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Mother Night Chapter 42 Summary

No Dove, No Covenant…

  • The apartment building and the stairwell are musty. The attic apartment is definitely not.
  • That's because all of Campbell's windows have been broken in.
  • It's okay—Campbell likes it.
  • Sort of.
  • At least it's fresh air.
  • Plus, it all reminds him of Helga and that time they survived bombings and climbed stairs in buildings that led to nowhere.
  • Campbell and Helga were like Noah and his wife. Except that God hadn't promised them anything.
  • It reminds Campbell of a time during the bombings in Germany when he saw the wife of a schoolteacher shout to the heavens begging for answers. For a reprieve. Her husband hit her to knock her out then apologized to the Nazi patrol.
  • The Nazis offered forgiveness.
  • The teacher woke his wife and reverently told her she was forgiven.
  • Meanwhile, bombers continued bombing.
  • The couple's kids sat there like nothing was happening.
  • We can't relate. Something is happening. We want to know what it all means. Urgently.