First of all, you're making the mistake of looking at this film with a modern eye. The film is set between 1912 to 1918 in Germany. Charlotte was a privileged woman with societal pressures that convinced her to marry a wealthy man she did not truly love. Her fiancé and childhood friend had died in a mountaineering accident and Karl Hoffmeister was there to pick up the pieces. He was a family friend and was willing to burden himself of some of the pain and aguish Charlotte was feeling after her fiancé's death. It was your typical "right place at the right time" marriage where she likely felt particularly vulnerable and convinced herself that status and reputation were some of the more important reasons for getting betrothed.
Secondly, the man, Karl Hoffmeister, had not simply given Friedrich Zeitz everything. He worked hard to be where he was and his attraction to Charlotte had nothing to do with his elevation in business activities and management. Hoffmeister made the mistake (if it can be considered one) to accept Zeitz into his home where he would be surrounded by his young, beautiful wife every day of the week. Hoffmeister even says on his deathbed, "I wanted to bring you together from the very beginning, but then I felt such pain. I could see that you loved him more than you ever loved me. He took possession of you and dispossessed me. How could I have kept you from loving him."
Karl Hoffmeister knew that he was dying from the very beginning so he made attempts to bring a younger man into Charlotte's life. However, like all human beings, Hoffmeister was plagued with jealousy, envy, and fears of losing Charlotte earlier than he had imagined so he exiled Zeitz to Mexico. He unwillingly became the green-eyed monster whose jealousy almost cost another man his life. Though, it can be said that he loved her so much that he wanted her to be cared for by someone else after he died. His intense love of his wife is probably why more viewers seem inclined to hate Zeitz for his infidelity.
However, one should surmise that this film acts better as an art piece of cinematography with superb acting as opposed to a emotional film with romantic inclinations.
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HoferPM-1
9 years ago
I agree with you esnkids ! I loved this film and understood it !
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ick_99
9 years ago
esnkids, I think you summed it up perfectly. I think Hoffmeister had the theory of Zeitz being a good caretaker of the business and family (which was not a bad theory as Zeitz was doing a fantastic job at both) but once he saw it in practice and noticed Lotte's response to the younger man, he realized being alive to see this all unfold before his eyes was not what he really wanted.
I did not think any of the characters came across poorly to me. Other then Zeitz's love them and leave them attitude to the woman, Anna.
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lamont-hard
8 years ago
It is possible the grass was greener with the young buck since the old man was ill and dying why cheat and risk blowing it. Simply wait for the illness to take him and move on. Inheritance.
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hodie1
8 years ago
Maybe you're making the mistake of looking at marital infidelity with a modern eye.
Let me go rewatch The Age of Innocence. Much better film.
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