Rotfuchs (1973)

Eva Kolinauke is not really called that at all: when she was a very young child, she was put alone into a boat and rescued at a lock by the lock keeper, Albert Kolinauke, and his wife, who adopted her. Now 28, she is a mail carrier in a small town. She has a son, but no father for him, and her red hair has earned her the nickname “Red Fox.” She loves her job, and everyone loves her, too. The only thing she is still missing is a man who loves her and wants to share his life with her. It’s not that she has no opportunities, but she is looking for something lasting. Then Eva meets Jon, an inland waterway boatman who regularly has to pass through the lock where she still lives. She realizes he is interested in her, and she feels the same way, but he will not tell her that he loves her. Nevertheless, they become a couple, and Jon finds his way to her through the window of the lock keeper’s house, even though he needs a ladder to do so. It is not long before their love has consequences, and Jon has to confess to Eva that he is already engaged. His fiancée, Sabine, whom he has lived with for six years, studied veterinary medicine at his urging and has now finished her degree. The two of them plan to move to the area around the lock, where she has found a job as deputy district veterinarian. Eva then decides not to have the baby. In the hospital, she changes her mind, because the child is by the man she loves. After giving birth to her second son, she constantly makes sure that Jon is confronted with the situation, too. Whenever he has to take his boat through the lock, she makes a point of showing herself, even with a new hairstyle similar to his fiancée’s; she puts the pram where it can be seen and hangs up the baby’s laundry provocatively. Jon feels increasingly drawn to Eva and slowly realizes that he loves her. He also realizes that his relationship with Sabine, whom he has since married, has nothing to do with love. It consists only of calculations and plans for their future, with no excitement or emotion at all. While passing through the lock, Jon calls out to Eva that he will come visit her through the window that evening. But she insists that if he wants to come, he may enter only through the door—and with his feather bed, meaning he must stay for good.