"The Cleaning Lady (1935)" Summary

Hardworking, thorough Frau Penk does housework Frau Schneider and the narrator's mother. The narrator's father finds good work after joining the Nazi Party. Penk works, because she is bored at home and likes buying things. The narrator hears Frau Schneider ring the doorbell and ask to speak with Frau Penk about changing their appointment Friday to accommodate a doctor's appointment. Frau Penk apologetically responds that she had planned on coming to tell her that she can no longer work for her. She hugs Friedrich tenderly. Frau Schneider says she understands the reasons and is not angry. The narrator's mother demands to know whether the women have been quarreling, and how Frau Penk can give up such a good position. Frau Penk says she is only 28, and quotes the new Nazi law forbidding Germans under age 35 to work...