Original subtitles

A film by Barbara Albert

Adapted from the novel Mesmerized by Alissa Walser

Based on a historical occurrence

Smile, Therese.

And don't rock! You're rocking again.

Play another one. The fast one from Galuppi.

The Marquise of Colloredo and a host of nobles are here.

You must try your very best.

Pretty she is not, but she does play well.

Poor girl. How I pity her.

My compliments. She is a superior talent.

I thank you.

Mademoiselle Jeunehomme is better.

But she is not blind.

Mouth closed.

You played sublimely. It moved me to tears.

And Gretl, too.

This is my dearest friend, Margarethe von Fürstenberg.

- She's right next to me. - Pleased to meet you.

I'm always pleased to meet new people.

My great pleasure. You played splendidly.

Thank you so much.

- Is your head better? - Yes, it no longer smells at all.

You could come visit more often again now.

Children are such effort, even if they don't need special attention.

Especially girls.

Yes, she even dances. I taught her that.

Etonnant!

It was some treatment for her eyes.

All her hair fell out, and her head was covered in puss.

But it is nearly all healed.

I still often have pains, in my head and my eyes.

But the eyes are no better. They are rather worse.

Vienna, 1777

- Well, are you happy? - Yes.

Dr. Mesmer has a lovely house. Very big.

Marrying well is the key.

- With a park! - No, with smarts,

if you can't cut it alone. Well, without her he'd be a nobody.

I still can't believe this "caressing" alone is supposed to work.

It is a fluid that he works with. Of course you cannot see it.

Or do you see streams of electricity?

- You'd be the first. - I didn't mean to say he is incapable.

Then be happy he's treating her and keep quiet. That'd be best.

Resi, be careful. Lean forward a bit.

Or it'll be all squashed in the back.

Lovely, greeted by dogs and cripples.

A little further forward.

Loisl!

Loisl!

- Be gone! - I most humbly beg forgiveness.

- What was that? - A little boy, Resi.

An imbecile.

A young lady in the prime of her life,

extremely striking.

The background is sombre,

mysterious.

Perhaps her young.

- Is she beautiful? - Very beautiful.

- How? - Well, very graceful.

Big, dark eyes.

A bit moist, as if she's been moved, internally moved.

Sumptuous curls and a little nose.

A small, closed mouth.

Skin like snow or...

like ivory, perhaps.

Very rosy cheeks.

And gorgeous little hands.

What are you doing?

Stop that!

- It itches. - It doesn't matter. Don't touch.

Not at all. One cannot be sure if someone is watching.

You least of all.

What is that?

Something that is keeping him from gracing us with his presence.

Now we're standing here unattended to.

Well, now he is here.

Welcome!

Mr Paradis.

- Mr von... - No, no "von".

Mr von Paradis.

- A crisis. - What sort of illness?

It is intolerable.

It is not an illness. More like the mode of an illness.

Like the temper of a musical work.

The illness fades

as one's health crescendos.

One hears about these new methods...

I want to stress that the aim I have set myself

is to calm the eyes and to relieve the pain.

As I can give you no assurance, the cure would be at no cost.

We would welcome even the slightest change.

Everything is better than that.

But she does have talent.

Though that is unrelated, n 'est-ce pas?

For her talent was given her via her father's cells from the start.

So you are a spermist?

Are you not? I am extremely open to new ideas.

Even some men have become ovulists.

Well, yes.

But our talents are certainly still held in the male, not the female cell.

With Dr Barth it was quicksilver and leeches,

with Court Physician Störck sulphur globe and electrostatic machine:

3,000 shocks in total. 100 in succession, in one sitting.

Directly into the eyes. Pure torture!

And it did no good. Quite the contrary.

If it continues, her eyes will roll before my feet.

- And since then she's lost her smell. - Her nose is dry as a bone.

And monthly bleeding?

Has not come.

She was not impaired at all at birth.

Until she was three she was utterly healthy and delightful.

- Then, from one day to the next... - ...she was stone blind.

She simply got up one morning

and began running into things, like a bird.

It was a terrible nightmare after that, a nightmare!

Since then my wife has tried to be an eye for my daughter.

