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Harry’s Search for Belonging

Auerhaus

Harry moves from a concealed identity and a violent family conflict toward chosen community, precarious work, and a self-fashioned future.

increasingupBearing stren­gth in each eventdowndecreasing
A Visitor in RedA Visitor in Red from "Auerhaus". A Visitor in Red An Unexpected Presence Harry first appears in the kitchen wearing his electrician’s overalls, sharing cannabis and irreverent stories.
A Visitor in Red An Unexpected Presence Harry first appears in the kitchen wearing his electrician’s overalls, sharing cannabis and irreverent stories. His ease and humor make him an immediate presence in the household. Concealed Truth When asked whether he is gay, Harry admits that he thinks he is, while explaining that his father would beat him. The joke-filled exchange exposes the fear that sits beneath his casual manner.
Coming Out at ChristmasComing Out at Christmas from "Auerhaus". Coming Out at Christmas A Brutal Disclosure Harry arrives at Auerhaus bruised and says he has told his father.
Coming Out at Christmas A Brutal Disclosure Harry arrives at Auerhaus bruised and says he has told his father. The violence makes the cost of honesty immediate rather than abstract. Shelter The household does not send him back. Harry sleeps in the tiled slaughter kitchen, while Pauline moves into the hayloft, and the group’s informal refuge expands to include people with nowhere safe to go.
A Cadillac and a PartyA Cadillac and a Party from "Auerhaus". A Cadillac and a Party Reinvention Harry arrives in an extravagant Cadillac and flamboyant clothes, having invited gay men from a wide region.
A Cadillac and a Party Reinvention Harry arrives in an extravagant Cadillac and flamboyant clothes, having invited gay men from a wide region. The display turns a village gathering into a temporary public world in which people usually kept apart mix freely. A Wider Belonging Harry’s party brings schoolmates, psychiatric patients, neighbors, and visitors into the same celebration. His exuberance creates connection, though the car and the performance cannot erase the precariousness of his work or family history.
Work and ExposureWork and Exposure from "Auerhaus". Work and Exposure Two Economies Harry apprentices as an electrician, sells cannabis, and takes sex work at a railway station.
Work and Exposure Two Economies Harry apprentices as an electrician, sells cannabis, and takes sex work at a railway station. The narrator discovers the last of these only after the friends discuss why Harry still deals despite earning wages. Risk A police raid exposes drugs kept in the house and brings the household under investigation. Harry is briefly detained, then released, while the group learns how quickly private survival strategies can become legal danger.
A Self-Made FutureA Self-Made Future from "Auerhaus". A Self-Made Future New Direction After his apprenticeship, Harry performs community service with an AIDS organization and studies fashion design.
A Self-Made Future New Direction After his apprenticeship, Harry performs community service with an AIDS organization and studies fashion design. He designs clothing that incorporates drums, rattles, horns, and lights. A Continuing Character The imagined future preserves Harry’s irreverence and appetite for theatrical invention. He does not become a conventional success story; he makes a livelihood by turning the outsider’s style that once protected him into creative work.
early in the Auerhaus household’s life
Christmas Eve, after the blackout
New Year’s Eve
winter, after the police search
years after the village household