The Story, Summarized

The story is set in the summer of 1941. Six guests have gathered at a country estate bordering a large lake. It is a warm evening and the guests and the host and hostess are seated around a table alongside the lake. The guests are:

• The legal counsel of a Berlin corporation
• A neurologist
• An artist
• An 82 year-old spinster, identified as Aunt Agathe
• A young woman, identified as Tilde
• The mother of a soldier, identified as Frau Veronika

The conversation turns to a subject raised by the attorney: As a result of war-induced shortages, what does each of the assembled persons miss the most? Except for Frau Veronika, who speaks last, they miss their car (hostess), meat (host), a hot bath (doctor), lighted cities (artist), fine soaps (spinster), and young men (young woman). Frau Veronika, whom the author allows to speak last for dramatic effect, misses her son, who is fighting on the Russian front, the most. The hostess, expressing contrition for the selfishness which motivated herself and the others in comparison with Frau Veronika's sacrifice, summarizes and ends the conversation.

OTTO