Was sich ein Honka vornimmt, das schafft er auch

“Was sich ein Honka vornimmt, das schafft er auch” is Fiete Honka’s refrain of self-command, repeated as he tries to overcome exhaustion, regulate his drinking, and carry out his intentions. The phrase changes in force across its appearances: first a spur to endure an unpleasant journey, then a way to reassure himself during a short effort at restraint, and finally a murmur as women follow him toward the residential blocks.

A Motto for Persistence

After a night on duty that he has made entertaining by drinking, Fiete regrets what happened and resolves to forget it. Boredom and the alcohol left over from the previous evening soon overcome that resolve; he delays his first drink until midnight, then finishes what remains. The next day, badly hungover, he nevertheless sets out for the zoo. The journey to Lokstedt takes two hours: he misses a connection, cannot understand the bus driver, and imagines that the driver wants him to get lost. He nearly abandons the outing, but tells himself, “Was ein Honka sich vornimmt, dass schafft er auch.” In this first use, the saying gives him a push through discomfort toward a modest, concrete goal.

Willpower and Its Limits

The zoo visit does not bring him closer to the animals or to the other visitors. He feels out of place and leaves with a shock that weighs on him. For the next two weeks, he tries to control his drinking: a bottle of Korn now lasts exactly three days. He calls this an improvement, while allowing himself to think of relapse as something one has to live with, and repeats the motto as a hope that he might get back on track. Its confidence sits uneasily beside the limited measure of progress. The saying asserts mastery, but the narrative shows that mastery remains temporary and hard-won.

From Self-Command to Coercion

Later, Fiete murmurs the same words as he walks ahead of the women, with the residential blocks rising around them like graves. The setting and the women’s vulnerability give the refrain a darker charge than it had on the way to the zoo. It is no longer attached to a private effort to complete an outing or limit his drinking; it accompanies his movement with people he is controlling. The recurrence does not establish that he has achieved reliable self-command. Instead, it makes his certainty sound increasingly dangerous: the determined will celebrated by the formula can sustain restraint, but it can also furnish Fiete with a language for pressing on when others are subject to his intentions.