United States Prohibition

United States Prohibition appears in the novel chiefly through its cultural afterlife: although the ban has ended, resentment toward government regulation persists in the form of resistance to liquor taxes. The subject connects everyday border commerce and German-American drinking customs with a broader distrust of state interference.

Prohibition’s Afterlife

Delphine and Cyprian weigh whether to use their DeSoto to transport liquor from Canada and avoid sales tax. Cyprian would rather stay within the law, but Delphine points out that declining the offer would leave her walking to work for a week. Their discussion makes the choice practical as well as political: tax evasion promises a material benefit, while legality carries its own cost.

The narration describes avoiding liquor taxes as common and frames it as particularly satisfying to Germans who resent government interference. Prohibition itself is presented as a law Germans had especially disliked, understood as an affront to Zechkunst—the art of friendly drinking. The end of the ban therefore has not ended the conflict; heavy liquor taxes have become the new focus of resentment.

Customs and Evasion

Tante’s recent border crossing offers a comic example of the ingenuity involved. She filled hot-water bottles with whiskey, wore them beneath her dress, and passed the customs officer with regal composure. Her method turns a private act of evasion into a performance of audacity, illustrating how resistance to liquor controls becomes an everyday contest with authority.

The episode also places Delphine and Cyprian’s proposed run within a larger community practice rather than treating it as an isolated scheme. Their debate is framed by the shared German-American pleasure in thwarting the government, even as Cyprian voices a preference for legality. The contrast leaves the rule’s legacy visible not only in what people drink, but in how they interpret the state’s claim to regulate it.