With all due respect to mothers,

we all know women and their pampering

can often be a doctor's most dangerous adversary.

Miss Paradis,

do you have any memories whatsoever of that night?

- No. - No.

Desolée.

And now, perhaps, a little demonstration.

We are most curious.

Here's my hand.

I make use of a magnetic fluid

that permeates all animate and inanimate bodies.

An invisible fluid.

Like gravity.

Bravo.

Bravissimo.

One, two, three, four.

The bed.

Bed stand.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

Paravent.

One, two, three.

Mirror.

Commode.

And here, Resi, look.

The cross.

Rosa!

- Maman! - Resi!

Now then,

adieu, my child.

We'll be coming back again soon.

- Now don't make such a fuss. Ouch! - Ouch!

Miss Ossine missed the washbasin again.

- How is it she can't hit the jug? - Yes, she does it to spite me.

Sounds like the devil paid her a visit again.

- Have you got apricots? - No, they're gone.

- Take her cherries. - You'll be her chambermaid soon.

- Of a famous girl. - The poor girl.

No disability pensions for our kind, even if we cut off our hands and feet.

Ay, without hands you can't bang a piano.

- You can't even do that with hands. - So what? Maybe I could if I tried.

Puke-face gets one and she's useless.

That's life. You have the wrong father.

And so do you.

Go! Hedi, leave him.

- He likes it! - Hedi!

The cherries look gruesome.

She can't see them anyway.

My! That chocolate sure smells good.

I want to wear the one with the large bows today.

The festive dress.

The festive dress?

The doctor won't be happy about that.

A simple dress would do.

How would you know that?

- The corset too? - Yes, naturellement!

I don't know if I can do that so well.

Is the lady next door in great pain?

Miss Ossine? Because she's always wailing?

No, Miss.

Don't pay that any mind.

How should I put it?

That's just how she is.

All right then, let's get on with it.

A cap will suffice.

And, please, no corset.

You see, it's just that I thought...

That is, my mother thought...

She sent the dress, and she bought me the wig, from Paris!

I'm certain she meant well.

And it is very pretty.

But here, for our purposes, it seems rather a hindrance.

Where are the magnets?

I've learned they are not necessary to set the fluid in motion.

Of all nature's bodies, man himself has the greatest effect on man.

Man to a man is a wolf.

Homo homini lupus.

But I am no wolf.

That was inappropriate. Pardon. I don't know what got into me.

Oh, I think it quite appropriate. I rather meant the positive effects.

Mais naturellement.

I am greatly indebted to the Empress. Not everyone receives such a pension.

I must prove myself worthy, and strive to achieve more.

- Keep talking. - About what?

Anything. It makes no matter.

Anything that comes to mind, or what you feel.

I don't know. Everything seems unsuitable.

- Or... - Everything is suitable.

Hourglass, move so fast How I hope the sand will not last

Watch the sand trickle down Turn the hourglass around

Hourglass, move so fast

I'm quite good at the piano already.

And I have a good chance of becoming better.

But, otherwise, there is a lot amiss.

I forget everything when playing piano.

My mouth and...

I rock back and forth. Have you noticed?

When sitting at the piano I feel like a general.

Otherwise, I am unable to do much. I don't know where things are.

At the piano I know where everything I need is.

There is an order there that...

That can overwhelm me. In the good sense, that is.

From girlfriends I know seeing is even lovelier.

If you cannot see, you are not seen.

And if you are not seen, you are not heard.

You do not live.

She's sitting in my seat.

- Pardon me. - Oh no! She shouldn't trouble herself.

I don't mind her sitting in my seat.

I just wanted to mention it, for I did not sleep a wink all night.

I was lonely.

And loneliness is a door for the devil.

But she doesn't understand what that means.

She cannot even see, if I have heard correctly.

I prefer to sit over there.

One never knows what the patients from outside carry in here with them.

Who's there?

Please forgive me.

Agnes.

What is this? What do you have on?

- Are you wearing my things? - I was just trying it on.

I was just about to take it off.

- Please don't tell anyone. - Faster!

The madam already has it in for me.

You should've thought of that earlier. You wretched person, you.

Why are you stopping?

- Have you already taken it off? - Something got tangled.

