kindertransport analysis- louise

My three words are:
- Offstage
- Helga
- Mothers

The three words go together quite well, as the main theme portrayed throughout the play is the relationship between mothers and daughters. Helga's relationship with Eva is linked to that of Faith  and Evelyn. The relationship between Helga and Eva carries on even when they are both offstage. Helga is only in the play for a short amount of time, as the play is based on Evelyn's transformation into Eva, and Faith trying to find out the truth from her Mother. Lil, who takes Evelyn in, often has conversations with her about Helga (her Mother) to help her express her feelings about the situation. Even when Helga is offstage, pretty much all of the characters make reference to her, because of the impact she has had on Eva's life. As mentioned before, Helga's relationship with Eva is closely linked between Evelyn and Faith. The mother/daughter relationship they have is similar but different in many ways. When Faith brings up the past, Evelyn portrays symptoms of OCD- she cleans everytime it's mentioned, to avoid talking about it. Independence and being able to manage without the person you depend on most in your life is a main theme which runs through the entire play, and it starts off with Eva struggling to sew, and Helga insisting she needs to do it herself. She indirectly says that she won't always be around to help Eva, and so she needs to learn. This links to Faith and Evelyn's story, because the two mother's are trying to do what's best for their children, but we see that Evelyn doesn't really want Faith to go- she wants her to stay with her so she can look after her. The two mother's are different but similar at the same time, in the sense they both want whats right for their children, but worry for them at the same time. Lil is seen as a 'hero' in the play, because she took Eva in when she was most vulnerable. In the middle of Act two, Scene one, Evelyn seems to appear ungrateful for what Lil has done for her. At this point, she reminices waiting for Helga at the train station, but Helga not coming, and Lil convincing Eva that she's not coming. At the end of the play, there is a sweet moment between Faith and Evelyn, in which Evelyn explains to Faith how much she means to her.