Sie sind auf Seite 1von 52

Lanc

aster University Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language

CLSL
Centre for Language in Social Life http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/groups/clsl/home.htm Working Papers Series
http://www.ling.lancs.ac.uk/pubs/clsl/wpapers.htm Working Paper No !!"

#$L%L$&E'(C) (ND #$M%M*'(L$&) $N +E'N,('D SC,L$N-.S THE READER


by Sally Johnson and Frank Finlay

1999

All rights reserved. his document is placed on the !nternet solely in order to make it "reely available to the wider research community. Any #uotation "rom it "or the purposes o" discussion must be properly acknowledged in accordance with academic convention. he reproduction o" any substantial portion o" this document is "orbidden unless written permission is obtained "rom the author. he use and reproduction o" this document and any part o" it is protected by the international laws o" copyright. $ 1999 Sally Johnson and Frank Finlay

Editorial address: %entre "or &anguage in Social &i"e 'epartment o" &inguistics and (odern )nglish &anguage *owland %ollege+ &ancaster ,niversity+ &ancaster &A1 -. ,nited /ingdom

0!l1literacy and 0!m1morality in *ernhard Schlink2s he 3eader

Sally Johnson 'epartment o" &inguistics &ancaster ,niversity and Frank Finlay 'epartment o" 4erman &anguage and &iterature ,niversity o" &eeds Abstract

!n this paper we e5plore the theme o" literacy in a recent novel entitled he 3eader by the 4erman author *ernhard Schlink. 'rawing on both literary analysis and the insights o" the 6ew &iteracy Studies+ we argue that the depiction o" illiteracy contained in the novel is problematical in two main ways. First+ there are a number o" te5tual inconsistencies regarding the de"inition and portrayal o" illiteracy. Second+ the novel provides a #uestionable account o" the relationship between literacy and an individual7s capacity "or moral and aesthetic 8udgement+ especially in the conte5t o" debates about the 9olocaust. :e are there"ore sceptical o" the way in which he 3eader has been enthusiastically held up as a realistic account o"

illiteracy and its potential conse#uences+ not least by Sir %laus (oser in !mproving &iteracy and 6umeracy: A Fresh Start 019991+ a report on 7basic skills7 produced "or the 'epartment o" )ducation and )mployment in the ,/.

1. !ntroduction

:hen the novel

he 3eader 0original title: 'er ;orleser1 was published in 199<

its author+ *ernhard Schlink+ was known on the 4erman literary scene only as a pro"essor o" law and senior 8udge who+ strictly as a side line+ had made three commerically success"ul "orays into 2popular2 crime "iction.1 hat his ambitious

"irst attempt at a 2serious2 book should soon become a ma8or domestic success is arguably understandble in the conte5t o" the massive public interest in recent 4erman history engendered+ "or e5ample+ by the "i"tieth anniversary o" the end o" :orld :ar !! and the o"ten "ierce debates throughout the 199=s concerning the evaluation and commemoration o" the 9olocaust and the 9itler years.> Schlink2s tale o" the relationship between a 1<?year?old boy+ (ichael *erg+ and a much older woman+ 9anna Schmit@+ who disappears suddenly only to re?enter his li"e many years later when+ as a law student in the court2s public gallery+ he sees her tried+ convicted and sentenced to li"e imprisonment "or war crimes committed as a concentration camp guard has had considerable impact in 4ermany+ where it has sold several hundred thousand copies 0/Ahner 19991. As one o" a number o" recent literary works with a "ocus on the hird 3eich 0Barkes 199C:11<?D1+E he 3eader

has received wide?scale critical approbation "or both its sensitive and intelligent treatment o" the issues o" complicity+ individual responsibility and guilt as well as its thematisation o" the causes o" con"lict between the generation who e5perienced the war and their children.:ritten in an accessible style with a gripping plot line that one would e5pect o" such a practiced hand at detective "iction+ the novel has has taken its place on school syllabuses in 4ermany and become an ob8ect o" study on 4erman literature courses abroad.

he international reception o" Schlink2s book is+ by comparison+ even more worthy

< o" note. ranslated into >< languages and the recipient o" countless international he 3eader has been reviewed enthusiastically by such

pri@es 0/Ahner 19991+ literary

luminaries in the )nglish?speaking world as 4eorge Steiner and A. S. *yatt+ whereby the latter2s de"ence o" the novel against Frederic 3aphael became something o" a cause cFlGbre 0see *yatt 199CH 3aphael 199Ca/b1. Schlink7s success is also revealing o" the mechanisms o" the literary market place and is particularly indicative o" the increasing power o" the broadcast media to turn an already well?regarded book into a bestseller. he novel became the "irst by any continental )uropean author to

en8oy that rare distinction in February 1999 o" being recommended to the 1E million viewers o" Iprah7s *ook %lub+ the monthly segment o" the Iprah :in"rey Show devoted to recently?published novels 0/Ahner 19991. :in"rey7s seal o" approval is su""icient to automatically set in train the "ollowing process: the publisher agrees to donate 1=+=== copies o" her selection to libraries+ and ,S booksellers+ having been alerted by the publisher and in anticipation o" virtually guaranteed demand+ routinely place orders o" D<=+=== o" a hardback and C==+=== o" a paperback edition 0(a5 >===1. !n Schlink7s case the additional publicity generated by his personal appearance on the :in"rey show in April 1999 took :eekly + he 6ew .ork he 3eader to the bestseller lists o" Bublishers

imes and the !nternet bookseller+ Ama@on 0/Ahner

19991. *y January >=== 1.C million copies had been sold in )nglish+ making it the most

success"ul 4erman novel abroad since Batrick SAskind7s Ber"ume 0'as Bar"um1. he popularity o" the book has also undoubtedly in"luenced 9ollywood production company (irama52s decision to ac#uire the "ilm rights and the services o" Iscar? winning director and writer+ Anthony (inghella+ who so success"ully adapted another literary work "or the screen+ (ichael Indaat8e2s 1999:D=1. he )nglish Batient 09art

!n this paper+ our particular concern is with a criti#ue o" the theme o" reading and writing ? or literacy ? as it emerges in he 3eader. his concern arises "irst out

>

J o" the simple "act that 9anna Schmit@2s illiteracy+ and her desire to conceal it+ provides the rationale "or the novel2s entire plot. Schlink himsel" has also admitted that there is serious moral intent behind his treatment o" literacy: it is the metaphorical vehicle he choses to e5plore public attitudes to+ and individual responsibility "or+ the ini#uities o"

