The Light in Hidden Places

“In Przemyśl, light is like a candy poster. And it’s not smart to hang signs showing where the sweets are.”

The quote indicates that in the story, light can symbolize something else. Stefania uses a simile and compares light to an ad for candy. People want candy, and, in Stefania’s current context, people want to find suspicious people who might not be following Nazi orders. Light is dangerous because it makes a person visible, identifiable, and subject to arrest or worse.

“It was a perfect childhood. And I hated it.”

Stefania displays her sense of humor with an ironic quip about her childhood. Her childhood was perfect, yet, ironically—or unexpectedly—the idyllic atmosphere made her hate it. The quote is also tragically ironic because Stefania’s life in the big city will soon change in horrible, hateful ways.

“‘I hope one day you will be dying of thirst,’ I told her, ‘so that, then, someone can deny you water the same way you did to them!’”

Stefania uses a brash tone and contemptuous diction to express her disdain for the woman with the Russian rifle who won’t let her or the others drink from the well. The interaction exemplifies Stefania boldness and provides an early example of a cruel woman character.