Before
My first impression of Hanna was very limited, considering that I can only view her from Michael's perspective. Micheal's attraction to her was mostly her seductiveness through her movements, but he describes how her motherly actions especially soothed him. Not only was she a motherly character, but she gave me an impression of the typical "strong independent woman" stereotype. It's almost like she possesses this balance of gentle, motherly instincts and an inner strength and bold charisma.
Motherly
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"You can't go home like that. I'll run you a bath and beat the dust out of your clothes......Take the shampoo and wash you hair. I'll bring a towel in a minute." (pg. 24)
From the very beginning of the book, Hanna had a conspicuous motherly instinct by the way she took care of Michael when she found him vomiting and helpless. She bathes him and emulates tenderness, very similar as to how a mother would comfort and care for her child. I feel that Michael is so attracted to her tenderness because it somehow reminds him of the comfort his mother gave him when he was a child. He feels appreciated, loved, and the feeling of loneliness and abandonment disappears when he's around Hanna. On page 28 Michael even recalls a vivid memory of how his mother would wash and dress him, which is eerily similar to Hanna's treatment towards him.
"My mother had pushed a chair up close to the stove for me to stand on while she washed and dressed me. I remember the whole wonderful feeling of warmth, and how good it felt to be washed and dressed in this warmth." (pg. 28)
The "strong independent woman"
"She had grown up in a German community in Rumania, then come to Berlin at the age of sixteen, taken a job at the Siemen's factory, and ended up in the army at twenty-one. Since the end of the war, she had done all manner of jobs to get by." (pg. 39)
Another main impression that I received in the beginning is that Hanna, a thirty-six year old woman, examplifies the "strong, independent woman". She's not married, she has no children, and she apparently has no family, She's a street conductor and to my knowledge, she doesn't seem to be dependent on anyone else besides herself. She's her own pioneer, she makes her own decisions, and Michael frequently comments on her strong physical features rather than daintly or feminine. However, considering that she came to Berlin at the age of sixteen and taken a job at a factory, she must have faced hardships and tough cirmustances that have made her the woman she is as Michael describes her.
After
My first impressions of her were mainly positive and typical womanly characteristics. As the novel progresses, Michael's relationship with Hanna becomes more intimate and more of her personality is unveiled. My impression of their relationship is that Michael is so overly-allured by her presence and by her touch that it seems that his happiness depends on Hanna. Hanna controls the strings in their relationship and it seems rightly so because Hanna is more mature and experienced and Michael's sole purpose is to offer equal or not more pleasure to her.
Manipulative
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"I didn't understand what was going on. Was she thinking of me? Or of herself?....But was I her lover? What was I to her?.......and as I kissed her goodbye, she didn't respond." (pg. 36)
After having completed chapter nine, I have an impression that Hanna is manipulative as she controls the strings in their relationship. Michael is almost like her puppet, and she can order him to do whatever she wishes because Michael would hate to disappoint her in any way. There doesn't seem to be a mutual understanding of their relationship as lovers and there's still ambiguity as to how Hanna really feels about him. If only the novel offered some narration through Hanna's perspective, I'd be able to judge for myself whether Hanna is intentionally manipulating his feelings or their relationship, or maybe it's just Michael that has it all misconstrued in some way or another?
Possessive
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"When we made love, too, she took possession of me.........I liked to have her take possession." (pg. 33)
Furthermore than just being manipulative, Hanna takes possession of Michael, and he enjoys her possession of him. In this context, he is talking about them making love together, but I think it also applies metaphorically in the dynamic of their relationship. I sense that her possession of him could even reach to the point of abuse because in the end, there is a possibility of him being imprisoned in her possession of him and he doesn't have any choice but to let her possess him. The fact that he enjoys such possession, portrays an imbalance in their relationship and could lead to future conflicts between each other.
I really like how you divided your analysis of Hanna into many different categories and used a lot of quotes and pictures to make your blog entry really organized and easy to read.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with you about Hanna's motherly nature and how it was established very early on in the novel. Why do you think Schlink writes the novel so that this trait is the first thing the reader notices about Hanna? Perhaps Hanna somehow established a motherly love for Michael when she first helped him on the street and was only able to deal with it by having a sexual relationship with him.
Also, you mentioned under the category "Manipulative" that Hanna seemed to be using Michael. However, do you think Hanna is only with Michael because she wants to use him or do you think she may have genuine feelings for Michael (since she made sure Michael was doing well in school).