The protagonist of “The Judgement” is Georg, who is getting married to Frieda. A good portion of this story is about Georg writing a letter to his childhood friend from Russia, who he has an odd relationship with. Georg’s friend is described as a less successful, single, and lonely version of Georg. However, there are parts of the letter that almost make it seem like Georg is actually jealous of him. The whole point of the letter he was writing was to let his friend know that he was getting marries, but doesn’t mention it until the very end of the letter, saying very little about Frieda and the engagement.

There is conflict within Georg because he is unsure of the life he really wants. On one hand, he his living comfortably, is inheriting a successful business, and is about to get married. While, his friend is living the bachelor life because he is more independent, but with a less successful business. Although he seems to be having the normal life that he believes he should, it comes off as the life he doesn’t want. Why else would the description of his distant friend be put in the way that he has everything Georg doesn’t.

Georg’s letter to his childhood friend rose issues with Frieda because of how it was interpreted. Frieda wanted to meet all of Georg’s friends but his avoidance in sharing the news of their marriage got her worried. She feared that if this friend came to the wedding, he might cause Georg to feel a certain way and change his mind about the marriage. The difficulty Georg faced with telling his friend the wedding was visible in the letter, and Frieda can’t be blamed for reacting the was she did because of it.