Johanna’s uncle, a German immigrant, whom Captain Kidd and Johanna meet after a long journey through Texas. Although he seems traumatized and outraged by the deaths of Johanna’s parents, he’s also cold and unwelcoming towards his orphan niece, showing no empathy for the trauma she’s suffered or the challenge she faces in adapting to Anglo-American society. Like his wife, Anna, Wilhelm treats Johanna like a farmhand, not a child, until Captain Kidd returns and takes her away.
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Wilhelm Character Timeline in News of the World
The timeline below shows where the character Wilhelm appears in News of the World. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 19
...inn and a Catholic church, and when the Captain asks for directions he learns that Wilhelm and Anna Leonberger live fifteen miles outside the town. He doesn’t tell anyone he’s delivering...
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...a young man on horseback, Captain Kidd asks him to ride ahead of him to Wilhelm and Anna’s farm, and inform them that he’s bringing Johanna home. The man is startled...
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Wilhelm comes out of the farmhouse to scold the dogs in German; Johanna seems to understand...
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Wilhelm asks what has happened to the 50 dollars they sent to pay for Johanna’s return....
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Chapter 20
Captain Kidd tries to explain to Wilhelm that Johanna needs peace, quiet, and a good deal of time to adjust to life...
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Wilhelm brusquely tells Captain Kidd about the raid that killed Johanna’s parents. The Kiowa raped Johanna’s...
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Everyone looks at Johanna, who is singing to herself quietly. Wilhelm says that she must learn to work and adopt their ways. They have no children,...
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...the day before, whose name is Adolph, sits beside Captain Kidd and remarks neutrally that Wilhelm and Anna work very hard. In fact, the nephew who once lived with them left...
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...shrugs. No one from the town will intervene in what is seen as Anna and Wilhelm’s private business. The Captain acknowledges that things are similar among the English and stands to...
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Chapter 21
...Captain Kidd drives back to Castroville, telling himself he’s only visiting to help Anna and Wilhelm understand “what it was like for a child taken captive and then redeemed and then...
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