This article discusses how Maus contains religious meaning and why he believes Spieglman wrote the graphic novel to contain religious themes. The author of the article is "convinced that Spiegelman is strongly suggesting that there is indeed a metaphysical dimension to life, and that a supernatural power may well be ordering it." For evidence the author talks about in the scene in the graphic novel where Vladek is in Auschwitz and a man tells him that the numbers on his arm suggets a sign of divine intervention. Then he describes several Jewish biblical themes in the graphic novel. These themes are centered around Vladek's dream and the incident where he speaks with the rabbi. The dream discussion is about (and is key to) the deep religious significance of Maus, as well as to Vladek's character; this is the biblical passage that Vladek dreams about when incarcerated in the German labor camp for Polish army prisoners of war. He also brings into view that Spiegelman in Maus subtly suggests that Vladek and Anja survived, while many others did not, for a very special reason. The article states some readers may argue that Spiegelman is a secular liberal and scarcely given to promoting ideas of divine intervention, as evidenced by the lack of any traditional religious belief in his self-characterization in Maus. However, the article comes up with a mass of evidence that Muas carries religious gravity. He even uses research from Spiegelman's other works and more information about his father. He also talks about in an interview in the Forward, Spieglman has praised the "great holy Jewish writings of [Mad magazine founder] Harvey Kurtzman and Franz Kafka," revealing a concept of Jewish holiness, however casually. The author does a god job of showing how the graphic novel is subtley religious and discussing why Speigelman should be seen to purposely include religious themes in his works.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-120134935.html
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