Thanks, whoever you are (Edward?) -- yes, that's the crux of the whole play, and also, in the end, how and why the audience can indeed empathize with Foustka. Almost everyone has, at some point, adjusted or outright lied about their attitudes, beliefs, what-have-you, when advantageous to them in some way. Foustka loses his soul by doing this to the point of having no apparent point of view, no self, ultimately, no ground to stand on -- a slow path to a kind of evil, step by step, until he has no defense against a far greater evil.
Foustka is a "Good German," who may help hide Jews when he can get away with it, and will blow their cover to the Nazis when he can't, not really caring one way or the other about Jews or Nazis, just caring about him and his, trying to get by. Eventually, he has no side but himself, and that's not enough.
But, yes, I think we can all empathize with that -- "Well, what would I do? Would I be a better man than that?"
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Date: 2006-08-24 02:56 pm (UTC)From:Foustka is a "Good German," who may help hide Jews when he can get away with it, and will blow their cover to the Nazis when he can't, not really caring one way or the other about Jews or Nazis, just caring about him and his, trying to get by. Eventually, he has no side but himself, and that's not enough.
But, yes, I think we can all empathize with that -- "Well, what would I do? Would I be a better man than that?"