"FANNY AND ALEXANDER" "PROLOGUE" "NOT SOLELY FOR PLEASURE" "Fanny" "Mama" "Siri" "Maj" "Grandmama" "I am the king of seventeen lands" "Heed my command!" "Alexander" "What is the matter?" "Would you like to play cards?" "The First Act" "The Ekdahl Family Celebrates Christmas" "It gets longer every day" "Worthy Joseph, do not fear" "Thy angel is thee ever near" "I come in haste to bring thee word" "From thy Creator and thy God" "Mary and the child now wake" "And quickly into safety take" "Herod with his murdering hand" "Threatens every man-child in this land" "All this I have noted well" "And I shall do as you me tell" "Praised be God upon His throne" "Who thus protects my only son" "Thus, good people, ends our play" "It all ends well this holy day" "The Son of God, saved from the sword" "Is our Saviour, Christ the Lord" "We know that in His mercy mild" "He guards every woman, man and child" "Though far from Bethlehem we roam" "The star in the east leads us home" "Merrily may every light" "Shed its radiance clear and bright" "A time of joyous Christmas cheer" "We wish to all, both far and near" "Let no one into darkness fall" "A Merry Christmas, one and all!" "The Ekdahl family usually gives a party for theatre staff on the stage" "The guests are rather a mixed lot quite different from our clientele here in the theatre restaurant" "Nevertheless, I wish to see no supercilious expressions priggishness or raised eyebrows" "I want to see glad generosity, warmth and helpfulness" "Is that understood?" "Alma and Petra, take the hamper." "I'll take the punch-bowl" "Are we ready?" "Come along, Carlchen." "We must not be late at your mama's, like last year" "Merry Christmas, Oscar!" "Help yourselves, everybody!" "Step forward!" "Don't be shy!" "When you have given Ismael his dinner, put out the shop lights and lock the door" "I have the key" "Good night, Aron" "Good night, Uncle Isak" "This is our forty-third Christmas together" "My dear Ester, is it really possible?" "Who would have thought it?" "Yes, it's strange" "Dear Ester" "Good evening, Mrs. Ekdahl" "Good evening, girls" "Alida, you can go back to the others" " Why are you sulky?" " I'm not" "I can see you are; you're always sulky on Christmas Eve" " I don't know what you mean" " I say you're sulky" "Old hag!" "My dear friends" "For twenty-two years in the capacity of theatre manager I have stood here and made a speech" "But really, I'm not any good no good at all at this sort of thing" "Especially if you recall my father, who was brilliant at speech-making" "My only talent, if you can call it a talent in my case is that I love this little world within the thick walls of this playhouse" "And I'm fond of the people who work in this little world" "Outside is the big world and sometimes the little world reflects the big world for a moment so that we understand it better" "Or is it, perhaps, that we give the people who come here the chance of forgetting for a while for a few short moments for a few moments... the harsh world outside?" "Our theatre is a small a small room of orderliness, routine, consciousness and love" "I don't know why I feel so so comically solemn this evening" "I can't explain how I feel." "I had better be brief" "My wife and I and the rest of the Ekdahl family brother Carl..." "I think Carl is there" "We wish you all a happy and joyous Christmas" "I hope we meet again on Boxing Day strengthened in body and soul" "Merry Christmas!" "I can't think where they all are." "They should have been here long ago" "I expect Oscar is making a long, dull speech" "I think I hear them now" "Ester, my fur" "Here comes my family" "Merry Christmas, Grandmama!" "Mama, how beautiful you are!" "Aunt Emma, how nice to see you" "The only question is:" "where are Carl and Lydia?" "Perhaps they've mistaken the time" "Christmas dinner has been at four-thirty for years" "Alexander, run down and ring Uncle Carl's doorbell" "Carlchen, please hurry." "We're so late, we'll be the last" "I do it for your sake" "Enough, mein Carlchen" "At last we can have dinner" "Cheers, Isak!" "And Alida!" "Indigestion." "I must take a pill" "Mr. Jacobi, how awful" "The Ekdahls will be my end" "After last Christmas I had to stay in bed three weeks with kidney pains" "It hurt as much as having a baby" "Have you any children?" "Good heavens, no." "Why do you ask?" "I'm in need of a housekeeper" "Thank you, sir, but I'm happy with the Ekdahl family" "Let's talk it over after New Year" "Well, no harm in talking" "So my brother Gustav Adolf Ekdahl is a fine man" "Then you must brown the breasts, but use lots of butter in the pan" "Then you fry some prime pork put the mince on the breasts, the pork on top of that then pour the port and mushroom sauce over the lot" "Aren't you hungry?" "You're not eating anything yourself" "It's not easy, I must say" "You're quite right" "It's unseemly, all sitting together like this" "I quite agree, it's unseemly" "Gentry and servants sitting together" " The old master made the rule" " It's embarrassing, all the same" "Well, Fanny, aren't we having a nice time?" "I think dinner's taking too long" "I expect you're wondering what you presents will be" "Aren't you, Uncle Gustav?" "Indeed I am." "I'm all agog to know what the evening will bring" "Frau von Bahlen" "My dear husband has implored me to sing something this evening" "I told him I cannot, but he is so insistent" "He says my singing reminds him of when we were young in Munich" "He is so touching, like a child sometimes" "Your father is a fine man" "You think I'm being ironical." "Far from it" "When I feel well I am never ironical" "So believe me when I say, Petra..." "Then you add carrots, sprouts, red cabbage and cauliflower" "Then you pour brandy over the lot" "We must try it at Twelfth Night - if we're spared, of course" "Dear friends, I would like to make speech" "But I'm not going to" "It's my twenty-fourth Christmas with the family" "Emma dear, is it really possible?" "Yes, my Karl-Henrik died in seventy-nine" "Is it so long ago?" "He'd be ninety-eight, if he'd lived" "My dear Emma, just fancy that" "I was nineteen when we married" "Were you only nineteen?" "A great difference in age" "Indeed." "But you were fond of..." "My sister also married an older man" "I remember." "A splendid wedding" "He died three months later, leaving a fortune" "Which was more than Karl-Henrik did" "I seem to remember" "Do try for once to sit properly" "Elbows off table, back straight." "Your table manners are awful" "Berta, as you're sitting next to my father ask him from me if I could be spared being corrected on Christmas Eve" "Siri, are you cross about something?" "Not in the least." "Why do you ask?" "You're not laughing like everyone else" "Some people find it hard to laugh" "Why?" "Some people have a great sorrow, for instance" "And it grows when others are happy?" "For some people Christmas is a rather sad time" "Why?" "There are so many memories" "Perhaps you'll be happy by next Christmas" "Perhaps I will" "Aunt Anna, I suppose if you're so rich you can get any man at all" " Do you think so, Alexander?" " That's what papa says" "I'm glad to hear it" "So you're leaving us to marry, Berta" "Yes, sir, I am" "We're going to miss you." "Both my wife and I" "It seems you'll have some consolation, sir" "Here's to old times, Berta!" "Cheers, sir!" "A verse for the rice" "Rice pudding is our strength and stay" "It is our staple food" "In joy, in grief, both night and day" "It always does us good" "I've got the almond!" "Three cheers for the bride of the year!" "Maj, what if I pay you a little visit this evening?" "Are you all right, sir?" "Yes, I am" "I must help the girls with the tree" "My old man's after Maj" " Aren't you angry?" " What for?" "I think it's rather sweet" "Uncle Carl is going to treat you to Christmas fireworks" "Number one" "Now comes number two" "Now comes the third" "Alexander, bring the lights" "And it came to pass in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed" "And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria" "And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city" "And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David" "...to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife being great with child" "And so it was that, while they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered" "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn" " Do you give in?" " No!" "I'm sorry, but it looks rather a mess" "Come for your Christmas box" "Thank you, Mrs. Ekdahl" "Into bed now, children" "Leave that, Alexander" "Let's say our prayers" "Thank you God for this day." "Make me good." "Let the angel be with me all night" "Bless papa, mama, grandpapa, grandmama, brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts  Vega, Ester, Maj, Siri, Berta, Alida, Lisen and Uncle Isak and everybody else" "Putte kisses like a real man" "Look at my Christmas present" "Look what Mrs. Ekdahl gave me" "Aren't I lovely?" "Don't I look like a real lady?" "Tonight you can't sleep in Maj's bed, because Maj will have a visitor" "Maj can't have lots of men in her bed, can she?" "All the same, you're Maj's sweetheart, you know that" "Why not recite something, mama?" "Don't be bashful, you do it marvellously" "I must fortify myself." "I don't know what, I'm sure" "Well, you asked for it" "Alone, I advance on my course" "Farther and farther stretches the road" "Alas, in the distance my goal is hidden" "Dusk is falling, night fills the sky" "Soon the everlasting stars are all I see" "But I do not lament the fleeting day" "The coming night does not appal me" "For of the love that shines through the world" "A gleam has entered my soul" "Well, my dear ones, time to say good night." "We must get up early" "Carlchen, wake up." "We're going home" "Carl is rather tired." "I'll help him" " I rather hung behind" " So I noticed" "There she lies, the beautiful girl, the poor Arabella" "Little does she know what awaits her" "She is alone, alone in the whole house" "Her mother is dead and her father is carousing with loose companions" ""Who comes as the castle tower clock strikes midnight?" "Fear seizes me" ""What is that..." ""...the terrifying white figure floating on moonbeams and drawing near my bed?" ""It is my dead mother!" "It is my mother's ghost!"" "No more noise in here" "Go to sleep, children" "I thought there was a smell of paraffin in the nursery" "There's no paraffin lamp there" "It smelt of paraffin all the same" "I'd better go and see what it is" "It does smell of paraffin" "Are you asleep, brats?" "What are you up to?" "That's odd" "Yes, very odd" "This is a chair, but not just any old chair" "It may look like an ordinary nursery chair humble and rather battered but don't be deceived" "This is the most valuable chair in the world" "It belongs to the Emperor of China and by strange paths it has found its way to the Ekdahl nursery" "But watch, ladies and gentlemen" "Look carefully" "Do you see the mysterious light radiating from the little chair?" "Yes, it's luminous." "Look at it shining in the dark" "Now, my children, I ask you:" "why is this chair luminous?" "Why does it shine in the dark?" "I'll tell you, but remember it's secret" "Whoever betrays it will perish" "Do you swear to keep silent?" "Not so loud." "Mama might hear us" "That would end the performance" "This is the most precious chair in the world" "It's made of a metal only found 59,000 metres under the earth and only in China" "It looks like diamonds, but it is much finer and more costly" "The chair was made 3,000 years ago by the Emperor's master jeweller as a birthday present for the Empress" "She was very small, no bigger than Fanny but she was the most beautiful woman in the world" "She sat all her life on this chair" "Wherever she went two servants carried the chair between them" "When the Empress died, she was buried sitting on this chair" "For two thousand years she sat in her burial chamber" "The chair glistened in the dark, shining right through the Empress's figure" "Then a band of robbers came and broke into the tomb" "They knocked the Empress over and she turned to dust" "The robbers stole the chair away" "Now it belongs to you" "The most precious chair in the world belongs to you" "Care for it, it is very fragile, it might fall to pieces" "Touch it gently" "Sit very carefully" "Talk to it" "And you must breathe on it" "What