>

the 4erman past. As the author told the

elegraph (aga@ine+ 9anna2s illiteracy is

symptomatic not only o" post?war 4erman secrecy but also o" those who had 7"orgotten their moral alphabet during the war7 09art 1999:D-1. An ampli"ication o" this assertion is provided in a statement which Schlink made "ollowing a public reading o" his novel. Asked why he had chosen to make his "emale protaganist an illiterate+ Schlink replied that+ "or him+ the inability to read and write was an inability 7to spell out the elemental7 07)lementares @u buchstabieren71+ i.e. to

di""erentiate between right and wrong 0/anthak 199D1. *y implication+ there"ore+ any 8udgement on the depiction o" literacy can shed light on the novel2s credibility+ as A. S. *yatt correctly recognised when she came down unambiguously in "avour o" the book: 7 he metaphor works because we believe in 9anna as an individual woman who cannot read7 0199C:J11.

he view that Schlink has created a wholly credible portrayal o" the rami"ications o" an individual2s struggle with their inability to read and write has also gained credence beyond the arguably narrow hori@ons o" literary criticism+ and is testimony to the book2s broad and international impact. For us+ this is best and most remarkably e5empli"ied by the "act that he 3eader is directly #uoted by Sir %laus

(oser+ %hairman o" the *asic Skills Agency in the ,/+ in his 1999 report "or the 'epartment "or )ducation and )mployment 0'"))1 entitled !mproving &iteracy and 6umeracy "or Adults: A Fresh Start. !n his Foreword+ (oser comments 0pE1:

:e are at pains in the 3eport to show how serious the conse#uences o" poor or limited basic skills are "or society+ "or the economy+ and ? always at the "ore"ront o" our thinking ? "or "amilies and individuals. At their most severe+ the handicaps "or the individual can be devastating. ! can2t put this better than by #uoting "rom the remarkable recent novel by *ernhard Schlink

9 he 3eader 0199J1:

1=

K! read the note and was "illed with 8oy and 8ubilation. LShe can write+ she can writeM2 !n these years ! had read everything ! could lay my hands on to do with illiteracy. ! knew about the helplessness in everyday activities+ "inding one2s way or "inding an address or choosing a meal in a restaurant+ about how illiterates an5iously stick to prescribed patterns and "amiliar routines+ about how much energy it takes to conceal one2s inability to read and write+ energy lost to actual living. !lliteracy is dependence. *y "inding the courage to learn to read and write+ 9anna had advanced "rom dependence to independence+ a step towards liberation.K

*ut even when the problem is less e5treme+ it NilliteracyO limits a person2s chance to get a 8ob or+ i" in a 8ob+ to achieve promotion and change. And it can close many doors to a "ull li"e. !ndeed there can hardly be a surer way to social e5clusion. (oreover hard economic issues are involved. !mproving their basic skills can enable people to earn more+ to spend more+ to help the economy to grow "aster. he bene"its to industry and the economy may

be hard to calculate+ but they must be vast. !t is a state o" a""airs that cannot be allowed to continue+ and our 3eport proposes a wide? ranging approach to the challenge.

:e cite this passage in "ull in order to illustrate the signi"icance o" our second main reason "or attempting a criti#ue o" literacy in the novel. !" he 3eader is having such a remarkable resonance in the Loutside world2 inso"ar as a *ritish government agency is citing the book in order to substantiate its claims regarding the impact o" illiteracy on real people2s lives+ and thereby 8usti"ying actual policy?making+ then there is a compelling need to sub8ect the approach to literacy as it emerges in the novel to close and critical scrutiny.

11

he remainder o" our paper is divided into three sections+ and aims to combine narrative analysis with theoretical insights "rom branches o" applied linguistics concerned with the study o" literacy. A"ter sketching+ in Section wo+

the theme o" literacy as presented in the book+ Section hree outlines key linguistic issues+ comparing and contrasting popular views o" reading and writing with those put "orward more recently within the so?called L6ew &iteracy Studies2. his

then provides the "ramework "or Section Four in which we undertake a critical reappraisal o" the theme o" literacy as it emerges "rom a close te5tual analysis o" the novel.

>. &iteracy and !lliteracy in 3eader

he

he importance o" the theme o" literacy is signalled immediately in the title o" the book. he eponymous reader is the narrator o" the tale+ (ichael *erg+ a

divorced legal historian in his early <=s+ who looks back on his "ate"ul association with 9anna Schmit@+ some >= years his senior+ which began when he was a boy o" 1< in the late 19<=s.< Following a chance encounter when (ichael is violently sick in the street+ 9anna comes to his assistance and several months later seduces him. his act is

a prelude to a summer o" clandestine meetings when 9anna returns "rom her early morning shi"t as a tram conductor. heir almost daily bouts o" lovemaking settle

#uickly into a ritualised routine: he reads aloud to her+ they shower+ and then have se5+ whereby 9anna2s 8usti"ication "or having (ichael read to her is: 7.ou have such a nice voice+ kid+ !2d rather listen to you than read ... mysel".7 0'u hast so eine schPne Stimme+ Jungchen+ ich mag dir lieber @uhPren als selbst lesen1 0p-=/-E1.D

<

1> (ichael is so consumed with erotic desire that he "ails to Lread2 a number o" rather obvious clues in the te5t that pre"igure the later shocking revelation that 9anna is in "act illiterate. She asks him his name+ "or e5ample+ when it is clearly on view on the e5ercise books he carries under his arm or places on her kitchen table 0pE>/E<1 and

<

1E

she "ails to respond to his love letters 0p-C/<=1. :hen they go on a cycling trip together+ she leaves the map?reading+ direction?"inding+ the written registration in the hotel+ and even the perusal o" the menu to him on the prete5t that she is either too e5cited or is en8oying not having to worry hersel" with such matters 0pp<=? >/<>?-1. (ore alarmingly+ her seeming inability to decipher a note (ichael has le"t her+ e5plaining his early morning absence "rom the hotel room+ occasions a violent assault on him during which 9anna whips him about the "ace with a leather belt. he ever compliant+ subservient boy is+ however+ willing to accept her e5cuse that she had not seen the note 0p<-/<D1. A "urther important scene in this conte5t is when 9anna visits (ichael at his parents2 house and is unable to conceal her "eelings o" unease when con"ronted with the assembled shelves o" published erudition that make up the library o" his "ather+ a /antian philosopher: 7She "elt like an intruder in our house7 0Sie "Ahlte sich bei mir @u 9ause als )indringling1 0pD1/D>1. (ichael2s own secret li"e is brought to an abrupt end+ and with it the "irst part o" the novel+ when+ "ollowing his gauche unwillingness to acknowledge her une5pected appearance at the local open air swimming baths that he "re#uents with his school? "riends+ 9anna vanishes under mysterious circumstances. (ichael2s en#uiries reveal that she has resigned her 8ob with the local transport company and le"t town.