""Ah, Biondetta,' said I,

'were you not a fantastical being,

were you not an ugly dromedary!'

But what have I been fooled into?

Fear is gone and a more perilous passion remained.

What pleasure can I expect of that?

Will it not always suit its origins?

The fire in her soft, tender eyes is deathly poison.

Her beautiful mouth..."

- Is it finished? - Pardon, mademoiselles.

I was distracted.

Saint Margaret slayed a demon as well.

She led it around on a rose-coloured ribbon, like a lamb.

Oh?

You're blind.

I'm also blind.

The orphanage attested to that.

Look, I'll show you something.

Our mother, Mary, Mother of God,

full of grace, who helps and protects us.

Us in particular, because we are named in her honour.

This is an image of her.

Uh-huh.

I carry it with me always.

Nice, but neither of us can see it, right?

Would you give it back to me?

I know it is the Holy Virgin,

because I embroidered the edge and it has wonderful red roses on it.

They symbolize love,

the love of Mary, Mother of God, for the Christ Child.

Because the Christ Child is on it too.

And on the sides, above and in the background,

angels fly around everywhere with their beautiful golden wings.

It feels like a needle to the eye.

- It hurts! - Remove your hands from your eyes.

Now open your eyes.

Be brave.

It feels like a wild animal that is going after my eyes.

Then I'm here to tame it for you. Your own personal tamer of light.

At your service, Miss.

There's something. I don't know what.

But...

it is still there.

With your eyes closed?

- Yes, it's still there. - Can you describe it?

No, but there is something.

It is very unpleasant.

That is the colour white.

It hurts!

It is no reason to worry, Miss Paradis.

These sensations have an external cause.

You are beginning to perceive light.

The madam sewed this lovely piece.

Just for you.

And I embroidered that right there.

A bird.

Is that all right or is it too tight?

Does it hurt you to see?

No, not at all.

Because you can.

Nearly everyone can.

You can do so much.

I can't do anything special.

- I can't even read. - Neither can I.

But sometimes someone reads to me.

Really?

Who is that?

- And is it nice? - What?

Seeing.

Yes.

I mean, I'd say so.

How can I put it?

Yes.

It depends a bit on what you see.

I can smell you.

And do I smell good?

I think so.

Thanks and praise to God for that.

I'm going now. They'll be calling for me.

- But if you need anything more... - No. Everything's fine.

Loislboy, don 't annoy, you can 't talk, you can 't walk.

Always having fun, nothing to be done!

Loislboy, go bye-bye...

Eyes open.

That's how a person looks?

Do you see us?

Yes.

My child!

- Oh my! She is overwhelmed by emotion. - To the sofa.

Well, it is understandable.

The excitement.

Monsieur le docteur, I am moved.

An emotion that I can hardly express in words

overcomes me in the face of this...

yes, of this miracle.

- When the Empress learns of this... - Her sight is still poor, Sir.

- But a miracle it is not. - Nonetheless.

Quel triomphe!

Now those are eyes!

Like proud chestnuts in their spiny cradle.

No.

Like sunken ships in the rain.

Now you no longer need to attack things forwardly.

We must make this public, right?

- Put it in the paper. - Vraiment.

- The world must share in this! - She must get accustomed to it.

A globe.

It is round.

And...

this is pointed.

I know how pointiness feels, but not how it looks.

I cannot put it together.

And what is on top?

- A point. - Very good, Therese. Bravo.

My girlfriend Anna says eyes were made to recognize truth.

Then I must disappoint you, Miss Paradis.

Eyes come no closer to the truth than the other senses.

- It is all an apparition. - Perhaps it's like with music.

Despite not even being at the piano, I hear it so beautifully.

As if I were playing the organ at St Charles.

But your playing is not an apparition.

I, in any case, hear it very well.

Got you!

I'll get you!

Come here!

Agi!

- Pardon me. - No need, no need.

Stay here, feel entirely at ease.

Please, play on.

This is old man Bach. Perhaps a bit outmoded, but I like it.

Well, well. The young lady favours such serious things.

- It has depth, I think. - Excellent.

As if I've stepped into the most glorious of concerts.

Thank you, but that really is too much praise.

