Some may claim that Maus ended because Vladek died, and while that is true, Art could've added more. Art could've made up a bunch more and never told us when Vladek died in relationship to the story. Or, Art could've ended the story where he did, but added a bunch of his own commentary and afterthoughts.
Instead, Art shows a gravestone with the name Spiegelman at the top and the name Vladek underneath. This serves to remind the remind the readers that Vladek was a Spiegelman too - so technically his name is also on the cover of the book. Underneath the gravestone is Art's name and the years that make up the time in which he worked on and completed Maus. Art includes the dates after the gravestone to show that Vladek died, and immediately after, he ended the story.
I find this really touching and honorable on Art's part. Even though Art and Vladek didn't have the best father-son relationship, Art took every single measure possible to make sure his father's story was told accurately and honored properly. He even went through all the trouble of recording Vladek to include what he said verbatim. But the most important measure was this ending, because it truly represents the notion that Art believed he was just the middle man between Vladek's words and the page. It wasn't Art's story to tell - it was Vladek's, and Art shows that he knew that full well and believed that wholeheartedly through the ending he chose. When Vladek's story ended (literally), so did the book, because Art knew that adding his own commentary or afterthoughts would've tarnished Vladek's story.
This could also be why, in the book, Artie is uncomfortable with all the press for Maus. It is precisely because he feels guilty for essentially building his career off of dead bodies, but also off of his father's story and not his own.
That is why I think that the ending is so important - it gives credit where credit is due. Art literally puts his name under Vladek's to not only represent the fact that Vladek was a Spiegelman, but to represent the fact that he was the superior Spiegelman in the project that was Maus. This not only honors Vladek, but probably also gave Art some closure in knowing that the world is now privy to the true author of Maus.
aw dang. Brenna I didn't even thinking of this but like this is so sweet and makes me appreciate Maus even more! I love how you said that this reminds us that Art is a Spiegelman. Also, I genuinely admire Art's humility and candidacy throughout all of the book - how he's brave enough to show his own struggles of feeling guilty for writing Maus AND expressing it in a beautiful way, I mean, Amazing. But if we place Art's dilemma in a familial context, him profiting off the story might not be too weird (I mean still weird though). From a certain POV, it's almost as if Art is the heir to his family's story, and he's the one that's getting the inheritance off of it.
ReplyDeleteGood analysis! Art was guilty from his success off of others. This could also be why Vladek was not included in the dedication. Vladek was too important and a simple "thank you" would not suffice. Furthermore, the dates underneath the grave stone could symbolize the death of Art's relationship with his father. Good job!
ReplyDeletewowza this is a very interesting perspective!! while you mentioned art feeling guilty from making a career off of his family's suffering, it makes me feel a little weird, because as ap english students we are lowkey also contributing to art's guilt. of course this book is published for the purpose of sharing a story, but we really sat in class and analyzed this mans life for like 2 weeks, and we don't even know the guy.
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting! You're so right, oftentimes their relationship is odd, but Art's love for his father is obvious through his undertones in the book. The story is Vladek's, and Art does his best to remind us of that as much as possible.
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