he second part o" the novel is set in the mid?19D=s.

ogether with a number o"

other women who were concentration camp guards in occupied Boland+ 9anna has been arraigned on war crime charges. Speci"ically+ the guards are alleged to have been responsible "or the death o" several hundred women prisoners whom they were guarding on one o" the death marches that were such a terrible "eature o" the last months o" the war. !ne5plicably the women are le"t locked in a church which su""ers a direct hit and burns down during an Allied air raid 0pp1=E?D/1=1?E1. he

1"act that in the camp 9anna is also alleged to have selected a number o" Lspecial2 inmates ? all "emale ? to spend the evenings with her+ thereby postponing by one month their

1<

eventual murder in Auschwit@+ is adduced as particularly damning evidence. Although it is implied by the prosecution lawyers that these special prisoners were there to grant 9anna se5ual "avours+ it emerges that they were in "act brought in to read aloud to her 0pp11-?D/11>?E1. From his vantage point in the court+ (ichael watches the case un"old+ belatedly recognises 9anna2s inability to read and write+ and slowly comes to understand the role which illiteracy has played in her li"e.

9anna2s shame at being unable to read or write is presented very much as the single de"ining aspect o" her li"e and the "actor which has directly led to her court appearance and subse#uent li"e?time o" incarceration. 9er "eelings o" inade#uacy and the concomitant desire to keep her secret are shown+ "or e5ample+ to have limited her pro"essional opportunities. hey account+ "irst and most "ate"ully+ "or her decision

in the autumn o" 19-E to 8oin the SS and become a camp guard "irst in Auschwit@ and then in a small camp near %racow until the last winter o" the war+ rather than take a 8ob as a "orewoman when it is o""ered her in the Siemens "actory where she is employed at the time 0p9E?</91?E1.J A"ter the war+ her decision to #uit the local transport company when an opportunity arises to retrain "rom tram

conductor to driver is e5plained in similar terms 0pC=/C=1. !n each case+ it is suggested that 9anna is avoiding promotion to new 8obs because the presumably more advanced levels o" literacy they re#uired would make it no longer possible "or her to conceal her de"iciency 0pp1E1?E/1>D?91.

&ater in the novel+ 9anna2s illiteracy is also portrayed as e5acerbating her already precarious situation+ putting some o" her actions both in the run?up to the trial and during her actual court appearance in a damning light. She ignores+ "or e5ample+ a series o" o""icial letters and summonses+ and this is used by the presiding 8udge as 8usti"ication to re"use a later petition "or bail 0p9D/9-1. She puts her signature 0sicM1 to a written testimony+ thereby giving her assent to what proves to be misleading

1D and incriminating evidence 0p1=C/1=<1. (ost signi"icantly+ she even per8ures hersel" in

1J

order to conceal her inability to read and write+ when she agrees that she is in "act the author o" an o""icial written report on the church "ire 0p1>C/1>-1. !t is this last act which arguably convinces the court that she is+ in the words o" one o" her dissembling co?de"endants+ 2the guilty one+ she did it all ...2 0an allem Schuld+ sie allein ...1 0p1></1>11.

!n %hapter Five o" the third part o" the novel ? and by now eight years into 9anna2s li"e sentence ? (ichael renews strictly limited contact with his "ormer lover. 9e decides to send her his taped readings o" some o" the standard works o" literature which+ as he himsel" maintains+ Ltesti"y to a great and "undamental con"idence in bourgeois culture2 0weisen ... ein groQes bildungsbArgerliches ,rvertrauen aus1 0p1CE/1JD1. hese Lgreat2 te5ts include the Idyssey+ and works by Schnit@ler+ %hekhov+ /eller+ Fontane+ 9eine and (Prike+ although (ichael consciously e5cludes any more contemporary writer he considers too e5perimental 0pp1C>?E/1J<?D1. :hen 9anna petitions "or clemency and is subse#uently set "ree+ (ichael "inally visits her in prison on the eve o" her release at the instigation o" the authorities who have solicited his assistance+ as 9anna2s only known contact in the outside world+ in smoothing her return to society. he ne5t day he returns

having been in"ormed that 9anna has hanged hersel" at dawn. (ichael now learns "rom the prison2s governess that his tapes were central to 9anna2s subse#uent ac#uisition o" literacy+ 9anna having borrowed books "rom the library and repeatedly "ollowed his recorded readings o" them until she learned to read "or hersel" 0p>=-/19<1. Finally+ (ichael is charged with carrying out one o" 9anna2s last wishes: the trans"er o" her li"e?savings to the sole survivor o" the church "ire whom he visits in 6ew .ork. he survivor+ who remains largely unreconciled+ asks

(ichael to dispose o" the money suitably+ and he suggests it might go to an organisation working in the cause o" adult literacy within the Jewish community+ although she e5presses her doubts as to whether illiteracy is in "act 7a Jewish problem7 and whether such an organisation there"ore e5ists 0p>1E/>=E?-1.

1C

E. heorising 0!l1literacy: the 6ew &iteracy Studies

Schlink+ then+ sees the events which in"luence the course o" 9anna2s li"e 0and death1+ thereby driving the plot o" he 3eader+ as primarily determined by the

character2s inability to read and write. 9ad she been literate+ 9anna would not have been "orced to leave her 8ob as tram conductor+ putting such an abrupt end to her relationship with (ichael. Similarly+ in the earlier part o" her li"e+ had she been able to read and write+ 9anna could have accepted promotion at Siemens and avoided 8oining the SS. I" course+ remaining at Siemens would by no means have guaranteed an apolitical biography+ although throughout the novel+ there is the implication that literacy might have a""orded 9anna the more general heightened moral awareness which could have enabled her to eschew involvement with the 6a@i machinery ? a crucial point to which we shall return in Section Four.

