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{{otheruses}}
{{short description|1962 novel by Kurt Vonnegut}}
{{short description|1962 novel by Kurt Vonnegut}}
{{other uses}}
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'''''Mother Night''''' is a novel by American author [[Kurt Vonnegut]], first published in February 1962.<ref>{{isfdb contents|180217|title=Mother Night|issue=1962}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3nwMCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT215&lpg=PT215&dq=Mother+Night+Fawcett+Publications+1961&source=bl&ots=3YN1qX27Gb&sig=aCVu5rcnkM-SI3jRR7lA3DJsKek&hl=ru&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwitot_0ztbVAhXIJJoKHcXmAVoQ6AEIRDAF#v=onepage&q=Mother%20Night%20Fawcett%20Publications%201961&f=false Bibliography] in ''The Vonnegut Effect'' by Jerome Klinkowitz, Univ. of South Carolina Press, 2012.</ref> The title of the book is taken from [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe's]] ''[[Goethe's Faust|Faust]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailyuw.com/arts_and_leisure/article_de27bfbc-215b-11e6-954b-a7524d49489b.html|title=Off the shelf: 'Mother Night,' by Kurt Vonnegut|last=Bueren|first=Emma|website=The Daily of the University of Washington|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010742/http://www.dailyuw.com/arts_and_leisure/article_de27bfbc-215b-11e6-954b-a7524d49489b.html|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref>
'''''Mother Night''''' is a novel by American author [[Kurt Vonnegut]], first published in February 1962.<ref>{{isfdb contents|180217|title=Mother Night|issue=1962}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3nwMCAAAQBAJ&dq=Mother+Night+Fawcett+Publications+1961&pg=PT215 Bibliography] in ''The Vonnegut Effect'' by Jerome Klinkowitz, Univ. of South Carolina Press, 2012.</ref>


The novel takes the form of the fictional memoirs of Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American, who moved to Germany in 1923 at age 11, and later became a well-known [[playwright]] and [[Nazi Party|Nazi]] [[propaganda|propagandist]]. The story of the novel is narrated (through the use of [[metafiction]]<ref name=":0" />) by Campbell himself, writing his memoirs while awaiting trial for [[war crime]]s in an [[Israel]]i prison. Howard W. Campbell also appears briefly in Vonnegut's later novel ''[[Slaughterhouse-Five]]''.
The novel takes the form of the fictional memoirs of Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American, who moved to Germany in 1923 at age 11, and later became a well-known [[playwright]] and [[Nazi Party|Nazi]] [[propaganda|propagandist]]. The story of the novel is narrated (through the use of [[metafiction]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Bueren |first=Emma |title=Off the shelf: 'Mother Night,' by Kurt Vonnegut |url=http://www.dailyuw.com/arts_and_leisure/article_de27bfbc-215b-11e6-954b-a7524d49489b.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010742/http://www.dailyuw.com/arts_and_leisure/article_de27bfbc-215b-11e6-954b-a7524d49489b.html |archive-date=2019-04-03 |access-date=2019-04-03 |website=The Daily of the University of Washington |date=24 May 2016 |language=en}}</ref>) by Campbell himself, writing his memoirs while awaiting trial for [[war crime]]s in an [[Israel]]i prison. Campbell also appears briefly in Vonnegut's later novel ''[[Slaughterhouse-Five]]''.

== Background ==
The title of the book comes from a passage in [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe's]] ''[[Goethe's Faust|Faust]]'',<ref name=":0" /> where [[Mephistopheles]] gives the name Mother Night to the primordial Darkness before the Light of creation, and hopes and predicts that the Light, and creation, must soon fail and the Darkness return.<ref>{{cite book |last=von Goethe |first=Johann Wolfgang |translator=Bayard Taylor |title=Faust |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14591/14591-h/14591-h.htm |accessdate=April 11, 2024 |year=1871 |publisher=World Publishing Company |isbn= |page=}}</ref>

