Mother Night

“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. I 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.”

1:39:03

In this scene Campbell stops in the middle of the street after he comes to a realization that he has nowhere to go. He grasps that he has nothing to live for anymore, as everything he has stood for has seemed to him a lie. When the two people he thought he could trust turn out to both be spies, Campbell essentially stops believing in anything. He concludes that the only way to make things better is to cleanse himself of his past, which involves facing trial in Israel. Campbell is intent on setting things right once he realizes the true weight of his actions, no matter the consequences are for him.

Vonnegut seems to have a similar message in Mother Night as in Slaughterhouse Five—we cannot ever truly cleanse ourselves of the effects war may have on us. As no matter what Billy does, he is constantly reminded of and goes back to moments in the war, the same seems true of Campbell--even after starting a new life in New York the war comes back to haunt him. When he and Resi finally start to live together happily, Campbell discovers she is actually a Russian spy, as well as finding out that George Kraft has had intentions of turning him in all along. Campbell comes to a conclusion that although he can never escape his actions, he can go to face them. Along with the newspaper article and the all of the eventual publicity his name receives soon afterwards, it seems that in the end it seems we never truly can rid ourselves of the war. This is a truth even Campbell seems to recognizes, as hanging himself seems to be the only way out.

Q: What would Campbell’s fate have been had he not commited suicide? Would he be able to live with himself, provided he has finally come to terms with the weight of his actions?