The Man in the High Castle Chapters 11 & 12 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 11 & 12

Summary: Chapter 11

Hugo Reiss finds Kreuz vom Meere waiting for him in his office. Vom Meere reports that they have located the spy, Rudolf Wegener, and have learned he’s been operating under the name Baynes. The men are afraid to intercept Baynes’ meeting since it will be held in a Japanese-controlled area, and may cause diplomatic issues. The men are interrupted by a call from Dr. Goebbels, who was recently made the Reich’s new Chancellor. Goebbels commands Reiss to cooperate with the local German authorities in detaining Baynes. Reiss, terrified, obeys his orders, but still considers stalling, just to spite vom Meere.

Childan heads to Paul Kasoura’s office to learn why Betty never contacted him about his gift. Childan is anxious and wonders whether he offended them, or whether Paul has figured out his plan to seduce Betty. Paul tells Childan that he’s kept the piece because it has wu, a certain aura suggestive of the Tao, or the Chinese path of serenity, which teaches a balance of yin and yang energies. Paul says the piece is a truly original work of art. He suggests that Childan gets in touch with his contacts who are interested in mass-producing the piece as a good luck charm, but his suggestion is a test: If Childan realizes the importance of what Paul’s saying, he’d never mass produce and defile the object. Childan first agrees to the idea but then realizes the trick. He tells Paul that he’ll not mass produce the piece, and demands Paul apologize.

Summary: Chapter 12

Tagomi, Baynes, and Yatabe meet at Tagomi’s office. Tagomi recognizes that the old, fragile Yatabe is General Tedeki, former Imperial Chief of Staff. Baynes reveals himself as Rudolf Wegener, a Nazi defector. He explains that the Reich has plans to annihilate Japan with a nuclear attack under Project Dandelion. Not every faction in the Reich supports the project, but Goebbels, the new Chancellor, does. Tedeki is dubious but is quieted when Wegener provides evidence hidden in a cigarette case.

Back at Frink’s and McCarthy’s jewelry studio, the men have a somber conversation about the future of their business. Frink realizes that McCarthy is a lousy salesman, and becomes pessimistic. He wants to close up shop. Frink steps outside for a cigarette when he is apprehended by two police officers who have come to arrest him. They claim Frink tried to blackmail Childan. The officers further threaten to deport Frink to the Reich because he’s Jewish and technically considered their property.

Tagomi is informed that two SD commandoes sent by Reiss have just entered the building. Rather than panic, he calmly pulls out the antique revolver he got from Childan. The commandoes break in, and Tagomi resolutely shoots them, killing them both. The shock sends Tagomi, a devout Buddhist who honors all life, into a psychological tailspin. Wegener feels bad for Tagomi, realizing Tagomi has no frame of reference in which to put the act of murder and make peace with it.

Analysis: Chapters 11 & 12

Hugo Reiss becomes a foil to his political party, mostly because of the Reich itself. Baynes, who is actually Rudolf Wegener, a Nazi defector, slips by Reiss because of a rivalry between Reiss and Kreuz vom Meere, instigated by the Reich itself. If Reiss weren’t pitted against Kreuz vom Meere, he might be quicker to act and carry out orders to capture Baynes. Reiss, a German official working in a foreign base, is miles away from headquarters in Germany and somewhat removed from the Reich’s power and influence. He’s taken on a more a peace-keeping role in the Japanese-controlled Pacific States, away from his leaders. The Reich has gotten in its own way with its games of political intrigue, and Reiss botches his attempts to stop Baynes before he informs the Japanese of the Reich’s plan to destroy their islands. Joe Cinnadella’s comments earlier about the Reich’s tendencies to over-dramatize ring true in this case. The Fascists just might be more powerful if they could avoid getting caught up in the drama and simply act.

These chapters also return to Childan and his quest for respect as a member of an occupied territory. Childan is using Frank Frink’s jewelry to seduce Betty but ends up getting much more than he bargained for when he sends the piece to her through her husband Paul. Paul tells Childan that the piece of jewelry he sent over is a piece of art and a work of true originality. He claims that nothing like it has been seen in the world. The piece’s uniqueness comes from its ability to hold both yin and yang in equal measure, giving it a sense of divine equilibrium.

Childan was completely blind to the piece’s value, further revealing his lack of skill as an antique dealer, but also makes him like Wyndam-Matson, a materialist. Childan is similar to the “blind moles” Tagomi once referred to, in that he’s unaware of the inner reality of the world around him. In this sense, the Japanese will likely always have something over Childan. However, when Childan makes a stand and refuses to take Paul’s pandering offer to mass-produce the jewelry for profit, he gains self-respect and respect from Paul. Childan will now be held in higher esteem among the art dealers sought by the Japanese.

Frank Frink, a Jewish man who is trying to find a way to fight out an existence in America, suddenly becomes the source of a new frontier in American art. Earlier, the German Nazi artist Lotze tells Baynes art should advance spirituality over the sensual, which is just what Frink does. He advances Childan’s spiritual nature because he’s allowed Childan a chance to rise above his sensual desires for Betty and earn something more spiritual in nature, by proxy of Paul’s vision of the value of the art piece. Frink creates a new American heritage, and Childan gives him the pathway to bring it to the world.

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