Vonnegut told Charlie Rose in 1996 that he was paid $3,000 for it ({{Inflation|US-GDP|3000|1962|r=-3|fmt=eq}}) at a time when he "needed the money", and also explained the idea for the story as follows:<ref>{{Citation |title=Kurt Vonnegut - Charlie Rose |url=https://charlierose.com/videos/19263 |access-date=2023-03-23 |language=en-US}}</ref><blockquote>I got the idea at a cocktail party on Cape Cod. [...] I lived there for 20 years, and I met a [[spymaster]]. The guy had been a spymaster during the Second World War, and he was complaining about [[spy films]], that they made no sense. He said, "Any time you have an agent inside an enemy country, this is a very sick person you are dealing with."</blockquote>He also explains the inspiration for Campbell's character:<blockquote>The British actually had a treacherous citizen who broadcast for the Nazis, [[William Joyce|Lord Haw-Haw]], and he was hanged by the British after the war for treason. I said, "All right, suppose an American does this."</blockquote>


==Plot summary==
==Plot summary==
[[File:Kurt Vonnegut by Bernard Gotfryd (1965).jpg|thumb|A 1965 photograph of Vonnegut by [[Bernard Gotfryd]]]]
The novel is framed as the memoir of Howard W. Campbell, Jr. He is writing it while imprisoned and waiting for his war crimes trial for his actions as a Nazi propagandist. Campbell, an American who moved to Germany with his parents at age 11, recounts his childhood as the [[Nazi Party]] is consolidating its power. Instead of leaving the country with his parents, Campbell continues his career as a playwright, his only social contacts being Nazis. Being of sufficiently ″[[Aryan]]″ heritage, Campbell becomes a member of the party in name only. He is politically apathetic, caring only for his art and his wife Helga, who is also the starring actress in all of his plays.
The novel is framed as the memoir of Howard W. Campbell, Jr. He is writing it while imprisoned and waiting for his war crimes trial for his actions as a Nazi propagandist. Campbell, an American who moved to Germany with his parents at age 11, recounts his childhood as the [[Nazi Party]] is consolidating its power. Instead of leaving the country with his parents, Campbell continues his career as a playwright, his only social contacts being Nazis. Being of sufficiently ″[[Aryan race|Aryan]]″ heritage, Campbell becomes a member of the party in name only. He is politically apathetic, caring only for his art and his wife Helga, who is also the starring actress in all of his plays.


Campbell encounters Frank Wirtanen, an agent of the [[U.S. War Department]]. Wirtanen wants Campbell to spy as a [[double agent]] for the United States in the [[World War II|impending world war]]. Campbell rejects the offer, but Wirtanen quickly adds that he wants Campbell to think about it. Once the war starts, Campbell begins to make his way up through [[Joseph Goebbels]]' [[propaganda]] organization, eventually becoming the "voice" of broadcasts aimed at converting Americans to the Nazi cause. Unbeknownst to the Nazis, all of the idiosyncrasies of Campbell's speeches &ndash; deliberate pauses, coughing, etc. &ndash; are part of the coded information he is passing to the American [[Office of Strategic Services]]. Campbell never discovers, nor is he ever told, the information that he is sending.
Campbell is later approached by Frank Wirtanen, an agent of the [[U.S. War Department]]. Wirtanen wants Campbell to spy as a [[double agent]] for the United States in the [[World War II|impending world war]]. Campbell rejects the offer, but Wirtanen quickly adds that he wants Campbell to think about it. Eventually, he accepts. Once the war starts, Campbell begins to make his way up through [[Joseph Goebbels]]' [[Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|Propaganda Ministry]], eventually becoming the "voice" of broadcasts aimed at converting Americans to the Nazi cause (a parallel to the real broadcaster, Dr. [[Edward Vieth Sittler]]).<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=U.S. Immigration Authorities Asked to Investigate the Sittler Case |url=https://www.jta.org/1959/12/16/archive/u-s-immigration-authorities-asked-to-investigate-the-sittler-case |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |location= |date=1959-12-16 |access-date=2021-06-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s)/no by-line.--> |title=Ex-nazi Professor Sittler Resigns from Long Island University |url=https://www.jta.org/1959/12/17/archive/ex-nazi-professor-sittler-resigns-from-long-island-university |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |location= |date=1959-12-17 |access-date=2021-06-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/316/312/187412/ |title=Edward Vieth Sittler, Petitioner-appellant, v. United States of America, Respondent-appellee, 316 F.2d 312 (2d Cir. 1963). US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - 316 F.2d 312 (2d Cir. 1963). Argued January 10, 1963. Decided April 12, 1963. |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=JUSTIA |access-date=2021-06-23 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/collection/data/714118848 |title=Edward V. Sittler Dismissal Records, 1949-1962; Michigan College of Mining and Technology |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=ARCHIVE GRID |publisher=Michigan Technological University - J.R. Van Pelt and Opie Library |access-date=2021-06-23 |quote=}}</ref> Unbeknownst to the Nazis, all of the idiosyncrasies of Campbell's speeches &ndash; deliberate pauses, coughing, etc. &ndash; are part of the coded information he is passing to the American [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS). Campbell never discovers, nor is he ever told, the information that he is sending.


