How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
And so, with my Helga presumed dead, I became a death-worshipper, as content as any narrow-minded religious nut anywhere. Always alone, I drank toasts to her, said good morning to her, said good night to her, played music for her, and didn't give a damn for one thing else. (11.13)
Religious individuals aren't painted in a positive light here—Campbell calls them "nuts"—but more than that, Campbell describes himself as a "death-worshipper." It's a prime inversion of professed Christian ideals, because Christ is worshiped in part for overcoming death. Campbell builds rituals around his loss that further mimic Christian ones (solitary toasts instead of communion, nightly prayers, and playing music for Helga in lieu of a choir singing).
Quote #5
That may be so. I had hoped, as a broadcaster, to be merely ludicrous, but this is a hard world to be ludicrous in, with so many human beings so reluctant to laugh, so incapable of thought, so eager to believe and snarl and hate. So many people wanted to believe me. Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile. (29.6-7)
Mother Night is a dark comedy. We know this. We kind of think Campbell even knows this. He wants to play up the macabre humor in being a successful Nazi while secretly being a U.S. agent. Trouble is, most people don't share this sense of humor; they don't always get exaggeration or sarcasm.
Worse, for a career propagandist who doesn't believe in what he's saying, the more ridiculous Campbell's stereotypes are, the more powerful they become for people hungry for hate speech. That's why blind faith—in anything—is so messed up for Campbell. You never know how far that kind of belief will carry some people—even to violent ends.
Campbell is basically saying that his audience should have seen that what he was saying was insane. The fact that they couldn't is an ugly truth.
Quote #6
If there is another me after this one, I would like very much, in the next one, to be the sort of person of whom it could truly be said, 'Forgive him—he knows not what he does.' (29.51)
This is totally a shout-out to Jesus. As he's being crucified, he asks God to forgive those responsible because they don't know any better. It takes a lot of self-possession, empathy, and patience to ask something like that for your murderers—but that's not what Campbell is going for here.
Campbell's flipping the script because he says his own conscience is too heavy, and what a relief it would be if he could be a deranged sort of person who believes his own lies. Campbell is asking for the pass he feels he isn't allowed to have, because he does know better: being a Nazi is bad, even if you're doing it for Uncle Sam.