Question

Why does madame schachter scream? why does she later become silent and withdrawn?

Answer 1

She is in the same train car as Eliezer, during their deportation to Auschwitz. She was separated from her husband and two older sons, but is accompanied by a younger son. During that journey she loses her mind. She begins to hysterically scream about a flaming furnace that she sees in the distance. This is terrifying the other people, so she is beaten by some younger men trying to silence her, repeatedly. I think all that made her become silent and withdrawn.