Fear of Sleep

After Max wakes up from his prolonged nap due to sickness, Liesel is very nice and calm with him even though she is excited to see him again. Max is very sincere when thanking Liesel for the gifts, such as the toy soldier (Max's favorite) and the unusual leaf. Later, in the same encounter with Liesel, Max tells Liesel never to apologize to him again. Max really shows Liesel how much he loves her company and her gifts because he feels that she has given him too much to be the one apologizing to him. He feels that he should be the one apologizing to her, because he has endangered her family, but Liesel just accepts it and actually cares for Max. After Max's encounter with Liesel, it is clear that she has earned her full trust, despite the situation. He knows that Liesel really cares about him and likes him because of all of the gifts and the fact that she read to him twice per day while he was sleeping. 

Since Max was asleep for so long and almost died, he is obviously scared of going back to sleep. Liesel decides that she should read to Max and make sure that he doesn't fall asleep again. I believe that Liesel's friendship and bond with Max is really what keeps Max alive and gives him courage and inspiration to survive. Max knows that he is safe with Liesel, because he trusts that she will not let him realize his fear of falling asleep. 

While I was reading, I noticed that Liesel is becoming just like her father. During this encounter with Max, Liesel is a parallel to her father because he used to read to her and comfort her when she couldn't sleep. Liesel is also always there for Max, and comforts him almost always when he needs it, just like Hans used to do for her. Liesel wakes Max three times total before letting him drift off into sleep. I felt that she coaxed him into going to sleep, in a way. Max was so tired, but he couldn't fall asleep until he felt comforted and safe in Liesel's company. The comforted feeling that her company gave Max really convinced him that he was okay and could go to sleep without a fear of death. Liesel's reading also helped Max go to sleep. He absorbed all of her words, and was somewhat distracted from his fear of sleep and death. 

In conclusion, I believe that Hans' comforting feeling rubs off on Leisel, and she is able to comfort Max enough so that he can go to sleep somewhat avoiding his fear of dying in his sleep. In this episode, Leisel is very trustworthy and mature. She is patient with Max, and reads to him exactly like her father used to read to her in order to comfort her into going back to sleep. I feel that this is yet another step on the staircase to Leisel's maturity, and really shows how far Leisel has come since the day that she was dropped off at her new parent's house, as well as how her friendship with Max has evolved.