is part of the family. Bruno mentions that Maria looks as if she is going to say something, but resists. He tells her the reason he wants to know what she thinks about their new home is because he hopes to persuade his father to take them back to Berlin. Maria says, “Your father knows what is for the best,” and Bruno says, “Stupid Father” (Boyne 59). Maria is shocked and looks around to see if anybody else heard Bruno make that comment. She tells him that he must never say that about his father. Maria goes on to tell Bruno that his father is a good man. She says that Bruno’s father took her in when she desperately needed help. Maria tells Bruno that before she became their maid, she was jobless, homeless, and hungry. Maria elaborates on how her mother knew Bruno’s father when he was a boy because her mother worked for Bruno’s grandmother. She tells Bruno that after her mother retired, Bruno’s father offered her a job and paid for her mother’s medical expenses. Bruno’s father also paid for her mother’s funeral. Maria is grateful for all that Bruno’s father has done for her and her family over the years, which is why Bruno should never call his father stupid. Maria tells Bruno that his father has a ton of kindness in his soul, which makes her wonder. Maria does not finish her thought because Gretel barges into the room. The reader can infer that Maria was going to contemplate how a kind man with a caring heart can murder and torture thousands of Jews.