The Traitor's Emblem: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Traitor's Emblem: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into a complex narrative set against the backdrop of post-World War I Germany and the rise of the Nazi regime. The protagonist, Paul Reiner, is a young German grappling with his father's murder, leading him on a transformative journey from a shy youth to a determined man on a quest for vengeance. Notable characters include Alys Tannenbaum, Paul’s love interest, who embodies resilience as she navigates her own struggles, including eventual kidnapping by the antagonistic Jürgen von Schroeder, a cruel aristocrat driven by power and violence.
Each character is intricately crafted, showcasing their motivations and conflicts, from Paul’s mother, Ilse, whose secrets shape Paul's understanding of family, to Sebastian Keller, a bookseller with ulterior motives tied to a hidden treasure. Jürgen's descent into the Nazi Party and his brutal actions highlight the pervasive darkness of the era, while supporting characters like Alys's brother, Manfred, and their son, Julian, underscore themes of loyalty and survival. The interplay among these characters and their fates provides a rich exploration of betrayal, identity, and the quest for justice in a tumultuous historical context.
The Traitor's Emblem: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Juan Gómez-Jurado
Alternate Title: El emblema del traidor
First published: 2008 (English translation, 2011)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Straits of Gibraltar; Munich; Dachau, Germany; South West Africa (present-day Namibia)
Plot: Historical
Time: 1919–40; 2002
Paul Reiner, the protagonist, a young German who learns his father has been murdered. He has blue eyes and light hair. At fifteen, he is rather scrawny; at thirty, he has a muscular body bearing many tiny scars. He develops from a shy, bookish youth into a resourceful, independent young man driven by his quest to find his father's murderer. At fifteen, living in post–World War I Munich, he saves Alys Tannenbaum from the unwanted attention of Jürgen von Schroeder. When Jürgen and his thugs attack him, he accidentally destroys Jürgen's right eye. Paul becomes a Mason to find the killer of his father. He and Alys reunite and have sex. He finds his mother dying from a knife attack and learns Jürgen is his half brother, not his cousin as he had believed. He quarrels with Alys and leaves for South West Africa. In 1934, he returns to Munich. He learns his father was a deserter who shot a German farmer in South West Africa for his diamonds, which he then hid in a secret place. He rejoins Alys and learns that he is the father of her ten-year-old son, Julian. He receives a call from Jürgen, by then an SS officer, who tells him he has kidnapped and raped Alys and sent her to the Dachau concentration camp. Jürgen challenges him to duel. He wins, killing Jürgen. He has his own eye taken out by Alys's brother Manfred so he can impersonate Jürgen and successfully free Alys from Dachau. After killing his father's murderer, he goes to South West Africa with Alys, Julian, and Manfred. He finds the diamonds with his father's map. In 1940, trying to flee to Portugal across the Straits of Gibraltar, his party of four is rescued by a Spanish captain. He gives the captain the valuable but fake Masonic emblem the SS gave him (as Jürgen) in Dachau for betraying the Masons.
Alys Tannenbaum, a young German Jewish woman. At fifteen, she is a tall, dark girl with an attractive voice and captivating smile. She has an independent spirit and will not be married to the man her father selects for her, Jürgen von Schroeder. She runs away from home and becomes a photographer. At nineteen, she falls in love with Paul Reiner. She refuses to go to South West Africa with Paul, and they separate, though she is pregnant with Paul's child. Kicked out by her father, she raises their son, Julian, alone. After reuniting with Paul in 1934, she is kidnapped and raped by Jürgen, who sends her to Dachau. Paul rescues her from the camp, and she goes with him, Julian, and her brother Manfred to South West Africa. In 1940, all four escape to Portugal.
Jürgen von Schroeder, a young, vicious German aristocrat who joins the Nazi Party. Jürgen is powerfully built, with a strong jaw, pronounced cheekbones, blue eyes, and dark hair. Jürgen is an arrogant bully who loves violence. At sixteen, he is incensed when Paul Reiner thwarts his attempts to fondle Alys Tannenbaum at his birthday party. He loses his right eye when he and six thuggish friends attack Paul. He later meets Adolf Hitler and becomes a Nazi. He attacks Paul's mother, Ilse, to obtain her secret letter to her son. He learns he has the same father as Paul. He stabs Ilse, sets her room aflame and leaves. In 1934, with the Nazis in power, he is an SS officer given the assignment to infiltrate and betray the Masons. He bullies his legal father to commit suicide and then abducts and rapes Alys before sending her to Dachau. He challenges Paul to a duel to the death, which he loses.
Sebastian Keller, a Munich bookseller and Mason. When he meets Paul in 1923, he is past fifty with completely white hair, a goatee, and very large ears. He appears avuncular. His secret goal is to have Paul find the map leading to the diamond treasure of his former friend, the late Hans Reiner. In the end, he kidnaps Paul and Alys's son Julian at Dachau and demands the map from Paul, admitting he shot Paul's father. Paul tricks and kills him.
Ilse Reiner, Paul's long-suffering mother. An emaciated and downtrodden woman, for years she has kept secret the truth about her sister's seduction of her husband and the circumstances of his death. In 1919, she and Paul move out of her sister's home, where they have been servants. In 1923, her nephew Jürgen mutilates her hand to force her to give him a letter she has written to her son and then stabs her once she complies. When Paul finds her dying, she refuses to name her assailant but tells Paul that Jürgen is his brother.
Clovis Nagel, a companion of Paul's late father, Hans Reiner. He and Hans, German naval officers, deserted in Africa in 1904. They stumbled upon a diamond fortune, which Hans stole. Clovis was present when Hans was shot in Germany. Cornered by Paul, he tells Paul of these events but jumps to his death before telling who shot Hans.
Josef Tannenbaum, Alys's dictatorial and estranged father, a German Jewish industrialist. Of stocky build, he is obsessed with marrying his family into German aristocracy. In 1934, the Gestapo seizes and murders him.
Manfred Tannenbaum, a young German Jew, brother of Alys Tannenbaum. Fifteen-year-old Manfred's soccer ball hits Paul, bringing an injured Paul to the Tannenbaums' home. Years later, in 1934, he helps Paul rescue Alys from Dachau.
Julian Tannenbaum, a half-Jewish German boy, the son of Paul Reiner and Alys Tannenbaum. At ten, he is smart but afraid of the dark. He accepts Paul as his father and helps him overcome Sebastian Keller.
Otto von Schroeder, Jürgen's legal father, a Baron. He is a womanizer and gambler. In 1934, Otto is bullied by Jürgen to commit suicide so that Jürgen can inherit Otto's title.
Brunhilda von Schroeder, Jürgen's embittered mother. She is disappointed with her womanizing husband. She seduces her sister Ilse's fiancé and conceives Jürgen, passing him off as Otto's child.
Captain Manuel González Pereira, a Spanish naval officer. In 1940, he rescues shipwrecked Paul Reiner and his party in the Straits of Gibraltar. For this, he is given the valuable fake Mason emblem. In 2002, his son learns the story of the emblem.