Little Man, What Now?

Johannes’s mother, Mia Pinneberg, collects her son and daughter-in-law from the station in Berlin. She bickers with the cab driver, compliments Emma for being “not what [she] expected” (106), and becomes vague when questioned about the job at Mandel’s. She defends her work history, claiming that her job as a barmaid that so offended Johannes was only a short-term measure to help a friend. She also mentions Holger Jachmann, who is her “lover at present” (110). At her house, she shows the couple a well-furnished room that will cost them only 100 marks a month, dismissing their protests that “ordinary people” like themselves cannot afford such an expense. Mia soon puts the couple to work cleaning dishes in her kitchen. Jachmann arrives and immediately seems confused about the mention of a job at Mandel’s. Johannes is concerned that his mother has lied to him. Jachmann agrees to talk to his friend at the store. The following day, he meets Johannes outside the store and sends him in alone. Jachmann has told his friend many lies about Johannes, so he encourages Johannes to pretend that he knows nothing. Johannes is perturbed. He meets Mr. Lehmann, who offers him a job even though the store is not hiring.