“Don’t dab your eye Mein Herr, or wonder why Mein Herr, I’ve always told you I was a rover”
However, we see that Sally is not entirely egocentric when she manages to get Brian two of his only jobs in Berlin. Upon Brian’s first meeting with Fritz, she instantly suggests that Brian tutor Fritz in English. Immediately after doing that, Sally arranges for Brian to translate a novel from German to English for writer Herr Ludwig for 50 marks. By doing this, Sally is illustrating that she cares for Brian and is interested in his well-being. Sally displays her utmost love for Brian when she has an abortion, despite Brian’s wishes to keep the baby. At first it appears as though Sally is being self-absorbed but as she explains herself, we see that Sally has thought of the consequences of their marriage:
“How soon would it be until we started hating each other?!”
By having the abortion, Sally is sparing the both of them of the pain and hatred that could occur down the track. So, we see that even though Sally’s dynamic persona may also make her seem egotistical, part of persona is also a very loving because she herself longs to be loved.
Even though it isn’t blatantly obvious, we see that Brian also holds some selfish qualities in him. This is illustrated during the language class with Fritz, when Sally suddenly enters craving for a drink of alcohol. Immediately Brian encourages her to leave, it is clear here that he is worried about his appearance to the rich and well bought up Natalia Laundaur. Brian doesn’t question the reasons to why she needs a drink; he apparently doesn’t see that having a drink in the middle of the afternoon is not exactly of the norm, even for someone like Sally. This is not the only occasion where we see Brian behave self-sufficiently. He later reveals to Sally that he too was “screwing” Maxamillion and was being unfaithful to her. It is easy to label Sally as selfish when her infidelity is revealed because after all, as a cabaret dancer it is very much expected of her. But Brian too is being egotistical, because he cheated on Sally, which shows that he obviously didn’t think of her when he was giving into his sexual desires. In spite of this, Brian choosing to cheat on Sally with Maxamillion also shows that just like Sally he is searching for love and longs to be loved as well.
This illustrates that Brian too isn’t entirely selfish, and we see more evidence of this when he gallantly offers to marry Sally once she finds out that she is pregnant:
“I would like to marry you.”
Brian declares this despite knowing that there is a possibility that he may not be the father of the baby. But, his pronouncement of marriage by candlelight displays the illusion of happiness and hope that Brian and Sally are both desperately trying to create. In the end, Brian and Sally both face reality and unselfishly come to terms with the fact that it is better for the other if they just stayed apart.
At the beginning of the film, we are introduced to the character of Fritz. Upon their first tutoring session, Fritz instantly admits to his self-interested ways of life: “I am a fortune hunter,” he admits to Brian. Fritz explains how he wants to marry a rich woman so he can start up his own business. When Fritz hears that Brian is tutoring Natalia Laundaur, he insists that he stays and liase with the “enormous rich” young Jewess. However, we see a sweet side of Fritz as he tries to hide his frayed cuffs from Natalia to hide his lack of wealth. From this moment on we see the less selfish side of Fritz, as he begins to fall in love with Natalia and notices that there is more to her than just wealth. This is illustrated when Fritz begs Natalia to marry him despite that fact that he is a so-called “Protestant” and she is a Jew. Natalia refuses him and this leads to Fritz revealing the truth about himself: “I am a Jew” he declares to Natalia. Here Fritz has given up his selfish ways and labelled himself as a Jew, which is a death sentence in Germany, all because of his love for Natalia. By the end of the film, we notice a considerable difference in the character of Fritz, who has changed from a selfish “gigolo” to an “honest man.”
In conclusion, by the end of the film we see that the characters’ motives in their relationships have changed from selfishness to sincerity. Sally, Brian and Fritz all realise that honesty and love is the key to happiness in a relationship, rather that self-centredness. They understand that the important factor in a relationship is not to think of oneself, but to rather think of the other person instead.
