The German Wife

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, mental illness, and religious discrimination.

Sofie bakes a cake to apologize to Lizzie and drives to Calvin and Lizzie’s house. When she knocks on the door, she’s met by a hostile Henry. He yells at her, accusing her of judging them for segregation, and then pulls the cake from her hands and throws it at the porch post, shattering the plate. Sofie hurries to her car and rushes home. Later, she tells Jürgen what happened, and Jürgen says that he has to talk to Calvin.

The night before Lizzie marries Calvin, she talks to Henry on her front porch. He marvels that she’s agreed to marry Calvin or anyone at all. When Calvin proposed, it was with the clear understanding that Lizzie didn’t have romantic feelings for Calvin and that they would essentially work as partners, helping one another in their lives. She and Calvin both hope that she may grow to love him beyond friendship. Their marriage is built on a foundation of mutual respect rather than passion.