Kaufmann

Johan Kaufmann
"We are dealing with something old. Something dark. A sinister truth that has been buried deep for generations."
Chapters	3, 4, 5, 6 2, 7, 8 (mentioned)
Locations	London
Occupation	Scholar (psychology and the science of the occult)
Affiliations	unknown
Personal ties	Wakefield (colleague) Professor Wright (mentor) Dr. Armitage (physician)

Johan Kaufmann was a psychiatrist and the student of Professor Adam Wright. He was the companion of John Wakefield. He first appeared in Episode 3. Wakefield seems to be very fond of Kaufmann, as he mentions Kaufmann with every major discovery he has done from Episode 5 onwards. He even loses his entire motivation to look for Devitt when Kaufmann disappears from play. Kaufmann dies of an unknown disease at the end of episode 6.

Kaufmann's Steam Trading Card states:

"Johan Kaufmann is a close friend of doctor Wakefield, 40 years old. German, he’s very rational and hard to show his feelings. He can be a little bit eccentric sometimes."

Kaufmann at home

It’s possible that Kaufmann was (or is) part of The Playwright. He certainly knows more than an uninvolved person should. At the start of episode 6, Wakefield is puzzled by the death of Miss Konhe. She seemed to have exploded into a storm of crows. Somehow Kaufmann was aware that this might would happen and proposes to get help from his former mentor Wright.

It is possible the Playwright told Kaufmann to get close to Wakefield in order to find out what he knew. Of course, if it weren’t for Kaufmann, Wakefield wouldn’t know much of anything. Maybe Kaufmann was under orders to get Wakefield to do something, but I’m not sure that Wakefield would be very important to the Playwright. From their perspective, Wakefield’s main asset might be that Devitt trusts him. But would that matter to the Playwright? Maybe Kaufmann faked his own death. But why would he beg Wakefield to go to Éilís Mór and then fake his death? Kaufmann’s death was so upsetting to Wakefield that he almost didn’t go.

I’m guessing that Kaufmann was an independent investigator, just like he seemed to be. He probably worked with Wakefield because he needed a collaborator that he could trust. I’m sure Kaufmann didn’t tell Wakefield everything, but it’s hard to say whether he withheld any important information.

There was a clue about Kaufmann involved in Professor Wright's experiment in Hugo Ashdown's memory in Chapter 8.But we could still think he just knew something about the experiment and did not involved in it.Perhaps he and professor's point of The Veil is inconsistent, eventually led to his departure from Professor Wright, and professor conducted the experiment alone with the Playwright,which may explain why he felt guilt towards Professor in Chapter 6.

About Kaufmann's guilt and the clue

"Now I wonder...What if I had stayed?"-Wright's room in Chapter 6
"We must pay a visit to an old friend.Someone I never thought I would want to see again."-talk with Dr.Wakefield in Chapter 6
"Wright...Yes,I recently had occasion to meet a disciple of his.He referred to himself as a 'psycho-therapist'."Ashdown talk to Alexandre in Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Alexandre implied that Kaufmann died because he was a companion of Wakefield, who was a “traveler.” Kaufmann, Anna, and Old Mike were all companions of travelers of the Veil. They were all ill for a few weeks before they died. Alexandre apparently hoped that Old Mike would recover, but Kaufmann and Anna both knew that they were going to die. Unlike Anna or Old Mike, Kaufmann died before his companion entered the Veil.

Kaufmann Fan Art

by jussaragonzo

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