergoing the weight of the media and it’s pressures. The way he draws himself shrinking and shrinking, and then eventually to himself on a pile of dead bodies, really shows the dark side of his mind. The fact that he had to endure his parent’s pain and suffering over the Holocaust throughout his whole life, really shows in his dark writings and the way he so accurately represented succumbing to pressure. The effects of the Holocaust on Artie are obvious in this sense.
Another way you can see how the Holocaust affected their lives together was in their relationship and personalities in the last years of Vladek’s life. Throughout the books, the story switches from a “present-day” Vladek and Artie to Vladek telling Artie the stories of the Holocaust. In the parts where you can see Vladek and Art together, their relationship shows. They bicker a lot and over almost everything. Vladek’s personality is also a big indictor of how the Holocaust affected him overall because he is rather grumpy, needy, and articulate. He is constantly trying to “run away”, in a way, and is very particular about quantity. These qualities show how experiences in the Holocaust remained in Vladek throughout his life. Art gets easily frustrated with Vladek, which also shows a connection to growing up under the influence of Holocaust survivors. He talks about living under Richieu’s shadow, which can show why he, in Maus 2, finds himself crumbling under all of the pressure. All of these traits that Vladek and Art carry in their lives and their relationship show a vivid connection between the Holocaust and it’s later effects.
After evaluating different ways the Holocaust and it’s horrible events has a connection to the way Vladek and Art’s relationship was, you can see that it is a good argument for who “had it worse”. The answer is really, it’s hard to tell, because they both went through very different situations, but in the end, they were essentially the same.

"Hitler Killed My Father"

A tragedy is an event that greatly affects someone’s life in a negative way. Tragedy can be a death, or any kind of loss of a loved one. The Holocaust, for it’s survivors, was a tragedy in itself due to all the losses and deaths witnessed. Tragedy is remembered in a variety of ways. For most people, there is a process of grief that must be gone through, with the five stages of Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. In each stage, tragedy is remembered differently. In the beginning, people may look at a tragedy in an extremely painful way, often blocking out memories. By the end, people are generally “healed” from a tragedy, and while it is still painful and sad, they are able to remember good times or even look at the tragedy in a positive way, for example, as something that made them stronger. A lot of the time a tragedy will always hurt, and people try not to think about it because it still hurts so bad. For example, in the article, the author’s father “…lived and breathed being a Holocaust survivor…” throughout his life. But however, his parents were able to live normal lives, as in the quote, “I marveled at my parents’ ability to live normal lives”.
I believe there can be a happy medium with tragedy. I believe once people get the closure they need, it’s easier to move on but still remember it. I think people try and force themselves to remember more then they should, because if it is something worth being remembered, they will absolutely never forget it. If someone blocks out a memory, that may be the only way for them to cope. In all, people deal with tragedies in different ways and there is no right or wrong way to deal with it.