In the Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, the relationship between Ilsa Hermann and her deceased son has an effect on Ilsa and Liesel’s relationship. She cannot care for her son like most parents can; however she can with Liesel. Death describes how Ilsa embraces the pain that was has been caused because of her son’s death. He describes many ways how she could of tortured herself saying, “She could have shot herself, scratched herself, or indulged in other forms of self-mutilation, but she chose what she probably felt was the weakest option- to at least endure the discomfort of the weather” (Zusak 146). She does this because she believes her son died of freezing to death. This is significant because it demonstrates how distraught the mother
