Mother Night Chapter 17 Summary

August Krapptauer Goes to Valhalla…

  • Proud as a peacock, Krapptauer decides to be Krapp-tastic: he runs downstairs to grab Helga's luggage and lug it back up to Campbell's attic apartment.
  • This is dumb.
  • Why?
  • Krapptauer is elderly. He's got a bum heart. He arrives panting and flushed.
  • Jones tells Krapptauer: You should have let Wilson bring the bags.
  • (Wilson was the spy mentioned in Chapter 14. He's now Jones's driver.)
  • Krapptauer: It's an honor to do this for the wife of the man who served Hitler.
  • Krapptauer drops dead.
  • Slow clap. Too soon?
  • Twist: The gang calls Dr. Epstein, the young Jewish doctor who lives in the building (who was mentioned in chapter 8), to examine him. While he's there, Jones and Keeley keep quiet about their anti-Semitism. Charming.
  • After Dr. Epstein leaves to call an ambulance, Jones and Keeley tell Campbell that Krapptauer was his biggest fan. He even built a radio in prison so that he could listen to Campbell's broadcasts.
  • Krapptauer was also starting another hate group called The Iron Guard of the White Sons of the American Constitution, which focused on recruiting children. Krapptauer wanted Campbell to join it.
  • Wilson shows up. He's not a happy camper, and we get a look at the very convoluted life he leads with Jones.
  • Wilson is not keen on Campbell, and while he drives Jones and serves him at home, he spends all his days talking about how blacks will rise up and take over their white oppressors. He imagines teaming up with Japan to develop a hydrogen bomb for retaliation.
  • Campbell: Who gets bombed first?
  • Wilson: China.
  • Well, this is a mess.