About halfway through the war, Helga goes to the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] to entertain German troops. Campbell is extremely distraught when he hears that the camp Helga visited in [[Crimea]] has been overrun by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] troops and she is presumed dead. In early 1945, just before the [[Red Army]] invades Berlin, Campbell visits his in-laws one last time. During the visit, he has a conversation with Helga's younger sister, Resi, that resonates with him for years afterward. After Campbell is captured by American forces, Wirtanen works out a deal in which he is set free and given passage to [[New York City]].
About halfway through the war, Helga goes to the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] to entertain German troops. Campbell is extremely distraught when he hears that the camp Helga visited in [[Crimea]] has been overrun by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] troops and she is presumed dead. In early 1945, just before the [[Red Army]] [[Battle of Berlin|captures Berlin]], Campbell visits his in-laws one last time. During the visit, he has a conversation with Helga's younger sister, Resi, that resonates with him for years afterward. After Campbell is captured by American forces, Wirtanen works out a deal in which he is set free and given passage to [[New York City]].


Fifteen years later, Campbell lives an anonymous life, sustained only by memories of his wife and an indifferent curiosity about his eventual fate. His only friend is George Kraft, a likewise lonely neighbor&mdash;who, through an extraordinary coincidence, also happens to be a Soviet intelligence agent. He tries to trick Campbell into fleeing to [[Moscow]] by publicizing his identity and location. A [[white supremacist]] organization makes Campbell a ''[[cause célèbre]]'', inviting him to speak to new recruits. The group's leader, a dentist named Lionel Jones, shows up at Campbell's apartment with a surprise: a woman claiming to be Helga, alive and well and professing her undying love. Campbell's [[will to live]] returns, and remains even after he finds out that she is not Helga, but rather Resi. They plan to escape to [[Mexico City]] after attending one of Jones' fascist meetings.
Fifteen years later, Campbell lives an anonymous life, sustained only by memories of his wife and an indifferent curiosity about his eventual fate. His only friend is George Kraft, a likewise lonely neighbor&mdash;who, through an extraordinary coincidence, also happens to be a Soviet intelligence agent. He tries to trick Campbell into fleeing to [[Moscow]] by publicizing his identity and location. A [[white supremacist]] organization makes Campbell a ''[[cause célèbre]]'', inviting him to speak to new recruits. The group's leader, a dentist named Lionel Jones, shows up at Campbell's apartment with a surprise: a woman claiming to be Helga, alive and well and professing her undying love. Campbell's will to live returns, and remains even after he finds out that she is not Helga, but rather Resi. They plan to escape to [[Mexico City]] after attending one of Jones' fascist meetings.


There, Wirtanen makes an appearance to warn Campbell of Kraft's plot and Resi's complicity. Heartbroken, Campbell decides to go along with the charade. He confronts Kraft and Resi, the latter swearing her feelings for him are genuine. The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] then raids the meeting and takes Campbell into custody, while Resi commits suicide by taking a [[cyanide]] capsule. As before, Wirtanen uses his influence to have Campbell set free. Once Campbell returns to his apartment, however, he realizes that he has no real reason to continue living, and decides to turn himself in to the Israelis to stand trial.
There, Wirtanen makes an appearance to warn Campbell of Kraft's plot and Resi's complicity. Heartbroken, Campbell decides to go along with the charade. He confronts Kraft and Resi, the latter swearing her feelings for him are genuine. The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] then raids the meeting and takes Campbell into custody, while Resi commits suicide by taking a [[cyanide]] capsule. As before, Wirtanen uses his influence to have Campbell set free. Once Campbell returns to his apartment, however, he realizes that he has no real reason to continue living, and decides to turn himself in to the Israelis to stand trial.


