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BACKGROUND
1. many children never saw their families again
  1. "you were the Ratcatcher. Those were his eyes, his face..."
    1. Eva/Evelyn to Helga
2. English program to try to save the Jewish children from Nazi control.
  1. 10,000 children fund refuge in England
CHARACTERS
1. FAITH
  1. in her eary 20's. living with her mother who she is affectionate with but also holds some resentment for
    1. "i have a background a context"
2. EVELYN
  1. very english, middle class. on the surface is very poised and contained. however as the play goes on we learn of her past and extreme internal conflict
    1. "a chipped glass is ruined for ever"
      1. metaphor
3. EVA
  1. eveyln's younger self, 9 at the time. she is German jewish by birth however becomes increasingly english. she is unable to come with the truma of the seperation and reunion with her birth mother.
    1. "i changed my name i wanted an English name. Nothing is the same any more"
      1. to Helga
4. LIL
  1. Lil is Eva/Evelyn's adoptive mother and could be a source for Eva's identity change. She does however have a close bond with Faith.
    1. "don't hide behind the German. It won't protect you and you know it"
      1. to Eva
    2. "she's still your mam, Faith"
5. HELGA
  1. Helga transforms through out the play starting of as affectionate yet composed woman towards Eva to an emotionally charged woman who has suffered extreme physical and mental challenges.
    1. "Eva sew on your buttons"
    2. "because any good parent would want to protect their child"
    3. "snake. Slithering out of your self like it was an unwanted skin. Worm"
      1. to Eva/Evelyn
    4. "Hitler started the job and you finished it"
6. RATCATCHER
  1. he is a sinister and threatening figure drawn from the Legend of the 'Pied Piper'. All of the figures he represents have some sort of threat to Eva's identity throughout the play.
    1. "i will take the heart of happiness away" (Ratcatcher)
    2. "know your number. If you don't you might forget who you are" (Nazi Border Guard)
    3. "she should've stayed where she belongs" (Station Guard"
    4. "thank you for the lesson in saluting! Heil Hitler!" (Postman)
  2. - Nazi Border Official
    1. - English Organiser
      1. - The Postman
        - The Station Guard
THEMES
1. FEAR
  1. Helga fears for her daughter when she in insists that she becomes independent and learns to sew on a button
    1. her fear is controlled fear so she doesn't upset Eva too much. she believes she doing the best for her child.
      1. "Eva, sew on your buttons now. Show me you can do it"
  2. Eva's fears are childhood fears are represented by the Ratcatcher
    1. as the Ratcatcher plays multiple characters (doubling) this emphasies the fear and unpredictability of Eva's life.
      1. "you were the Ratcatcher! Those were his eyes, his face!"
    2. 'ratcatcher music' is also played to increase tension and dramatic mood for the audience
      1. stage direction: "Ratcatcher music"
2. SEPERATION
  1. in act one Eva is separated from her parents as possesses innocence about the experience. showing her confusion to what is happening
    1. "Mutti! Vatti Hello! Hello! See! I did get in the carriage. I said I would."
      1. different reaction to departure from a parent figure
    2. when Lil takes Eva to be evacuated she faces another separation and leaps of the train. This fear is marked by the Ratcatcher
      1. "he's coming to get me. He's waiting in the shadows. Don't make me go"
  2. in the play 'the abyss' could be understood to signify the void that being sparated from a loved one created
    1. "am i in the abyss?" (Eva after she jumps of the train)
  3. the ratcatcher has the power to pull children away from their parents
    1. "weaves around the train's chugging"
      1. symbolic representation of the separation of mother and daughter
  4. the train can also be a symbol of separation in the play. The train is responsible for taking the children away in a similar way to that which the Jew's were taken to concentration camps.
    1. symbolising what was ulimatly their last journey and the loss of hope of reunion
  5. Helga and Eva/Evelyn are separated for a second time when Eva/Evelyn refuses to leave with Helga to New York
    1. being separated from her mother had a lasting effect on Evelyn's life as she resents Helga for not letting her stay
      1. "didn't it ever occur to you that i might have wanted to die with you?"
    2. this also leads to Evelyn separating Faith (ironically named) from her true Jewish identity
      1. "a chipped glass is ruined for ever"
3. IDENTITY
  1. Eva's idenity is first restriced when the Nazi Border Official labels her to a number, dehumanising her. Eva is also told not to forget who she is both by her mother and guard.
    1. "try to meet other Jews in England" (Helga)
    2. "know your number......might forget who you are" "draws a Star of David" (stage direction)
      1. signifying the Nazi belief that her Jewish identity is something negative which she should be discriminated for
    3. "3362, sir"
  2. the conflict of idenity is shown clearly with the contrast between Eva and Evelyn. When Helga re-meets her daughter it's therefore difficult for her to understand what happened to her Eva, because Eva and Eveyln are so different.
    1. Helga tells Eva that she shares her grandmothers name emphasising how her identity is grounded in her family roots.
  3. Evelyn has denied herself her culture and root so in doing so denied Faith of hers. When Faith confronts Evelyn about the letters and photographs its clear that the emotional truma of burring her past created a lack of understanding between Evelyn and Faith.
    1. Samuels contrasts the ideas of remembering and forgetting, showing how people are bound to identity and their past. By illustrating the impact of war on family and personal identity through time.

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