The Overblown Woman (Frau Zimmermann) Character Analysis

“The overblown woman” is the nickname Behrens gives to a Berghof resident whose real name, Hans eventually learns, is Frau Zimmermann. She’s one of the people Hans visits when he’s going through his phase of visiting the Berghof’s “poor sick” in an effort to dignify their suffering. Frau Zimmermann is a nervous-seeming woman who laughs nonstop about her dire condition. The origins of her nickname relate to a botched pneumothorax she had prior to arriving at the Berghof—a doctor tried to refill her oxygen but gave her too much, which caused her heart to constrict and gave her shortness of breath. Frau Zimmermann’s unserious attitude infuriates Behrens. She dies before Hans can visit her a second time.