While imprisoned in Israel, Campbell meets [[Adolf Eichmann]] and gives him advice on how to write an autobiography. At the very end of the book, he inserts a letter that he has just received from Wirtanen. The corroborating evidence that he was indeed an American spy has finally arrived, and Wirtanen writes that he will testify to Campbell's true loyalties in court. Rather than being relieved, Campbell feels disgusted by the idea that he will be saved from death and granted freedom only when he is no longer able to enjoy anything that life has to offer (too old and physically worn out). In the last lines, Campbell tells the reader that he will hang himself not for [[crimes against humanity]], but rather for "crimes against himself." Campbell then realizes that he is alone in the world.
While imprisoned in Israel, Campbell meets [[Adolf Eichmann]] and gives him advice on how to write an autobiography. At the very end of the book, he inserts a letter that he has just received from Wirtanen. The corroborating evidence that he was indeed an American spy has finally arrived, and Wirtanen writes that he will testify to Campbell's true loyalties in court. Rather than being relieved, Campbell feels disgusted by the idea that he will be saved from death and granted freedom only when he is no longer able to enjoy anything that life has to offer. In the last lines, Campbell tells the reader that he will hang himself not for [[crimes against humanity]], but rather for "crimes against myself."

==Metafiction: above the text==
Throughout the novel Vonnegut uses [[metafiction]] devices to call attention to the text itself. Most notable is Vonnegut's framing of the novel as a historical document. The editor's note at the beginning of the novel suggests Campbell's writings, the text of the novel itself, are a manuscript that Vonnegut received and is editing for public view.

These devices of meta-fiction can also be expanded to include [[Kurt Vonnegut|Vonnegut's]] approach to character introductions, and character development. Vonnegut utilizes the entirety of Campbell's temporal distance to observe characters from an almost [[omniscient]] perspective; for example, "His name is Andor Gutman. Andor is a sleepy, not very bright [[Estonia]]n Jew. He spent two years in [[Auschwitz concentration camp|the extermination camp]] at [[Auschwitz]]. According to his own reluctant account, he came this close to going up a smokestack of a [[crematorium]] there." This allows any perceived information over the course of the novel to be distilled and relayed in a more clipped, passive manner that utilizes a greater control of First-Person narration.

While this style of character [[deconstructionism]] is less prevalent in ''Mother Night'' than it is in ''[[God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater]]'', or ''[[Breakfast of champions|Breakfast of Champions]]'', the pervading-style of [[prose]] throughout the book is largely intertwined with meta-fiction techniques. Vonnegut's innovative literary [[omniscience]] is one of the techniques through which [[Kurt Vonnegut|Vonnegut's]] trademark [[Slaughterhouse-Five#Literary techniques|"so it goes..."]] attitude achieves a certain degree of [[Meta-ethics|meta-morality]] by virtue of its [[omniscient]], [[Dissociation (psychology)|dissociative]] and detached [[Tone (literature)|tone]] within the [[prose]].

Vonnegut also addresses the story's "moral" several times. He writes, "This is the only story of mine whose [[moral]] I know. I don't think it's a marvelous moral, I just happen to know what it is..." The phrase "The moral of the story" appears and again; some examples include "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be," "When you're dead, you're dead," and "Make love when you can. It's good for you."


