Cilka's Journey

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-10

Chapters 11-15

Chapters 16-20

Chapters 21-25

Chapters 26-30

Chapter 31-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Hut 29

Content Warning: This study guide contains depictions of genocide, rape, sexual assault, suicide, and drug addiction.

The symbolism of Hut 29 evolves throughout the novel, just like the women it houses. In the beginning, the hut represents a place of oppression and rape. This is because the men force their way in and take advantage of the women, desecrating the only personal space the women have in the camp. Despite the men’s visits, however, the women’s friendships gradually transform the hut from a place of powerlessness to one of peace, comfort, and relative safety. The women form deep bonds over time and comfort each other in moments of need and suffering, even making fun of the men who rape them so that the men’s visits become less painful and something that must simply be endured. The women also decorate the hut to make it feel more like a home. When Josie Kotecka brings Cilka Klein two spring flowers, Cilka places them in a chipped mug in the hut. Likewise, Olga teaches several women to embroider, and they take the threads from the end of their sheets to make “beautiful doilies which are strung about the hut” (91). The women steal other small items, such as mugs, a small table, and a water kettle, all adding to Hut 29’s peace and comfort. These elements demonstrate how the hut offers the women refuge and a small amount of normalcy in their otherwise challenging lives.

As the plot develops, Hut 29 comes to symbolize a place of security and redemption. When a group of trusties begins to follow and threaten Cilka in the camp compound, she takes her hut-mates back to the hut anytime the trusties appear. The hut “is the jurisdiction of Boris and the trusties who protect ‘their’ women, so Cilka thinks they will be safe there” (203). Likewise, when Josie brings Natia to visit her friends, the women often gather together in the hut because it offers privacy and protection from prying eyes and ears. For Cilka, the most critical role Hut 29 plays is offering her a space to claim redemption. The entire time Cilka lives in the hut, she hides her past, even as the other women openly share theirs. Once Cilka moves to the nurses’ quarters after Boris leaves, she visits Hut 29 and finally reveals the truth about herself. She is shocked that her friends have guessed she’d been in Auschwitz; she is also surprised that they do not judge or blame her for what happened there. Thus, Hut 29 represents Cilka’s healing from her past trauma and allows her to be honest about what she has been through. This release enables Cilka to let go of her internal conflict and move forward with her life and love for Alexandr Petrik.

Josie’s Baby

Another symbol in the novel is Josie’s baby, Natia. Natia’s influence over the women of Hut 29 begins with Josie’s pregnancy. The other women immediately comfort and console Josie, as many of them can relate to the struggles of pregnancy. Olga, in particular, looks to Josie and Natia to lessen her sorrow at not being with her two sons. When the women surround Josie after she attempts suicide, Cilka feels more profound affection for her hut-mates because the women use these moments of sadness and loss to comfort each other and strengthen their resolve to survive. After Natia is born, the women are genuinely joyful on their first visit. Josie acknowledges that the women are the reason Natia is alive and allows the women to cuddle her baby as much as Natia will allow. Cilka watches the women interact with the baby and “cannot remember the last time they were all smiling gap-toothed smiles, laughing and crying together. She marvels at the power of something so small to make a difference. But in a place like this, any tiny moment that shifts them away from the relentless, grueling horror, from the reminder of the long years still ahead, is to be treasured” (207-08). Natia thus brings the women of Hut 29 together and deepens their bond as friends and sisters.

Natia is also a symbol of distraction and hope. A prime example of this role occurs when the women learn of Josie’s pregnancy, and Olga leads them in the project of sewing new clothes, inspiring their “excite[ment] at having something meaningful to create for a new life” (162). When Hannah questions why the women are going to such trouble, Olga tells her that “finding a little hope in the darkness is not a weakness” (162). Once Natia is born, the women continue sewing clothes for her in varying sizes. They also add lace to the clothing now that they know the clothes are for a girl, a connection that links these women to Natia. Cilka brings the women updates about Josie and Natia from the hospital, and these updates and the hope of future visits help the women endure their day-to-day struggles. At the end of their first visit with Natia, the women return to their hut happy, commenting on Natia’s beauty. Morris describes Natia as “a sun breaking through dark clouds” (208), clearly demonstrating the baby’s influence over the women and the great hope she gives them.

The Hospital

Perhaps the most significant symbol in the novel is the camp hospital where Cilka works soon after arriving at Vorkuta. One of the hospital’s most significant roles for Cilka is a distraction to help her forget her time in Auschwitz. While Cilka still witnesses a lot of death in the hospital, she is at least in a position to help. She is naturally good at nursing, and her gentle touch and nature help her patients feel safe and comforted. Cilka’s work in the hospital also makes her relationship with Alexandr possible. The couple doesn’t often interact until Alexandr gets attacked and sent to the hospital. As Cilka nurses him back to health over several months, she talks to him and spends a lot of time with him. Without her work in the hospital and this opportunity to get to know him, it’s unlikely the characters would have fallen in love and left the prison together. Josie also finds peace and rest in the hospital, for her work in the maternity ward provides the necessary positive influence to dissuade her from further suicide attempts and inspire her to reengage with her life and the life of her unborn child.

Like Hut 29, the hospital also symbolizes redemption. For example, Josie blames Cilka for Vadim’s rape, causing a rift in their friendship for several months. Eventually, Yelena Georgiyevna gets Josie a job in the hospital, creating an opportunity for Josie and Cilka to work together and rekindle their friendship. This is a significant gift for Cilka, who feels responsible for Josie and constantly worries about the girl’s well-being. Likewise, Cilka telling her hut-mates about her experience in Auschwitz is the final release she needs to let go of her internal conflict, but the catalyst that initiates this healing process is when Cilka talks to Yelena in the hospital about her experiences in the concentration camp. From the beginning of their relationship, Yelena knows that Cilka is hiding something about her past. Her attempts to ask Cilka about it go ignored. Eventually, however, Cilka does open up to Yelena. While she doesn’t disclose everything, Cilka does start to heal from her internal conflict and learns that releasing some of that conflict helps her move past it. Without this gentle start to her healing process, Cilka would likely have held onto her trauma far longer, potentially causing herself more harm.