The Reader

Michael spends the summer after the trial studying by himself in the university library. He spends the winter semester similarly but goes skiing with friends over Christmas break. He gets a fever, and the myriad accusations and horrors that came out during the trial come back to Michael. He’s numb no more, and though he contemplates the Nazi past and issues of guilt and accountability, he doesn’t take part in the West German student movement.

The Nazis are part of Michael’s reality in Germany. Former Nazis have careers in government, the courts, and universities. Antisemitism continues to manifest. Identifying guilty parties doesn’t banish the shame, but it makes it seem like there’s an action that people can apply to the previous generation’s shame and the suffering it causes.

Michael doesn’t accuse his parents of anything. When he tries to lay guilt on Hanna, he feels guilty. Michael questions the moral superiority of the student movement. He wonders whether their love for their parents implicates them the same way his love for Hanna incriminates him.

As a law clerk, Michael marries Gertrud. They met at a ski lodge, and she’s also studying law. Michael doesn’t tell her about Hanna.