==Adaptations==
==Adaptations==
A [[Mother Night (film)|film adaptation]] was released in 1996, starring [[Nick Nolte]] as Campbell, [[Sheryl Lee]] as Helga/Resi, [[Alan Arkin]] as Kraft and [[John Goodman]] as Wirtanen.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mother-night-1996|title=Mother Night Movie Review & Film Summary (1996) {{!}} Roger Ebert|last=Ebert|first=Roger|website=www.rogerebert.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010739/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mother-night-1996|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref>
A [[Mother Night (film)|film adaptation]] was released in 1996, starring [[Nick Nolte]] as Campbell, [[Sheryl Lee]] as Helga/Resi, [[Alan Arkin]] as Kraft and [[John Goodman]] as Wirtanen. The film was written and co-produced by [[Robert B. Weide]], who was also at the time working on a documentary on Kurt Vonnegut. In 2021, the documentary was released as ''[[Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mother-night-1996|title=Mother Night Movie Review & Film Summary (1996) {{!}} Roger Ebert|last=Ebert|first=Roger|website=www.rogerebert.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010739/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mother-night-1996|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref>


In 2009, [[Audible.com]] produced an audio version of ''Mother Night'', narrated by Victor Bevine, as part of its ''Modern Vanguard'' line of audiobooks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090813005202/en/Audible-Announces-New-%E2%80%9CModern-Vanguard%E2%80%9D-Line-Audiobooks|title=Audible Announces New "Modern Vanguard" Line of Audiobooks|date=2009-08-13|website=www.businesswire.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010742/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090813005202/en/Audible-Announces-New-%25E2%2580%259CModern-Vanguard%25E2%2580%259D-Line-Audiobooks|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2009, [[Audible.com]] produced an audio version of ''Mother Night'', narrated by Victor Bevine, as part of its ''Modern Vanguard'' line of audiobooks.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090813005202/en/Audible-Announces-New-%E2%80%9CModern-Vanguard%E2%80%9D-Line-Audiobooks|title=Audible Announces New "Modern Vanguard" Line of Audiobooks|date=2009-08-13|website=www.businesswire.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010742/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090813005202/en/Audible-Announces-New-%25E2%2580%259CModern-Vanguard%25E2%2580%259D-Line-Audiobooks|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref>


A theatrical version, adapted and directed by Brian Katz, was premiered at the Custom Made Theater Company in [[San Francisco]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.onstageblog.com/reviews/2018/10/10/off-broadway-review-the-custom-made-theatre-companys-kurt-vonneguts-mother-night|title=Off-Broadway Review: The Custom Made Theatre Company's "Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night"|website=OnStage Blog|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010742/https://www.onstageblog.com/reviews/2018/10/10/off-broadway-review-the-custom-made-theatre-companys-kurt-vonneguts-mother-night|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref> A revival, also directed by Katz, was presented at [[59E59 Theatres]] in [[New York City|New York]] in October of 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/BWW-Review-MOTHER-NIGHT-at-59E59-Theaters-is-an-Excellent-Play-Full-of-Intrigue-20181012|title=BWW Review: MOTHER NIGHT at 59E59 Theaters is an Excellent Play Full of Intrigue|last=Kennedy|first=Marina|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010740/https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/BWW-Review-MOTHER-NIGHT-at-59E59-Theaters-is-an-Excellent-Play-Full-of-Intrigue-20181012|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref>
A theatrical version, adapted and directed by Brian Katz, was premiered at the Custom Made Theater Company in [[San Francisco]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.onstageblog.com/reviews/2018/10/10/off-broadway-review-the-custom-made-theatre-companys-kurt-vonneguts-mother-night|title=Off-Broadway Review: The Custom Made Theatre Company's "Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night"|website=OnStage Blog|date=10 October 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010742/https://www.onstageblog.com/reviews/2018/10/10/off-broadway-review-the-custom-made-theatre-companys-kurt-vonneguts-mother-night|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref> A revival, also directed by Katz, was presented at [[59E59 Theatres]] in [[New York City|New York]] in October 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/BWW-Review-MOTHER-NIGHT-at-59E59-Theaters-is-an-Excellent-Play-Full-of-Intrigue-20181012|title=BWW Review: MOTHER NIGHT at 59E59 Theaters is an Excellent Play Full of Intrigue|last=Kennedy|first=Marina|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010740/https://www.broadwayworld.com/off-broadway/article/BWW-Review-MOTHER-NIGHT-at-59E59-Theaters-is-an-Excellent-Play-Full-of-Intrigue-20181012|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