a damn stupid little chair!" "So battered and ridiculous!" "And it's more than a little ugly, too!" "Devil take it, I think the confounded chair is trying to bite my bottom!" "I'll give it what for!" "Don't!" "Are you all mad?" "It's three - in two hours we must get up for church" "Let's be in Hamlet" "That is a matter for papa to decide" " It's for mama to say" " No, they'd have to be up too late" "We can be pages in the first act" "They're in the last act, too" "Others can play them, they can't be the same pages" "On condition you do your homework and come straight home after the court scenes" "And no grumbling about getting up next morning" "There now, Isak, I've made some nice, strong coffee" "Much better than Vega's awful dishwater" "What can the time be?" "Ten past three." "We can sit for three hours, then I must change for church" "How good to have you here" "You are my best friend." "Whatever would I do without you?" "Last year I enjoyed Christmas." "This year all I wanted to do was cry" "I suppose I'm getting old" " Have I aged?" " You've grown older, yes" "I feared it" "Yes, I just wanted to cry" "I love having the children, of course" "I thought Oscar looked poorly." "He wears himself out with that theatre" "And why should he play Hamlet's father's ghost?" "He should spare himself" "Besides, he's an awful actor" "I wonder if Emilie realizes he is run down and needs a rest" "I think I'll have a word with her" "He's capable, of course." "And conscientious" "Just imagine, the theatre even makes a small profit." "Isn't that splendid?" "Once I had to provide 50,000 kronor out of my own purse for it" "Not that it mattered, but Oscar felt awkward about asking for money" "Not like Carl" "He asked for a new loan, but I refused" "If he comes to you promise to refuse, too" "Time and again I clear up everything for him and after a year he's in fresh straits" "According to him he avoids moneylenders - do you know?" "Not at all" "And that poor German woman he married;" "how could Carl have fallen for her?" "It must be something sexual - what do you think, Isak?" "Something of that kind, perhaps" " You're not listening" " I am" "Never mind." "The main thing is that you keep me company" "Carl and Gustav Adolf take after their father, he was over-sexed" "Sometimes I thought it was too much of a good thing, but I never refused" "Gustav Adolf is incorrigible" "I've spoken to Alma, but she wisely says she doesn't mind his philandering because he's the kindest and best of husbands" "It's fortunate that Alma is so understanding" "Perhaps I ought to warn that nursemaid Maj, or whatever her name is" "She's pretty and good with the children" "Bright, a neat figure..." "pity she's lame, poor thing" "No, if you don't poke your nose in, you needn't take it out, as grandmama said" "Are you asleep?" "Carl and Gustav Adolph were over-endowed;" "Oscar got nothing" "A tragedy for Emilie, who is such a passionate young woman" "When she was expecting Fanny, she told me all about it" "Poor girl" "I must say, she has handled her affairs most tactfully" "Oscar and Emilie are very fond of each other" "A happy marriage in spite of everything" "Are you sad about growing old?" "Indeed not." "Everything is getting worse." "Worse people, worse machines, worse wars" "Worse weather." "I'm glad I'll soon be dead" "You're an old misery, Isak, and always have been" "I don't hold with you at all" "I guessed it" "That doesn't stop me from weeping" "Will you take it amiss if I weep awhile?" "Upon my soul, I can't." "The tears won't come" "I'll have to drink more brandy" "What's so funny?" "Do you remember when you and I sat on the sofa kissing madly?" "You had unbuttoned my blouse and I think you'd unbuttoned something else" "Then the curtain was drawn aside and there stood my dear husband" "It was just like a farce by Feydeau" "I screamed and you made for the door" "He rushed to get his pistol, with me clinging to his leg" "Then you became friends for life" "Your husband was a magnanimous man" "Now, you see, I'm weeping" "The happy, splendid life is over and the horrible, dirty life is engulfing us" "That's the way of it" "This won't do at all, my dear sir." "I must wash, repaint my face do my hair, put on my stays and my silk dress" "A weepy, lovesick woman turns into a self-possessed grandmother" "We play our parts" "Some play them negligently, others play them with great care" "I am one of the latter" "Good night, my lovely Helen" "You were a sweet lover;" "you were like strawberries" "You wanted me to help you with your morning toilet, madam." "It is ten to five" "A coffee-shop in Castle Street" "Your own cakes and pastries and tarts and confections" "Wouldn't you like that, little Maj?" "You'd be in charge of everything" "Only yesterday I said to Alma:" ""Look at little Maj, she's a princess"" "What breasts you have, my girl." "Let me see properly" "Don't be afraid." "I'm a wonderful lover, all women agree" "Once you've had me on my back, you'll forget the coffee-shop" "Wait, give me something to write on" "Maja Kling is the manageress of my coffee-shop" "Signed:" "Gustav Adolf Ekdahl" "Christmas night, 1907" "That's a contract." "Stick it under a lawyer's nose if I forget my promise" "Be careful, sir, not to put me in the family way" "What do you say?" "Isn't Uncle Gustav nice?" "Have you ever felt such a peg-leg?" "Damnation!" "The rocket went off too soon" "Well, it can't be helped." "Wasn't it lovely?" "Sir, you're a billy-goat" "And you're my little lamb" "I must lie down, I'm all of a sweat." "I've eaten and drunk too much" "You're not ill?" "How could I be ill when I'm with such a delicious piece of confectionery?" "Sit astride me" " How your heart's pounding" " I've a splendid heart" "You owe me a new bed now" "You'll have a coffee-shop, a flat, handsome furniture and a big bed" "And pretty clothes" "No one will be prettier than you, Gustav Adolph Ekdahl's mistress and I'll visit you every Wednesday and Saturday at three o'clock" "How silly you are" "You're a real numbskull" "I'm not a numbskull at all" "You are, for thinking I want anything from you" "Don't you want anything?" "Don't you see I was joking?" "Joking?" "In what way?" "Now don't get angry" "I'm not angry, but I don't like being treated as an idiot" "Stop laughing" "I think you're so funny" "I don't like being laughed at" "I can feel a cold coming on." "My throat hurts when I swallow" "My teeth are on edge" "Why isn't there any heating?" "We have no credit with the wood merchant; we owe 150 kronor, Carlchen" "Speak Swedish." "In twenty-three years you haven't learnt our language" "I do my best" "Last Tuesday I asked mama for ten thousand, to straighten out my affairs" "She showed me a paper which proved that I owe her thirty-seven thousand" "It's incredible" "Go to the Jew" "I've been already, thank you" "Extortionate interest, and he threatens to tell mama if I'm not punctual" "I have some jewellery" "Idiot!" "How nice" " Professor Ekdahl running to the pawnbroker" "Aren't you coming to bed?" "I feel ill" "The herring salad tasted stale" "I bet that stingy bitch mama has been saving it since Easter" "Why did I marry you?" "You're ugly, poor and barren" "You couldn't even give me a child" "You never make love to me." "Ich sage aber nichts" "Speak Swedish" "Poor Carl, how unhappy you are" "If you were not so anxious you wouldn't be so cruel" "The head of the faculty says I neglect my lectures" "But I'm a scientist - the only real scientist in the whole university" "But nobody cares" "God , my head." "I've a frightful headache" "And we must go to early service." "Nothing but compulsion everywhere" "Smile and be polite:" "Mama, how beautiful you are" "Emilie, you played the Christmas angel so beautifully" "How is it that you succeed in everything, Oscar?" "How do you do it?" "Carlchen, come and sit by me" "You smell nasty." "Have you given up washing, or are you starting to rot?" "I don't smell nasty at all" "You have odorous hallucinations" "Shall I bandage it?" "Won't you try to sleep?" "I feel so sorry for you" "How is it one becomes second-rate?" "Can you answer me that?" "How does the dust fall?" "When has one lost?" "First I'm a prince, the heir to the kingdom" "Suddenly, before I know it, I am deposed" "Death taps me on the shoulder" "The room is cold and we can't afford wood" "I'm stupid and unkind" "And I'm unkindest to the one who cares for me" "You can never forgive me;" "I'm a shit and a rotter" "I'll make you a hot toddy" "Don't be so damned servile" "Wipe your lips, they're always disgustingly wet" "I don't mean to be unkind" "No, I know that" "Oh, life!" "Insomnia poverty and humiliation" "Stretch out a hand and you grope in a void" "Why am I such a bloody coward?" "You have your amusements" "No more now" "I hit you and you kiss my hand" "I spit on you and you forgive me." "You're repulsive" "I can't stand your love any longer." "Go back to Munich and get a divorce" "At least I want to be spared seeing you smelling you, hearing your damned gibberish your solicitude, your anxious eyes, your messy love" "You always talk like that when you're depressed." "I take no notice of it" "I want to sleep" "Perhaps I'll dream of a sweet-smelling female small breasts, narrow hips, long legs" "Dark haired, cheerful" "She puts her arms and legs around me, pressing me to her" "We make love" "Her flesh is firm" "Old age, prison, disgust!" "Hell and damnation, don't touch me!" "Do you know why I hate you?" "You are a reflection." "Good nature reflects good nature" "Mediocrity reflects mediocrity." "I see your face twitching" "You grieve, but suffer it" "That is the big difference." "I will never suffer it" "Good night" "Well, Gustav Adolf" "Good morning, father" "Don't I get a kiss?" "Petra, prepare eggs and ham for papa and two cheese sandwiches" " What will you drink?" " Beer" "Petra, you know where the beer is" "No, I think there's stout in the cold-box" "You'd prefer stout, wouldn't you?" "Don't stand staring." "We must be at grandmama's in an hour" " Well, then?" " Brandy" "I've put your clothes out" "There's hot water if you want a bath" "Hurry" "I must say, you're a damned handsome woman" "And you're a turd" " Come to bed for a moment" " I've just done my hair" "We'll have a quick one standing up" "Petra will be here with breakfast" "We'll lock the door" "Come on, then, but make it quick" "I don't think I can." "Something must be wrong" " You're not ill?" " I'm as fit as a fiddle" "Lie down" "Shall I bring in breakfast?" "Yes, please" "To think I haven't killed you" "How about that?" "I wonder if it isn't cold today" "I think it will be very cold" "Below twenty on my thermometer" "Don't yawn at table, Alexander" "Cheers, brother Carl!" "The bishop is taking the service" "Yes, he is" "Your father is quite dotty" "I'm sorry" "Well, my friends, it is time" "Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman" "FANNY AND ALEXANDER" "The Second Act" "The Ghost" "My hour is almost come when I to sulph'rous and tormenting flames must render up myself" "Alas, poor ghost!" "Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing to what I shall unfold" "Speak." "I am bound to hear" "So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear" "What?" "I am thy father's spirit" "Doomed for a certain term to walk the night and for the day confined to fast in fires till the foul crimes done in my days of nature are burnt and purged away" "But that I am forbid to tell the secrets of my prison house" "I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood make thy two eyes like stars start from their spheres" "But this eternal blazon must not be to ears of flesh and blood" "List, list, O, list!" "If thou didst ever thy dear father love" "O God!" "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" "Murder?" "Murder most foul, as in the best it is." "But this most foul strange, and unnatural" "Haste me to know't, that I, with wings as swift as meditation or the thoughts of love, may sweep to my revenge" "Now, Hamlet, hear" "'Tis given out, that sleeping in my orchard, a serpent stung me" "So the whole ear of Denmark is by a forged process of my death rankly abused" "But know, thou noble youth the serpent that did sting thy father's life did sting thy father's life now wears his crown" "O my prophetic soul!" "My uncle?" "Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts" "O wicked