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Chapter 37
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Ethics in Journalism
Truth, Lies, and Narrative
Class, Hierarchy, and Exploitation
Dignity and Compassion
Summary
Analysis
Now, it’s Saturday morning at the Blornas’ house. The Blornas are exhausted, having just arrived home from vacation. Dr. Blorna calls Hach, whom he’s known for over 20 years: they attended school together. Hach is grumpy, irritated that Dr. Blorna has called so early in the morning, but he relates vague details about the case. Yes, the police have some incriminating details that don’t look great for Katharina, but it’s not the strongest case.
Remember that (Peter) Hach is the public prosecutor. It shows how connected the important, wealthy professionals within Katharina’s town are with one another. All these important men seem to be part of an exclusive club that grants them access to exclusive information—information to which an ordinary, working-class woman like Katharina does not have access. Meanwhile, Hach’s admission about the police case against Katharina being rather weak further emphasizes the unethical nature of the News’s defamatory stories about Katharina.
Active
Themes
Later, Mrs. Blorna wonders whether Alois’s ongoing “delicate matter” has anything to do with Katharina—could he be the mysterious gentleman caller Katharina had been seeing before she met Götten? Mrs. Blorna also realizes that she is indirectly responsible for Götten’s escape: Katharina had taken great interest in the construction of her apartment complex (which Mrs. Blorna designed), carefully examining the blueprint that Mrs. Blorna has hanging from her wall. Suddenly, Mrs. Blorna is grateful she never gave Katharina her own copy—that would have given the police all the more reason to implicate “Trude the Red” in the fiasco. Mrs. Blorna’s thoughts are interrupted, however, when the so-called “gentleman visitor” pulls up to the Blornas’ house.
Active
Themes
