Heinrich Boll's novella, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, critiques the power structures of the late 1960's West-German Capitalist society and the unfair marginalisation of working class women. Through his manipulation of narrative structure and character development, the reader is encouraged to accept Katharina Blum, and reject Werner Tötges, reporter for the Newspaper. This political narrative explores the forces that have shaped, and the problems faced by, post-war West Germany through the employment of sexual violation as a metaphor for the invasion of the state into private lives. Boll portrays these prevalent issues of his society through plot, narrative method, character construction, and the relation between gender and state, positioning the reader to react favourably toward the protagonist Katharina Blum, and unfavourably toward those who try to destroy her.

The reader is encouraged to respond favourably toward Katharina through Boll's construction of her values and work habits...