O NCE HANNA admitted having written the report， the other defendants had an easy game to play. When Hanna had not been acting alone， they claimed， she had pressured， threatened， and forced the others. She had seized command. She did the talking and the writing. She had made the decisions.

The villagers who testified could neither confirm nor deny this. They had seen that the burning church was guarded by several women who did not unlock it， and they had not dared to unlock it themselves. They had met the women the next morning as they were leaving the village， and recognized them as the defendants. But which of the defendants had been the spokeswoman at the early-morning encounter， or if anyone had played the role of spokeswoman， they could not recall.

But you cannot rule out that it was this defendantthe lawyer for one of the other defendants pointed at Hannawho took the decisions？

They couldnt， how could they even have wanted to， and faced with the other defendants， visibly older， more worn out， more cowardly and bitter， they had no such impulse. In comparison with the other defendants， Hanna was the dominant one. Besides， the existence of a leader exonerated the villagers； having failed to achieve rescue in the face of a fiercely led opposing force looked better than having failed to do anything when confronted by a group of confused women.

Hanna kept struggling. She admitted what was true and disputed what was not. Her arguments became more desperate and more vehement. She didnt raise her voice， but her very intensity alienated the court.

Eventually she gave up. She spoke only when asked a direct question； her answers were short， minimal， sometimes beside the point. As if to make clear that she had given up， she now remained seated when speaking. The presiding judge， who had told her several times at the beginning of the trial that she did not need to stand and could remain seated if she preferred， was put off by this as well. Towards the end of the trial， I sometimes had the sense that the court had had enough， that they wanted to get the whole thing over with， that they were no longer paying attention but were somewhere else， or rather hereback in the present after long weeks in the past.

I had had enough too. But I couldnt put it behind me. For me， the proceedings were not ending， but just beginning. I had been a spectator， and then suddenly a participant， a player， and member of the jury. I had neither sought nor chosen this new role， but it was mine whether I wanted it or not， whether I did anything or just remained completely passive.

Did anythingthere was only one thing to do. I could go to the judge and tell him that Hanna was illiterate. That she was not the main protagonist and guilty party the way the others made her out to be. That her behavior at the trial was not proof of singular incorrigibility， lack of remorse， or arrogance， but was born of her incapacity to familiarize herself with the indictment and the manuscript and also probably of her consequent lack of any sense of strategy or tactics. That her defense had been significantly compromised. That she was guilty， but not as guilty as it appeared.

Maybe I would not be able to convince the judge. But I would give him enough to have to think about and investigate further. In the end， it would be proved that I was right， and Hanna would be punished， but less severely. She would have to go to prison， but would be released soonerwasnt that what she had been fighting for？

Yes， that was what she had been fighting for， but she was not willing to earn victory at the price of exposure as an illiterate. Nor would she want me to barter her self-image for a few years in prison. She could have made that kind of trade herself， and did not， which meant she didnt want it. Her sense of self was worth more than the years in prison to her.

But was it really worth all that？ What did she gain from this false self-image which ensnared her and crippled her and paralyzed her？ With the energy she put into maintaining the lie， she could have learned to read and write long ago.

I tried to talk about the problem with friends. Imagine someone is racing intentionally towards his own destruction and you can save himdo you go ahead and save him？ Imagine theres an operation， and the patient is a drug user and the drugs are incompatible with the anesthetic， but the patient is ashamed of being an addict and does not want to tell the anesthesiologistdo you talk to the anesthesiologist？ Imagine a trial and a defendant who will be convicted if he doesnt admit to being left-handeddo you tell the judge whats going on？ Imagine hes gay， and could not have committed the crime because hes gay， but is ashamed of being gay. It isnt a question of whether the defendant should be ashamed of being left-handed or gayjust imagine that he is.

