If returning to the same hotel for nineteen consecutive seasons ain't loyalty, then we don't know what is. Gustave values loyalty and is willing to go to any lengths to obtain it. Loyalty is something that Gustave works hard to earn, with the hotel, patrons, his prisoner friends, Madame D.'s servants, Henckels, and, most importantly, his lobby boy Zero.
How does one gain loyalty? By being loyal. Just one look at Gustave in his natural habitat and you'll see just how loyal he is to The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Questions about Loyalty
- How loyal is Serge really? Does he betray Gustave, or was lying his only hope? What can we assume about his knowledge of Gustave's relationship with Madame D.?
- Does Gustave really earn the loyalty of his fellow inmates, or are they just using him so his Mendl's can be a smuggling device?
- How self-serving is Gustave's loyalty? Does it seem out of character when he talks of selling Boy with Apple and abandoning the hotel?
Chew on This
Gustave is loyal only when it serves him most. His relationship with Madame D. is based around entertaining a patron (with some added benefits like sex and a potential inheritance). His attitude about selling her beloved painting shows his true colors.
Gustave puts loyalty above all. The relationships he establishes (e.g. with "little Albert," Pinky and the gang, the hotel's elderly female patrons, etc.) are founded on his genuine, concierge-esque concern to please all of those around him, without necessarily expecting anything in return.