:hilst these may appear to be "airly grand claims on behal" o" the conse#uences o" reading and writing in the biography o" an individual ? and+ by implication+ a whole society ? they do in "act "it neatly with mainstream discourses surrounding literacy across the centuries. According to the linguist 4ee 0199=:E>1:

he claims that have been made "or literacy in the traditional sense o" the Lability to write and read2 are nearly limitless. Such literacy is claimed to lead to logical+ analytic+ critical and rational thinking+ general and abstract uses o" language+ a skeptical and #uestioning attitude+ a distinction between myth and history+ the recognition o" the importance o" time and space+ comple5 and modern state1+ governments 0with separation o" church and

political democracy and greater social e#uity+ economic

development+ wealth and productivity+ political stability+ urbani@ation+ and

19 contraception 0a lower birth rate1. !t is also supposed to lead to people who are innovative+ achievement oriented+ productive+ cosmopolitan+ media and politically aware+ more globally

>=

0nationally and internationally1 and less locally oriented+ with more liberal and human social attitudes+ less likely to commit a crime+ and more likely to take education+ and the rights and duties o" citi@enship+ seriously. he

common popular and scholarly conception that literacy has such power"ul e""ects as these constitutes what 9arvey 4ra"" has called the Lliteracy myth2.

his Lliteracy myth2 is closely related to the view o" reading and writing which Street 019C-1 has re"erred to as the Lautonomous model2. Such a model posits literacy as an independent variable+ the presence or absence o" which can be measured in terms o" its impact on individuals and societies+ usually in terms o" some "orm o" economic 7takeo""7 0see+ "or e5ample+ 4reen"ield 19J>H 4oody 19DC+ 19JJ1. !t is important to emphasise at this 8uncture that only i" we consider literacy to be a discrete entity+ detachable "rom the people who use it+ is it possible to talk in terms o" the kinds o" causal relationships which 4ee describes above and which are implied in both he (oser 3eport and he 3eader.

!n linguistic terms+ this autonomous model o" literacy is rooted in the theoretical distinction between speech and writing. Speech+ it is typically argued+ is located in the Lhere and now2. !n conversation+ "or e5ample+ participants share a physical conte5t enabling them to point to their surroundings or draw on paralinguistic "eatures such as intonation and body language. :hen writing+ by contrast+ participants are separated in time and space. !n order to communicate success"ully+ they must appreciate that this lack o" shared conte5t re#uires a modi"ied use o" language. !n practice+ this might mean avoiding ambiguous uses o" those linguistic structures which will not survive the transition to the other time and place in which readers will be located+ "or e5ample+ deictic "orms such as Lhe/they2+ Lnow/then2 or Lhere/there2. All in all+ the implication is that speech is spontaneous+ unplanned

1=

>1 and chaotic+ whilst writing is both 7deconte5tualised7 and 7e5plicit7. )""ective written communication there"ore

re#uires the kind o" pre?planning that can only stem "rom a cognit ive ability on the part o"

1=

>>

writers to detach themselves "rom the immediate conte5t o" their messages 0see *arton 199-: C1?9-1.

!t is this distinction between speech and writing which has "re#uently been used to 8usti"y the Lgreat divide2 between oral and literate cultures. 4iven their speakers2 purported inability to transcend the here and now+ it is o"ten suggested how oral cultures are destined to remain at the level o" the primitive and pre?logical. !n literate cultures+ by contrast+ language users have learned to deconte5tualise and make more e5plicit those messages they wish to convey in writing. his+ in turn+ is what "urnishes the capacity "or abstract reasoning+ rational thought and moral 8udgement+ #ualities which are also thought to e5plain the structural superiority o" literate cultures in social+ political and economic terms.

3ecently+ many linguists+ ethnographers and anthropologists+ working within a paradigm now generally re"erred to as the 76ew &iteracy Studies7+ have begun to #uestion this autonomous view and the claims "re#uently made on behal" o" reading and writing 0see+ "or e5ample+ *arton 199-H *arton and 9amilton 199CH %lark and !vani 199JH 9eath 19CEH Scribner and %ole 19C1H and Street 19C-1. Ine claim particularly held up "or scrutiny relates to the proposed cognitive bene"its o" literacy. his+ in turn+ takes us back to the theoretical distinction between speech and writing+ albeit in the conte5t o" much wider debates about meaning?making in society generally.C

!n short: it is the idea that reading and writing are inherently conte5t?"ree+ whereas speech is conte5t?bound+ which does not stand up to closer scrutiny. So+ "or e5ample+ there are many situations where success"ul spoken communication will depend on the

11

>E speaker2s ability to provide essential conte5tual in"ormation+ e.g. lectures and answerphone messages+ not to mention witness statements "or legal purposes. *y contrast+ there are many types o" written language where conte5tual cues can be

11

>-

rather more taken "or granted+ e.g. the writing o" personal letters or notes+ e?mails and "a5es. hus+ even though it might be conceded that writing and speech occupy either end o" a continuum in terms o" the need "or deconte5tualisation and e5plicitness+ all instances o" language usage are ultimately situated within a conte5t o" a sort 0*arton 199-: C1?9-1. he idea that some types o" language usage can+ in certain

circumstances+ be conte5t?"ree is simply "allacious.

6ew communication technologies have undoubtedly played their part in blurring the more traditional distinctions between speech and writing. So+ "or e5ample+ answerphone messages may demand a level o" e5plicitness typically reserved "or writing+ whereas email messages might be more akin to "ace?to?"ace interactions. 9owever+ it is important not to attribute such recon"igurations o" the speech/writing dichotomy as e5clusively technology?driven. his is because+ in the same way that

the meaning o" conversational speech has always 0and indisputably1 been the product o" interaction between the speaker and the listener+ the 6ew &iteracy Studies has as its main tenet the notion that meaning?making in written language is similarly the product o" both writer and reader. typically associated with >=th?century theorists such as *akhtin+ yet the debate is much older ? one only needs to think o" Blato2s "utile attempts in he 3epublic to retain control over those readers2 interpretations o" his writings which were at odds with his own 0see 4ee 199=:E>?D "or discussion1. his Ldialogic2 view o" language is

o return to the #uestion o" the cognitive impact o" literacy+ we have shown how the claim that writing is deconte5tualised and e5plicit+ whereas speech is not+ is ultimately misleading. %onse#uently+ the idea that an inabilit y to read and write necessarily denies the language user the capacity "or abstraction+ rationality and ? crucially ?

1>

>< moral 8udgement is similarly problematic. !ndeed+ studies o" predominantly oral cultures have demonstrated how deconte5tualisation and e5plicitness are in "act characteristic o" many genres o" speech+ such as oral poetry and history. !t seems that the Lproblem2

1>

>D

is not that language users in predominantly oral cultures are unable to deconte5tualise their own uses o" spoken language+ but that the ethnocentricity o" many o" the anthropologists studying them led to a "ailure to recognise this ability 0see+ "or e5ample+ Street2s discussion o" 4reen"ield2s work on :olo" children in Senegal+ 19C-:19?>-1.

he main theoretical impetus "or the 6ew &iteracy Studies is+ then+ that any attempt to e5plore the "unctions and meanings o" reading and writing must take into account the conte5t0s1 in which literacy is both ac#uired and used. o apply

the associated terminology: literacy events 0actual instances o" reading and writing1 are always shaped by literacy practices 0the associated values and attitudes which surround them1 0see *arton and 9amilton 199C:D?1E "or a detailed discussion1. !n turn+ those literacy practices are embedded in speci"ic historical+ cultural and social conte5ts. (oreover+ such conte5ts are themselves rooted in broader ideological discourses ? ideological in the sense that they are related to 7generali@ations ... about the way0s1 in which KgoodsK are distributed in society7 04ee 199=:>E1. !t was Street 019C-1 who "irst developed this Lideological model o" literacy2 in his comparative analysis o" literacy practices in !ranian villages throughout the 19J=s. Ither+ similarly conte5tualised approaches include Scribner and %ole2s 019C11 study o" reading and writing among the ;ai in :est A"rica+ 9eath2s 019CE1 analysis o" the relationship between home and school? based literacy practices in three communities in the ,S+ and *arton and 9amilton2s 0199C1 in?depth account o" literacy practices in &ancaster+ a small city in the north? west o" )ngland with appro5imately <=+=== inhabitants.

