The Reader

Main Characters and Their Development

• Michael Berg - an intelligent and sensitive teenager who begins a passionate affair with a much older woman, Hanna Schmitz. In the following years, as he uncovers the dark secrets of her past, he reflects on morality, guilt, and memory.
• Hanna Schmitz - a mysterious and reserved woman working as a tram conductor. She enters into a relationship with Michael, but her dark past during World War II eventually leads to her prosecution. Her character evolves from a mysterious lover to a figure symbolizing complex questions of guilt and redemption.