"The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause" as stated by the great French philosopher Henri Bergson (Bartleby.com). With this quotation, one can see that the past and present are interrelated, and the past is an influential factor of one's present and future. The past is always there even when one tries to forget it. As a result, it will reappear in one's life when they least expect it, and undeniably cause dramatic changes. The disconcert pasts of the lives of Nora Helmer in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House and Anton Steenwijk in Harry Mulisch's The Assault have a tremendous affect on these characters later in their lives.

In the beginning of The Assault, Anton Steenwijk is seen as having a troubled life during World War II in Nazi occupied Holland. He lived in one...