'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria
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German women who are rendered “passive, victimized, silent and domesticated<br />
bourgeois housewives who carry out prewar rituals with chagrin in their living rooms”<br />
(Morewedge 235). The ending <strong>of</strong> the film is indeterminate, and appears to <strong>of</strong>fer Lene no<br />
emancipation from her relegation to the private realm. After heeding Anna‟s pleas not to<br />
kill herself, Lene emerges from the bathroom. Sanders-Brahms asserts in the closing<br />
voice-over: “Aber sie ist immer noch da. Lene ist immer noch da” (Sanders-Brahms,<br />
Film-Erzählung 114). 83 Thus, Lene remains bound to the roles prescribed for mother and<br />
wife in the patriarchal “Wohnstuben” culture <strong>of</strong> the Adenauer era.<br />
While the role <strong>of</strong> the old woman as an indentured servant in the robber‟s house<br />
mirrors Lene‟s oppression in the domestic sphere, the two figures are also similar in their<br />
capacities as helpers <strong>of</strong> other women. As Mendelson has noted, “Der Räuberbräutigam”<br />
is one <strong>of</strong> the few Grimm fairy tales in which female characters work together in a<br />
supportive alliance (111-112). In this tale, the humanity <strong>of</strong> the wise old woman is<br />
emphasized when she warns the miller‟s daughter <strong>of</strong> her husband‟s murderous activities<br />
and decides to take pity on her. The elderly female figure assists the younger heroine in<br />
several different ways. First, she hides the girl behind a large barrel before the band <strong>of</strong><br />
robbers enters the house. Next, she rescues the miller‟s daughter from discovery by<br />
discouraging a robber to search for the hacked-<strong>of</strong>f finger which has landed in the lap <strong>of</strong><br />
the terrified heroine. Further she drugs the men‟s wine with a sleeping draught, thereby<br />
permitting both herself and the miller‟s daughter to escape the robber‟s den. Hence, the<br />
wise old woman collaborates with the young heroine in order to secure their mutual<br />
safety.<br />
83 “But she is still here. Lene is still here” (Sanders-Brahms, Film-Erzählung 114).<br />
113