Romance in A Minor Key is a Major Ploy

Unfortunately for those in the audience of movie theaters during the reign of the Third Reich. There was no separation between propaganda and "unpolitical entertainment", despite arguments Silberman discusses in his article about Romance In A Minor Key. Keeping in mind the complete control National Socialists had on all media concerning Germany, regardless of the seemingly harmless film, there are many elements that regard towards typical paternalistic stereotypes in the film. It is simply a "literary adaptation, dramatic melodrama..." (81) instead of a clear film shouting ideas at its audience. Madeline's characterization as a woman who "demands accountability and an unwavering sense of propriety and virtue" (82) correlates with the Germans brainwashing of women at an early age, changing them to think that being "hyper-feminine" like the Western world did not bode well in the harsh climate of Germany. She shows the personality and values of a German woman raised in the Third Reich as she does not accept Michael's proposal due to her loyalty to her husband. An example of the film not literally throwing information at you, but characterizing a main individual in the film as a product of German civilization is a sly way of proposing ideas to viewers. Madeline's husband represents National Socialism by his upstanding position, being a hard worker, and coming home to his "obedient" but strong wife who waits on his arrival everyday. "Duty, honor, orderliness, and status are the obsessions of his authoritative personality," (85) which are specific adjectives describing the goals of achievement by the Third Reich. However, his "physical, social, and emotional prison" (83) he has kept Madeline in represents the hold the Third Reich has on their women, allowing them to believe they have freedom, and power, only to realize they are always second class citizens to their husbands. The aregument on "the right to be happy," (91) is one that has frequented discussion on the position of women within the Third Reich. Why is it that Madeline feels the need to commit suicide to escape the prison she feels is her life? This might explain why the film was the only one to receive such critical acclaim as a foreign film because it had such subliminal messages from within the lives of those living in the Third Reich. It may have not been promoting how great and wonderful Germany was, like Ufi (Nazi production company) wanted, however there definitely was a message and it was clearly seen to all those who cared to understand it.

The Existential Crisis of Madeleine and the German People

Respond to some aspect of the Silberman article. Do you agree or disagree with his point? Interpret his point, using other articles or the film to support your argument.

Silberman begins his last paragraph by stating that "Romance in a Minor Key constitutes a narrative discourse on the loss of illusion, elaborating an imaginary, protected space of privacy identified with a spectator position of helplessness and escapist desire at a historical juncture when many Germans were beginning to expect the impending collapse of the fascist regime" (96). I found this line, and the entire last paragraph, to be quite interesting and I would certainly have to agree with Silberman's thoughts here. As I watched the film Sunday night, I wondered to myself how this film could have possibly functioned as a Nazi film for, as Silberman remarks only a few lines before, most Nazi films at that point were encouraging light, uncomplicated comedies and not films that dealt with existential loss. I certainly could be mistaken, but it would seem that this film, having used mirrors to convey the existential conflict of Madeleine, is, itself, a mirror for Germany in 1942/43. Just as Madeleine is stuck in a world wishing to escape but recognizing her helpless position, so too, as Silberman alludes to, were the Germans at this time beginning to realize their own helpless position. As he writes on page 95, "By early 1943 morale at home was beginning to sink seriously owing to expanded air attacks against German cities and the growing difficulties in supplying the civilian population with necessary goods." Thus, just as it is for Madeleine that "there will be no escape from the everyday..." (89) so too was the case of the Germans when this film was made and released. What makes this all the more fascinating is that the film, functioning as a mirror, reflects this existential crisis back onto individuals. For a country whose people had been dogmatically told to think of itself as an "imagined" community functioning together as a New Germany, and in a country where mass rallies were used to isolate an individual so they would identify with a larger whole, this film forced the individual watching it to deal with the crisis on their own...something even more existentially painful. Just as Madeleine felt alone and abandoned in the world, so too the individual watching the film must have felt, stuck in the inescapable bird cage that always sits next to the window the authorities will perpetually close. The spectator, whom Silberman states would certainly feel abandoned and betrayed by the "film's desperate escape into interiority" could, in turn, transfer all blame to those who were misusing their authority while continuing to function and hold up a system that kept those authorities in power. In this sense, the individual specator would have been making an existential move that would, at the end of the day, keep them from the suicide Madeleine herself commits, although in doing so, the German people were in effect sealing their own fate...the continued suffering and eventual downfall of their country.