wit and gifts, that have the power so to seduce won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen" "But soft, methinks I scent the morning air" "Mr. Landahl, shouldn't some steps be here?" "Someone help Mr. Ekdahl down" "The steps were forgotten today" "Brief let me be" "Sleeping within my orchard, my custom always of the afternoon upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebona in a vial and in the porches of my ears did pour the leperous distilment whose effect holds such an enmity with blood of man that swift as quicksilver it courses through the natural gates and alleys of the body and with a sudden vigor it doth posset and curd like eager droppings into milk, the thin and wholesome blood" "So did it mine, and a most instant tetter barked about most lazar-like, with vile and loathsome crust all my smooth body" "Thus was I sleeping by a brother's hand of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatched" "Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin unhouseled, disappointed, unaneled, no reck'ning made but sent to my account with all my imperfections on my head" "O, horrible!" "O, horrible!" "most horrible!" "If thou has nature in thee, bear it not" "Let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest" "I've forgotten what I am to do" "Exit upstage centre" " Where I am?" " Here, in the theatre" "Let's go home and rest" "What has happened?" "You're just a little tired" "Shall I phone for the ambulance?" "What am I doing here?" "You were acting" "Acting" "Why was I acting?" "Let's go home, Oscar" "Am I going to die now?" "Help me" "I'll get a cab" "He must have his overcoat" "Come along" "Take that cart!" "We know nothing yet" "Let us hope so." "Thank you for ringing" "How is our dear Oscar?" "We can only hope" " How is he?" " It's a matter of hours" " Is he in pain?" " He sleeps most of the time" "Ester and Vega will give you cocoa and sandwiches" "I popped in to see the Gustavssons and I met Mr. Albrektsson" "Just imagine, children this letter will go all the way to a mission station in China" "Mr. Albrektsson's poodle has four puppies" "A friend of mine has lived there for fifty years" "Mr. Albrektsson wonders if Fanny and Alexander would like a puppy" "Mama won't allow us dogs or cats" "We could keep the puppy here - otherwise it will be sold" "When I was in China doing field work with my friend we had a dog and three cats" " Shall we have another game?" " You take red, then" "Mr. Albrektsson makes profit from his pedigree dogs, but he'll give a pup away" "He has a private income" "It's his wife's money, my dear Ester" "Would Fanny and Alexander like bread and treacle?" "The letter's finished." "Fanny, you may lick the envelope" " Would you like the flute, Alexander?" " No, thank you" " You can lick the stamp" " No, thank you" "You lick it, then" "Don't" "Mama asked me to fetch you" "We'll leave the bread there" "Hurry along, Alexander" "Don't be afraid" "Come here" "I'll wait outside" "Tell Alexander there's nothing to be afraid of" "I'll tell him" "You mustn't be anxious" "This is nothing to worry about" "I have no pain" "Actually, I feel better than I have done for a long time" "Don't mind if I keep my eyes shut" "The light seems rather glaring" "It doesn't matter if I close my eyes" "I could play the ghost now" "Very well" "Nothing..." "Nothing... separates me from you all" "Not now and not later" "I know that" "I see it quite clearly" "I think I'll be closer to you now than when I lived" "Now I'd like to look at Alexander" "Papa says there's nothing to be afraid of" "Don't be childish" "You must take charge of the theatre" "Mr. Sandblad will tell you about the business side" "All artistic matters you will handle yourself as usual" "A simple funeral." "Don't forget" "Nothing majestic in the cathedral with Chopin's funeral march" "Promise" "Everything must go on as usual" "Everything must go on as usual" "I'll soon be dead" "Will you hold my hand?" "Eternity, Emilie" "Fanny, wake up." "Do you hear it?" "My condolences" "Permit me to assure you that my family and I feel the very greatest sympathy in the grievous hour that has befallen your family" "It is the regiment's duty and honour in keeping with our proud traditions to be allowed to express our sympathy at the funeral service" "In veneration and affection allow me to kiss your hand and make so bold as to offer the support of an imperfect mortal" "Alexander, the Bishop will be here any moment" "I don't give a damn!" "My deepest sympathy" "Dear Emilie Ekdahl, words are so inadequate" "Let's pull ourselves together" "It is with dismay that we gather around Oscar's bier" "A close friend has been taken, leaving us in distress" "We actors, who play with life and death every day should not be so upset but oddly enough our distress is greater... greater than others" "Just before he died he was conscious" "He even laughed" "We spoke of practical things" "The children's future and business matters" "We also spoke of our theatre" "Oscar said: "Everything must go on as usual, Emilie"" "So we go on as usual" "At Oscar's request I shall take over the theatre management" "Tomorrow we resume rehearsals" "The first night of Hamlet will be as advertised" "That's the lot" "We will all do our best" "Thank you" "Dear Emilie" "Oscar will be proud" "I'm so glad for your sake, Emilie dear" "Piss, shit, arsehole..." "Siri, tell the children they may leave the table" "Did you hear?" "Alexander, wake up." "There's something out there" "FANNY AND ALEXANDER" "The Third Act" "Break-up" "When that I was and a little tiny boy" "With a hey, ho, the wind and the rain" "A foolish thing was but a toy" "For the rain it raineth every day" "Emilie wants to talk to us after the performance" " It sounds ominous" " Yes" "But when I came to man's estate" "With hey, ho, the wind and the rain" "'Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate" "For the rain it raineth every day" "But when I came, alas, to wive" "With hey, ho, the wind and the rain" "By swaggering could I never thrive" "For the rain it raineth every day" "Emilie, you want to talk to us afterwards?" "What about?" "But when I came unto my beds" "With hey, ho, the wind and the rain" "With tosspots still had drunken heads" "For the rain it raineth every day" "A great while ago the world begun" "With hey, ho, the wind and the rain" "But that's all one, our play is done" "And we'll strive to please you every day" "Well, that's that" "Get a move on, you old ghost" "A lot of rot" "Please sit down, I want to talk to you" "A year ago today my husband died" "He wanted us to go on as usual and we have gone on as usual although everything has been different" "We draw the theatre over our heads like a mantle of security" "The dressing-rooms are bright and warm the stage enfolds us with kindly shadows" "Playwrights tell us what to say and think" "We laugh and cry and rage" "People sit there in the dark, liking us" "They are remarkably loyal although we often give them stones instead of bread" "We mostly playact." "Nearly always" "We mostly playact for enjoyment - if not we sulk and blame circumstances never ourselves" "That how it is" "So I pass my life in a wonderful self-deception" "Sharp-sighted in regard to others while glossing over my own faults" "I don't know what I really am, as I never bother to find out the truth" "I bother about myself which is something different" "I don't bother about reality, either;" "it is colourless and uninteresting" "It does not concern me, unless it somehow concerns the part I am playing" "You are tired of the theatre?" "I think so" " You want to leave it?" " I think so, for good" " What about us, if you go?" " Everything will go on as before" "Who will be our manager?" "Decide yourselves when the day comes, if it comes" "I haven't yet made up my mind" "Now I think we should say good night" "Let's change, children" "I need a drink and a snack." "Who'll join me?" "I've had an offer from the Lindberg company, so it's all the same to me" "What did I tell you?" "I think something's behind it" " Haven't you heard?" " Is it really true?" "Well, I'm damned!" "If music be the food of love, play on" "Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting..." "Come, Alexander, stop playing the fool" "Good day, Alexander." "My respects to your mother" "Hard luck on you!" "You'll find out pretty soon!" "What's the matter?" "Someone wishes to talk to you." "You can have your cocoa later" " What have I done?" " You know that best" "We have met in sadder circumstances, when I conducted your father's funeral" "Since then your mother has turned to me with her worries, as is only natural" "I am a close friend of your grandmother" "I am the parishioners' spiritual guide" "The Bishop has been very good to me during this difficult time" "We have spoken of you, my lad" "I have told the Bishop of my pride in my well-behaved children" "You and your sister are doing well at school." "Good reports, I hear" "Is that not so, Alexander?" "I am your friend and I wish you well." "You believe that, don't you?" "But diligence and good marks are not everything in this world" "Blow your nose, Alexander" "How dirty it is!" "Didn't Maj give you a clean handkerchief today?" "Yes" "Bloody hell!" "As I said, diligence and good marks are not everything in this world" "Pay attention, Alexander" "He is, aren't you, Alexander?" "You're anxious to know what I'll say" "You are a big boy now so I'll talk to you man to man" "Can you tell me can you explain what is a lie and what is truth?" "A stupid question?" "True, I was only joking" "Of course you know what is a lie and what is truth, don't you?" "Splendid... splendid, my boy" "You also know why one lies" "Why does one lie?" "You must explain to me why one lies" "To avoid telling the truth" "A very sly answer, my young friend" "But you can't wriggle out of it so easily" " Why does one not tell the truth?" " I don't know" "We have plenty of time and I am so interested in your answer that I shall wait indefinitely" "Believe it or not, that is true" "One lies to gain advantage" "Well answered, my boy." "Well and concisely" "Now you must forgive me for a rather personal question" "Can you explain to your mother and me why you lied at school?" "What?" "You form master has written to me saying you have been spreading lies" "Sold to a circus" "Will you deny that you told your classmates that I have sold you to a travelling circus and that at the end of term they are coming to get you?" "That you are to be trained as an acrobat and rider together with a gypsy of the same age named Tamara?" "The letter has horrified and upset your mother" "She did not know what to do" "I suggested that I talk over this unpleasant problem with you" "And here I am" "You should be grateful to the Bishop for sparing time" "We are agreed that he who lies seeks to gain an advantage" "So I ask you, quite logically what advantage there was in saying your mother had sold you to a circus?" "I don't know" "I think you know quite well" "But you are ashamed to answer" "You are ashamed, aren't you?" "That's good, my young friend." "Very good" "It shows you will guard against further fabrications" "Now ask your mother's forgiveness for the sorrow and worry you caused her" "Go and ask your mother to forgive you" "You hear what I say, don't you?" "Forgive me for having lied." "I promise never to do it again" "The matter is cleared up and need never be mentioned again" "Imagination is a splendid thing a mighty force, a gift from God" "It is held in trust for us by the great artists, writers and musicians" "I'll get Fanny" "I have something important to say" "Edvard has asked me to merry him and I have accepted with gratitude and joy" "I have lived alone for a long time" "And my children need a firm hand - and a father" "Of course, a great deal will be..." "May God in His mercy take care of our little family" "Let us kneel and unite in a heartfelt prayer" "May God, our Father, in His mercy care for our little family bless us and keep us from evil" "Please, dear God give me strength to be a guardian and set an example to these fatherless ones" "Please give me strength also to be a support to this lonely young woman" "Fifteenth century builders did not bother much about comfort" "My predecessors kept all as it was and I follow the tradition" "In these old rooms there is an imperishable