MovieChat Forums > The Reader (2009) Discussion > Why didn't Hanna just tell who had writt...

Why didn't Hanna just tell who had written the report?

posted 8 years ago by akshayj001
3 replies | jump to latest

The six accused women including Hanna had submitted the report. Hanna probably knew which of the other women had written the report. She took the blame on herself because she didn't want to expose that she was illiterate. But she could have simply pointed out which of the women had written the report. Then the handwriting of the woman and the report could have been compared and Hanna wouldn't have been wrongly punished. Hanna could have done this without the fear of her illiteracy getting exposed.

[–] catbookss 8 years ago

How would she be able to do that without providing a sample of her own handwriting to prove it wasn't she, but the other woman who wrote the report?

[–] akshayj001 8 years ago

She could have laid the accusation on the other woman and told the judge to take a handwriting sample of that woman. This way, she could have avoided giving a handwriting sample without getting it out that she was illiterate.

[–] catbookss 8 years ago

I understood what you were saying, but as she was being accused, I doubt the court would have allowed her to insist on getting a sample of the other woman's handwriting, without providing her own.