Maud’s apartment functions as a symbol of her identity, and this is why she is willing to fight so hard to protect it. The apartment is where she has lived all her life. It reminds her of her early years with her family, particularly reminding her of the strongest relationship she had during that time—the one with her beloved father. This aspect of Maud’s identity is reflected in the way she has preserved the apartment like “a time capsule”—particularly her father’s room (108). It is also reflected in the unusual arrangement by which Maud continues to occupy the apartment. She does not pay rent, like an ordinary tenant. The apartment is literally the only remaining asset from her family’s once-great wealth, and Maud has inherited a free lifetime tenancy, just as she has inherited a particular eye color and nose shape.

The events surrounding Charlotte’s death are another clue that the apartment functions as a representation of Maud’s identity. Maud’s relationship with Charlotte was uneasy and burdensome—but as long as Charlotte stayed inside the apartment, Maud felt bound to her. On the only occasion Charlotte stepped outside of the apartment, she ended up falling to her death. In a symbolic sense, Charlotte stepped outside of Maud’s sense of self for just a moment, and Maud took advantage of this to expel Charlotte forever. Since Charlotte’s death, Maud has had complete control over her own life—and over the apartment she lives in.

Maud has fought hard to keep the apartment and to build an independent life there. Any threat to the apartment is a threat to Maud herself—as her behavior shows in “An Elderly Lady Has Accommodation Problems” and “An Elderly Lady Is Faced with a Difficult Dilemma.” She is incensed when Jasmin barges into the apartment and begins touching her things—because she so closely identifies with the apartment, this intrusion feels like an invasion of the self. When Jasmin seems to be scheming to move Maud to another apartment, Maud snaps and commits murder. Similarly, when Frazzén seems to be bent on stealing precious items from the apartment—items tied to Maud’s family history and identity—Maud kills him without a second thought. Maud’s murders are horrific—but the symbol of the apartment helps to convey how deeply threatened she feels in these moments, increasing The Ambiguity Between Justice and Vengeance of her actions.