!" it is possible to draw one single conclusion "rom this growing body o" literature it is

1E

>J ? ironically perhaps ? that wholesale generalisations about the impact o" literacy on the everyday lives o" ordinary people are largely untenable. hus+ the signi"icance o" literacy "or a given community can never be "ully captured without a detailed account o" the broader conte5ts in which literacy practices are situated. Similarly+ i" the aim is

1E

>C

to trace the impact o" literacy ? or illiteracy ? on the li"e o" an individual+ then the place to begin is with a description o" literacy practices in the biography o" that person.

-. 9anna !lliterateR

Schmit@:

An

!mmoral

So what+ precisely+ do we learn about the li"e o" 9anna Schmit@ in and the reasons why she cannot read or writeR

he 3eader

he biographical in"ormation with

which we are "urnished is at best sketchy. As "ar as 9anna2s childhood is concerned+ we are told very little beyond a passing re"erence to her growing up in a 4erman? speaking minority community in 3omania prior to her relocation to *erlin at the age o" 1J in 19E9 0pEJ/-=1. 4iven that no other e5planation is on o""er+ it remains "or the reader to speculate as to whether and how her ethnic background+ together with her decision to move to 4ermany at such a crucial point in history+ might be related to her inability to read and write.

*ut what e5actly is illiteracy+ this awesome no man2s land which 9anna appears to occupy "or most o" her li"e+ yet eventually manages to "leeR !" he 3eader raises many unanswered #uestions about the causes o" 9anna2s problem+ it is e#ually uncertain when it comes to a clear e5plication o" that problem. his is curious when one considers that Schlink2s (ichael *erg took the trouble in the years "ollowing 9anna2s imprisonment to read all the available literature on illiteracy 0p1CD/1JC1. A "ew e5amples "rom the te5t+ particularly those relating to 9anna2s working li"e would seem to suggest that+ "or all his research+ (ichael would have struggled to "ind a convincing de"inition o" the e5tent to which his "ormer lover was truly illiterate.

1-

>9

As a tram conductor+ "or instance+ 9anna would have been e5pected to sell and inspect tickets as well as deal e5tensively with timetables. (oreover+ the de"inition o" illiteracy on o""er in the book would not appear to concern itsel" with the related issue

1-

E=

o" numeracy+ yet some degree o" numeracy is invariably re#uired when working with such tickets and timetables. Similarly+ one is "orced to wonder in what ways the literacy/numeracy skills o" a tram conductor are so radically di""erent "rom those o" a driver that her promotion to the latter would have compromised her terrible secret. As to 9anna2s uses o" literacy in other aspects o" her daily li"e+ e.g. shopping lists+ household bills+ aide memoires etc+ we can only speculate. &ess speculative is the #uestion o" how she was able to so scrupulously manage the mandatory registration and re?registration with the 4erman police which her numerous changes o" address would have necessitated+ and which even her de"ence attorney was to adduce as evidence to support his application "or bail+ albeit unsuccess"ully 0p9</9E1.

4oing back in time to 9anna2s li"e be"ore and during the war+ similar #uestions remain unanswered with respect to her career change "rom Siemens2 employee to concentration camp guard. :hilst the SS may not have been overly circumspect in its choice o" personnel+ as Frederic 3aphael acerbically notes: 7... are we seriously to believe that 9anna could have been recruited without so much as "illing in an entry "ormR7 0199Ca: EE1. 4iven+ moreover+ that one o" the de"ining "eatures o" the 9olocaust was its vast bureaucratic machinery+ it is similarly di""icult to imagine 9anna being able to per"orm her duties without some level o" literacy: one need think only o" the endless lists o" prisoners2 names with which she would have routinely dealt. Finally+ as with her re8ection o" promotion in the tram company+ we are le"t to wonder in what ways 8oining the SS would have guaranteed that her secret be any sa"er than in her previous 8ob at Siemens.

his "u@@y boundary between total illiteracy+ on the one hand+ and some unde"ined though presumably de"icient level o" literacy+ on the other+ becomes even more apparent when one adopts the conte5tualised view o" speci"ic literacy events recommended by the 6ew &iteracy Studies. As we have seen+ reading and writing

1<

E1 are not deconte5tualised activities+ and conte5t?based clues invariably serve to "acilitate

1<

E>

the process o" making sense o" words on a page.

he novel o""ers a number o"

episodes which become problematical once we take this into account. Berhaps the best e5ample is the note that (ichael leaves 9anna during their cycling trip and which prompts her vicious assault on him. (ichael2s absence "rom the room+ together with the presence o" a piece o" paper on the table+ provide crucial conte5tual cues. hus+ leaving a note is standard procedure when an e5planation "or one2s absence cannot be communicated verbally. %learly the in"erences which 9anna might draw "rom the e5istence o" such a note are open+ but (ichael2s return with break"ast and a rose should have been su""icient to allay her worst "ears and to prevent her brutal attack 0p<>/<-1. *esides+ one might have thought that 9anna2s li"etime o" concealing her Ldisability2 would have e#uipped her with the wherewithal to cope with such a situation. !nconsistencies o" this nature in the plot o" he 3eader are not trivial+

nor should one overlook them: they are in keeping with the widely?held autonomous view o" literacy+ which "ails to take into account the broader conte5ts surrounding literacy events and practices.

he insights o" the 6ew &iteracy Studies can also be used to shed a more di""erentiated light on other aspects o" the book+ with the shame surrounding 9anna2s purported illiteracy being one o" the more obvious e5amples. 'espite the "act that some adults undoubtedly go to considerable lengths to cope with 0and even hide1 their di""iculties with literacy+ it is interesting to note that ethnographic studies o" community literacy rarely "ind supposed Lilliterates2 identi"ying with the negative images popularly presented o" them in+ say+ the media. I"ten such individuals genuinely believe those images to re"er to others+ and where they do need help with reading or writing+ they tend to call upon the assistance o" "riends+ neighbours and "amily+ "re#uently as part o" a network o" contacts where a variety o" skills are e5changed 0*arton+ 199-H *arton and 9amilton+ 199C1. his more

collaborative view o" literacy again con"licts with Schlink2s depiction according to

1D

EE which the individual shame surrounding illiteracy ought in itsel" to motivate a desire "or remedial action.

