Out of service (narration)

Out of service is a story in the form of the frame story by Ferdinand von Saar from 1902 .

content

The narrator travels to K. with the stagecoach. During a stop at an inconspicuous place, he stops at an inn. There he meets a former regimental comrade sitting at the next table. Time has turned the handsome young officer into a fat, neglected man. The two start talking. The lonely person briefly tells his life story. Then the narrator has to get back into the carriage. The two say goodbye, probably forever.

Internal narration

The rundown officer has had almost no joys in his life. He's always unlucky with women too. The only one who really loves him is Fanushka, a prostitute from Znojmo. When his regiment moves away, he loses sight of them. He leaves the desperate letters unanswered. Ten years later, when the officer remembers her out of sentimentality and writes to Fanushka's home community, he learns that she has already died.