Chapters 3&4

In chapters 3&4 we see both Eva and Rolf losing one of their parents, but they handle it in completely different ways. When Eva's mother is dying she told Eva, "If you remember me, I will be with you always." This quote shows just shows strong Eva was raised her whole life. She was never shielded from anything because her mother wanted to make her strong. Later in the text when madrina took Eva to work, the patrona asked if Eva cried a lot. Madrina responded by saying,"She didn't even cry when we buried her mother- may God rest her soul." This shows that Eva was almost too strong, in my opinion, and the death of her mother wasn't even close to being catastrophic to her life. She simply just went on.

Rolf on the other hand is completely different. For one Rolf hated his father but he grieved for him more evidently than Eva did for her mother that she loved. On page 84, it says, "Frau Carle went in to wake her son for school and found him lying facing the wall, pale, exhausted, and clearly determined to die.." This is a completely different reaction than I would have expected, but he was so ashamed of his father and the situation he could not bear it anymore. The death of Rolf's father caused his life to change completely and in the end he moved to South America to get better. I also believe we are getting closer to where Rolf and Eva meet in the novel. 

Another theme I'm noticing when reading is that there is a lot of sexuality in this book. On page 71, Eva says, "It looked like a little fleshy nose, and that was when I discovered- and later in life proved- the close relationship between a man's nose and his penis. One look at a man's face and I know how he will look naked." I literally burst out laughing when I read this quote. Also when Rolf was having his love triangle with his cousins, I first thought it was odd that he still called them his cousins. However I thought that section had such a youthful appeal to it because it was all their first experiences with love. Rolf, after all his misfortunes in life, really bounces back with this.

Also when I have been reading this, I am wondering what time period it is set in?