The Lost Honour Of Katharina Blum

For many decades, society has shaped individuals' lives. Even if they are not written, it’s possible to say, that these invisible rules, which are created by the society, lead our lives. As a result of these rules, “stereotypical thinking” also exists. If we take a look at the effects of this stereotypical mindset, unfortunately it’s possible to see that women are one of the most negatively affected groups by the conventionalized stereotypes. This situation steered many authors to create special works, which are dedicated to this very topic. The book "The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum" by Heinrich Böll also draws attention to these issues.

The book is about the protagonist Katharina Blum, who is involved in a criminal incident. She has suffered injustices because of her gender during a difficult trial. The devastating effects of society's stereotypical perspectives on the main character "Katharina Blum" become clear throughout the book. The main event of this work is the murder committed by Katharina Blum. Until the time the murder was committed, Katharina Blum's name was mentioned in various criminal events. Her quiet life changed completely when she met a criminal named Ludwig Götten, who was on the run from the police, at a party and fell in love with him. Ludwig's disappearance after leaving the party, having gone to Katharina's house, cast all doubts on Katharina Blum. This was actually the beginning of a difficult trial that Katharina Blum will experience. This process has a profound and negative effect on Katharina Blum's psychology. For this reason, she unfortunately took irreversible actions on herself. 

She was in a criminal trial and during the trial, she also had basic rights like other people. But because of ethics against the treatment of the newspapers and the media in general, her right to a fair trial was taken out of her hands. In particular, the "Zeitung", which is mentioned in the book as an important publication, and the interviews of the press representatives working in it with the surroundings and enemies of Katharina Blum, were published with false information. This led to doubts and false thoughts being directed at Katharina Blum by society during the criminal proceedings in which she was involved. In fact, she was poorly portrayed by the press, such as her personal thoughts, sexual preferences, religious views, and many other characteristics. She was portrayed in the media as immoral and criminal. For this reason, society has developed a very negative perspective towards Katharina Blum. She soon loses her dignity in the press as her story causes a furor. 

But these events have serious consequences. The journalist, who spread misinformation about her, in particular has a very negative effect on Katharina Blum's reputation, so she can no longer stand this situation and meets him under the pretext of an interview and shoots him with a gun. At the end of the book, Katharina Blum interrogates herself after killing him. In this section, she reflects on the moments of the murder. Inwardly, she emphasizes that she does not regret the murder at all. 

At this point, it can be said that the media is the tool that triggers society's judgements and clearly reflect their suppressed feelings. The pressure element also plays an important role in dealing with the issue. Because the pressure exerted on her by the media, and even Katharina's past, was the main reason why she made irreversible decisions.