beauty" "Let us be grateful that we may live in an atmosphere of purity and austerity" "Here come my mother and my sister" "Welcome, Mrs. Ekdahl" "This is my sister Henrietta" "Welcome to the Bishop's Palace" "Come and say how do you do, children" "Mrs. Tander, our capable cook, who has been thirty years with the family" "My future wife, Mrs. Emilie Ekdahl" "Our capable helpers:" "Karna, Selma and little Justina" "Now to meet my aunt, who is alas ill and bedridden" "How are you today, Aunt Elsa?" "We have a very special visitor" "Don't be afraid to go in, children" "My future wife, Mrs. Emilie Ekdahl, the famous actress" "The children have fallen asleep;" "we must go" "Not just yet" "I have a wish." "A single wish, but an important one" "I want to tell you, so you may change your mind if you find it impossible" "Tell me your wish" "I want you and your children to come to my house without possessions" "What do you mean?" "Leave your home your clothes, your jewels, your furniture, your friends your possessions, your habits and thoughts" "I want you to leave your former life entirely" "Come naked?" "I am serious." "I want you to come to your new life as though newly born" "And the children?" " Their toys, dolls, books..." " Nothing" "I must talk to them" "You must decide" "I can decide for my own part, not for them; so I must ask them" "Their mother's happiness calls for sacrifice" "You are angry." "Kiss me" "I'm not at all angry" " I'll win them over" " You must think carefully, Emilie" "I have already thought." "For me it is not hard to grant your wish" "I have never concerned myself for anything seriously" "I have wondered whether something was radically wrong with my feelings" "I couldn't understand why nothing really hurt why I never felt really happy" "Now I know this is the crucial moment" "I know that we shall give pain to each other, but I am not afraid" "I know, too, that we shall give happiness to each other and I weep with fear, because the time is so short days pass so quickly, nothing lasts for ever" "You say your God is the God of love" "It sounds so beautiful and I wish I could believe as you do" "Perhaps I will one day" "My God is so different, Edvard" "He is like myself, ill-defined and intangible" "I am an actress." "I am used to wearing masks" "My God wears a thousand masks" "He has never shown me His real face just as I have never shown Him mine" "Through you I shall learn to know God's real being" "Kiss me now and hold me in your arms, quite still, as only you can, my darling" "I, Olof Henryk Edvard Vergerus take thee, Elisabet Emilie Josefin Ekdahl to my wedded wife to love and to cherish and thereto I give thee my troth" "I wonder if this is a good thing" "You saw how happy dear Emilie was" " I'm thinking of the children" " They'll get used to it" "The Bishop's the devil of a ladykiller" "I'm sure that's just gossip, Carl" "I don't know why, I just want to cry" "They might have treated themselves to a honeymoon" "I wanted to offer them our house in Provence, but Emilie wouldn't let me" "I'm not surprised; she has an awful respect for her husband" "A handsome man, say what you like" " I bet he's got false teeth" " Petra!" "Don't be so silly" "His mother was charming" "The sister's said to be a virago" "I've a feeling that we'll have Emilie back... quite soon" "The children seem to have no appetite" "Everything is all so new and strange to them, Henrietta" "Perhaps they're turning up their noses at our food" "Henrietta, let us rejoice in our first evening together" "I have no desire to spoil our first evening but in future no one will be allowed to leave the table without eating all..." "Henrietta dear, I am the one to tell my children what to do" "There is a basic rule in this house which no one must break not even you, Emilie dear and that is respect for the temporal gifts" "You misapprehend an essential but let us postpone the discussion" "Forgive me, I am forgetting myself" "I am sure you are a more capable housewife than I am" "Edvard has admonished me a hundred times" "It is not easy to grasp the fact that one has become superfluous" "That will do" "Something I may be allowed to say is that we are early risers, weekdays and Sundays" "Morning prayers at six in Edvard's study" "We make our own beds and tidy our rooms" "Punctuality, cleanliness and order rule in this house" "My daughter does not mean to be as strict as she sounds, children" "We shall begin gently" "If the intention is to introduce some new method of upbringing..." "Not at all, Emilie dear" "The children will grow to realize how pleasant it is to perform one's duties conscientiously" "It will all be like a game" "Neither they nor I care for such a game" "Time will show, Emilie dear" "Let us fold our hands and say grace" "In gratitude for what we have received, may we share our abundance with those who hunger and thirst" "Justina, please show Fanny and Alexander to the nursery" "It is late and high time for young people to go to rest" "They're coming!" "Into bed, Alexander, and you, Fanny!" "Now we'll say our prayers" "Thank you God for this day." "Make me good." "God bless papa, mama..." "And uncle Edvard ...cousins, uncles, aunts Vega, Ester, Maj, Siri, Berta, Alida, Lisen and Uncle Isak and everybody else" "Justina, a few things I'd like to mention for tomorrow" "What book are you reading, Alexander?" "What book are you reading, Alexander?" "Good night, my boy" "Good night and God bless you" "Good night, uncle Edvard" "My dearest wish is for us to live at peace with each other" "Love cannot be commanded but we can show each other respect and consideration" "Go on, my dear, I'll come later" "Whose doll's house is this?" "Fifteen years ago two girls lived in this room" "They were drowned in the river with their mother" " Perhaps the house is haunted" " Silly, there's no such thing as ghosts" " Did they live in this room?" " I think it was the nursery" "Our stepfather's horrid" "His sister is mad" "And that mountain of flesh that has to be fed" "I don't want to live here" "You must give me time;" "much has to be changed" "Some things will be done quickly, others will take longer" "The main thing is not to lose heart" "Why did you marry the Bishop?" "Because I love him; that is the way of it" "Now sleep." "Things will look better when we're not tired" "Don't act Hamlet, my son" "I'm not Gertrude and your kind stepfather is no King of Denmark and this is not Elsinore Castle, even if it does look gloomy" "Bloody hell!" "I'll show you something" "There are bars outside... and the window won't open" "Written a directed by Ingmar Bergman" "FANNY AND ALEXANDER" "The Fourth Act" "Events of Summer" "Is it you, old Isak?" "How kind of you to ring" "You're not disturbing me, I was just sitting with my eyes closed" "Asleep?" "You know I never sleep" "Everyone's deserted me; it's the annual excursion to Black Rock" "Gustav Adolf wouldn't change anything, even if it rained cats and dogs" "The weather was fine when they left, but clouds have gathered" "There's not a soul here" "Won't you come out here for once?" "Don't be so obstinate." "You sit in your awful shop all summer" "You want me to come to you?" "I've sat here three days with a sprained ankle" "I've only myself to blame, I was playing hopscotch with Jenny" "There's such a crackling on the line" "Thunder's about, but not coming this way, I think" "Yes, exactly, my friend" "I'm very worried, I must say" "No, Emilie merely told us she would be staying in town all summer" "Something's wrong, Isak" "That gloomy house makes me feel ill;" "it's no place for children in summer" "I can't hear a word you say" "Can you hear me?" "I hear you very faintly" "I'll call you back in an hour" "I wonder if it isn't time for a small cognac?" "Yes, I think so" "Maj, how nice!" "Come in, my dear" " I'm not disturbing you?" " Not at all." "Give me a kiss" "Very pretty." "Did you make it yourself?" "Nice material, a beautiful pattern" "You didn't go on the excursion?" "There's no room for me on the boat with my big belly" " Is something wrong?" " Maybe I'm silly to worry" "Let's sit on the steps" "The children?" "Alexander and I agreed to write." "I've sent him seven letters" " No reply?" " A postcard, three weeks ago" ""Dear Maj. We are well" ""Uncle Edvard took us on an outing to..." ""...the Botanical Gardens" ""We have learnt much about rare flowers" ""Thank you for your letters." "I'll write when I get time" ""Love from Alexander." "Fanny sends her love"" "I think we're misjudging Emilie;" "she is able to look after her children" "We're worrying for no reason" "I feel they're my children, too" "Are you going already?" "As you were alone, I wanted to speak to you" "Then stay" "It's awfully kind of you but I promised to have dinner ready when they come home" " Dear child, are things so difficult?" " Yes, they are" " The coffee-shop business?" " That, too" "Gustav Adolf insists on it, I gather" "I don't want to hurt him, he's so kind" "What worries me most is the children" "I'm sorry to be crying." "Forgive me" "Supper" "Then straight to bed" "The tray can stay until tomorrow" "Mrs. Tander sends you some cakes" "I'll be in trouble if Miss Vergerus finds out" "Hasn't mother come back?" "No, Mrs. Vergerus has not come back" "She said she'd come this evening" "I don't know what to say" "Why do you sigh all the time?" "I've not been long in this house, thank the Lord but Mrs. Tander could tell you a thing or two; she was in the first wife's day" "Would you like a cake?" "What does Mrs. Tander say?" "It was the same in the first wife's day" "Only worse" " Poor children" " Do you mean us?" "No, I don't mean you" "I mean the little ones who found their grave in the cold, dark river outside" "Their mother tried to save them, but was drawn under" "They found them by the bridge" "Clinging tightly to each other, as if they were one body" "Their arms had to be sawn off so they could be laid in separate coffins" "Mrs. Tander says it's never been quiet in this house since" "There's no such thing as ghosts" "I don't want to frighten anyone but this house does funny things to you" "Look at my hand." "The skin has been eaten away - that's raw flesh" "I was taking morning coffee to His Grace and my skin stuck to the door handle and was torn off" "Then someone gave a laugh behind me" "I heard it quite plainly, so I turned" "But no one was there" "And I feel sorry for anyone who has to..." "But I'd better not chatter so much" "I'll lock the door now" "But don't worry, your mother is sure to be back by tomorrow then His Grace himself will come and set you free" "I've seen them... the woman and the children" "Are you telling the truth?" "Word of honour as a Swede" "Where did you see them?" "I'd been in the library with that man who is married to my mother" "He had been lecturing me..." "I forget about what" "I passed through the dining-room, and there was a funny sort of light" "Then I saw one of the girls in the doorway." "She ran past on tiptoe and didn't make a sound" "Then the elder girl came with the dark hair and big eyes" "She stopped and looked at me and signed to me to turn round" "And there, in the bright sunlight stood the woman herself in her black dress" "In a faint, almost inaudible voice she told me not to be afraid and that she had something to tell me" "What?" "I don't want to frighten anyone, but these were her very words:" ""I want you to know our secret" ""Your stepfather, my husband..." ""..." "locked me and my children in the bedroom" ""For five days and nights he kept us, without food and water" ""In our misery we decided to escape" ""We tied sheets together and tried to climb from the window..." ""...to the spit of land which sticks out into the deep, swirling water" ""My daughters went first..." ""...but they fell into the water and were dragged under" ""I tried to save them, but I was sucked into a black whirlpool..." ""...which caught my clothes" ""I was able to grasp my children's hands..." ""...and draw them to me"" "It's devilish!" "Go to bed at once" " What's the time?" " His Grace forbids me to talk to you" "You'll upset me, Alexander, if you can't keep quiet" "You and all your stories" " The lightning struck" " It was very close" "I hope the cathedral went to blazes" "God might punish you" "If a big know-all like him punishes a nobody like Alexander for so little then he's the dirty bastard I think he