Portrayal of Women through the Lens of Media in Heinrich Boll’s The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, in Parallel with the Modern World

Abstract

This study explores the role of media in the construction of reality and victim shaming, and highlights the psychological complexities triggered by media in the case of Heinrich Böll’s novella’s character, Katharina Blum, and its comparison with different character assassination cases of Cheryl Araujo and Monica Lewinsky from around the globe. This paper provides an in-depth analysis of how the false representation by the media leads to the psychological discomfort of the victims through the novella The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum by Heinrich Böll, through the framework of Cultivation Theory. This research aims to fill the gap by demonstrating the role of media in shaping the mind and life of a sufferer and how this concept contributes to the formation of a marginalized society for females. The paper explores the story of a young girl, Katharina Blum, whose noble reputation has been ruined by the negative role of the media. Though plenty of work is present that shows the negative role of media, the depiction of the victim’s psychology, and more specifically, its comparison with different real-life international cases is still lacking. Therefore, this research offers a view of the impact of the negative portrayal of the victim, where the statement is supported by comparing the case with real-life incidents of Cheryl and Monica.