The Safekeep

Eva is the book’s other protagonist, and she is both an adversary and a love interest to Isabel at various points in the story. Eva’s last name and past remain a mystery for the first two thirds of the novel, and she is characterized through Isabel’s limited perspective. Later, Eva indicts that perspective as inherently flawed, telling Isabel, “You saw what you wanted to see. A stupid girl. And then you saw—I don’t know. Something you could have. And then you thought I was a thief and then you did what you were always going to do” (246).

In her diary, readers get a much more intimate insight into Eva’s character. Basic facts of her life—her Jewish identity and status as a Holocaust survivor—are made clear, as well as the emotional complexities of her inner life. In the diary, her voice is sarcastic, calculated, and filled with pain. Some entries are nothing more than cathartic externalizations of her most private feelings: “2:30. Night. Nightmares nightmares nightmares nightmares nightmares nightmares nightmares nightmares” (188). Readers experience these revelations about Eva alongside Isabel, who is also reading the diary for the first time and who experiences a crisis of conscience after finishing it. 

Eva also achieves a resolution at the novel’s end, in terms of both regaining her family home and getting the chance to live openly and authentically with Isabel. While Eva’s ownership of the home was not, according to Isabel, contingent upon continuing their love affair, their life together at the novel’s end suggests that Eva has developed genuine feelings for Isabel in turn.

Louis is Isabel’s oldest brother, and he lives in The Hague and dates many women. He is less central to the plot than Hendrik, who features more heavily in the novel, and instead functions mostly as a vehicle for Eva to enter Isabel’s life. 

At the start of the novel, Eva is Louis’s girlfriend, the latest in a long series of lovers, which establishes Louis’s status as a roguish flirt. Isabel and Hendrik are both weary of Louis’s womanizing habits, with Hendrik saying, “Oh, I’m bored of it Isa, how many more girls must we entertain this year?” (180). For her part, Eva is also aware of Louis’s reputation and uses it to her advantage, writing in her diary, “Lola said he’s a sweet talker and a spender and the worst kind of both” (199), and immediately planning to go to a bar that he frequents. 

Later, when Isabel reveals that Louis has been unfaithful to her, Eva is entirely unfazed, likely because she predicted that he would be. This reputation for womanizing, which precedes Louis, undermines all credibility that he has when speaking about the women he dates in romantic terms. His flowery professions of love about Mary—“I swear I’ve never felt this way” (167)—ring hollow, both to Isabel and readers, after his flippant dismissal of Eva.

Henrik is Isabel’s youngest brother, whose identity as a gay man makes her uncomfortable but with whom she is closer than with Louis. This fragile bond is emphasized by the memory that Isabel associates most strongly with Hendrik—one of her holding him while he had night terrors as a child. It is clear that, in spite of the harsh way Isabel responds to his sexuality, she has never let go of her nurturing instinct toward him and is mostly hurt that Hendrik appears to have moved on. 

Hendrik is entirely self-sufficient in ways that Isabel is not, living a life completely independent of their childhood home. His imminent move to Paris highlights this difference, as, by contrast, Isabel “ha[s] never been to Paris. She kn[ows] it [i]s far” (8). Hendrik’s sense of freedom is enabled by his gendered privileges, ones that he takes for granted and does not recognize are not extended to Isabel. Gender thus sits at the heart of the conflict between the two siblings.

Sebastian is Hendrik’s partner, whom he lives with as openly as is possible in the prejudiced society of the 1960s. Born in Algiers and the son of an Algerian father and white French mother, Sebastian moved to Paris with his mother as a child. Sebastian’s visible racial difference makes Isabel uneasy, helping to illustrate her xenophobic and racist impulses: “Her first thought was, foreign. […] [S]he had the urge to rush back in and cover everything, hide it all from him” (90). This intolerant treatment appears entirely unwarranted, as Sebastian has a uniformly gentle, compassionate presence in the novel. During his last appearance in the novel, he squeezes Isabel’s hands, a gesture that conveys warmth and support for her.

Sebastian’s treatment of Hendrik is also warm and loving, as reflected in their late-night slow dance: “Hendrik took Sebastian’s hand […] Sebastian went with a small smile: settling against him, face turned, cheek to Hendrik’s shoulder” (103). In a novel filled with strained, contentious family dynamics, Sebastian and Hendrik’s loving and mutually supportive relationship stands out as a beacon of hope for what kind of relationship might be possible for Isabel.

Neelke is the maid whom Isabel hired to help take care of the house on weekdays. She is significantly younger than Isabel—the younger sister of a former classmate—and timid. Isabel is often rude to Neelke, constantly suspicious that she might be stealing things, but also reliant on her. When Isabel realizes that Neelke is likely to get married and move away, she brokenly says, “You will not be here forever” (235). Isabel’s relationship with Neelke is thus an important example of her awkward attempts at securing companionship before Eva’s arrival, evidence that Isabel does not fully understand how to treat others.

When Eva arrives and is friendly with Neelke, the young woman has an entirely different presence. Isabel discovers them spending time in the kitchen together: “Neelke’s skirt was all gathered up around her thighs, one leg bent under her on the chair. Her shoulders were sun browned” (64). This relaxed body language and attire is the opposite of how she behaves around Isabel, covered up and tense. As a secondary character, Neelke serves as a mirror to both main characters, reflecting their social skills so that readers can understand their stark differences.