The Husband: a National Socialist (Gone Bad)

In his article titled The Illusion of Escapism: Helmut Käutner’s Romance in a Minor Key, Marc Silbmerman describes Madeline’s unnamed husband as a representation of an ideal National Socialist. He writes, “In his antierotic conjugal life and his subaltern position, the husband represents the authoritarian personality that so readily accepted the dictates of German fascism” (85). This notion allows for an interesting analysis of the film, especially when considering Silberman’s previous assertion that the husband’s interest in gambling (presented as a flaw in his morality) subjects him to a world of risk taking. I find it very interesting that gambling is his central flaw, especially because his participation in a game of cards ultimately provides his wife with the opportunity to commit suicide.
On the one hand, it is difficult not to see the husband as an embodiment of National Socialism. He is humble and hard-working, and is certainly willing to accept his role under the authority of others. On the other hand, his gambling addiction allows one to see him in a different light, as a person who is almost, but not quite, the perfect National Socialist. Gambling, rather than enjoying time with his wife is often his number one priority. In the film’s opening scene, as the husband returns from a night of card playing, the spectator sees a husband so oblivious to his surroundings that he holds a (one-sided) conversation before realizing his wife’s unconscious and dieing condition. This obliviousness contrasts his orderliness and makes it difficult to determine whether or not this man is truly an ideal person according to Nazi ideals. Gambling has disillusioned him to the extent that he is no longer able to recognize such a drastic problem in his household.
I find the argument that the husband is an ideal National Socialist unconvincing, because a truly self-disciplined individual would have never gone away and gambled. Furthermore, he would have never had his life so drastically changed by outside and inferior forces. At one point, he expresses his desire to gamble through statements such as, “I am itching to play,” emphasizing his inability to fight off his risky desires. I think that the husband must be seen more as a representation of what can happen when National Socialist ideals are not entirely upheld, as he is ultimately punished by losing his wife. A real National Socialist would have had the self-discipline to have seen everything coming, or rather, would have never been at risk for such misfortunes, especially at the hands of other less than ideal individuals.

Romance in a Minor Key: Escapism?

I agree with Silberman that Romance in a Minor Key is “a film that cannot be reduced to an ideological or propagandistic prescription.” However, I believe, as Shulte-Sasse says, that few, if any, films made during the Nazi regime can be pigeon-holed as purely propaganda vehicles. This film differs from the other films of the time period in that it does not attempt to fit neatly into the Nazi ideology. Silberman claims that the narrative creates a “loss of illusion, elaborating an imaginary, protected space of privacy identified with a spectator position of helplessness and escapist desire.” He goes on to show that this is relevant to the historical time and climate. I agree. The film is fraught with decisions that lead to only negative outcomes. It seems as though Madeleine has no options except to accept unhappiness. This provides the viewer with a sense of unease and even helplessness, much like the German viewers of the time would probably be feeling with the weight of the impending loss of the war on their minds. Käutner further exacerbates these worries when he does not even suggest which way Madeleine should turn. Not only does she have no options, but not even the all-mighty escapist power of film can provide one for her. It is as if film, the escapist medium, is not providing the viewer with an escape at all, but with a mirror to their own situation and subconscious emotions. Silberman seems to think that the film allows the spectator to “transfer any sense of responsibility to those who misuse their authority,” probably referencing Victor as the main source of conflict in the film. However, I do not believe the sense of responsibility is that fixed at all. The force of the film lies in the fact that there is not an easy cause, an easy solution, or an easy resolution, which mirrors the progression of the war for the viewer.

Silberman Article

“Each relationship is premised on a state of nonknowledge that always leads to an action with destructive consequences” (page 85).

This is my favorite line Silberman’s analysis of Romance in a Minor Key. I think it accurately describes the fundamental flaws that lead to the downfall of every character in a completely succinct way. The most obvious relationship based on the absence of knowledge is the relationship between Madeleine and her husband. Aside from the secret affair between Madeleine and Michael, there is a basic lack of conversation between the married couple. This indicates that neither person in the relationship understands how the other person is feeling. While it is easy to place the blame on Madeleine’s husband, she does not seem to be knowledgeable about why he constantly plays cards or is so organized. There is a lack of communication between the couple, which leads to Madeleine’s affair and the couple’s demise.

Another relationship premised on the state of nonknowledge is Madeleine and Michael. While some might argue that Madeleine is her true self with her love, he does not seem to be knowledgeable enough on why Madeleine will not leave her husband. It seems fairly obvious to me that Madeleine’s sense of duty to her husband prevented her from leaving him entirely; yet, Michael either refuses to acknowledge this or just doesn’t know Madeleine’s true feelings. It is possible that is the couple had had a discussion about Madeleine’s true feelings towards her husband they would have come to a different conclusion then just returning to her normal life.

Silberman Article on "Romance in a Minor Key"

Respond to some aspect of the Silberman article. Do you agree or disagree with his point? Interpret his point, using other articles or the film to support your argument.

The Broken Jug

From the perspective of Silberman, no film, no matter what the subject matter may be, could be wholly free from some ideological underpinnings from its source culture. He makes the point that this is especially true of the Nazi era films, which on first glance may seem innocuous, but as he points out, this is by Goebbels design. while there are many features that could be explored as possible links to the National Socialist ideology, I am partial to the aspect of authority, corruption, and order. The Nazi obsession with order and the role of the authority to create it are not lost in this film. Like Silberman, I believe that the original Kleist play, was less inherently national socialist rather than its ability to be easily appropriated as such. The subject of a corrupt authority that oppresses the Volk, who is then expelled from the community by a seemingly omniscient ruler can easily be put into the context of the Nazi ideal towards the intrinsic order of things. Is the ideology overt? Well, no. not necessarily. Does it allow for an easy propagation of Nazi ideas, yes, it probably does.