== Links ==
==External links ==
*{{wikiquote-inline|Kurt Vonnegut#Mother Night (1961)|''Mother Night''}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{isfdb title|id=14207}}
* {{ISFDB title|id=14207}}


{{Vonnegut}}
{{Vonnegut}}


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Latest revision as of 20:22, 23 November 2024

For other uses, see Mother Night (disambiguation).
Mother Night
Cover art of first edition (paperback)
AuthorKurt Vonnegut
Cover artistLeo and Diane Dillon
LanguageEnglish
GenreDark humour, metafiction
PublisherFawcett Publications/Gold Medal Books
Publication date
1962
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover & paperback)
Pages192
ISBN978-0-385-33414-3

Mother Night is a novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut, first published in February 1962.[1][2]

The novel takes the form of the fictional memoirs of Howard W. Campbell Jr., an American, who moved to Germany in 1923 at age 11, and later became a well-known playwright and Nazi propagandist. The story of the novel is narrated (through the use of metafiction[3]) by Campbell himself, writing his memoirs while awaiting trial for war crimes in an Israeli prison. Campbell also appears briefly in Vonnegut's later novel Slaughterhouse-Five.

Background

[edit]

The title of the book comes from a passage in Goethe's Faust,[3] where Mephistopheles gives the name Mother Night to the primordial Darkness before the Light of creation, and hopes and predicts that the Light, and creation, must soon fail and the Darkness return.[4]

Vonnegut told Charlie Rose in 1996 that he was paid $3,000 for it (equivalent to $23,000 in 2023) at a time when he "needed the money", and also explained the idea for the story as follows:[5]

I got the idea at a cocktail party on Cape Cod. [...] I lived there for 20 years, and I met a spymaster. The guy had been a spymaster during the Second World War, and he was complaining about spy films, that they made no sense. He said, "Any time you have an agent inside an enemy country, this is a very sick person you are dealing with."

He also explains the inspiration for Campbell's character:

The British actually had a treacherous citizen who broadcast for the Nazis, Lord Haw-Haw, and he was hanged by the British after the war for treason. I said, "All right, suppose an American does this."

Plot summary

[edit]
A 1965 photograph of Vonnegut by Bernard Gotfryd

The novel is framed as the memoir of Howard W. Campbell, Jr. He is writing it while imprisoned and waiting for his war crimes trial for his actions as a Nazi propagandist. Campbell, an American who moved to Germany with his parents at age 11, recounts his childhood as the Nazi Party is consolidating its power. Instead of leaving the country with his parents, Campbell continues his career as a playwright, his only social contacts being Nazis. Being of sufficiently ″Aryan″ heritage, Campbell becomes a member of the party in name only. He is politically apathetic, caring only for his art and his wife Helga, who is also the starring actress in all of his plays.

Campbell is later approached by Frank Wirtanen, an agent of the U.S. War Department. Wirtanen wants Campbell to spy as a double agent for the United States in the impending world war. Campbell rejects the offer, but Wirtanen quickly adds that he wants Campbell to think about it. Eventually, he accepts. Once the war starts, Campbell begins to make his way up through Joseph Goebbels' Propaganda Ministry, eventually becoming the "voice" of broadcasts aimed at converting Americans to the Nazi cause (a parallel to the real broadcaster, Dr. Edward Vieth Sittler).[6][7][8][9] Unbeknownst to the Nazis, all of the idiosyncrasies of Campbell's speeches – deliberate pauses, coughing, etc. – are part of the coded information he is passing to the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Campbell never discovers, nor is he ever told, the information that he is sending.

About halfway through the war, Helga goes to the Eastern Front to entertain German troops. Campbell is extremely distraught when he hears that the camp Helga visited in Crimea has been overrun by Soviet troops and she is presumed dead. In early 1945, just before the Red Army captures Berlin, Campbell visits his in-laws one last time. During the visit, he has a conversation with Helga's younger sister, Resi, that resonates with him for years afterward. After Campbell is captured by American forces, Wirtanen works out a deal in which he is set free and given passage to New York City.