is" "He's playing the flute" "If we concentrate on making him die, he'll die" "But we must start together" "One, two, three: die, you devil!" " He's still playing" " Let's try again" "Die, you devil!" "Mrs. Tander asks if Your Grace will be having supper alone after Evensong" "No supper." "A glass of milk and a sandwich in the bedroom will suffice" "Thank you, sir." "I'll tell her" "Something else?" "I don't know..." "I don't know if I ought to seem as though I'm telling tales" "Please, sir, I can't stand here in the doorway" "Come in and shut the door" "Please, sir, you said I was to keep an eye on the children listen to their talk and report if I heard anything special" "Alexander made up a terrible story" "I don't know how to get it out" "He says you locked your first wife up and she drowned with her children trying to escape from the window" "That's all, sir" "You may go" "Yes, Oscar, that's just how it is" "One is old and a child at the same time and cannot make out what became of all those long "important" years between" "Here I sit growing melancholy, thinking that the time was all too short" "Your father used to say I was sentimental" "He was not particularly sensitive" "He was both angry and indignant when he died" "He never thought life was cruel, or unfair, or beautiful" "He just lived and made no comments." "He left those to me" "And when I went on about life he laughed at me and said I was sentimental" "But I was an actress" "As an actress I had to be emotional" "Oscar, my dear boy" "I may be distressing myself for no reason but when you have nothing to occupy your thoughts, you start worrying" "May I take your hand?" "I remember your hand as a child." "It was small and firm and dry" "And your wrist was so awfully slender" "I enjoyed being a mother" "I enjoyed being an actress, too, but I preferred being a mother" "I liked being pregnant and I didn't care tuppence for the theatre then" "For that matter, everything is acting." "Some roles are nice, others less so" "I played a mother, I played Juliet, I played Margaret" "Suddenly I am playing the part of a widow." "Or a grandmother" "One role follows another" "The thing is not to shirk" "But what became of it all?" "Can you tell me that?" "You are kind, listening to your old mother's soliloquies as Isak calls them" "Yes, you're a kind boy, Oscar" "I grieved terribly when you died" "That was a strange role to play" "My feelings came from my body and although I could control them they shattered reality, if you know what I mean" "Reality has been broken ever since and oddly enough it feels better that way" "So I don't bother to mend it" "I don't care if nothing makes sense" "Oscar, my dear boy" " Are you downcast?" " I am worried" "About the children?" "Get up!" "Your stepfather wants to talk to you" "Your stepfather wants to talk to you" "Hurry!" "Who is there?" "It's only me" "Alexander, my boy" "In the presence of your sister and Justina you accused me of murdering my wife and children" "Justina, repeat what you told me" "He said he had seen the late Mrs. Vergerus and her children" "She spoke to him" "She said that her husband, His Grace had locked them in the bedroom without food or water" "On the fifth day they tried to escape and were drowned" "You know this story?" "So you allege that Justina has given false testimony?" "She was probably dreaming" "Justina, will you confirm your statement on oath?" "Yes, Your Grace" "Fanny, did you hear Alexander's story?" "You maintain that Justina was lying, or dreaming?" "Come here, Alexander." "Are you prepared to take an oath on it?" "Of course" "It is a mortal sin to swear falsely" "It is called perjury and it is severely punished" "Is it?" "Lay your left hand on the Bible and repeat after me:" "I, Alexander Ekdahl swear by Holy Writ and by the living God that everything I have said, am saying and will say is the truth" "Alexander, my boy" "You remember that we two had an important talk about a year ago concerning certain moral questions" "You can't call it a talk" "What do you mean?" "The Bishop talked, Alexander said nothing" "Said nothing and felt ashamed, perhaps." "Of his lies" "I've grown wiser since" " You mean you lie better" " You could say that" "Do you think you can besmirch a person's honour with impunity?" "Do you think you can lie and shuffle and get away with perjury?" "Do you think this is a game, Alexander or a play in which we can improvise lines?" "I think the Bishop hates Alexander, that's what I think" "So that is what you think" "Well, I'll tell you something that may surprise you" "I don't hate you" "I love you" "But the love I feel for you and your mother and sister, is not blind and not sloppy" "It is strong and harsh" "Do you hear me?" "You are hardening your heart" "Moreover, you misjudge the situation" "I am much stronger than you are" "I don't doubt that" "I mean spiritually stronger." "I have truth and justice on my side" "I know you will confess in a little while" "Your confession and your punishment will be a relief to you" "You are a wise little man" "You realize that the game is up, but you are proud and stubborn" "And you are ashamed" "I've forgotten what I'm to confess" "Have you now" "What does the Bishop want Alexander to confess?" "You know I have means at my disposal" "I didn't, but I do now" "In my childhood, parents were not so soft-hearted" "They had the cane." "I have one, too" "It's an ordinary carpet-beater, but it can dance quite well" "If that didn't help, there was another means: castor oil" "There you see the bottle and a glass" "A few mouthfuls of that made one a little more docile" "And if castor oil didn't work, there was a dark and chilly bogey-hole where one sat a few hours until the mice sniffed at one's face" "Why must I be punished?" "That is obvious, my boy" "You have a weakness in your character:" "you cannot distinguish lies from truth" "As a child, your lies are a child's lies, however dreadful they may be" "But soon you will be a grown man" "Life punishes liars ruthlessly and indiscriminately" "The punishment is to teach you a love of truth" "I confess I made it up about your wife and children" "And committing perjury" "I suppose so" "Now you have won a great victory, Alexander" "Over yourself" "Do you choose the cane, castor oil, or the bogey-hole?" "How many strokes?" "Ten exactly" "Then I choose the cane" "Take those two cushions and put them on the table" "Take your trousers down" "Bend over" "Stand up, Alexander." "You have something to say to me" " You must ask my forgiveness" " I won't" "Then I must cane you until you do." "Can you not spare us this?" "I will never apologize" "You won't apologize?" "Bend over" "No more, please!" " Do you apologize now?" " Yes" "Button your trousers." "Blow your nose" "What have you to say?" "Alexander begs the Bishop's forgiveness" "Speak up." "I want everyone to hear your repentance" "Alexander begs the Bishop's forgiveness" "For the lies and perjury" "You understand that I have punished you out of love?" "Yes" "Kiss my hand, Alexander" " May I go to bed now?" " You may" "But to give you the opportunity to ponder the day's events peacefully you are to sleep in the attic" "Justina will provide a mattress and blanket" "At six tomorrow morning you will be freed." "Is that understood, Alexander?" "Yes, Your Grace" "It's worst for the children" "Punished for slightest misdemeanours" "They're forced to go bed in the attic in the middle of the day" "A week ago Fanny refused to eat up her porridge" "She had to sit at table." "She was sick." "At last she ate it" "Alexander is mad with jealousy, but doesn't realize that it is mutual" "My poor Emilie" "How could I be so blind?" "How could I feel sorry for that man?" "I'm an actress, I should have seen through his pretence" "But I had lived virtually alone since Fanny's birth" "I hated my occasional emotional storms" "Oscar was my best friend, you know that, Helena" "You know how fond of him I was, how sincere my grief when he left us" "I reproach you for nothing" "I saw nothing, I was too dense" "The Bishop spoke to me of another life" "A life of demands, of purity, of joy in the performance of duty" "I had never heard such words" "There seemed to be a light around him" "And I saw he was lonely, unhappy, haunted by fear and bad dreams" "He assured me that I would save him" "He said that together with the children we would live a life in God's nearness" "In the truth" "What he said about the truth, that was most important" "I was so thirsty." "It sounds dramatic and overstrung, Helena but I thirsted for truth, I felt I had been living a lie" "Now I must go" "I fear something may have happened while I have been here" "I dread that Alexander may say something which displeases him" "Alexander is foolhardy, he cannot see his stepfather is a dangerous opponent waiting for the opportunity to crush him" "You must leave him" "I am pregnant" "Nevertheless..." "Forgive me for interrupting you" "I have asked him for a divorce." "He refuses" "I say I'll leave him just the same" "Then he states precisely what will happen" "In a law court I would lose my case, on grounds of "desertion"" "I would lose the children, to be brought up by him" "In secret, I wrote to a lawyer friend" "He confirms what Edvard says" "I am shut in and can no longer breathe" "I am dying, Helena" "And I hate that man so violently that I could..." "Don't tell a soul that I've been here" "Mother" "Father" "If you are coming to see me please remember that I am afraid of ghosts and you are actually dead" "Don't come from behind, please" "I might go mad from fear, and you don't want that, do you?" "Why do I always have to see dead people when it makes me feel bad?" "Damn it!" "Bloody hell!" "My name is Pauline." "My sister Esmeralda is over by the crucifix" "She is angry with you, Alexander" "She wants us to punish you" "You know quite well why we are angry with you" "I've no idea" "You lied about our father" "You said he locked us in." "It is not true" "The sluice gates had been closed and the river was frozen over" "We had new skates for Christmas." "We tried them, the ice broke" "Mother tried to save us, but the current dragged us under the ice" "That's the truth, wretched boy" "We've been thinking how we can free our father from you and your hatred" "We'll frighten you until you're insane and chained up in a padded cell" "Please, don't frighten me" " Give me the key" " Edvard has forbidden it" "You're not to" " Bring the brandy, Carl" " I told you, there's none left!" "Alma, we're to go up to grandmama" "Punch will do just as well!" "The old girl's not here" "In the dining-room?" " We wondered how you were" " Splendid, my dears" " You weren't too lonely?" " I love being alone, you know that" "Vega was bitten by a wasp" "A wasp stings, my sweet." "It has a sting just like your old man" "Petra fell in and was soaked" " Where shall I serve supper?" " I don't want any, Vega" " How is the wasp sting?" " Not worth talking about" "How many thousand of the old boy's photographs have you sorted, mama?" "Here's one of you and your brothers;" "you can't have been more than five" "Who is that beautiful woman?" "Did you have lots of rain?" "Not a drop." "Not a cloud in the sky out there." "We heard the storm inland" "That woman with the decolletage was one of papa's lady friends" "No, we were at school together" "She married a count, had twelve children and grew the size of a house" "I always admired your adroit handling of papa's amours" "We must go." "The Ohmans are looking in" "Can I do anything in town for you tomorrow?" "No, thank you, Gustav, but I would like to talk to you about Maj" "What now?" "She's got all she wants, hasn't she?" "I'm sorry, but what more does that girl..." "Mention Maj and he begins to rant" "You must realize that Maj is not your private plaything" "Thanks to Alma's tolerance she has become one of us, expecting my grandchild" "In your dictatorial way you have mapped out her future" "I'm bloody sure that you and Alma..." "I dislike you swearing in your mother's presence" "I like the girl, I wish her well." "I want to ensure her future" "Not dependent of the family's goodwill if I pop off" "She accepts my suggestions; she needs no protectors, especially against me" "Stop your whispering" "Don't try to make out I'm dictatorial." "Maj has decided everything herself" "I like her" "I'm nice to her." "Alma