The Judge Character Analysis in The Reader

The judge who presides over Hanna’s trial. Michael observes the judge’s near constant expression of annoyance, especially at Hanna’s contradictions to certain claims about her. When Hanna asks the judge what he would have done if he were in her situation, Michael realizes that the judge’s annoyance is a “mask” that allows him to take more time to answer questions. However, the judge has no satisfactory response for Hanna, as he answers only generally, rather than in personal terms.

The Judge Quotes in The Reader

The The Reader quotes below are all either spoken by The Judge or refer to The Judge. 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:

Guilt, Responsibility, and the Holocaust Theme Icon

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Vintage edition of The Reader published in 1997.

"Did you not know that you were sending the prisoners to their death?"
"Yes, but the new ones came, and the old ones had to make room for the new ones."
"So because you wanted to make room, you said you and you and you have to be sent back to be killed?"
Hanna didn't understand what the presiding judge was getting at.
"I ... I mean ... so what would you have done?" Hanna meant it as a serious question. She did not know what she should or could have done differently, and therefore wanted to hear from the judge, who seemed to know everything, what he would have done.

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker), (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 111

Explanation and Analysis:

The Judge Character Timeline in The Reader

The timeline below shows where the character The Judge appears in The Reader. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

When the judge questions her, Michael learns that Hanna joined the SS voluntarily despite an offer of a... (full context)

...who speaks up to correct something in the indictment, only to be told by the judge that she had already had time to read through the charges. Hanna unwillingly agrees that... (full context)

...were true. However, Hanna is unable to see that her insistent contradictions are annoying the judge. Hanna, who “had no sense of context, of the rules of the game,” only makes... (full context)

Yet despite this, Hanna “achieved her own kind of success.” When the judge asks Hanna if she knew she was sending people to their death, she answers, “Yes,... (full context)

The judge asks each defendant why she didn’t unlock the doors, and each answers that she was... (full context)

When the judge asks Hanna why she did not unlock the door, Hanna tells him they had no... (full context)

Michael debates whether or not he should tell the judge that Hanna is illiterate, that though she may be guilty she is not as guilty... (full context)

Generational and Parent-Child Conflict Theme Icon

Michael decides to visit the judge but cannot bring himself to visit Hanna. Feeling hurt at being deceived, he questions whether... (full context)