Symbol of power
At the end of the fourth chapter, Miriam talks about the Stasi headquarters and how she sometimes drives by them. Even though the building was transformed into a museum, she still feel dread when seeing it and remembers all the horrors she had to endure. For Miriam and for many other people like her, the Stasi headquarters were a symbol of horror and power. The building had the purpose of making the citizens remember just how powerful the institution really was and how little control they had over their own lives.
Symbol for East Germany
Anna describes her room in one of the chapter and he stresses the idea how even though the room has almost everything it needs, it lacks the elements it could make it beautiful. Thus, the room has the bare necessities but nothing more and Anna finds it depressing staying in the room for too long. The way the room is described is important because the room is used as a symbol to make reference to the state of the country. Just like Anna’s room was depressing and almost empty, East Germany became depressed and empty as well as a result of the Communist regime in the country. The political environment made it impossible for the people in the country to enjoy living and only gave them the bare necessities to survive and live.
Symbol for the new society
Before Anna leaves Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler’s house, she gives him as a present a pin with two flags, intertwined. Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler looks at the pin, a combination of the Australian flag and the Federal Republic’s flag and puts it near the bust of Karl Marx. The flags are an important symbol because they represent the new political environment in Germany. Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler’s behavior is also important because he associates the old with the new by putting the pin near the bust of the man who was responsible for the Communist ideology. His action signals how many people in Germany became aware of the fact they had to accept and embrace the direction in which the world was going.
Denying the past
A common motif in the novel is the idea that many people refuse to acknowledge that the German government did something wrong in the past. Instead, they chose to focus on the future, claiming that looking into the past is not beneficial for no one and they will only suffer if they continue focusing on matters already done with.
Thinking about the past
Another common motif in the book is the idea that many suffered after the fall of the Wall of Berlin. While many hoped things would get better, it seems as if the opposite happened and many people suffered because the food prices and rent went up. Because if this, Anna frequently finds people thinking nostalgically about the past and praising it as being a better time.