is nice to her." "I'm bloody hurt, let me tell you" "There's not the slightest reason to side with Maj against me" "I'm fond of her." "Alma is fond of her." "She's loved like Jenny, Petra and Putte" "Well, not quite like the others, but almost" "She's nice to me, doesn't think I'm fat, old, disgusting - not that anyone does" "Gustav Adolf Ekdahl has a soft spot for the ladies." "It's nothing to giggle at" "Maj will make her own way and I'll give her a firm footing." "Enough said" "Well, we're expecting those visitors." "Come along" "Adieu, mama." "Give me a kiss" "I don't want you and Alma to sit prattling about Maj's future" "I'll see to that." "Or, rather, she will" " I'll come back later" " Like hell you will!" "I'll be glad to see you at any hour" "It's you who's making all the fuss." "I want you and mama to stop the tattle" "Carlchen, I can't say anything" "Mama distrusts me and it's your fault" "Then how can I say anything?" "Tell her I'm desperate." "Make it clear to her that I'm contemplating suicide" "Is that really true?" "We can live together poor." "I will working..." "Idiot." "Nitwit." "Imbecile" "I shall work" "Forgive me." "I shall work" "What do you want me to say?" "Have you no imagination?" "That I'm unhappy, I've stopped eating, I lie awake at night" "You do lie awake with insomnia" "It damn well is insomnia" "Say I've grown taciturn." "I never laugh" "And when I do laugh, it sounds horrible." "Get that?" "Don't stay it in so many words, but hint that I've spoken of suicide" "Don't say that awful word, or I'll start to cry" "Fathead" " Do you think of suicide?" " Only when I see you" "Why are you so cruel?" "Don't go, dammit!" "I won't talk to your mother." "I'm going home" "I must cry" "You don't understand that I love you" "Now I won't be able to stop crying" "Dear God, why must I go on acting in this wretched farce?" "Pick up your shawl" "Hell's bells!" "My leg!" "Grandmama" " It's long past your bedtime" " We sneaked out" "What will mother say?" "She won't know, unless you tell" "What do you want of your old grandmama?" "Welcome home, Emilie." "You have been away a long time" "We began to worry" " Would you like something to eat?" " I'm not hungry" "I'll tell Mrs. Tander" " Will you come to bed?" " When the children are asleep" "I'll read in the library." "Good night, children" "It was agreed that Alexander would sleep in the attic, but it seems not" "Indeed not" "I see." "Well, perhaps this is best" "Good night, Fanny" "Good night, Uncle Edvard" "Good night, Alexander" "Is he asleep?" "I'm not" "Then you can answer me" "I can't" "Can't?" "What nonsense is that?" "Alexander does not wish the Bishop a good night" "You have a sense of humour." "I like that" "Did you see your mother-in-law and relations?" "Was it a pleasant visit?" "Did it rain?" "It's been stormy here all day" "Well, at least the farmers could do with rain" "Alexander and I had a little passage of arms this afternoon" "As usual, he cannot distinguish fantasy from reality." "But we sorted it out" "He is not stupid, Alexander..." "but he does not forgive easily" ""Alexander does not wish the Bishop a good night"" "That is really priceless" "Are you cross about something?" "You locked them in" "A safety measure." "I wanted a guarantee that you would come back" "You ill-treated Alexander" "You express yourself so dramatically." "I punished him" "Moreover, the punishment was mild in relation to the crime" "He is cut and bleeding" "His buttocks will be sore for a few days, but it is a healthy soreness" "He will think twice about fabricating new lies or fantasies, if you prefer the term" "And the humiliation?" "A loving punishment can never be humiliating in the deeper sense" "Love and consideration have nothing in common, and the language of love can be fairly harsh" "You speak of love" "You allow yourself to be sarcastic" "Shall we end this conversation and go to bed?" "You locked him in" "He needed to be alone" "He fears the dark" "Summer nights are light" "Those with a clear conscience need fear nothing" "I could kill you" "You will harm the baby with such thoughts" "Our baby will never be born" "Pick your words carefully" "You don't frighten me" "I must frighten you, Emilie" "Even if I do it with a heavy heart, since I love you despite everything" "You are not strong and pregnancy is weakening you" "From now on you are to stay in a room which we shall prepare for you" "Henrietta and my mother will take turns to look after you" "For the time being your liberty will be limited" "But we must be very careful" "Any attempt to rebel or get in touch with the outside world will affect your children's well-being" "Your irresponsibility has compelled me to take the responsibility for your children and also for you" "A burden" "And I feel a terrible loneliness" "I am an ordinary man with big failings, but I discharge a mighty office" "The office is always greater than the one who performs it" "A man in an official position is its slave;" "he has no right his own opinions" "Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman" "FANNY AND ALEXANDER" "The Fifth Act" "Demons" "Good afternoon, Mr. Jacobi" "I hope I am not..." " What do you want?" " I wondered whether His Grace..." " He is writing his sermon" " Perhaps I may speak to his wife?" "She is indisposed, his mother is out and I am busy" "His Grace might be annoyed if I could not..." "What is it about?" "Some months ago, in November, His Grace was kind enough to propose a transaction" "I cannot recall it" "Of course not." "His Grace is sure to spare his family such trivial worries" " What could be have to concern you?" " Alas, do not oblige me to be vulgar" "Candidly, Mr. Jacobi, I think you are an unpleasant man" "I have neither the time nor inclination to converse with you" "A pecuniary embarrassment" "Your brother, His Grace the Bishop, found himself in a pecuniary embarrassment" " May I sit down?" " There!" "Strangely, I appreciate your straight-forwardness" "I do not appreciate your fawning, Mr. Jacobi" "What transaction have you with my brother?" " None at all, as far as I know" " I tire of your riddles" " Speak up, and go" " First to His Grace, concerning money" "A considerable sum" "My brother owes you money?" "On the contrary, my dear lady." "This is the way of it:" "In November His Grace wished to borrow." "However, a Jew never lends to the clergy" "His Grace suggested a transaction:" "I should buy that chest for a large sum" " I declined" " So you declined" "Foolishly." "I have changed my mind" "I long to buy that chest." "For almost any price." "Almost" "I shall get my brother" "I told you not to disturb me" " Mr. Jacobi wishes to buy that chest" " Oh, he clings like a leech" "I'll fetch you in a few minutes." "Take your boots off" "Forgive an old man's unfortunate weakness, Your Grace" " You wish to buy the chest?" " That is so" " What will you give for it?" " Here is the sum" " You have changed your mind" " I may have a buyer" " I am being cheated, of course" " No, Your Grace is free to refuse" "Have you the money with you?" "The purchase price, of course." "Yes, the large notes" "Give me the money" "At once." "If I may have Your Grace's esteemed name on the contract" " Allow me to withdraw" " I shall miss you, Miss Vergerus" "I presume you will take no more than your due" "Suspicions recoil on those who harbour them" "Your Grace will ensure that I am taking nothing more than my due" "That is quite all right." "I am merely giving you the signed contract" "Be seated" "How about that picture there?" " A beautiful and expensive work" " Of interest to you?" "I regret my resources are rather strained at present" " How is your wife?" " How kind of you to enquire" "My wife is indisposed; the sudden heat disagrees with her" " May I pay my respects to her?" " I regret not" "Here is a letter to her from old Mrs. Ekdahl" " I shall give it to her" " You are too kind" "You damned filthy Jewish swine!" "You'll regret this, you abominable hook-nosed skunk!" "He's trying to steal my children!" "He can't." "I have the key to the nursery" "Don't touch them" "First of all, let's eat something" "My nephew, Aron" "Let us sit at table" "I'm sleepy" "Our guests are tired." "Have you tidied the room and made the bed?" "I have carried out all your orders" "That is Aron's puppet theatre" "If you ask him nicely I'm sure he will give you a performance" "Behind this door lives my other nephew, Ismael." "He is ill" "So he must be locked up." "Remember, Alexander." "Remember, Fanny" "Sometimes he sings." "At night, too" "Nothing to worry about." "You will get used to it" "Mind the steps, Fanny." "Now along this passage" "It is cold and damp, because we dare not light a fire or open the windows" "Now through this little door" "Your home for the time being;" "I hope you will like it." "Go to bed now" "At night, lock the door and do not open it to anyone." "Remember to say your prayers" "Don't go" "You want me to stay?" "Then I'll sit here" "I'll go and see Ismael" "My name is Aron." "My brother is Ismael" "Our parents died when we were small" "What book is that?" "Stories, thoughts, words of wisdom and prayers" "It is in Hebrew" "Do you understand it?" " Shall I read you something?" " Yes, please" "Uncle Isak, are you sure His Grace can't come and get us?" "You can set your mind at rest" "It will be rather halting, as I must translate" "A young man and many other people, travel an endless road" "It leads across a stony plain where nothing grows" "The fiery sun burns from morning to evening" "Nowhere can they find coolness or shade" "A scorching wind stirs up huge clouds of dust" "The young man is driven forward by a strange anxiety and he is tormented by raging thirst" "Sometimes he asks himself or one of his companions about the goal of their pilgrimage" "But the answer is uncertain and hesitant" "He himself has forgotten why he ever set out on his journey" "He has also forgotten his native land and the final goal" "Suddenly one evening he is standing in a wood" "All is quiet; perhaps the sunset wind soughs in the tall trees" "He stands in astonishment but he is also anxious and suspicious" "He is alone... and he hears nothing because his ears are blocked up by the dust of the road" "He sees nothing, because his eyes are dazzled by the day's merciless glare" "His throat is parched and his cracked lips are pressed around curses" "So he does not hear the ripple of flowing water" "He does not see the flashing stream in the dusk" "Deaf and blinded, he stands beside it and does not know it is there" "Like a sleepwalker he threads between the pools" "His skill is remarkable, it is almost like a sixth sense in the fading, shadowless light" "One night by the camp fire he is sitting near an old man who is telling children about forests and springs" "The youth remembers what he has been through but faintly and distinctly as in a dream" "He turns incredulously and politely asks the old man:" ""Where does all this water come from?"" ""It comes from a mountain whose peak is covered by a mighty cloud"" ""What kind of cloud?"" "The old man replies:" ""Every man bears within him hopes, fears, longings" ""Every man cries his despair aloud, or carries it in his mind" ""Some pray to a particular god" ""Others utter their cries into the void" ""This despair, this hope..." ""...this dream of deliverance, all these cries, all these tears..." ""...accumulate during thousands and thousands of years..." ""...and condense into a vast cloud around a high mountain" ""Out of the cloud rain streams down the mountain..." ""...forming the brooks and rivers that flow through the great forests" ""So the springs are formed, where you can slake your thirst..." ""...where you can bathe your burnt face..." ""...where you can cool your blistered feet" ""Everyone has at some time heard of the springs, the mountain, the cloud..." ""...but most people remain anxiously on the road in the glaring light"" ""Why do they stay?" asks the youth, in great astonishment" ""Indeed, I do not know", replies the old man" ""Perhaps they believe they will reach their unknown destination by evening"" ""Which unknown destination?" asks the youth" "The old man shrugs" ""Probably there is no destination" ""It is a deception, or imagination" ""I myself am on the way to the forests and the springs" ""I was there once when I was young..." ""...and now I'm trying to find