Mother Night Betrayal Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

My wife never knew I was a spy. (10.1)

We're pretty sure not telling your wife that you're a spy is a betrayal. We're not saying Campbell did the wrong thing in lying. We're not saying there was a good alternative. We're just saying that he made a choice, and that choice was to be more loyal to spyhood than to Helga. Hard choice. Rough consequences.

Quote #5

My mother and father died. Some say they died of broken hearts. They died in their middle sixties, at any rate, when hearts break easily.

They did not live to see the end of the war, nor did they ever see their beamish boy again. They did not disinherit me, though they must have been bitterly tempted to do so. They bequeathed to Howard W. Campbell, Jr., the notorious anti-Semite, turncoat and radio star, stocks, real estate, cash and personal property which were, in 1945, at the time of probate, worth forty-eight thousand dollars. (11.1-2)

Campbell observes that his parents never turned their back on him, even though they must have believed he was a traitor to the U.S.—and to them. He's also got the added guilt of thinking they died because of him and their "broken hearts." Ouch. This moment also provides an interesting contrast, because later we learn that Jones's parents totally disown him for being a Nazi sympathizer.

Quote #6

For a little while I lied to Kraft about who I was and what I'd done. But the friendship deepened so much, so fast, that I soon told him everything. (12.1)

We think that Campbell is tired of being a fibster and just wants a friend. Too bad he unburdens his soul to another spy. Hey, you live by the sword…