Now, however, it was being suggested that the reason why Franz had not waited to let himself be cut about the face by the boy he had been paired with was because he had suspected that this boy might be a Jew. He wasn't. But it was being suggested that Franz might have suspected that he was, and so might have been justified in walking out.
I said to Minna 'But all this is typical of the pathetic games of Christians. It is the explanation that Franz would hate more than any other!'
Minna said 'I would like to fight a duel with the people who say this, on behalf of Franz.'
I said 'Ah Minna, you would be good at fighting duels!'
Minna said 'I could take on most of those boys with one hand behind my back!'
I thought I might say — But Minna, you would anyway have one hand behind your back!
Minna said 'Hoop! Hoopla!' She made slashing movements as if at a boy's loins.
In the matter of duelling there was one caste of persons of course far lower in the pecking order than Jews, and this was women. It was inconceivable that a boy could think of fighting a duel with a woman. I thought — Indeed, they might be frightened of confronting some reality.
I said 'But Minna, you would want to win!'
She said 'Of course I would want to win!'
I said 'But the point of duelling, amongst boys, seems to be to get exquisitely beaten.'
Minna said 'Then I would exquisitely beat them!'
That evening in the beer-cellar when members of The Corps came in they did not, as usual, pay much attention to Franz; but it was now as if they were almost consciously leaving a small space around him. I thought — He has broken, yes, a taboo, by refusing
to become a ludicrous sacrificial victim. It had been rumoured that members of a Jewish fraternity were going to come to the beer-cellar that night: that they had been told that Franz, by walking out of the Mensur, might have insulted someone he had supposed to be a Jew; so they felt themselves insulted even though this person was not a Jew. So it seemed that there might even be a serious fight that night: for if it was felt by The Corps that in some way Franz had disgraced it — which he would not have done if his opponent had in fact been a Jew — then members of The Corps, to redeem themselves, might feel that in this situation they had to accept a challenge even by a Jew.
I said to Minna 'But they are all mad! It would be better if they were all put in a sack, and thrown into the river.'
Minna said 'But if one of the Jewish fraternity challenges one of The Corps to a duel tonight, and if the member of The Corps who would have turned it down on account of the challenger being a Jew, cannot now because of Franz's having walked out of the Mensur, cannot we then perhaps challenge one of the Jewish fraternity to a duel, and they will not be able to turn us down on account of our being women.'
I said 'What?' Then — 'Minna you are mad too! You should have been a boy.'
Minna said 'I know I should have been a boy.' She hugged me.
When the Jewish fraternity came into the beer-cellar that night (they were called The Maccabees) they sat at one table and The Corps sat at theirs and they all sang sad songs; Franz leaned back with his cap on the back of his head and his pipe in front of him as if he were on a tightrope. Then The Corps sang patriotic German songs and The Maccabees sang patriotic Zionist songs, and everyone was drinking more and more beer. So The Corps, as if in response to the Zionist songs, started on one of the obscene songs that they usually did not sing until later in the evening when women were no longer present: this song was called 'The Innkeeper's Daughter' and had innumerable verses in which the sexual exploits of the daughter became ever more bizarre: each member of The Corps round the table was supposed to sing a verse which would outdo the last one in obscenity. This would usually go on until the participants passed out — as indeed would have been likely to happen to anyone trying to keep up with the innkeeper's daughter.
I said 'But Minna, we want to be different from these boys.'
Minna said 'We are different from these boys.'
I said Then we don't want to take all this seriously.'
Minna said 'It is the boys who do not take this seriously!' She made slashing movements with her arm.
There was one member of The Maccabees called Albrecht who was a small angry boy of great energy: it was he who seemed to be stirring himself up to challenge a member of The Corps to a duel. He was singing his Zionist song more loudly than the others; he was banging his mug down on the table so violently that bits of beer seemed to hang in the air like spittle.
I said 'But Minna, do you know how to fight a duel?'
Minna said 'I have achieved my silver medal at fencing!'
I said 'But they won't fight you.'
Minna said 'Then I will hit them over the head with one of their sticks.'
It was a convention amongst Jews that if a member of a Jewish fraternity challenged a member of a non-Jewish fraternity to a duel and the member of the non-Jewish fraternity refused the challenge, then the Jew should hit the non-Jew over the head with his stick; and then a general melee would be likely to ensue, in which Jews might feel that they had salvaged their honour, if not in the conventional manner.
I said 'Minna, do you know what happened when Penthesilia, Queen of the Amazons, challenged Achilles to a duel?'
Minna said 'I know very well, she tore him to pieces.'
I said 'And she ate him.'
Minna said 'Oh I would like to eat Franz!'
The contortions of the innkeeper's daughter were becoming even more outlandish (I was thinking — Songs are such obvious substitutes for sexuality!); The Maccabees had embarked on the Zionist National Anthem, the Hatikvah. (I was thinking — And what should Minna and I sing? The Lorelei? The siren-song that lured poor sailors to their doom?) Then after one of the boys at The Corps' table had sung a particularly obscene verse, Albrecht, at the Maccabees' table, jumped up and went to The Corps' table and stood to attention and said in a loud voice 'I consider such obscenity in front of ladies to be proof, if any further proof were needed, that you are dishonourable men' and he clicked his heels, as if he were a small tree being axed. The noise in the beer-cellar subsided. People were watching the boy at The Corps' table who had sung the last obscene verse: this boy seemed to be too drunk to stand up. Franz was tilted back as if on his tightrope. The boy who had sung the obscene verse
at last managed to murmur 'I don't give satisfaction to Jews' — which was the formula for refusing such a challenge. So Albrecht raised his stick as if to hit the boy over the head with it. Then Minna stood up and said in a loud voice 'And we don't need you to protect ladies, thank you.' Albrecht said 'What?' I thought — Oh Minna, Minna! For a moment we all seemed stuck like flies on a flypaper. Then Minna walked over to Albrecht and tapped him on the shoulder. He stared at Minna. The boy at The Corps' table belched. Everybody laughed. Minna said 'I feel myself insulted; can I please have your card?' This was the formula for the challenge to a duel. Albrecht said 'You?' Minna said 'Yes.' Albrecht said 'But I was trying to defend you.' Minna said 'That is why I am insulted.' Albrecht looked round at the members of The Corps, who were looking embarrassed. Albrecht said 'But, Minna, I can't fight you.' Minna said 'Why not?' Then — 'He won't fight you because you're a Jew.' Albrecht said 'But you're a woman.' Minna said 'You see?' Then she took Albrecht's stick from his hand and made as if to hit him over the head with it.