Viktor's Wife
Viktor’s wife symbolizes his life before war. He used to remember the time before entrapment by thinking about the days he spent with his wife. He used to motivate himself to remain alive by remembering the days when he used to express his love for his wife and how they used to stay together. As his wife didn’t survived the Holocaust, the days which she symbolized also ended just because of the Holocaust.
Holocaust
The Holocaust is the most prevalent motif in the book. The whole story revolves around the horrible circumstances in Auschwitz camps. The Jews were treated worst than animals and they faced the brutality and cruelty of the Nazis. Even after moving away from the camps, the Jews could not get rid of the memories of Holocaust and they used to haunt them everywhere. The Jews were burnt, tortured and treated brutally during the Holocaust, so it left a long-lasting impact on them.
Meaning in Life
Another recurrent motif in the book is to find meaning in life. According to the author, it is inevitable to create a meaning of life in the worst circumstances for one’s survival. If a person does not search for a motif in his life, he will fall prey to anxiety or depression. The meaning in life is essential for a person’s mental well-being. Frankl survived under greatest duress and endured the vilest conditions just because he tried to find a purpose in his life. It was this attempt to find a goal which distinguished him from other inmates. He has called the inability to find purpose as “Existential Vacuum” and he asserts that it is widespread phenomenon in the 20th century. Frankl says, “They lack the awareness of a meaning worth living for. They are haunted by the experience of their inner emptiness, a void within themselves; they are caught in that situation which I have called the existential vacuum.”