the way back" ""It is not so easy"" "Next morning the youth set out with the old man to seek the mountain, the cloud, the forests and the rippling springs" "Shall we sit down?" "May I tempt you to sherry?" "An almond biscuit, my sister's speciality" "I want the children back" "Tongues will soon be wagging in town" "I fear you have misunderstood the purpose of our visit" "On behalf of the family we ask you to release Emilie and the children" "We cannot say with certainty that we know what has occurred" "All we do know is that Emilie is unhappy and the children dislike it here" "We are fully aware that a divorce is a painful step for a highly placed servant of the church and we will compensate you for the severe loss" "My mother agrees we shall put a considerable sum at your disposal which of course you can use for charity or some other purpose dear to your heart" "We agree that everything must be handled with the utmost discretion and my mother will take Emilie and the children to Italy for a year at least" "Let me say that I fully appreciate the Ekdahls' respect and generosity in my grievous hour" "Yet I must speak my mind;" "it is painful, but necessary" "The children have been abducted from their home" "They must be restored immediately to their legal parents" "Every deferment will cause us all, not least their mother unspeakable suffering" "When the children are back I shall be prepared to listen to any proposals" "But I must stress to save any misunderstandings, that any idea of divorce is out of the question" "I am very grateful for your unambiguous attitude" "But I am compelled to say that the children will never be brought back to be subjected to the hardships they have undergone here" "I might add that on this point the Ekdahl family is unanimous" "The matter is not open to discussion" "They are of our family and we consider ourselves responsible for them" "It pains me that the Ekdahl family wishes to dictate" "Especially as I, their stepfather, have the law on my side" "And as a church dignitary, I have the moral advantage" "But we have the children, my dear sir" "I'm glad you are able to laugh in this painful situation" "Perhaps legal and police proceedings will be unavoidable" "I doubt it dear Edvard" "You'd rather shit yourself than hear the parish crones click their false teeth" "You may have morality and the law on your side, my lad, but bear in mind I'm in league with immorality and even if you win a lawsuit we immoralists will have spread so many credible rumours about your person and your household and your sister and your servants and your sanity and your sexual excesses your false hair, your hypocrisy, your hypochondria your utter lack of decency that you'll apply for a mission to the heathens and Eskimos" "I don't say this to frighten you, my good sir" "I merely wish to lay all cards on the table" "So listen to reason, if you're capable" "Amusing buffoonery" "I would be inclined to laugh if your blether did not contain a threat" "Let me tell you something, my fine friend" "Get this clear:" "I can see through you" "Contemptible blackguard" "Shut up and remember your blood pressure" "I must apologize, my dear Edvard." "Even if we have conflicting views we must behave like rational people" "I dissociate myself entirely from my brother's expressions and attitudes and assure you he represents no one but himself and does not speak for the rest of the family" "You must forgive me" "I apologize on all fours." "I am a boor, or so my wife says" "I have no eye for people's inner qualities" "I drink too much." "My apologies" "We'll say no more about it" "I respect an honest man's honest opinion, although it may be a trifle uncouth" "A glass of sherry?" "I assure you it is excellent" "I am most awfully sorry" "I am so fond of that silly Emilie" "The whole family loves her, don't we, Carl?" "We didn't take care of her sufficiently when Oscar died" "We have much to blame ourselves for" "One is so damned slack and self-centred." "I said so to Alma only this morning:" "If we'd not been so slack and self- centred, this would never have..." "At present I cannot see us reaching an agreement" "Let us regard our confidential and candid talk as preliminary exploration" "I fear I do not share you cautious optimism" "I consider our negotiations ended and I feel compelled to make my standpoint quite clear" "The children must be restored within twelve hours" "Otherwise I shall be forced to report the matter to the police and the public prosecutor" "If the children were brought back could we expect an informal talk about their future relations with us?" "I am a believer in fixed rules and principles" "A fact which in no way conflicts with my love of freedom" "May I take your utterance as an indirect promise of a further talk on the subject of Emilie's and the children's freedom of movement?" "Disintegration in our life is due very largely to broken ties between people who have the capacity to esteem and love one another" "A cruel and puzzling mystery" "To think that a man of my bulk, fully bearded and in his right mind has to perch on this chair and listen to this unmitigated hypocrite" ""Disintegration in our life"!" "Kiss me where my back changes name" "Now you shut up, Carl while I tell this mental masturbator what we have up our sleeves" "I'll tell you something, Edvard Vergerus" "I've bought up your promissory notes - you didn't know that, did you?" "One hundred and ten thousands riksdaler in debts" "So I'm the one who dictates conditions" "Deflated?" "Look how pale he is, the holy man" "I'm damned if his nose isn't longer, too" "You're a special kind of rogue, Edvard Vergerus" "But in my profession I've learned to recognize the smell of a rogue even if he wears a cassock" "And I know how rogues should be treated: roughly!" "Emilie is to have her divorce, or I'll declare His Holiness bankrupt" "I said idiot." "You are an idiot" "I thought it fair to tell him he hasn't a chance" "I am so weary of you sometimes" " What have I done now?" " You'll soon see" "We spoke of the advantage of putting our cards on the table" "I beg to return to that metaphor presently" "To Mr. Ekdahl I'd like to say..." "that I feel sorry for him" "He has a poor, one-sided opinion of the world and the people in it" "He suffers the widespread misconception that man is ruled by his needs" "He thinks that everything can be bought and sold" "Mr. Ekdahl is the son of one of the greatest actresses in the land" "Despite this he has grasped little or nothing of the mind's unlimited power over matter" "He is a wretched Caliban, groping for his blunt tools with clumsy hands" "I am sorry for him, I feel a sincere pity" "My esteemed Carl, I thank you for a respectful and dignified conversation" "I regret we have not come to an agreement" "Try some time to tell your brother..." "No, he would never understand that there are people who have no needs who are indifferent to money who disdain luxuries, who joyously allow themselves to be slandered because their conscience is clear before God the Almighty" "Now to our game of cards, which Mr. Ekdahl spoke of so wittily" "Allow me to play the trump card" "Excuse me for a moment" "That man's made up of the devil himself" "Have you ever seen such a cold-blooded knave?" "If you hadn't behaved like an idiot" " I admit it." "I'm sorry." "No, I'm bloody upset" "He's coming." "Keep your mouth shut" "I am so grateful for your care and affection, but you misunderstand" "Isak Jacobi took it upon himself to abduct the children" "It is terrible and unbelievable" "Edvard is so good to us and we are happy here" "I implore you to bring my children back" "True, I have been anxious." "True, I went and talked to Helena" "True, the children found it hard to adjust to new surroundings" "True, life is stricter here than it was at home" "But I am happy and secure." "Edvard is goodness itself" "You must believe me." "I implore you" "Bring back my children, I cannot live without them" "Dear, dear friends, do as I say" "It is all a terrible mistake" "Farewell, gentlemen" "I must have a pee" "There's no pot" "I wonder where the privy is" "I hope there aren't any ghosts" "Was it this way?" "Now I've lost my way" "It's not my fault everything has gone wrong" "I can't leave you." "I can't" "It would be better if you cleared off to heaven" "I lived my life with you children and Emilie" "Death makes no difference" "What is it, Alexander?" "Why can't you go to God and tell him to kill the Bishop?" "Or doesn't God give a damn about you, or any of us?" "Have you ever seen God on the other side?" "Not one devil has a thought in his head" "Idiots, the lot of them" "You must be gentle with people, Alexander" "Aren't you coming to bed?" "The clock has struck four" "I can't sleep" "I've been with Elsa." "She is very ill." "We should send for the doctor" "He's coming in the morning." "What are you drinking?" "Hot broth; it helps with insomnia" "May I?" "Of course" " Can't you forgive me?" " I'm staying with you, am I not?" "I don't understand this sudden yielding" "Drink it while it's hot" "You insist the children come back?" "In that case, it's hopeless" "I care only for what is right" "Isn't that Elsa calling?" "I'll go in to see her" " Can I help you, aunt?" " It's so dark" "What is the time?" " Nearly four-thirty" " A long night" " Try to sleep" " My legs are swollen and aching" "I have heard that the cosmos is expanding" "The heavenly bodies are hurtling away from each other" "The universe is exploding and we exist at the very moment of explosion" "You once said that you were always changing masks so that finally you didn't know who you were" "I have only one mask" "But it is branded into my flesh" "If I try to tear it off..." "I always thought people liked me" "I saw myself as wise, broad-minded and fair" "I had no idea that anyone was capable of hating me" "I don't hate you" "Your son does" "I fear him" "Who is behind the door?" "It is God behind the door" "Can't you come out?" "No living person may see God's face" "What do you want?" "I only want to prove that I exist" "Is this the end of me?" "Would you like me to show myself?" "You shall see me now" "I am coming out" " Admit you were scared" " Not a damn bit" ""Is this the end of me?"" "You're hurting" "Don't cry, I didn't mean to frighten you" "At least, not so much" "I've worked on this puppet all night" "A wealthy circus owner in England is mad about our puppets" "Then I heard you tiptoeing about" "Hear?" "My brother Ismael is awake." "Singing" "Poor Ismael." "Human beings are more than he can bear" "Sometimes he gets violent, then he's dangerous" "Doctors say his intelligence is far above normal" "He reads, he's incredibly learned and knows everything by heart" "I saw you asleep in uncle's room;" "you weren't working on the puppet" "There is much that cannot be explained" "You observe that when you dabble in magic." "Have you seen our mummy?" "Look carefully." "Can you see it breathing?" "Dead over four thousand years, yet it breathes" "I'll make the room darker" " What do you see?" " It's shining" "Exactly." "No one knows why it is luminous" "No one can explain why" "Anything unintelligible enrages people" "Better to blame apparatus and mirrors and projectors" "Then people laugh - that's healthiest, especially financially" "Watch carefully now" "My father and mother ran a theatre of magic in Saint Petersburg" "One evening, in mid-performance a real ghost appeared: my father's aunt who had died two days earlier" "The ghost lost her way among the machines and projectors" "It was a fiasco and father had to refund the tickets" " I know quite a bit about ghosts" " Do you?" "Uncle Isak says we are surrounded by realities one outside the other" "He says there are swarms of ghosts spirits, souls, poltergeists, demons, angels and devils" "He says that the smallest pebble has a life of its own" "More coffee?" "Everything is alive." "Everything is God, or God's thought" "Not only what is good, but also the cruellest things... what do you think?" "If there is a god he's a shit-and-piss god and I'd like to kick his arse" "I think your theory is very interesting" "It appears to be fairly well justified" "Shall we take Ismael his breakfast?" "For my part I am an atheist" "If one has learnt the magician's tricks from the cradle then one can do without supernatural interference" "A sorcerer like me prefers to