"The Reader", by Bernhard Schlink : Guilt and Shame

"The Reader", by Bernhard Schlink is set in postwar Germany and tells the story of fifteen-year-old Michael Berg and his affair with a woman named Hanna, who was twice his age. After some time, she disappears. When Michael next sees Hanna, he is a young law student and she is on trial for her work in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Their feelings of guilt and shame lead to Hanna's tragic death near the end of …

…Hanna at the pool caused him to struggle with future relationships. His feelings of guilt for comparing his wife to Hanna lead to his divorce and made him feel even guiltier for making his daughter experience that. His shame of having been in love with Hanna prevented him from saving Hanna and left him feeling guilty of her death. Finally, Hanna's shame of being illiterate sent her to prison and eventually leads to her death.