It should be faster, and I used to be better at crossing my hands.

- Don't you notice that? - Au contraire, mademoiselle.

Your playing is highly virtuosic.

You are the talk of the entire city, mon amour.

Marquise von Andrassy asked about it at Madame Bondi's.

And Mrs Harrach is all but beside herself.

She didn't stop congratulating me.

She said she'll consult you about her vapours.

Your success has now arrived.

That's nonsense.

Firstly, Störck must take note of it,

then the Academy and the Empress, above all else.

But that will come. Now you are on everyone's lips.

And what good does that do me?

The blathering about it in your salons.

I want my method at the university.

Not in Harrach's antechamber.

Yes, you are right, Franz.

But how they admire you pleases me all the same.

- What is she doing there? - She's reaching somewhere.

Yes, but where?

Into the air.

Perhaps she sees so well now that she can see air.

Parbleu!

They are far away, those trees.

Beyond the garden, beyond the path.

I can't understand how they stay up without falling over in the wind.

Such a long trunk and so many branches.

I've tried to find two that match, but they are all different.

Not a single pair to be found.

But right she is.

That is very beautiful.

Therese, that is dung. It is not beautiful!

I hope you'll forgive the brazenness

with which I am calling attention to myself, Miss.

I am Dr Barth.

I treated you previously.

Not with the same resounding success, as I must admit.

I recognized your voice.

I do hope that my appearance has not too painfully disappointed you.

Not at all, esteemed doctor.

Although, upon hearing of your recovery and today's gathering,

I came in such a haste

that I was not even able to don my tricorne.

For which I wish to most humbly apologize.

Oh dear!

- That is outrageous! - Dr Barth, please!

Oh, I know that!

That is the colour... That is...

- Yellow. - That is yellow.

- Have you hurt yourself? - No, it is nothing! Pas grave.

I'd like my blindfold, please. The light is still too strong.

We'll go back inside the house.

The child is running into things more than she did before.

"Why so many young ladies do not find husbands

along with a remedy to that problem.

In this matter, much depends on circumstances

over which these poor girls have no control,

and for which all suggestions are futile.

Is it any fault of hers

if nature has treated a young lady with such neglect

or if an accident has robbed her of her natural charms to such extent

that no gentleman can be expected to choose her for his wife?"

But you're able to see again now.

Now you can have a look around as well. So many people are visiting as it is.

Is there no one you fancy?

I don't think I see that well yet.

Miss Aichelburg is now engaged to Mr Kaunitz-Rittberg.

- Mais non! - On dit.

- I am green with envy. - Is he very handsome?

Immensely.

He is the finest gallant in the city.

He was here today. Didn't you see him?

He was wearing a silver frock, with gold!

Don't you look at all?

He's rich as well.

Whom do you think beautiful, Therese?

Me?

I think Agnes is pretty.

- But I don't know much of such things. - Who is that?

- My chambermaid. - A servant?

A servant with her block feet?

I'm sure she walks like a duck.

With arms like this!

- She seems pretty to me. - You really have no clue.

Look, it says here what beauty is in a woman.

"Not fat and not skinny,

soft chestnut brown hair with dainty curls,

small, rosy ears that do not protrude too far from the head,

delicate skin with blue veins

a smooth and fair brow,

a comely nose,

beautiful red lips, small white pearl-like teeth,

an ivory-white neck

an alabaster bosom, fleecy, snow-white hands..."

Agi!

Agi!

Agnes!

Agnes will be here directly, Miss.

It's nothing. It's nothing at all.

It will stop.

It's the only thing I can do.

- Could do. - You can still do it.

You understand nothing of it!

I had a dream.

Now I sometimes see in my dreams as well.

I see a large tree.

- And you were there too. - That surely means something.

Everything one dreams means something.

And what does it mean?

I don't know.

Some people have faces, too.

Very blurred.

It used to be only voices or hands.

And do I have a face?

Sometimes. Yes.

What is this?

Don't reach for it!

I don't know.

Look very closely.

We've had it before.

- The nautilus shell? - Bravo, Miss!

I don't know.

I should know.

It's a...

May I ask you to concentrate a bit more.

You already know the parasol.