show what is understandable" "It is up to the spectators to provide what is not" "Your common sense is good, especially as you are only nine" "I'll be eleven in November" "Ismael, I've brought your breakfast" "Your sister gave me bromide pills as I couldn't sleep" "I had put three in the broth" "It was not my intention that you should drink it" "When you went to see Elsa I put another three pills in the cup" "You will sleep soundly" "When you wake up I shall be gone" "I am going back to my children, to my home and my family" "I'll be different and you will come back" "I will never come back" "I'll poison your life." "Pursue you from town to town." "Ruin your children" "You no longer know what you're saying" "I am awake" "I am horribly awake" "Help me into bed, at least." "I can no longer see" "I feel dizzy" "Are you there?" "I can't see" "Ismael, I've brought your breakfast" "Good morning, Ismael" "This is Alexander Ekdahl, my friend" "Leave us alone, Aron" "Don't worry, I shan't eat him even if he does look appetizing" "Come back in half an hour" "Uncle Isak..." "Uncle Isak is an old goat and he will never know about Alexander's visit" "My name is Ismael, you know that" "And he will be a wild man his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him" "I'm considered dangerous" "In what way?" "Write your name on this paper." "Here is a pencil." "Blunt but serviceable" "Well, Alexander Ekdahl, now read what you have written" ""Ismael Retzinsky"" "Perhaps we are the same person." "Perhaps we have no limits" "Perhaps we flow into and through each other, boundlessly and magnificently" "You bear terrible thoughts" "It is almost painful to be near you" "Yet enticing" " Do you know why?" " I don't think I want to know" "I expect you've heard you can make an image of an enemy and stick pins in it" "A clumsy method when you consider the swift, straight ways evil thoughts go" "You are an odd little creature, Alexander" "You won't talk about what is in your mind all the time" "You have in mind a man's death" "Wait..." "I know of whom you are thinking" "A tall man with fair, greying hair - correct me if I'm wrong" "Unshaven, clear blue eyes and a boyish face - correct me if I'm wrong" "He is asleep and dreaming that he is kneeling at the altar" "Above the altar hangs the crucified prophet" "In his dream he gets up and cries:" ""My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"" "No one answers him, not even a laugh" "Please don't talk like that" "It is not I talking" "It is yourself" "You are not to hesitate" "He is sound asleep, plagued with nightmares" "Give me your hand, Alexander." "It isn't really necessary, but it's safer" "The doors open" "A scream is to go through the house" " I don't want to" " It is too late" "You have only one way to go and I am coming with you" "I obliterate myself, I merge into you, my little child" "Don't be afraid, I am with you, I am your guardian angel" "It is five and the sun has just risen." "The doors are thrown open" "No, wait." "First a scream" "A horrible scream echoing through the house" "A shapeless burning figure moving across the floor" "I don't want to." "Let me go" "The police insist on speaking to you" "It is my painful duty, madam as the town's administrator of justice to have to inform you of the terrible circumstances surrounding your husband's horrible death" "Moreover, according to the law of the realm in the presence of this witness, Superintendent Jespersson I must conduct a short and in all respects formal interrogation for which I beg you to forgive me" "Your husband, His Grace the Bishop lost his life this morning in terrible circumstances" "Do you permit, madam?" "We think we can follow the course of events in detail" "Miss Elsa Bergius, who was gravely ill, lay in bed" "By an unlucky chance, her bedside lamp fell on her bed igniting not only the bedclothes, but Miss Bergius's hair and nightgown" "Blazing like a torch, she rushed through the house and chanced to make her way into His Grace the Bishop's bedroom" "According to His Grace's sister, Miss Henrietta Vergerus His Grace was in a deep sleep after drinking a soporific which you had given him earlier" "After a violent altercation with your husband you had left the house about four-twenty a.m." "Miss Bergius flung herself on the sleeping man, igniting his linen" "His Grace awoke, freed himself from the dying woman but could not extinguish the flames which now engulfed him" "Old Mrs. Vergerus found her son with the upper part of his body burnt and his face charred" "He showed faint signs of life and cried that his agony was unendurable" "The doctor and ambulance arrived ten minutes later but by then His Grace had already been released from his suffering and had breathed his last" "Although I cannot overlook the fact that the sleeping draught you gave him possibly made the disaster worse I cannot attach serious importance to it" "I must characterize what happened as a dreadful combination of particularly unfortunate circumstances" "Therefore I beg to offer my profound and sincere condolences" "Come, Jespersson" "Madame, I had the honour to wait upon you yesterday but your maid showed me the door with an offensive message" "Monsieur le Marquis, I blush for your presumption and can only deplore the fact that my servants this morning were unable to show you the door again" "You say that you love me, sir" "Only the thought of the blood you have shed for your king, sir prevents me from instantly and with all my power throwing back in your face the infamy you have committed against the Marquise" "Apart from this being the worst piffle ever written in French the translation is vile, Mr. Landahl, although you have gone to great pains" "It has been done in haste, Mr. Morsing, but we are in a crisis" "Formerly we played Shakespeare, we played the great Moliere we were even bold enough to let Henrik Ibsen's voice be heard" "Public taste, Mr. Morsing" "Audiences have no ears for the songs of giants, only the squeaking of dwarfs" "Neither the public nor the Ekdahl family bothers with our theatre now" "Takings have fallen" "Emilie dear!" "You'll stay with us now, won't you?" "I don't know why I am so damned moved" "Dear Mrs. Ekdahl" "I'm lost for words" "Everything will be all right again" "Dearest Emilie" "Welcome back" "Thank you" "Epilogue" "My dear dear friends" "I am moved beyond words" "Dear friends... dearest mama my greatly loved wife Alma my darling Emilie, more beautiful than ever my wonderful children, Petra Jenny and Putte and little Miss Helena Viktoria, as good as gold in her cot" "And dear Maj, of whom I am so very fond" "Not forgetting my incomparable brother Carl and his sweet wife and my highly esteemed friend Isak Jacobi who has rendered immeasurable service to this family" "Dear Vega and Ester and all you good friends who help us up the hill of life" "Last, but not least dear and admired greatly talented and superb actors" "If only I could encompass you all in a vast embrace and plant a kiss on your brows" "A kiss which more than words would tell you of my happiness and my love" "We are all together again now" "Our little world has closed around us in security, wisdom and order after a time of horror and confusion" "The shadows of death have been routed" "Winter has been put to flight and joy has returned to our hearts" "Now I must take a look at little Helena Viktoria" "She's laughing at me, my daughter Helena Viktoria" "A speech" "Go on, laugh at your old father, never mind the nonsense he says" "My wisdom is simple and no doubt some despise it, but I don't give a damn" "I see you raise an eyebrow, mama" "Your son rants" "Don't worry, I'll be brief" "We Ekdahls have not come into the world to see through it" "We are not equipped for such excursions" "We might just as well ignore the big things" "We must live in the little world" "We shall be content with that and cultivate it and make the best of it" "Suddenly death strikes" "Suddenly the abyss opens" "Suddenly the storm howls and disaster is upon us" "All that we know but let us dismiss all that unpleasantness" "We Ekdahls like our subterfuges" "Rob a man of his subterfuges and he goes mad and begins hitting out" "Damn it all, people must be intelligible or we don't dare either to love them or speak ill of them" "We must be able to grasp the world and reality so that we can complain of its monotony with a clear conscience" "Don't be sad, dear, splendid artists" "Actors and actresses, we need you all the same" "It is you who are to give us our supernatural shudders and still more mundane amusements" "The world is a den of thieves and night is falling" "Evil breaks its chains and prowls the world like a mad dog" "The poisoning affects us all, us Ekdahls and everyone else" "No one escapes, not even Helena Viktoria or little Aurora" "So it shall be" "Therefore, let us be happy while we are happy" "Let us be kind, generous, affectionate and good" "It is necessary and not in the least shameful to take pleasure in the little world" "Good food, gentle smiles fruit trees in blossom, waltzes" "And now, my dearest friends, I've done talking take it as you please - the effusions of an uncouth restaurateur or the pitiful babbling of an old man - it doesn't matter to me" "I am holding a little empress in my arms" "Tangible, yet immeasurable" "One day she will prove me wrong in what I have said" "One day she will rule over not only the little world but over everything... everything" "Still sitting here?" "Aren't you going to bed?" "Now we'll have champagne" "We will, will we?" "Well, I'm going to bed" " No, we'll have champagne" " Don't forget your jacket" "No, sir!" "Be a good girl, so mama can go to bed." "I think you've had all you want" "Are you happy here?" "Everyone's so kind." "Especially Mr. Ekdahl." "He must be such a good man" "Yes, and he's particularly kind to young girls, so watch out, Rosa" "If you're a good boy I'll bring you a beer and a ham sandwich in bed" "I'm sure Emilie would like a glass of champagne; we'll toast our daughters" " Go to bed, Gustav" " I'm so bloody happy" "Good, but tomorrow you will have a headache" "Now we're together again" "I'm going to the country place until Thursday." "Can I do anything for you?" "I'll come out on Tuesday" "Haven't I the best wife in the world?" "Much better than you deserve" "And the prettiest mistress to be found anywhere, a real little poppet" " Are you off early tomorrow?" " Not until two" "When I see you I want to weep for joy" "To think you're back with us again" "Be a good boy and remember that Alma needs to sleep" "I know what Alma needs" "What do you want at this hour?" "It's about Stockholm" "Marianne Egerman wants us to help in her new milliner's shop" "We'd like to very much" "The trouble is..." " Papa insists on the coffee-shop for Maj" " He's so kind" "But Maj's had enough of his bossing" "She wants her own life and what she wants for herself and her child" "We've spoken to mama." "At first she was upset and said we couldn't do it to papa" "Then she calmed down and said that life must go on and one shouldn't force one's children" "Though she was awfully sorry for papa's sake" "You must think of yourself first." "After all, papa is an old man" "Isn't he, Aunt Emilie?" "Go to bed." "I'll speak to grandmama" "Emilie, how nice!" "I want to confer with you" "Anything serious?" "I know:" "Maj and Petra want to move to Stockholm" "Well?" "You can't escape me" "Another thing" "Yes:" "Oscar on his deathbed asked you to take charge of the theatre" " I remember it very well" " Gustav will be terribly hurt" "I can't understand this solicitude for Gustav Adolf" "A good head for business, but he knows nothing about theatre" "It's your theatre, my dear Emilie" "Time we made clear to our second-rate Napoleon that he's facing his Waterloo" "I'd like you to read a new play by August Strindberg" "That abominable misogynist." "No, thank you" "It is called A Dream Play." "There are roles for both of us" " But I've not appeared on stage for..." " All the more reason" " Well, I won't disturb you longer" " You never disturb me" " What are you laughing at?" " Now it's up to us, isn't it?" "Do you think so?" "Anything can happen, anything is possible and likely" "Time and space do not exist" "Against a faint background of reality imagination spins out and weaves new patterns" "Written and directed by Ingmar Bergman"