Lee answers “[Spoiler Alert] Why do you think the...”

Genetta asked this question about All the Light We Cannot See:

[Spoiler Alert] Why do you think the author decided to add the rape scene? Does it add anything to the characters' arcs? Does it propel the plot forward? Does anything result from that scene? Frau Elena, Jutta, and the other three girls were already obviously miserable. The reader has already experienced the cruelty of war. Why was the rape scene necessary?

Lee For me, too, this was maybe the most difficult part to read, esp. coming on the heels of what happened to Werner. I don't think its inclusion is neces…moreFor me, too, this was maybe the most difficult part to read, esp. coming on the heels of what happened to Werner. I don't think its inclusion is necessarily to report on the atrocities of war - the book itself didn't focus on that too much (from my perspective).
Maybe it's a life marker in Jutta's life, something to explain how her character turned out as an adult. She was such an intelligent, curious, morally strong child (younger than Werner but always intrinsically understanding right from wrong) - today, she'd be the head of some human rights non-profit, but in the tidal wave of horror that she lived through as a poor orphan being used and abused in Hitler's Reich... she might have survived the death of her brother, and the poverty and misery of the war years, but the rape was maybe the last blow - she ended up as... sort of weak and scared and hiding within her little family. Going on that final treasure hunt to unlock the mystery of the little house seemed to have taken a huge mental effort.
The tragedy of this book's ending is overwhelming.(less)

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All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr (Goodreads Author)

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