Cilka's Journey

Josie Kotecka, born on November 25, 1930, is a 16-year-old girl from Kraków, Poland, and is a secondary protagonist in the novel. She meets Cilka on the train to Vorkuta, and the girls become friends. Her grandmother was also on the train but dies from a lack of food, water, and proper protection from the cold. Josie has dark eyebrows and eyelashes and a small mouth: features that remind Cilka of Gita, her friend from Auschwitz. This physical resemblance could explain why Cilka constantly needs to protect Josie and help her adjust to her new life in Vorkuta. At first, Josie is optimistic about her situation and doesn’t succumb to despair as Cilka sometimes does. Further, when Cilka gets a job in the camp hospital only days after entering camp, Josie is supportive and encouraging, especially when Cilka balks at the opportunity.

Eventually, however, Josie’s immaturity and inexperience begin to emerge. She is horrified the first time Vadim rapes her, blaming Cilka for not stopping him and protecting her. He continues to rape her, but she becomes more accepting of it over time; at one point, Josie even becomes jealous when Vadim doesn’t visit her, thinking he prefers someone else to her. This attitude shows that Josie has accepted her role as Vadim’s bedmate and even seeks out his company in the camp compound. Yet despite her occasional immaturity, Josie is a caring friend and remains hopeful throughout difficult circumstances. When Natia is born, Josie shows she’s also a nurturing mother who treasures her baby and wants the best for her.

Although Josie and Cilka are close friends, Josie’s character serves as a foil to Cilka’s, and one of the most obvious ways in which the two characters differ is in the varying degrees of their adaptability. Because Cilka spent three years in Auschwitz, she understands how to navigate the dangerous politics of camp culture, particularly how to communicate with other prisoners and with her superiors. Josie lacks this knowledge, so she depends on Cilka to help her through the camp’s intake process and navigate the social hierarchy that emerges immediately upon entering Hut 29. When the men visit the hut and rape the women for the first time, Cilka advises Josie to endure and survive because that is how she survived Auschwitz. However, Josie doesn’t know this about Cilka and resents her for making her endure Vadim’s assaults and not protecting her from them. Likewise, when Josie learns she is pregnant, she goes into a deep depression that causes her to attempt suicide. She lacks the maturity and experience to understand that she can overcome this situation, so she tries to die by suicide. Fortunately, Cilka saves Josie, and Josie finds healing when she works in the maternity ward alongside her friend.

Another way the two women differ is in their intelligence and ability to learn quickly. When Cilka begins working at the hospital, she picks up her clerical duties so quickly and easily that it’s not long before Yelena asks her to train as a nurse. Cilka does and excels. When Josie takes over Cilka’s clerical position, she is far less capable and takes much longer to learn the same duties Cilka completed with ease. To help memorize the hospital’s medications, Josie writes their names on a piece of fabric and sews it into her bed sheet. When the guard discovers this writing, Cilka takes the blame to protect Josie. This act also illustrates one final way the women differ. Cilka is a loyal friend who puts the needs of others first, while Josie is more selfish and takes longer to see that Cilka wants to protect and help her. Because she blames Cilka for advising her to endure Vadim’s act of rape, Josie doesn’t speak to her for months. However, when Cilka sacrifices herself for Josie and goes to solitary confinement, Josie finally understands Cilka’s loyalty and devotion, and the two remain devoted friends for the remainder of the novel.

Yelena Georgiyevna is one of the camp doctors who works in the hospital. She quickly identifies Cilka’s abilities and intelligence and convinces Cilka to work there. The two women form a strong bond throughout the rest of the novel as they work together to save many lives. Yelena is tall, slim, and attractive, with golden yellow hair and blue eyes. She is a genuinely good person and tries to help everyone without going outside the hospital’s rules. Yelena voluntarily works at the prison hospital because she knows she can do the most good there, a quality Cilka greatly admires. She trained as a doctor in Georgia with Petre and willingly shares her knowledge with others to help them become better healthcare providers. Yelena and Petra are in a relationship, and the nurses think they are a perfect couple because of their good looks and kind hearts.

While Yelena remains a static character who doesn’t change dramatically in the novel, she stands as a symbol of hope for Cilka. Although Cilka is ashamed of her past and tries desperately to the evidence of it (e.g., her tattoo), Yelena is intelligent and quickly sees that there is more to Cilka than meets the eye. She asks questions and gently offers support whenever Cilka is ready to talk about her past. When Cilka does finally open up about Auschwitz, Yelena never pushes too hard and allows Cilka to disclose only what she’s comfortable with explaining. Yelena initiates Cilka’s healing by being an outlet for Cilka’s trauma. Also, by mentoring Cilka, Yelena teaches Cilka skills that can help her once she leaves. Thus, by encouraging Cilka to work in the hospital and become a nurse, Yelena saves Cilka’s life and gives her a place safe from harm and judgment.

Like Cilka, Alexandr Petrik is from Czechoslovakia. He is tall and thin, and Cilka often notices his dark brown eyes, which Morris describes as kind and warm. Alexandr also has an elegant face and mannerisms, illustrated especially in how he smokes a cigarette. He also demonstrates his elegance in his ability to write poetry. Alexandr used poetry as a coping mechanism when the Soviets tortured him for information. His ability to do this demonstrates his high intelligence, something he has in common with Cilka. Alexandr also shows his intelligence in the fact that he worked as a translator for the Soviet Union. Thus, both Alexandr and Cilka have a talent for language and find meaning in resisting the status quo, and these similarities mark them as a potential couple long before their mutual desire for each other is finally realized.

Just as Alexandr becomes Cilka’s implied love interest throughout the novel’s development, he also stands as a symbol of hope for her and makes her want to keep living. Because of her experiences at Auschwitz and Vorkuta, where men value her only for her body, Cilka has little hope that she’ll be able to fall in love. She also has difficulty dreaming about a future when trapped in prison. Alexandr changes her mind about love and her future through how he makes her feel and her connection with him. Alexandr reminds Cilka that good men like her father exist and that she can heal from her past and love again