1D

E-

As an e5asperated (ichael re"lects on 9anna2s arraignment: had she devoted hal" as much energy into ac#uiring literacy skills as she had into her e""orts at concealment+ her li"e could have been so very di""erent 0p1EJ/1E>1. !nterestingly+ it is precisely Schlink2s evocation o" 7the subter"uges+ the evasions imposed on the illiterate by their inade#uacy7 which A. S. *yatt "ound so praiseworthy 0199C:J11. And+ as we saw in the e5cerpt "rom he (oser 3eport in the !ntroduction+ the

passage depicting (ichael2s 8ubilant discovery in Bart hree o" the book that 9anna can now read and write+ a"ter years o" wasted energy lost to actual living+ has had e5traordinary international resonance.

Ince 9anna is able to read and write+ the issue o" what she reads gains immediate relevance "or an understanding o" the novel. 9ere we encounter another popular discourse surrounding reading and writing+ which *arton re"ers to as the Lliterary view o" literacy2 0199-:1DC?J=1. his is a de"inition o" literacy as emanating "rom an e5posure to literature+ which in itsel" is "re#uently reduced to so?called Lcreative2 or Limaginative2 writing. !t is+ moreover+ a view that is closely linked to the notion o" a Lcanon2 o" great books with which any cultured person should be "amiliar.

!n the conte5t o" the story+ 9anna2s inability to read has meant that over the years she has been denied direct access to Lgreat literature2. his+ she believes to be a

huge de"icit in the light o" her very real hunger "or the vicarious pleasures that literary works would a""ord her. !t is this hunger+ in turn+ which underpins her desperate measures to enlist the help o" third parties in order to mediate to her the imaginative reality o" "iction. !n the concentration camp+ "or e5ample+ she coerces inmates to accept a temporary reprieve "rom the gas chambers whilst+ in the case o" (ichael+ she seduces a minor. 6ot only is 9anna illiterate+ Schlink would

1J

E< appear to suggest+ she is morally illiterate to boot.

1J

ED

he world o" books is one "rom which 9anna is e5cluded to the e5tent that she "eels an Lintruder2 on the one occasion she is permitted entry to (ichael2s house+ replete with bourgeois *iedermeier trappings and+ most signi"icantly+ the impressive library belonging to (ichael2s "ather+ Bro"essor *erg 0pp<J?D>/<C?D>1. 9anna+ it seems+ is not only ashamed o" her illiteracy+ she is also at least partly ashamed at her lack o" 7*ildung7: the "amiliarity with 4erman culture as contained in some o" its seminal literary works. Schlink thus appears to be drawing on the literary view o" literacy+ e""ectively con"lating the inability to read and write with a lack o" schooling and a concomitant un"amiliarity with the canon o" high literary culture. his+ in turn+ raises a more comple5 dimension to the novel+ which has been touched on in the "oregoing and which we now need to e5plore in greater detail: the ne5us between literacy+ on the one hand+ and the cognitive capacity "or aesthetic and moral 8udgement+ on the other.

he te5ts which (ichael chooses to read to 9anna during the "irst+ into5icating phase o" their relationship are highly signi"icant. hey are taken+ as be"its a grammar school boy o" his middle?class background in the 19<=s+ "rom the canon o" 4erman literature2s classical age. he illiterate 9anna+ by contrast+ is depicted not only as

unable to read those te5ts+ but also incapable o" a response ade#uate to the )nlightenment values which they contain. I" particular interest are Schlink2s interte5tual evocations o" 4otthold )phraim &essing2s domestic tragedy o" 1JJ>+ )milia 4alo tti+ and Friedrich Schiller2s /abale und &iebe 0!ntrigue and &ove1 o" 1JC-. :hat these 1Cth?century plays have in common is a heroine who+ the victim o" machinations and engineered errors+ submits hersel" to a tragic "ate rather than compromise her personal integrity. 9anna+ however+ "inds both heroines2 actions implausible and risible+ with the clear implication that she simply cannot understand the moral imperative which drives their behaviour 0pp-=?1/->?-1. he

illiterate+ we are there"ore led to in"er+ is not only unable to read and write+ but also

1C

EJ has a stunted aesthetic 8udgement which+ more signi"icantly+ is accompanied by an inability to

1C

EC

comprehend the moral dimension inherent in great literature.

his contrasts

noticeably with the new model 9anna who+ once she has learned to read and write+ begins sending notes to (ichael+ in which her comments on the various literary te5ts she reads are+ in his 8udgement: Lo"ten right on the mark2 0N!hre *emerkungen Aber &iteraturO tra"en 0p1CJ/1J91. o"t erstaunlich genau.1

As soon as 9anna has learned to read she begins to "ill the gaps in her education relating to the historical events into which she allegedly stumbled inadvertently. In the shelves o" 9anna2s prison cell (ichael sees not the books he read aloud "or her+ but the multi?"aceted literature o" the 9olocaust: LBrimo &evi+ )lie :iesel+ adeus@ *orowski+ Jean AmFry ? the literature o" the victims+ ne5t to the autobiography o" 3udol" 9Pss+ 9annah Arendt2s report on )ichmann in Jerusalem+ and scholarly literature on the camps2 0p>=E/19E1.9 !t is reasonably sa"e to assume that the interte5tual re"erence to Arendt7s book is meant to remind us that one o" the essential "eatures o" those such as )ichmann+ who played a ma8or role in the Levil2 o" the so? called Final Solution+ was their Lbanality2H the latter attribute lending itsel" particularly well to a characterisation o" 9anna. I" the Lvictims2 named+ it is also signi"icant that each produced in a variety o" literary "orms seminal accounts o" the brutality and inhumanity o" li"e in Auschwit@+ one o" the camps in which 9anna worked and where 9Pss was commandant.1= hese te5ts she later supplemented with the help o" a specialist bibliography on women in the camps ? both prisoners and guards ? provided at her re#uest by the prison7s governess.

!n view o" 9anna2s "inal act+ it is also noteworthy that two o" the Jewish writers whose works she reads committed suicide+ namely AmFry and &evi 0though speculation continues to surround the latter2s death1. his not only o""ers

an important contrast with the two 6a@i perpetrators+ 9Pss and )ichmann ? both

19

E9 o" whom were e5ecuted+ insisting that their participation in the crimes o" the hird 3eich arose "rom a duty to obey orders ? but also begs the #uestion as to the motivation "or

19

-=

9anna2s suicide and whether it is in any way related to the new autodidactic insights which literacy a""orded her.