But lying like this it looks so different.

And from here it looks different still, yet it's still a parasol.

Yes, naturally. It depends on how you see it, on your viewpoint.

So the object changes depending on how I look at it?

No, the object itself does not change.

How droll that she can do that.

Splendid.

The different noses surprised her most. It still makes her laugh.

How do they seem to you, Resi?

As if they were threatening me. And they don't suit the faces at all.

Therese, what do you think of hats à la Matignon?

I think they are disproportionate to the face.

And she said the pond in the park reminded her of a large bowl of soup.

Like a girl from the Canadian forests of America.

Totally unspoiled.

- Not much left over. - Hey! Hands off, that's for Hansl.

Leave it!

I'll stay clear of the meat anyway. Not with my teeth.

You could have false teeth made.

What?

Yes.

They exist. Someone told me so.

False teeth? How can that work?

- Do they grow? - No!

From... from wood.

- Or something. - See, Miazl, you could get back in it.

I'm happy to have only one.

How I cried!

They'd be false, they wouldn't hurt.

- I'm glad all the same. - No worries, no one will give you any.

Maybe the doctor will grow you some, now that he can heal the blind.

- He should make Loisl better. - He can't do that.

He looked him over already.

He's fine the way he is.

Right, dear? My Loislboy.

It won't come out anymore.

Blood.

Give it here. We'll see about that.

Miazl, what does it mean if you dream of a tree?

- What else was in the dream? - I don't know.

- It wasn't my dream. - Whose was it then?

A tree means

growth, getting bigger.

Agnes, I need you in the kitchen.

- Go away! - Hedi, stop pestering him!

That is very bad. Can't he do anything?

The court physician is coming with a whole delegation of 14 people.

Why so many at once? Do they help each other look?

- No, they help each other think. - Maybe they'd be scared otherwise.

Big wigs with nothing underneath!

That's what you get, you fool!

To the right.

To the left. Don't move your head!

To the right.

To the left. Not the head!

I can't do it anymore.

Be brave.

The muscle exercises speed up the healing process.

- Störck is coming to look at you. - Dr von Störck?

He is important.

For whom?

He sheared my head.

I was all bristly, like a pig!

Dane's blood and valerian root, then quicksilver and sulphur.

"A snow-white powder," he said, "as pure as a celestial angel."

I drank it dissolved in water.

Then came the purulent boils and the ringing in my ears.

My punishment for playing the organ, I thought.

The organ does not befit a young lady, Father says.

Shall we continue?

You don't want to let down your Dr von Störck.

The parasol.

The hourglass.

The globe.

The nautilus shell.

The magnifying glass.

The coral.

Mademoiselle Paradis, if I may?

Do you know this gentleman?

No, I do not believe I've had the honour of meeting you.

Oh! Yet I remember our last meeting so very vividly indeed.

Dr Barth!

Please do forgive me.

You know, faces are still difficult for me.

Then could you perhaps be so friendly as to answer a little question for me?

What is this?

That is...

That is a...

I don't know what that is, but I see it!

So what is it then?

I... I don't know.

I must point out that Miss Paradis only regained her sight very recently

and cannot know everything.

But please, Mr Mesmer.

Surely she will have encountered a pocket watch in her lifetime!

Dr Barth, do forgive me, but I am quite astounded

that a man of your craft can commit such an error.

You know as well as I that someone who went blind at a very tender age

must learn how to see, like a newborn,

must get to know the visible world.

- Let us proceed to colours. - Mademoiselle Paradis!

What colour is my frock?

Yellow.

Esteemed doctor, may I ask a question as well?

Please.

It would seem this fluid that you have discovered

can be neither seen, nor heard nor smelled.

Can it be weighed or measured?

No.

Can it be seen under a microscope?

No.

- But... - Then I must question its existence.

You can neither see nor smell it,

but it has helped me regain my ability to see and smell.

That is enough for me.

And you can feel it.

Unfortunately, there is no way for me to confirm the certainty of that truth.

It seems it will have to remain incomprehensible to me.

But surely there is a soul, is there not?

Of course, Miss. Unquestionably.

And can you see it?

I must express my utter admiration, Doctor.

I must admit that, until now, I numbered among the sceptics.

