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Chapter 46
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
When Miss Woltersheim and Beiters wake up the next morning, they find that Katharina has already made breakfast and coffee and is sitting at the table, reading the Sunday News. The featured story accuses Katharina of being cold-hearted and selfish, dancing the night away with a thief and murderer while her mother lay dying in the hospital. It also accuses Katharina of being promiscuous and taking advantage of a respected (and married) gentleman, S. (Sträubleder), accusing her of paying him unwanted visits and trying to ruin his career. Finally, the article claims that Blum and Götten had known each other a long time and didn’t just meet at the dance.
Although this story about Katharina is the cruelest story the News has run to date, there’s no way to know whether it is what triggered Katharina’s plan to murder Tötges. “S” clearly refers to Alois Sträubleder. The story intentionally misrepresents the facts of Katharina’s so-called “affair” with Sträubleder, and this reinforces the notion that Katharina’s class and social status leave her vulnerable to exploitation and judgment. On the other hand, Sträubleder’s social influence as an important politician shields him from such indignities and abuses.
Active
Themes
