Material below is excerpted from J.Nelson's class website on The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Visit http://www.1970sflashback.com/1970/News.asp to review national and world history from the 1970's. Visit http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/time/1970s.html to review media history from the 70's.

Further Analysis and Questions

1) Consider the protagonist Katharina Blum, as well as other female characters in the novel. The novel was written during two decades of radical feminist movement, yet it embraces both ancient and modern concepts of femininity. For those of you who have had the feminist lit. class or medieval lit. class, please consider the concept of honor and its relation to the female in the novel.

a) How do you think Böll defines honor?
b) Does Böll promote or reject the medieval concept of the honorable woman?
c) Are Katharina and the female characters in the novel morally superior to the males?
d) What are the roles of the female characters in the work both alone and in relation to that of the males?
e) How does Katharina use both physical and linguistic resistance in order to attempt to protect her honor?
f ) Consider the title. Is it accurate? Does Katharina lose or retain her honor?

2) Analyze the journalistic style of the novel. Is the documentary-type narration effective or not?

3) For those of you who have had the 20th century American class, please bring to class examples of how this novel compares/contrasts with 20th century American novels, particularly those from the decades of the 60's to the 80's. German novels are usually laden with social context and thrive with new historical criticism, while American novels of the 20th century have been more experiments with form and style. Do you think this novel would be widely accepted were it to be required reading on college campuses today?

4) Consider recent current events in the U.S. (i.e. 9/11 bombings and subsequent measures taken by the government), and think back to the McCarthyism after WWII. Do you see any parallels/contrasts to situations in the novel.

5) Böll uses "sacred realism" and religious imagery in his novels:

a) Do you see evidences of religious imagery in this text? If so, explore the impact of the religious imagery in the text. If not, explain how religious image would detract from the plot.
b) Are there passages in which the religious and the secular become one, in which everyday acts seen in terms of religious imagery.

1) Böll wrote many short stories in the style of Ernest Hemingway. We will place one of these short stories (don't worry, I promise it will be a very short one-just a couple of pages!) on reserve. These stories often contain autobiographical references and are focused upon not the universal concept of war but the particular experiences of a soldier. They stand in sharp contrast with The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum and his later novels that analyze universal themes such as good and evil and nationalistic problems of violence and the media. Come to class prepared to discuss the differences in both Böll's style and themes in these short stories and his novels.

2) Watch the film clip from the video version of this novel that we have had shipped to us for the week. We will have the segments you are supposed to watch attached to the video on reserve. Unlike many film adaptations disclaimed by the authors of the novels upon which they are based, Schlöndorff's film adaptation earned Böll's praise. In fact, Böll actually said that this film was better than the book. The film differs from the novel in that it is is in chronological order, emphasizes Katharina's tragic flaw. We will bring copies of the translation of the satiric epilogue of the movie. While watching the movie, consider whether or not the killing is self-defense or murder. Was it premeditated? Did Katharina have thoughts of murder or plans for murder?

3) We will organize a debate about violence and the media. In order to prepare for this debate, contemplate the following:

a) Crime-(in general) -What does Böll generally say about crime in his work?

b) Violence-What kinds of violence does Böll address? Does Böll advocate certain forms of violence? In what situations does he see violence necessary or unnecessary? If so, what are some examples of how he would define useful violence? How would this opinions hold up legally in the US? Does it relate to First Amendment rights? Do you think Boll advocates violence or through this works is he in actuality, critical of it?

c) Public Sphere-What are Böll's opinions toward the influence of the public sphere?

d) Current Relevance-How does this book portray/not portray a timeless theme? What, if any, are some issues plaguing the world today that are similar to Böll's theme? What seem to be Böll's political opinions? Do you think that his opinions would be concurrent or dissonant concerning the climate of today? Why or why not? Characterize Böll's opinions, i.e, are they, militant, passive, anarchist, etc. Do you think his efforts were persuasive? Do you think a similar method would be successful today? Do you think that Böll would advocate certain forms of terrorism? If so, why? If not, why not?

e) The Media-How does Boll portray the media in KB? What do you think led to his beliefs? Does Böll believe that influence over the public sphere by the media is destructive? How does he convey this? Is it successful? Do you think that currently the news reports only what it chooses? Do you see this in the media? If so, where?

f) Myth vs. Fact-What is Böll's opinion towards a reporting technique and goals? Do you think that in this portrayal of the media, that there is an attempt to emphasize morals? What does he say about the construction of truth? What does he say about those who "control" truth? Are there any Marxist echoes?


Class Discussion: Debate

Heinrich Boll was very concerned with the demagogy associated with the press during his lifetime in Germany. His work The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum is oftentimes declared his political statement against an intrusive overbearing media. Concerning the situtation in Germany and the analogy to the United States, although the First Amendment to the Constitution offers immunity to press, the actions by the News in the novel seems to be an abuse of civil liberty. While the news should have freedom to report what is true and unbiased, the aspects of decency are also at hand. Moreover issues such as the rights of an individual such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness come to mind. While these are indeed democratic values associated with America, the ideology is universal. While laws differ, one has to sympathize with Katharina and her dealings with intrusive media. Therefore, the novel is easily seen as a satire against German media during the 1960’s and 1970’s and Boll accomplishes his goal.
The News as depicted by Boll was certainly unjustified in portraying Katharina in a publicly negative manner. Their reporting was strictly presumptuos and led one to believe it was done with malicious intent. Therefore, considering Katharina’s situation in the novel such as public scorn and ridicule, there are undoubtable limitations to the freedom of press in any sense in any democratic state. There should be some benefit to reporting news, not strictly that of a monetary nature concerning the media outlet. One should not capitalize off another’s misfortunate circumstance and this is a moral perpetuated by Boll in his novel. It is the reporter that meets a horrid fate and those who behave like him in actual society should take a lesson. It is possible under US law that Katharina Blum would have won a case against the News for issues of libel and slander. The facts concerning defamation of character and publishing here say lead one to believe that a suit of this nature given the situation could have been a possibility. Thus a settlement against such an evil news organization would have been the ultimate nationalistic goal for Boll.

Structure:

I. Considering the manner of behavior of the German press during Boll’s time, do you think that Boll was justified in his criticisms? Do you think that by writing Katharina Blum he accomplishes his goal? Yes or No
II. Do you believe that the press was justified in reporting denouncing news about Katharina? Do you believe that such news was printed with malicious intent or strictly to be informative? Do you believe that in certain circumstances Freedom of Press should have limitations? Do you think Katharina if held under US standards could have claimed libel against the News?
III. Apply this to current situations. Katharina was accused of being a "terrorist sweetheart" because of her association with a suspected terrorist. Is the press today doing an injustice or justice to those associated with 9/11 by publishing deflating statements? Consider the libel case initiated by the American Taliban fighter against those publishing books about his life in a negative light. As an American, how do you view that situation?

Scholarly Studies/Resources

Butler, Michael, ed. The Narrative Fiction of Heinrich Böll: Social Conscience and Literary Achievement. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1994.

Conard, Robert C. Understanding Heinrich Böll. Columbia: U of South Carolina P, 1992.

Zachau, Reinhard K. Heinrich Böll: Forty Years of Criticism. Columbia: Camden, 1994.