But I now regret having waited so long

to aid such an important invention by granting my approval.

I must say I no longer have any doubt.

I cannot adequately express to you

how much that honours and pleases me, Mr von Störck.

I must admit to you, Mesmer,

that there must indeed be something for which our eyes are still too weak,

something that will require

more powerful and different kinds of microscopes.

May I be so bold as to probe you further, Doctor?

Is it possible Her Majesty might show an interest in this case?

We shall see, Mesmer.

From what I have seen today,

I certainly do not think that impossible.

I didn't recognize Dr Barth.

Never mind.

Let him think what he wants.

And he certainly does not have a face one wishes to remember.

Therese! You will now play something for our guests.

Kirnberger, preferably, to show off your talent.

No, Father. I'm a bit tired, and Kirnberger...

I... Please, I'd rather not.

Oh, come, you can play it blindfolded.

Or are you worried we'll think less of you?

She's worried we'll think less of her. We shall see if you manage that.

It's not quite on point.

Unbelievable.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, our artist is weary.

She'll want to recover a bit from the great exertions.

But she did recognize a lot.

The desire to see,

and her desire to please her dear Dr Mesmer

is seemingly so great

that her mind performs a violent feat, grasping everything around her.

That is also why it is so hard to expose Mesmer's deception.

Neural suggestion.

The power of imagination can elicit emotions,

and, thus, can also produce changes in the human body.

- Well, then she does see. - She believes she can see.

Oh well, one has better things to do than be deceived, n 'est-ce pas?

I take my leave.

That was pathetic. How shameful! An utter disgrace!

I see my fingers moving over the keys and then I get stuck somehow.

Then don't look!

Mozart plays with a concealed keyboard. And it never stopped you before.

Yes, Papa.

You must be prepared to make a few sacrifices for your art.

Despite the manifold distractions in this house.

She played like a dilettante!

What do you care? She is not your daughter, as I stress.

If this is great success, then she'd be better off blind again.

The nervous system needs time to adjust.

But who will give me a guarantee that it will improve?

In her case, if she can do nothing, she amounts to nothing.

What is the point of that look? You know that's true.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if she loses her pension.

Why should she have it?

One must practice and be patient.

And she stays who she is.

And who do you think she is without her talent?

A God-given talent! You should be grateful for that.

God gave me my eyes, too.

Yes, but they are worthless. No one gives a hoot about your eyes.

I'm sure one or two who care can be found.

Mr Mesmer, with all due respect,

what my daughter does and does not do,

and who should care about her eyes,

is still determined by me.

And for now, I forbid any further visits

and viewings.

I take my leave.

Mr von Paradis!

I beg your pardon,

but I think I am still the one in charge of determining

who enters my house and who doesn't.

Who enters your house?

We'll see about that.

A kid with two heads.

Two Indians, but they were really from Neulerchenfeld.

Hey, you idiot, what are you doing there?

Loisl!

Loisl!

Let's wash him.

I most humbly thank you, Madam, for all the trouble.

And the doctor, for all that he did.

It is as it is. God gives and God takes.

- The monstrosity is gone now. - Everything humanly possible was done.

With all the doctors that were here.

Yes. Certainly. I'd like to thank you for that, too.

You know, I already thought to myself that it wouldn't work, Madam.

His little head was all... All squashed.

Look, Johanna, perhaps it is a blessing.

What would you have done when he was older?

Yes. You're right about that.

It's over now, and he's in a better place.

Maybe it's better this way.

What did you eat yesterday?

- Leftovers, as always. - Did you get something from elsewhere?

She took something from your medicine cabinet, Doctor.

- Why on earth? - Pregnant is what she is.

She's missed two months, she says.

How foolish, child!

Just taking something! What did she take?

This, and this. That's all I got out of her.

Just these, or something else? Speak, you poor wretch!

A green powder, from the very front.

Come along, I'll give you something for her.

And you be sensible now!

We'll find some solution for this whole... mishap.

It should have been obvious this was going to happen.

Look at that impertinent face!

Perhaps Johanna can take the child. It'd be an amicable solution.

So you have already made arrangements?

What do you think Paradis will say?