:hilst recognising the validity o" alternative interpretations we would argue that a clear in"erence can be drawn "rom an analysis o" the book2s central metaphor: that the literate/educated 9anna is morally better e#uipped to recognise the conse#uences o" her actions and thus accept her guilt. he logical corollary o" this interpretation would be to view her suicide as an act o" atonement. his reading

would+ moreover+ appear be in line with the author2s own insistence that he wanted to depict 9anna as having paid "or her crimes. 'e"ending himsel" against the charge o" Lwhitewashing2 in the novel+ he told the punishment. elegraph (aga@ine: L! believe in

here must be punishment2 09art 1999:D-1. 9owever+ i" this is indeed

the interpretation the author intended+ then we see a number o" problems.

<. %oncluding 3emarks

:hat are undoubtedly the tangible bene"its o" literacy are not at issue in this paper. !rrespective o" the competing de"initions o" literacy outlined+ we would not want to deny that being able to read and write "acilitates the personal and educational development o" an individual. he crucial point relates to the novel2s

suggestion as to where a li"e con"igured with an absence o" literacy might lead someone. *y sub8ecting he 3eader to a close te5tual analysis in the conte5t o" insights "rom the 6ew &iteracy Studies+ we hope to have shown how the credibility o" Schlink2s portrayal o" illiteracy begins to unravel.

:e have seen+ "or e5ample+ how the depiction o" 9anna as a "ull?blown illiterate is "lawed with plot?based inconsistencies. (ore signi"icantly+ her illiteracy is

>=

inade#uate as an e5planation "or many o" her actions: it accounts neither "or the

-1 abuse and e5ploitation o" her innocent victims be"ore she delivers them to the crematoria+ nor

>=

->

does it remotely e5plain why 9anna simply abrogates all moral responsibility and basic humanity+ leaving hundreds o" women to die a horrible death. A"ter all+ given that at least one o" the other e#ually guilty guards was su""iciently literate to produce the report that 9anna admits to writing in order to conceal her shame+ the presence o" literacy is #uite obviously no guarantor o" moral conduct.

For all Schlink2s worthy intent when e5ploring the moral analphabetism o" an individual perpetrator o" a war crime+ his decision to personi"y such a moral de"icit in an illiterate protagonist is+ we believe+ hugely problematic. !ndeed when e5amined within its own "rame o" re"erence+ whereby illiteracy and immorality are ultimately con"lated in the character o" 9anna+ the novel leads to some rather uncom"ortable conclusions. First+ the use o" the illiteracy metaphor would seem to inadvertently con"er a victim status on 9anna and raises the #uestion as to whether her educational disadvantages in any way e5onerate her "rom guilt. Second+ her dramatic suicide at the end o" the novel risks her elevation to the status o" tragic heroine. )ither way+ 9anna emerges as a rather piti"ul "igure+ at times more sinned against than sinning in the light o" her one tragic "law+ illiteracy. :hen one considers the "acts that have emerged "rom the vast body o" historical studies on the 9olocaust+ this runs dangerously close to providing an e5culpatory and redemptive narrative. !nterestingly+ A. S. *yatt also sees ? though re8ects ? the possibility o" such an interpretation. he illiteracy metaphor+ she argues+ 7could so easily have

been a device "or letting o"" the guilty ? here was someone who could not read the signs+ who was there"ore in some sense not guilty7 0199C:J11. *yatt+ however+ remains convinced that the strength o" the book is that this is not the case: 7 he metaphor works because we believe in 9anna as an individual woman who cannot read7 0ibid1. :e would beg to di""er+ thereby dealing with our "irst motivation "or analysing the book as outlined in our !ntroduction+ namely the e""icacy or otherwise o" the literacy metaphor.

>1

-E

his brings us to our second and "inal concern+ namely the huge international resonance o" he 3eader+ particularly its citation by Sir %laus (oser in his report "or the *asic Skills Agency. !t is important to state that we in no way wish to imply that the Agency2s work subscribes entirely to the rather unsatis"actory views o" literacy which we have identi"ied in the novel. !ndeed+ the subse#uent consultation document produced in the autumn o" 1999 by the Suali"ications and %urriculum Authority 0S%A1 in many ways re"lects the more di""erentiated conte5t?based view o" literacy advocated here. 9owever+ given the considerable reservations we have e5pressed regarding the representation o" literacy ? and especially illiteracy ? in Schlink2s novel+ along with the victim status con"erred on a protagonist who is ultimately guilty o" an atrocious crime against humanity+ su""ice it to say that we consider the wholehearted recommendation o" (oser 3eport more than a little disconcerting. he 3eader contained in the he

>>

--

D. 3e"erences

Brimary Sources:

(oser+ %laus. 1999. !mproving &iteracy and 6umeracy: A Fresh Start.

he report

o" the working group chaired by Sir %laus (oser. &ondon: 'epartment "or )ducation and )mployment Bublications.

Suali"ications and %urriculum Authority 0S%A1. 1999. Adult *asic Skills Standards: A %onsultation. &ondon: S%A.

Schlink+ *ernhard. 199<. 'er ;orleser. TArich: 'iogenes.

Schlink+ *ernhard. 199J. he 3eader. ranslated by %arol *rown Janeway. &ondon: Bhoeni5 9ouse.

Secondary Sources: *arton+ 'avid. 199-. &iteracy: An !ntroduction to the )cology o" :ritten &anguage. I5"ord: *lackwell.

*arton+ 'avid+ and (ary 9amilton. 199C. &ocal &iteracies: 3eading and :riting in Ine %ommunity. &ondon: 3outledge.

*yatt+ A. S. 199C. he 3eader+ once more. Brospect 0April1+ J=?1.

%lark+ 3omy+ and 3o@ !vani 199J

he Bolitics o" :riting &ondon 3outledge.

>E

-<

Fulbrook+ (ary. 1999. 4erman 6ational !dentity a"ter the 9olocaust. I5"ord: Bolity Bress.

4ee+ James. 199=. Social &inguistics and &iteracies: !deology in 'iscourses. *asingstoke: Falmer Bress.

4oody+ Jack. 0ed.1. 19DC. &iteracy in raditional Societies. %ambridge: %,B. 4oody+ Jack. 19JJ. he 'omestication o" the Savage (ind. %ambridge: %,B. 4ra""+ 9arvey. 19J9. he &iteracy (yth: &iteracy and Social Structure in the 19th? century %ity. 6ew .ork: Academic Bress.

4reen"ield+ B. 19J>. Iral or :ritten &anguage:

he %onse#uences "or %ognitive

'evelopment in A"rica+ ,.S. and )ngland. &anguage and Speech 1<.

