Else+Woltersheim

- Born in 1930 therefore is 44 years old is unmarried and is a housekeeper/ cateress. - During interrogation her voice was “unemotional dry – as dust tone of voice” pg 63 - She is the godmother to Katharina Blum. Therefore feels she has a “maternal” responsibility to Katharina as her intimate family is so unstable. – mother “unstable and an alcoholic” father – “total wreak” brother – “turned out badly” - She also comments on the marriage of Katharina as “hopelessly wrong” she also “advised her against it from the beginning” - She also states the marriage went so wrong as it was a flight from an unstable home. - Because of this maternal instinct that Else seems to have for Katharina she stands by her through out the investigations and show her loyalty too. She also expresses that the //‘News’// the newspaper which slants Katharina needs to be sorted out as she can see the affect it is having on Katharina. “talks about the destruction of a young life could it be justified” - Also the relationship is very close between Katharina and Else more than just godmother and godchild. Katharina trusts her a lot and it is said that Else “knew about Katharina’s life down to the last detail” because of this she is accused of knowing more than she said. Also more evidence points to them being closer than expressed as Katharina was picked up at Else house for questioning one time. Also she had letters from Else in a box. - She helped Katharina find a place as a maid and financially helped her to attend home economics at Kuir where Else worked as an instructor. This then enabled Katharina become a housekeeper and made her more appealing to hire by potential employers. Also after Katharina’s failed marriage she went to live with Else at her home and it was in this time that Else helped Katharina get in to the home economics school. Also it is said that Else had “always taken an interest in her” and had “got in touch as soon as she had come to town” pg 23. Else is also a distant cousin of Katharina’s mother although not her intimate family it can be interpreted that Katharina is closer to her than her own intimate family. - During the investigation Else was also taken in to be questioned and was “downright hostile certainly more than Blum” also her voice. Also she would only talk “if authorized by Katharina Blum she would tell them all” this shows that she had complete loyalty to Katharina and didn’t want her to go to jail and tried like a mother would do to protect her as Else was hard to question as “ it was not easy to interrupt Miss. Woltersheim’s torrent of complaint”. Also during her questioning it was insinuated that she was in helping Goetten escape as her father was a communist therefore she was a threat to society. The investigators were also trying to bring down Else as well as Katharina. It is also said that Else knew everything that had happened and knew Katharina had commented an offence when helping Goetten escape. But during questioning denied all knowledge of Goetten claming that she only met him at her Carnival party and didn’t know his name and that his friend seemed more threatening than him. During questioning it is wondered on pg 61 “how did Ludwig Goetten come to be a guest at the Woltersheim dance?” this insinuates that Else and Katharina knew Goetten before hand and invited him. They never found enough evidence to convict Else of anything. Sophie Raine
 * __The character of Frau Woltersheim (Aunt Else)__**