Think of our reputation. Your reputation!

Paradis!

That bugbear cares only about his pension.

- Scoundrel, that's all he is. - He can kiss your arse!

Cher Franz, my friend, I have to agree with your charming wife.

The girl has punished herself by being a whore,

but harming her keepers will simply not do.

Bondi says that some people have major doubts that Paradis can see,

that people are saying it is all just a hoax.

She said that to me in front of Harrach.

And she sat there with a smug smirk on her face.

They acted as if you were a fraud!

Störck is an honourable man and an upstanding scientist.

He'll pay no mind to such blather. He saw it himself.

The truth is worthless.

And Barth is going around saying her imagination is eliciting emotions.

- And only to please you. - Ludicrous!

They're talking her blind again.

They don't want you, I'm telling you. They didn't want you from the start.

They're just waiting for something to show you up.

I have Störck as an advocate.

He will speak for me if things come to a head.

They said there are doubts about the state of affairs in our house.

In my house.

They said you're carrying on with her and asked if I hadn't noticed.

And you believe that?

No, of course not.

Johanna is to tell Agnes she must leave here by month's end.

I don't want to be someone who can do nothing and is nothing.

Someone whose life doesn't matter.

God doesn't love us for what we can do.

For what then?

I need not give you an explanation.

My husband and I still decide what happens with our child.

She's under your command.

But if you end the cure now

and her gout returns, I vouch for nothing.

If her pains return, and her attacks, I will not lift a finger!

I am not leaving.

And you are in league with them. With this rabble! You rotten brat!

- I am not leaving! - You'll do what you're told!

Your father is fretting to death. And I must pay for your misbehaviour!

Leave me!

Leave me in peace!

Suffering for you, sans pause! Always you! Everything for you!

Keep your suffering! I don't need your stupid suffering!

How dare you speak to your mother so! You beast!

I've had enough! That's it!

- All of it! - Enough, Mrs von Paradis!

- That's enough! - I decide that. You lout! Swindler!

Stay away from her! Filthy bastard!

Help me! Do something! Are you stupid or something?

Everything has gone black again!

Therese!

Look. Do you see my hand?

No.

No! No! No! No!

No!

I'm sorry.

Your father decides for you, not me.

I want to stay here.

Write and tell him that.

Miss Paradis, I fear what you want will not tip the scales.

If I return I'll go blind again.

Don't be unreasonable.

Reasonable or unreasonable, it seems being unreasonable won't help.

We'll do another demonstration.

And another, and another.

Until everyone has seen that I can see again.

Father is coming, and Mother too. With Störck, the Academy and nobility.

He wants to show everyone that you can see again.

That I know it myself is enough for me.

Are you sick again?

I'll sing something to you.

I was a little nipper

No more than four spans long

And golden grapes in a bower

I was picking at that hour

As Mother held me fast and strong

A black dragon did arise

That Mother did not spy

From a putrid pool

Black bolts of lightning he did spew

And his poison on my face blew

All went suddenly dark

And solitude around me did reign

My eyes no longer could

Take in the light as they should

The sun

The sun did not shine anymore

Esteemed guests, sadly, I must disappoint you.

There will be no demonstration.

Malheureusement. Court Physician Störck is indisposed.

Monsieur le docteur, how is one to construe this?

One wishes to see the proceedings and is ushered out?

Excusez-moi, I must ask you to leave.

Not much of a turnout, n 'est-ce pas?

Do not be insolent.

Do you wish to keep the mademoiselle from us?

Because you want to keep her to yourself?

What impertinence!

Have the young lady dance.

Come now!

No need for rudeness. We've seen enough, right Luzia?

Charlatan!

We take our leave from the ass!

Your father vows to bring you here for any possible treatments.

So you're abandoning me now.

Adieu.

Adieu.

Something is knocking about in the big case.

Perhaps I should've been there.

Even if only half of it is intact, I wouldn't have let you in that house.

I'm certain it will all be fine, Josef.

Can you play something more agreeable? That's so serious.

They say lots of people will be here. That's good.

An empty hall after a long journey, that would be embarrassing.

And Mrs von Roche vowed to come. Just imagine...

Maman!

I have to concentrate. Please.