由于汉娜承认那篇报告是她写的，其他被告就可以轻松地出牌了。她们说，凡汉娜一个人处理不了的事情，她就逼迫、威胁和强迫其他被告一起做。她把指挥棒揽在自己手里。她既执笔又代言，她总是做最后决定。

对此，做证的村民既不能证实又不能反驳。他们看见那熊熊燃烧的教堂被许多穿制服的女人看守着，门没有被打开。这样，他们自己也不敢去开门。当她们第二天早上开拔时，他们又遇见了她们，而且在这些被告中又认出了她们。但是，由于只是在晨窿中相遇，哪位被告是发号施令者，是否真的有哪位被告在发号施令，他们也说不清楚。

但是你们不能排除这位被告做了决定吧！另一位被告的辩护律师指着汉娜说。

他们不能排除，他们怎么能排除！看到其他被告明显地更年老，更疲倦，更胆小和更痛苦，他们也不想排除这种可能性。相比之下，汉娜就是个头头。除此之外，有个头头存在也减轻了村民们的负担。他们在一伙严厉的、有领导的女人面前没有伸出援助之手总比在一帮不知所措的女人面前而没有伸出援助之手要好得多。

汉娜继续抗争着，对的她就承认，错的她就反驳。她的反驳越来越困惑，越来越暴躁，她的声音不大，但其厉害程度令法庭感到惊讶。

最后，她放弃了争辩，只是在被问到对她才说话。她的回答简短扼要，有时候甚至漫不经心。好像为了让人更明显地看出她已经放弃了，她现在说话时也不站起来。审判长也惊讶地注意到了这一点。在法庭审理刚开始时，审判长曾多次对她说过不必站起来，她可以坐着讲话。有时候我会有一种感觉，觉得法庭在审理接近尾声时已经厌战了，想尽早把事情了结，大家都已经心不在焉，都想在经过几周对过去的审理后再回到现实中来。

我也感到厌倦了，但是我却不能把事情置于脑后。对我来说，审理没有结束，而是刚刚开始。起初，我是一名听众，突然之间我变成了参与者、一同游戏的人和共同决策者。我并没有去寻找和选择这一新的角色，但是我却得到了它，不管我愿意与否，不管我是采取了主动还是被动。

如果我能做什么的话，我也只能做一件事。我可以去找审判长，对他说汉娜是个文盲，她并非如其他人所说的那样是个主角并负有主要责任。她在法庭上的言谈举止并不能说明她特别固执己见、不理智或者厚颜无耻，而只能说明她对其控告词和那本书事前缺乏了解和认识，也是由于她缺乏战略战术意识的结果。这对她为自己辩护极为不利。她虽然负有责任，但是她所负的责任并不是像看上去的那样重大。

也许我的话不能令审判长信服，但是，我会促使他去思考，去调查研究。最终结果将证明我是对的。汉娜尽管将受到惩罚，但是她的罪责将会减轻。她尽管要坐牢，但是会早些时候被放出来，会早些时候重获自由。她的争辩难道不正是为了这些吗？

是的，她是为此而抗争的，但是她不愿为了获得成功而暴露出自己是个文盲，她不想为此付出代价。她也不会愿意我为了她在监狱里少呆几年而出卖她。她可以自己讨价还价，但她没有那样做，说明她不想那样做。对她来说，为了她的自我价值蹲几年监狱也值得。

但是，这对她来说真的值得吗？她从这种虚伪的、束缚她的、令其丧失活力的、使其无法施展才能的自我价值中能得到什么呢？如果把用于掩饰真实谎言的精力用于学习，她早就能学会读和写了。

当时，我曾试着与朋友就这个问题进行探讨。你设想一下，有人想毁掉自己，故意毁掉自己，你就是能挽救他，可你将挽救他吗？你设想一个手术，病人服用了连麻药都无法相比的毒品，但他又耻于向麻醉师开口讲他服用了毒品，在这种情况下，你能告诉麻醉师真相吗？你设想一次法庭审理案，有一名被告将会受到惩罚，他是个左撇子，但是他为此感到羞耻。如果他不讲出自己是一个左撇子，因而不能完成一个用右手实施的行为，你能对法庭说明此事吗？你设想一下，某人是一名同性恋者，作为同性恋他不会于某种行为，可是他又耻于做一名同性恋者而不说明真相。这不是人们是否应该耻于做一名左撇子或做一名同性恋者的问题，您想一想，这是被告为自己感到羞耻的问题。

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