Maus I

After reading Art Spiegelman's "Maus", I questioned why the author would include so much personal information about his relationship with his father. At times, it seemed to be the central narrative, even more than the Holocaust story itself. This seemed especially thought provoking since Spiegelman made it apparent that his father didn't necessarily approve of the public knowing so many intimate details. (".....it has nothing to do with Hitler, with the Holocaust!" p.23)
From the first pages of the book, Spiegelman makes the tension between him and his father very apparent: "I hadn't seen him in a long time - we weren't that close" (p.11). The beginning text and panels immediately tell us about the author's strained relationship with his father, Vladek, about his mother's suicide, and the tension between Vladek and his new wife, Mala. Why does Spiegelman include so much personal information that seems to have nothing to do with the central narrative of Vladek's survival of the Holocaust?
After reading the book in its entirety, I realize that one story cannot be told without the other. They are completely woven together by the influence that the Holocaust had on Vladek, his family, his relationships, and even the next generation.