9art+ Josephine. 1999. September1+ D=?-.

he 3eader+

he :riter.

elegraph (aga@ine. 019

9eath+ Shirley *rice. 19CE. :ays with :ords. %ambridge: %,B.

/anthak+ 'ietmar. 199D. 4eschlossene 4esellscha"t. ;orleser *ernhard Schlink im Akademischen /unstmuseum. 4eneral?An@eiger *onn 01= July1+ 1>.

/Ahner+ %laudia. 1999. )in *uch geht um die :elt+ 3heinischer (erkur. 01D April1. 1C.

(a5+ '. . >===. he book maker: how Iprah :in"rey became the most

>-

-D power"ul player in American publishing. 4uardian >. 0E January1+ 1?E.

>-

-J

(osler+ Beter. 199D. )in 4enerationen?;or"all. Frank"urter 3undschau 0D January1. J.

Barkes+ Stuart. 199C.

he language o" the past: recent prose works by *ernhard

Schlink+ (arcel *eyer+ and Friedrich %hristian 'elius. !n Arthur :illiams+ Stuart Barkes+ and Julian Breece 0eds.1 L:hose StoryR2 ? %ontinuities in %ontemporary 4erman?language &iterature. *erne: Beter &ang+ 11<?1E>.

3aphael+ Frederic. 199Ca. Judge notR Brospect 0(arch1+ E=?E.

3aphael+ Frederic. 199Cb. Strictly personal. Frederic 3aphael2s monthly notebook. Brospect 0June1+ D<.

Schirrmacher+ Frank 0ed.1. 1999. 'ie :alser?*ubis?'ebatte. )ine 'okumentation. Frank"urt/(.: Suhrkamp.

Scribner+ Sylvia+ and (ichael %ole. 19C1.

he Bsychology o" &iteracy.

%ambridge+ (assachusetts: 9arvard ,niversity Bress.

Street+ *rian. 19C-. &iteracy in heory and Bractice. %ambridge: %,B.

><

-C

he Authors

Sally Johnson is Senior &ecturer in &inguistics at &ancaster ,niversity 0,/1 and works on language and society in the 4erman?speaking countries+ and language and gender. She is currently writing a book on the cultural politics o" the 199C re"orm o" 4erman orthography. Frank Finlay is Bro"essor o" 4erman at the ,niversity o" &eeds 0,/1. 9is research interests include the li"e and work o" 9einrich *Pll+ Austrian drama+ and post?19C9 4erman literature. Addresses "or correspondence: s.8ohnsonUlancaster.ac.uk and ".8."inlayUleeds.ac.uk.

6otes
1

Selbs Justi@ 019CJ+ 8ointly authored with :alter Bopp1, Schlei"e 0199=1 and Selbs *etrug 0199E1.
>

'ie gordische

)5amples include 'aniel 4oldhagen7s tour o" 4ermany to promote his book 9itler7s

:illing )5ecutioners 0/nop" 199D1 with its "ocus+ e5pressed in its subtitle+ on the role o" 7ordinary 4ermans and the 9olocaust7H the travelling e5hibition organised by the 9amburg !nstitute "or Social 3esearch on the war crimes o" the regular army 0;ernichtungskrieg. ;erbrechen der :ehrmacht1+ and the row over the plans "or a 79olocaust (emorial7 in *erlin 0see Fulbrook 1999: >>9?>E11. o this list can

be added the "urore unleashed by (artin :alser7s comments on the 9olocaust memorial in his Ictober 199C speech in acceptance o" the 4erman publishers7 Beace Bri@e 0see Schirrmacher 19991.

>D

-9
E

For e5ample+ (arcel *eyer2s Flughunde 0Suhrkamp 199<1 and Friedrich %hristian 'elius2s 'er Sonntag+ am dem ich :eltmeister wurde 03owohlt 199D1. Ine o" the

>D

<=

most widely discussed new books o" 199< was ;iktor /lemperer2s diaries !ch will Teugnis ablegen bis @um &et@ten. 19-<. agebAcher 19EE?

See+ "or e5ample+ (osler 0199D1 and the anonymous review in Focus -=+

199<+ p.1<-+ entitled 7'rama eines @erstPrten &ebens7.

<

!t is worth noting that the 4erman title+ 'er ;orleser+ unambiguously re"ers to

(ichael who reads aloud to 9anna+ given that 4erman distinguishes between Lto read2 0lesen1 and Lto read aloud2 0vorlesen1. his distinction is blurred ? perhaps even "elicitously ? in the )nglish translation+ either (ichael or 9anna. he 3eader+ whose re"erent could be

Bage numbers re"er "irst to the )nglish 0hardback1 translation and second to the 4erman 0paperback1 original.

Several reviewers have adduced two re"erences in the novel as evidence that

Schlink had+ at least in part+ modelled the character o" 9anna on a real li"e and notorious concentration camp guard+ 9ermine *rausteiner?3yan+ who served in 3avensbrAck+ having been recruited "rom a *erlin "actory at the age o" >1. She later trans"erred to the (a8danek e5termination camp where her particularly brutal behaviour brought her the sobri#uet 7the stomping mare7. !n 19J1 she was brought to 8ustice in a high?pro"ile case in 'Asseldor"+ "ollowing her e5tradition "rom the ,S. :hen asked in the novel by 9anna what animal he sees in his mind2s eye when he thinks o" her+ (ichael retorts 7a horse7 0pD9/D91. 'uring the trial+ one o" the witnesses "or the prosecution compares 9anna to a guard she had known at another camp+ who was re"erred to the 7mare7 0p11C/11<1. :e have as yet "ound no evidence

>J

<1 to suggest that this purported model "or Schlink2s character was illiterate.

>J

>C

!t is worth noting how the 6ew &iteracy Studies takes much o" its theoretical

inspiration "rom critical theory and cultural studies. %omparable debates on Lclosed2 versus Lopen2 readings o" literary te5ts have there"ore taken place in literary theoretical #uarters over the past two decades.
9

See Arendt+ )ichmann in Jerusalem. A 3eport on the *anality o" )vil 019DE1 and 9Pss /ommandant in Auschwit@ ? Autobiographische Au"@eichnungen von 3udol" 9PQ 019<91. :e are grate"ul to one o" the 8ournal7s anonymous readers o" this article who drew our attention to the typographical error/mistranslation in the )nglish version o" the novel that resulted in 3udol" 9PQ being transmogri"ied into 3udol" 9ess.
1=

Brimarily the books by &evi+ !" his is a (an 019<C1H :iesel+

he 6ightH 'awnH

he Accident. hree ales 019J-1H and *orowski+ his :ay "or the 4as+ &adies and 4entleman 019JD1.

>C

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen