Clara’s stubbornness

I am getting to the trickier part of Clara’s Story now. Hitler is rising to power. She didn’t really see that coming nor did she have that political interest. However, she is shrewd and understands people well, though she is not aware of her ability to do this. She soon realises that she does not trust this man but understands why other people do.

Clara refused to leave Germany and then couldn’t. There were several probable reasons for this:

• She considered herself to be Christian, not Jewish and German, not Jewish. She was a little naïve about the Blutschutz laws.
• She was eternally optimistic about the basic good nature of people. This came partly form her new-found religious beliefs but also from a more humanitarian standpoint she had always had and her natural sunny nature.  
• She felt a very strong loyalty to the children who came to board. Even after the Waldorf School had closed the Hilfsklasse was still allowed to carry on working in the house on Schellberg Street.    

I have already created her a little this way in TheHouse on Schellberg Street. I’m fast coming to the point where the two novels will completely cross over. I am going to have to make sure that the two personalities match.