Ch. 13, Tapered at the Foot End

Suzanne · Sat Sep 18, 2010 6:14 pm

THE TIN DRUM, Gunter Grass

Book One, Chapter 13
Tapered at the Foot End

Suzanne · Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:04 am

Well, as once Oskar deliberately decided to stop growing at the age of three, in this chapter another decision is made, this one by Oskar’s mother. Oskar’s mother has decided to die. With the chapter and the descriptive passages about the eels and Matzarath’s behavior fresh in our minds, Oskar's mother uses fish as her choice of weapon upon herself.

“She started in at breakfast on canned sardines, two hours later, unless there happened to be customers in the shop, she would dig into a case of Bohnsack sprats, for lunch she would demand fried flounder or codfish with mustard sauce, and in the afternoon there she was again with her can opener: eels in jelly, rollmops, and baked herring . . . For the rest of us it was the end of our appetites, because she would scrape the last particle of fat from the inside and outside of the eel’s skin. She would have to vomit at intervals throughout the day. Helplessly anxious, Matzerath would ask: “Maybe you’re pregnant, or what’s the matter with you? Don’t talk nonsense said Mama, if she said anything at all”, (page 160).

Clearly Oskar’s mother is in great distress.

“Every organ in her body stored up the bitter memory of that Good Friday excursion and for fear that it be repeated, her organs saw to it that may mama, who was quite in agreement with them, should die”, (page 161).

Many questions come to my mind during this chapter. If mama was in fact pregnant, there would not be a clear father, but I don’t know if mama would intentionally destroy a baby produced by Jan who she loves. The larger question for me is what did she feel during that excursion on Good Friday that would compel her to act as she did? What did she foresee coming in the future? And what is the message that Grass is sending that these feelings of hopelessness in mama occurred on Good Friday?

Another interesting aspect to this chapter is Oskar’s reaction to his mother’s death. In regard to his drum:

“When Mama died, the red flames on my drum casing paled a little; but the white lacquer became whiter than ever and so dazzling that Oskar was sometimes obliged to close his eyes”, (page 163).

The color white is typically used to symbolize innocence. Oskar shows that he is capable of compassion and grief over his mother’s death, but he uses his drum to express these feelings. Why is the drum so vibrantly displaying the color white after the death of Oskar’s mother?

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