Losing Oneself

"Time passed. I never told my Helga I was a spy. To tell her would only put her in danger and live in constant fear. So I hid my true self from her, knowing that politics had no place in our nation of two. I suppose the moral here is you must be careful who you pretend to be because in the end, you are what you pretend to be."
(24 min)

This is the first scene where Howard Campbell begins to lose himself. By committing himself to a cause he does not believe in and through his job as a propagandist he brainwashes others through his speeches and begins to brainwash himself. He breaks his commitment with Helga to stay true to their "nation of two" by not telling her who he really is. If he cannot be true to his wife (in his opinion their "nation of two" is greater than both America and Germany) how is he able to be true to himself and know who he really is? This followed by the death of his wife and the horrors of war allows Campbell's original self to be destroyed and replaced by the new Campbell who he had originally pretended to be. Without Helga to keep him in touch with reality Campbell has no way to know who he really is. Eventually he becomes engulfed by his work as a propagandist and embodies the beliefs of the Nazis. 

Do the people around you effect who you are? How do the traumas of war effect our personalities?

Mother Night

"You broke my heart when you married my daughter.

--Yes, I know.

I wanted a German soldier for a son-in-law. Because I hated you so much, I studied you. I listened to everything you said. Never missed a broadcast. Did you know that until this very moment, nothing would have delighted me more than to prove you were a spy, to see you shot? Now I couldn't care less if you are a spy.

- Do you know why?

- No.

Because now I know that even if you were a spy, you could never have served the enemy as well as you served us. All the ideals that make me proud of being a Nazi... they came not from Hitler, not from Goebbels but from you. You alone kept me from concluding that Germany had gone insane."

--Conversation between Howard Campbell and Herr Noth.

In the scene preceding this conversation, Campbell admits in a monologue that he is an American spy. He says he hasn't told his wife about who he is because 'politics has no place in their nation of two' and to prevent her from living in constant fear.

Campbell is caught up in espionage and has done such a remarkable job to this point that higher-ranking officials including his father-in-law, the Police Chief, trust him.Campbell explains that the "moral is to be careful what you pretend to be because in the end you are who you pretend to be"; suggesting that he may become a member of the Nazis since he has lived as one for so long. He had been told by the American officials he reported to that if caught, they would deny knowing of his existence as a American or

a spy. Do you agree that pretending to be something you're not can eventually result in actually believing you are that?

"Because in the end, you are who you pretend to be."

The theme of deception embodies many forms in Mother Night. Campbell is willing to “create the most complicated character and play it himself” to preserve his marriage. Early on he warns that , “in the end, you ware what you pretend to be” and this warning becomes clearer as time progresses. His life is the façade of a Nazi radio personality and he manages to live unmolested as an American in Nazi Germany. This lie becomes more elaborate as he is coerced into relaying American spy codes during his transmissions. He juggles the responsibilities and his warning serves as a lesson. Everyone believes he shares their anti-Semitic sentiments and he plays along, although deep down he has only continued the lie to continue his relationship. Since this whole hoax has been for the preservation of his marriage, the death of his wife in a bombing leaves his life with no purpose. However, the deceit continues when he allows his sister-in-law to pretend to be his wife. The lies Campbell employs as the glue holding the pieces of his life together eventually comes undone as his past catches up with him. He is sheltered by Nazi sympathizers. Trapped by his lie, he must continue feigning anti-Semitic sentiments and rely on the safety provided by these relics of his past. After years of adopting a different personality, his true identity is known only to himself and his blue fairy godmother – but this cannot defend that his actions helped preserve Nazi Germany and lead to many innocent deaths. Neither the Nazis, Americans, nor his wife, know that what began as a lie for preserving his relationship with Helga has grown into a beast he must handle on his own. As his blue fairy godmother communicates to him that his wife and best friend are Russian spies, his life spirals into a pit of lies and he gives in, finally deciding to come clean and turn himself in to authorities to face punishment for his war crimes. It is easy to sympathize with his predicament. He created the radio personality of “the last free American” to shield himself and Helga from the trials of the outside world. Her death leaves him with nothing but his lies and crimes. The warning “you are who you pretend to be” has defined his life for years. He played the role of a Nazi to save himself but only one other person knows it (his blue fairy godmother) and despite knowing he does not sympathize with the Nazis, in writing his memoirs, he realizes that there is only one real way to show the world how guilty he feels. After reflecting back on his actions he sees no alternative. His actions as a Nazi may have been insincere, but the repercussions were real. In taking his life he tries to cleanse himself of all his crimes. Riddled with guilt, he answers to himself in an honest manner for once.

Given that he took responsibility for his actions and assuming his blue fairy godmother later testified that he was a spy, did he effectively clear his name and manage to let the world know who he really was and what his motivations really were?

War Crimes

" I was deposited on to the streets of New York, restored to the mainstream of life. I took several steps down the sidewalk when something happened. It was not guilt that froze me; I had taught myself never to feel guilt. It wasn't the fear of death; I had taught myself to think of death as a friend. It was not the thought of being unloved that froze me; I had taught myself to do without love. What froze me was the fact that I had absolutely no reason to move in any direction."

Much like Slaughterhouse Five, Mother Night also concerns itself with the atrocities of war and how it can change those who are inextricably involved in it. Howard Campbell Jr., having just only just arrived from Germany, is now uncertain of where he stands in the world. War has taught him how to disguise his true self, how to mask him emotions, leaving him somewhat confused and lost. Now, he is left with daunting task of defining himself and his purpose, in addition to reconciling his identity with his actions and the questionable role that he played in the war. Campbell's true self has become both lost and irrelevant, in a sense, because of his role as a both an American spy and a notorious Nazi propagandist. He has difficulty in evaluating the true intent behind his actions in the war, and he is left as a shell of a human being, one dazed on the streets of New York with "no reason to move in any direction."

