Mr. and Mrs. Schatzman Character Analysis in Orphan Train

Mr. and Mrs. Schatzman are Niamh’s neighbors on Elizabeth Street in New York in the 1920s. They are a middle-aged couple who emigrated from Germany. They care for Niamh in the days after the house fire that kills her father and brothers, and take her to the Children’s Aid Society. They tell her that her sister, Maisie, died in the fire, but years later, Vivian/Niamh discovers that they adopted Maisie.

Mr. and Mrs. Schatzman Quotes in Orphan Train

The Orphan Train quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. and Mrs. Schatzman or refer to Mr. and Mrs. Schatzman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the William Morrow edition of Orphan Train published in 2013.

But Mr. Schatzman frowns and shakes his head, and it’s then that I realize just how alone I am. There is no adult on this side of the Atlantic who has reason to take any interest in me, no one to guide me onto a boat or pay for my passage. I am a burden to society, and nobody’s responsibility.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 26

Explanation and Analysis:

Mr. and Mrs. Schatzman Character Timeline in Orphan Train

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. and Mrs. Schatzman appears in Orphan Train. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The unnamed narrator (Vivian) is with her neighbors, a childless German couple called the Schatzmans , a couple days “after the fire.” Mr. Schatzman wakes her to announce his plans... (full context)

Secrets, Reality, and Illusions Theme Icon

...death notices for Vivian’s father and brothers - but not her sister. Molly then researches the Schatzmans , and discovers that in 1929 they adopted a daughter, Margaret. Molly realizes the daughter... (full context)