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Dr. Loehmann is a psychiatrist to whom Andy refers Jude following Jude’s suicide attempt. Despite his friends’ protests, Jude initially refuses to see Dr. Loehmann. Following a major fight with Willem over Jude’s continued self-harm, Jude finally starts to see Dr. Loehmann, but he refuses to answer any of Dr. Loehmann’s questions or else skips their sessions entirely. Following Willem’s death, Jude falls into a deep depression and nearly starves himself to death. As a result, his friends hold an intervention, commit him to a hospital, and only release him on the condition that he start to take care of himself and agree to see Dr. Loehmann. Jude agrees, though he continues to avoid discussing his past with the psychiatrist. At the very end of the novel, Jude seems to have a breakthrough and shows signs that he will begin to take his sessions with Loehmann seriously. However, this optimism is short-lived, as the next (and final) section of the book reveals that Jude dies by suicide not long after this final session.
Dr. Loehmann Quotes in A Little Life
The A Little Life quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Loehmann or refer to Dr. Loehmann. 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:
).
Part 6: Dear Comrade: Chapter 3 Quotes
“Jude,” says Dr. Loehmann. “You’ve come back.”
He takes a breath. “Yes,” he says. “I’ve decided to stay.”
Related Characters:
Dr. Loehmann (speaker), Jude St. Francis (speaker), Willem Ragnarsson
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
794
Explanation and Analysis:
Jude has finally decided to take therapy seriously, and as he tries to tell Dr. Loehmann the story of his life, he thinks of Willem (the only person he’s been able to tell his story to), becomes overwhelmed, and flees Dr. Loehmann’s office. Jude considers leaving the building but heads back at the last minute, explaining to Loehmann, “I’ve decided to stay.” Taken literally, Jude’s words express that he has decided to persevere through his sadness about Willem and finish his therapy session. Taken figuratively, his words suggest that he’s decided not to attempt suicide again, and that he has decided life, however full of suffering it may be, is worth living.
These are the words the reader hears Jude speak, though—indeed, not long after this therapy session, Jude dies by suicide, a revelation that Harold conveys in the next (and final) chapter, which Harold narrates. The juxtaposition of hope with hopelessness puts the reader in the shoes of Jude’s closest friends who have been by his side as he oscillates between agony and relief, optimism and despair, and recovery and decline. Just when it seems that Jude has finally had a revelation that might, at last, be the key to his recovery, he’s overcome with self-doubt, pain episodes, a health scare, or hopelessness, and he’s right back where he started. This back-and-forth motion between hope and hopelessness, recovery and decline, has dominated the entire book, yet it is shocking nevertheless that Jude should make one final switch to abandon hope and leave not so long after he’d “decided to stay.” The shock of Jude’s suicide underscores the unpredictable and cruelly indifferent nature of human suffering.
Get the entire A Little Life LitChart as a printable PDF.
Dr. Loehmann Quotes in A Little Life
The A Little Life quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Loehmann or refer to Dr. Loehmann. 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:
).
Part 6: Dear Comrade: Chapter 3 Quotes
“Jude,” says Dr. Loehmann. “You’ve come back.”
He takes a breath. “Yes,” he says. “I’ve decided to stay.”
Related Characters:
Dr. Loehmann (speaker), Jude St. Francis (speaker), Willem Ragnarsson
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
794
Explanation and Analysis:
Jude has finally decided to take therapy seriously, and as he tries to tell Dr. Loehmann the story of his life, he thinks of Willem (the only person he’s been able to tell his story to), becomes overwhelmed, and flees Dr. Loehmann’s office. Jude considers leaving the building but heads back at the last minute, explaining to Loehmann, “I’ve decided to stay.” Taken literally, Jude’s words express that he has decided to persevere through his sadness about Willem and finish his therapy session. Taken figuratively, his words suggest that he’s decided not to attempt suicide again, and that he has decided life, however full of suffering it may be, is worth living.
These are the words the reader hears Jude speak, though—indeed, not long after this therapy session, Jude dies by suicide, a revelation that Harold conveys in the next (and final) chapter, which Harold narrates. The juxtaposition of hope with hopelessness puts the reader in the shoes of Jude’s closest friends who have been by his side as he oscillates between agony and relief, optimism and despair, and recovery and decline. Just when it seems that Jude has finally had a revelation that might, at last, be the key to his recovery, he’s overcome with self-doubt, pain episodes, a health scare, or hopelessness, and he’s right back where he started. This back-and-forth motion between hope and hopelessness, recovery and decline, has dominated the entire book, yet it is shocking nevertheless that Jude should make one final switch to abandon hope and leave not so long after he’d “decided to stay.” The shock of Jude’s suicide underscores the unpredictable and cruelly indifferent nature of human suffering.