Should Campbell be held responsible for the part that he played in the war, even if he was just playing the role that he was casted? Do you think that his intentions were pure?

Mother Night

"You broke my heart when you married my daughter.

--Yes, I know.

I wanted a German soldier for a son-in-law. Because I hated you so much, I studied you. I listened to everything you said. Never missed a broadcast. Did you know that until this very moment,

nothing would have delighted me more than to prove you were a spy, to see you shot?

Now I couldn't care less if you are a spy.

- Do you know why?
- No.

Because now I know that even if you were a spy, you could never have served the enemy as well as you

 served us.  All the ideals that make me proud of being a Nazi... they came not from Hitler, 

not from Goebbels but from you. You alone kept me from concluding that Germany had gone insane."

--Conversation between Howard Campbell and Herr Noth.

In the scene preceding this conversation, Campbell admits in a monologue that he is an American spy. 

He says he hasn't told his wife about who he is because 'politics has no place in their nation of two' 

and to prevent her from living in constant fear.  

Campbell is caught up in espionage  and has done such a remarkable job to this point that he is trusted by

higher ranking officials including his father-in-law, the Police Chief.  Campbell explains that the "moral

 is to be careful what you pretend to be because in the end you are who you pretend to be."; suggesting that 

he may become a member of the Nazis since he has lived as one for so long. He had been told by the

American officials he reported to that if caught, they would deny knowing of his existence as a American or 

a spy.

Do you agree that pretending to be something you're not can eventually result in actually believing you are that?

Death: The Moral of the Story

"It's alright. It doesn't mean anything now. Nothing means anything. Go ahead and shoot the dog." - Young Resi North, 00:33:30

We meet Resi North here, played by Kirsten Dunst, as the Russian Army comes to overtake her childhood home. Resi is sitting on the couch with her dog and seems to be completely content with the upcoming murder of her pet, which will be shot by Howard Campbell. Before they part, Resi confesses her love for Howard and her envy of his relationship with her sister Helga. This scene is particularly chilling because of Resi's absolute dismissal of her dog, yet the maturity of her developing feelings for Howard. Her feelings toward death as the only thing she believes in foreshadows her own death later after she pretends to be Helga. Though young in appearance, Resi's mature demeanor is not to be dismissed. This solidifies Vonnegut's primary theme: "the moral of the story." It's easy to not take Resi seriously because of her age, but it's important to not fully dismiss pretenses because they often turn out to be true.

Resi seems to dismiss the things that will hurt her, attempting to put up a wall against letting the permanence of death give her reason to mourn. Her maturity at such a young age helps her cope and grow into a strong minded female. Though Resi seems to be strong, is it really that important that she creates these notions at such an early age? Would her life be more successful if she had a "normal" childhood?

All The World's A Stage!

Page 257, when Howard W. Campbell Jr. asks Dr. Epstein to turn him into Israeli police:

“This is not the first time you’ve seen eyes like that,” [Mrs. Epstein] said to her son in German, “not the first man you’ve seen who could not move unless someone told him where to move, who longed for someone to tell him what to do next, who would do anything anyone told him to do next. You saw thousands of them in Auschwitz.”

[...]

“You still want revenge?” [Epstein] asked [his mother].

“Yes,” she said.

He put his face close to mine. “And you really want to be punished?” he said.

“I want to be tried,” I said.

“It’s all play acting,” [Epstein] said, exasperated with both of us. “It proves nothing!”

This passage encompasses many of the important issues of the novel, ones that I can hopefully address without rambling. What does identity mean, and who is it defined by? Are we responsible for our actions? To what extent are we both the victims and the persecutors in war? Finally, what is the meaning of life?

Identity in Mother Night is often dramatically ironic because of the novel’s premise: Howard Campbell is a spy for the Americans, but everyone in the world except for three people believe him to be a Nazi propaganda agent. There is a noteworthy divide between Campbell’s essence and the “character” he must play, but does it really matter if no one knows this inner person? I think Vonnegut actually quite explicitly answers this question, though with tongue-in-cheek, when he states: “We are what we pretend to be.” As in, Campbell’s identity has been externalized to the point where he decides to give himself up to the Israelis, because after all, he is this Nazi persona to everyone else in the world. I don’t think this is a case of cognitive dissonance either, which would suggest he turns himself in because his thoughts must conform to his actions. I think it is more indicative of his fatalism, if anything. He must accept the consequences of his actions, even IF he didn’t mean them inwardly, because he views his path as inevitable. Perhaps there is some truth in Adolf Eichmann’s advice--the secret of success is evincing what is expected of you.

It is also interesting to note the contrast between Epstein’s mother and Campbell in this scene. Life is without objective meaning or direction, as attested by the thousands of Auschwitz victims who “longed for someone to tell them what to do next.” Therefore, characters must create their own purposes in life: Epstein’s mother wants revenge, and Campbell wants to be tried for his crimes against humanity. (Note that this is not always what his purpose is--at the beginning, it seems his meaning in life is to love Helga. Likewise, O’Hare’s purpose is to kill Campbell, nihilistic Resi’s purpose is to find a purpose, and Kraft defines his purpose as primarily artistic.) To me, it is intriguing that Epstein’s mother wants revenge here. She serves as a device to demonstrate that humans all have a hateful side--fascists killed people they deemed as weaker out of self-righteousness, but those persecuted can be driven to hatred just as easily. The distinction between “enemy” and “friend” is blurred throughout the novel, and perhaps Vonnegut is saying that these are just more roles people create.

Discussion: Is everyone in the world merely playing a part? If so, how can we define truth? Is there absolute anything?