The Only Woman in the Room

Fritz is Hedy’s first husband and the first antagonist of the text. He is half-Jewish, though he hides it from the world. His Jewish father had a premarital affair with his Catholic mother, who was a maid in his father’s household. After Fritz was born, his father converted to Christianity, married his mother, and legitimized Fritz. Growing up in a conservative Austrian society, the stain of his birth conceivably brought him great shame. This shame, then, led to his rigid clinging to traditional patriarchal gender dynamics in his marriage to Hedy; his every move was meant to keep her within his control, so that Hedy would serve as the silent, obedient hausfrau he wanted.

His rise to power, by selling arms to dangerous men and instilling Dollfuss in power, also relates his desperate need to reclaim control over his narrative—he will be remembered for his political capital, rather than the circumstances of his birth. His only ideological alignment is that of extreme wealth, his philosophy being: “Rulers and movements may rise and fall, but the power of money always prevails” (52). Fritz, then, sees everything and everyone in his life as an extension of his power and wealth, particularly Hedy. He acquires her as his wife in the same manner he would purchase a painting at an auction: He claims her from afar, invests, and positions her in his home, her beauty an adornment in his halls. 

Fritz’s character represents the brutal fascism taking over Europe. He is not politically aligned with the fascist movement, as his only interest is to maintain his own power. Rather, he is fascist in his treatment of Hedy; he endeavors to control her every move, reacting violently to her every transgression. His means of asserting power over and suppressing opposition in Hedy is to sexually assault her. Anytime he perceives a misbehavior, particularly if his jealousy is ignited by another man’s interest, Fritz treats Hedy’s body like a “country over which [he] constantly asserted dominion” (127). He does this because he is inherently misogynist; he sees Hedy—all women, really—as objects to enjoy or abuse at his pleasure, her transgressions a direct challenge to his authority as patriarch. Fritz’s abuse escalates as fascism spreads over Europe, further likening him to the authoritarian ultranationalism. The text’s allegorizing of the gradual deterioration of Europe’s democracy through domestic abuse is particularly successful because countries are often referred to as feminine, and fascism associated with an extreme form of aggressive masculinity. Therefore, the abuse Fritz perpetuates unto Hedy serves as a parallel for the abuse countries suffer from authoritarian regimes. 

Hedy’s father is the person she loves most in the world. His interest in her ideas and patience with her curiosity fosters her genius, teaching her to see the world through an inquisitive lens. He is tall, “reliable,” and always “immaculately dressed” for his job as a bank manager (14). Despite his busy schedule, he ensures time with his daughter every night. When Hedy was a child, he’d sit with her and listen to her questions: “No query was off-limits” (15), for he patiently answered her questions in great detail.

It is Mr. Kiesler who imparts upon Hedy the seriousness of the situation in Europe. His attentiveness in reviewing “every detail of the headlines” (18) allows him to interpret the nuances of the political scene in ways that most don’t; he knows what each small change can mean for the future and detects the fates of the Jewish population early on. The severity of his fear is indicated by his urging Hedy to marry Fritz. It is uncharacteristic of him to make decisions for his daughter, but he recognizes that Hedy will be safer with a powerful man. Before dying, Mr. Kiesler transfers responsibility for the household onto Hedy by insisting that she stay with Fritz to protect her mother. It is an incredible burden to bear, and his asking relates just how dangerous their situation is in Austria.

Mr. Kiesler is the only one who truly knew Hedy, and she holds every man to his standard for the rest of her life. Benedict paints his character with a modern flair; little is known about Hedy’s real father, but Benedict’s rendition imagines a progressive man who passed his shrewdness onto his daughter. In the narrative, Mr. Kiesler’s direct legacy is Hedy’s hobbyist inventing. She is curious because of his encouragement, and she can create because of his lessons.