The Upstairs Room

Annie suffers the physical and emotional effects of isolation. Repeatedly, Sini worries about Annie’s legs and forces her younger sister to walk 100 steps every day. Both Miss Kleinhoonte and Rachel echo Sini’s concerns when they visit. The extent of the physical damage is evident when Annie, in her excitement about the Allies landing in Normandy, volunteers to exercise: “Energetically I got off the chair. C’mon legs, a little higher. Ow. So they hurt, but it’s good for you. You don’t want anyone to point at you after the war” (139-40). Her exercise is merely walking. This everyday act shouldn’t be painful, but because she’s young and has moved little in two years, her physical development has been impaired. Additionally, Annie has begun talking to the window. As she listens to the sounds outside, Annie tells the window that it won’t be long before she’s gone. Sini notices and voices concern: “Annie […] I’ve been watching you for quite a while, and I don’t like what I see. You’re mumbling and carrying on as if you have an audience” (139). Annie is just trying to amuse herself and pass the time, but the habit of talking to an inanimate object is worrisome to others, who see her talking to herself. Just like a kid experiencing pain while walking, a child mumbling to herself is unusual and concerning. Annie’s experiences exemplify how extended isolation can stunt the physical and emotional development of a child.

Furthermore, Annie’s experiences thematically highlight The Loss of Innocence in Extreme Circumstances. Even though Annie has matured and is beginning to see the harsh realities of the world, not until she reads the underground newspaper does she fully grasp Hitler’s horrific acts. Before that, she’s tempted to look out the window until Sini reprimands her. However, after reading about the gas chambers at the death camps, she notes, “Now I knew why I was here, why I shouldn’t stand close to the window in the front room. I had just read why in a paper that told people what was really going on” (113). The truth sinks in, and for the first time, she registers the danger she and her family are in. “Now” indicates that reading the newspaper is a turning point for her. She no longer fantasizes about hiding in caves or longs to look out the window but instead acknowledges that her life is on the line. After reading the paper, she can’t return to her childlike mentality, proving that Annie’s circumstances have stripped her of her innocence. Furthermore, her emotions have shifted from excitement and joy to periodic bouts of sadness. For example, when Miss Kleinhoonte visits, Annie battles a giggling fit because the woman looks like a rabbit when she eats, but those giggles quickly turn to tears, which she fights back for the rest of the day. Although the elder woman tries to comfort the girls by telling them it was merciful that their mother died when she did because the Germans later seized all Jewish patients, Annie is stricken by this reality and once again combats tears. Now that she comprehends the cruelties of the war, she’s less joyous and carefree.

In addition, the sisters’ interactions, including Rachel when she visits, thematically illuminate The Strength of Family Bonds. Although Annie and Sini fight after hiding in the closet, later that night they realize the gravity of what could have happened. When she hears Sini crying, Annie hugs her sister and thinks:

What if the Germans had come to the house in the night and found us? They would have taken us away. Sini said they might have separated us, sent us to different concentration camps in different countries. We might never have seen each other again. We couldn’t have told each other how miserable we had been not talking to each other all day. Then what? (104-05).

Annie’s questions, particularly the last one, suggest her fear of separating from her sister. Even though they fight sometimes and Annie complains about Sini, the siblings give each other strength to survive their situation. When Rachel’s visit ends, Annie is distraught: “Her face was wet. So was mine. Why did she have to go so soon? We hadn’t even started to talk to each other, not really” (135). Both Annie’s and Rachel’s tears, and Sini’s moments later, emphasize not just their love for each other but their need to be together. Despite the care the Oostervelds have shown the girls, nothing can replace family, and Annie rues that they’ll be separated again. The de Leeuw girls demonstrate how vital the strength of family is during traumatic times.