Josef’s story opens at the turn of the 20th century, but uses the present tense because what is right and what is just is an ongoing conversation, as relevant today as it was in Josef’s time. Is he mad? A criminal? A hero? His nature shifts depending on the political lens through which his actions are viewed.
The character’s story was inspired by Johann Nelböck, a young man who murdered Moritz Schlick, the leader of the Vienna Circle (and the inspiration for my character Walfried Engelhardt). Like the clemency petitions that proclaimed Nelböck a hero and Dr. Schlick an unsuitable educator, Josef’s defenders claim he’s rid Austria of a dangerous thinker, and Josef feels free in a world that does not condemn him.
Justice is often depicted as a solitary individual, a blindfolded woman, but it can also be caught in the press of the crowd, pushed forward or back with the energy of its motion. Josef’s story is a reminder that justice is not divorced from the humans who determine it, and that we must remain vigilant.
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