"The Death (1938)" Summary

The narrator's family is anxious when a hesitant knock comes on their door at 1:30 AM, but father eventually opens it to find Herr Schneider asking apologetically for a lamp so they can treat his wife, who is in bad shape. A while later, Schneider brings Dr. Levy to the door. He asks if they may sterilize his last syringe. The Schneider's stove is ruined. He goes back to his patient while the narrator's mother builds water. She carries it upstairs and the narrator brings an electric heater. The Schneider apartment is destroyed and plunged in darkness. The patient lies on a pallet of rags, shredded curtains, and torn blankets. The narrator's mother demands they carry her downstairs to their apartment, but Levy says it is too late for that. He gives Frau Schneider an injection and advises her to...