Fifteen years later, Campbell lives an anonymous life, sustained only by memories of his wife and an indifferent curiosity about his eventual fate. His only friend is George Kraft, a likewise lonely neighbor—who, through an extraordinary coincidence, also happens to be a Soviet intelligence agent. He tries to trick Campbell into fleeing to Moscow by publicizing his identity and location. A white supremacist organization makes Campbell a cause célèbre, inviting him to speak to new recruits. The group's leader, a dentist named Lionel Jones, shows up at Campbell's apartment with a surprise: a woman claiming to be Helga, alive and well and professing her undying love. Campbell's will to live returns, and remains even after he finds out that she is not Helga, but rather Resi. They plan to escape to Mexico City after attending one of Jones' fascist meetings.

There, Wirtanen makes an appearance to warn Campbell of Kraft's plot and Resi's complicity. Heartbroken, Campbell decides to go along with the charade. He confronts Kraft and Resi, the latter swearing her feelings for him are genuine. The FBI then raids the meeting and takes Campbell into custody, while Resi commits suicide by taking a cyanide capsule. As before, Wirtanen uses his influence to have Campbell set free. Once Campbell returns to his apartment, however, he realizes that he has no real reason to continue living, and decides to turn himself in to the Israelis to stand trial.

While imprisoned in Israel, Campbell meets Adolf Eichmann and gives him advice on how to write an autobiography. At the very end of the book, he inserts a letter that he has just received from Wirtanen. The corroborating evidence that he was indeed an American spy has finally arrived, and Wirtanen writes that he will testify to Campbell's true loyalties in court. Rather than being relieved, Campbell feels disgusted by the idea that he will be saved from death and granted freedom only when he is no longer able to enjoy anything that life has to offer. In the last lines, Campbell tells the reader that he will hang himself not for crimes against humanity, but rather for "crimes against myself."

Adaptations

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A film adaptation was released in 1996, starring Nick Nolte as Campbell, Sheryl Lee as Helga/Resi, Alan Arkin as Kraft and John Goodman as Wirtanen. The film was written and co-produced by Robert B. Weide, who was also at the time working on a documentary on Kurt Vonnegut. In 2021, the documentary was released as Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time.[10]

In 2009, Audible.com produced an audio version of Mother Night, narrated by Victor Bevine, as part of its Modern Vanguard line of audiobooks.[11]

A theatrical version, adapted and directed by Brian Katz, was premiered at the Custom Made Theater Company in San Francisco in 2017.[12] A revival, also directed by Katz, was presented at 59E59 Theatres in New York in October 2018.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Mother Night 1962 publication contents at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  2. ^ Bibliography in The Vonnegut Effect by Jerome Klinkowitz, Univ. of South Carolina Press, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Bueren, Emma (24 May 2016). "Off the shelf: 'Mother Night,' by Kurt Vonnegut". The Daily of the University of Washington. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  4. ^ von Goethe, Johann Wolfgang (1871). Faust. Translated by Bayard Taylor. World Publishing Company. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  5. ^ Kurt Vonnegut - Charlie Rose, retrieved 2023-03-23
  6. ^ "U.S. Immigration Authorities Asked to Investigate the Sittler Case". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1959-12-16. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  7. ^ "Ex-nazi Professor Sittler Resigns from Long Island University". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1959-12-17. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  8. ^ "Edward Vieth Sittler, Petitioner-appellant, v. United States of America, Respondent-appellee, 316 F.2d 312 (2d Cir. 1963). US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit - 316 F.2d 312 (2d Cir. 1963). Argued January 10, 1963. Decided April 12, 1963". JUSTIA. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  9. ^ "Edward V. Sittler Dismissal Records, 1949-1962; Michigan College of Mining and Technology". ARCHIVE GRID. Michigan Technological University - J.R. Van Pelt and Opie Library. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  10. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Mother Night Movie Review & Film Summary (1996) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  11. ^ "Audible Announces New "Modern Vanguard" Line of Audiobooks". www.businesswire.com. 2009-08-13. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  12. ^ "Off-Broadway Review: The Custom Made Theatre Company's "Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night"". OnStage Blog. 10 October 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  13. ^ Kennedy, Marina. "BWW Review: MOTHER NIGHT at 59E59 Theaters is an Excellent Play Full of Intrigue". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
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