Part 1, Chapter 17 Summary

Hanna simply disappears. Michael returns to her apartment to find it locked up and uninhabited. He tries to telephone her at the streetcar company but is informed that she has quit her job. He telephones the landlord in hope of further information and is told that she has moved out of the furnished apartment. After several days, he goes in desperation to the streetcar company and talks with her previous supervisor. The streetcar supervisor tells Michael that he had, just days before, offered to promote Hanna from conductor to driver. Instead of accepting the promotion, Hanna quit her job. Michael eventually learns through mandatory citizen's registration records that Hanna has moved to Hamburg.

Michael is literally physically ill for a prolonged period of time but maintains a fazade of complacency in front of his family and friends. He misses Hanna physically...