Beloved Sisters Page #11

My skin is as thin as a redhead's.

I don't want to die without having known

the same happiness as you.

And where will you

have the child? Here?

Are you hostile?

No.

I know a village teacher

near Schaffhausen. Herr Roll.

I'll write him. He might care for the baby

until the divorce comes through.

But you're only in the fifth month.

The divorce will take at least a year,

my lawyer says.

Until then Caroline

shouldn't take any unnecessary risks.

There's too much at stake.

A lot of money too, unfortunately.

You won't travel alone.

I will travel with her.

I have no obligations here and I want

to forget what happened in Paris.

Helping a young pregnant woman

might restore my faith in humanity.

- How much is Dalberg paying?

- Dalberg? Nothing.

He doesn't know.

I broke up with him.

We had a pact, Line.

It meant telling each other everything.

Always.

That you and I are closer to each other

than we'll ever be to our men.

This oath is no longer valid.

Was that too much of a fait accompli?

I'm no good at practical life.

I even slept through my son's birth.

Wilhelm's made of other stuff.

He's pragmatic, down-to-earth.

He's glad he can help a friend.

Yes.

What will become of our "Agnes"?

I'll start the new chapters myself

in Switzerland and send you them.

Are you fleeing?

I can't stay here.

I sense she despises me.

No, why?

I never told her we saw

each other again in Tbingen.

Neither did I.

She feels betrayed.

There is one question

I will certainly not ask you.

Then don't.

I would answer if possible and scream.

Come.

If you're looking for gentleness,

it's over there in that room.

- All I want is you. You're my life.

- I'm not all you want.

I'm not good enough.

In Tbingen I was accosted

in the middle of the street.

I have the smell

of prostitution about me now.

I can't even remember

whether Dalberg jilted me or I him.

Which men have I been with

these past months I can't remember.

- Don't hurt yourself.

- I have to, or I can't leave.

There's nothing honorable

about feeling guilty, dirty and unhappy.

Trying to be happy is worth the effort.

I'll write the letter to the teacher.

You'll find it on the kitchen table

in the morning.

Wake me up when you leave.

- You'll be back in six months, right?

- In Weimar. When I'm free.

We'll write every day.

I have to know how you are.

Let all three of us live the dream, please.

In Weimar.

Then we'll all be back together again.

We'll write to you.

"Still, I'd like to know, if you are well.

And whether Wilhelm has been

a good help, which I don't doubt."

"Everything is fine here, Line."

The boy was stung by a wasp

and ran a fever.

Charlotte has found

a fitting name for you:

"'Mary and Joseph looking for a stable. '"

"Wilhelm, I'm writing directly to you now."

Charlotte and I get the feeling

we're calling your names into the cosmos.

Tell Caroline I ended up writing

the last chapters of 'Agnes' myself.

Herr Roll wrote that you left him

to return in October, is that true?

"Is that true?"

Stop.

Stop.

Do you hear that?

The force? Nature?

I love him. I love him so much!

He belongs to me!

Save me, Wilhelm, protect me.

- From what?

- From myself. My passion. Save me.

- "Are you well?"

- Scream.

"Are you in discomfort?

You should have given birth by now."

Send me an answer.

"Charlotte is very worried now too.

Has anything happened to you?"

Born

August 16th,

A boy.

"Roll wrote that the birth went well."

Why don't I hear from you?

Have you forgotten how to write?

Have you lost Wolzogen?

Even in those Swiss mountain villages

there are scribes

who write letters for those who can't.

"Find someone like that."

This should be enough for now.

"Caroline, damn it, where are you?

Caroline, why don't you come back?"

When he's old enough to understand,

tell him I will come.

His mother will come for him, soon.

Caroline von Beulwitz,

presently in Geneva, Switzerland.

At least nothing's happened to her.

But what a melodrama!

Beulwitz, meanwhile,

had agreed to a divorce.

The official records in

Rudolstadt state as a reason:

"A ten-year marital incompatibility."

Caroline von Lengefeld receives

no compensation from her first husband.

But upon informing

the Schillers of her divorce,

she also announces her imminent

marriage to Wolzogen in Switzerland.

"She writes, "Wilhelm has proven

himself a loyal, loving companion.

He is the man and protector I have

always looked for. Be happy for me."

It is striking that

she makes no mention of her child.

The child that the Schiller's know

was born and taken in by teacher Roll.

From this day on

Schiller will call Caroline,

"The woman who can't say yes".

One year later

Adolf's date of birth is changed to

1795 in the Schaffhausen register.

Probably to hide the fact that

Caroline's son was born illegitimate.

This dress has to be packed too.

If I should die in Weimar,

I want to be laid out in that dress.

Very well, Madame.

I shall put it all in writing, Schwenke,

so you don't have to argue

with my daughters over any details,

if it comes to the worst.

Very well.

I want to be surrounded

by my ten favorite books.

- The Voltaire.

- Voltaire.

And the edition of my husband's writings.

Yes.

And the New Testament and...

Madame?

I'd like to leave this set

to Charlotte.

Wrap it up carefully in rags,

clean the two silver jugs that go with it

and put it all on the balcony.

Very well.

So the stench of the polish is gone

before we arrive in Weimar.

Yes.

Schwenke, the letter.

Don't cry, Schwenke,

or you'll have to write it again.

"My dear children,"

I'm writing the same letter to you both

"to prevent future disagreements."

LATE SPRING 1802

"My doctor informed me

I have only a short time to live,"

owing to an incurable kidney ailment

that he diagnosed with absolute certainty.

So he urged me

to put all my worldly affairs in order

while I am still able.

Besides all things

financial and material,

I want to clear up our relationships,

especially yours.

"In two days' time I'll

travel to Weimar..."

- The tableware.

- Calm, boy.

Schwenke, the tableware.

"... and I wish to see you two,

Charlotte and Caroline, there together."

Caroline can put her nightdress on.

Come on, little Caroline.

Good night.

It's remarkable how rarely

one meets in Weimar

while living only 500 paces apart.

Yes, Weimar is a labyrinth,

as Fritz can tell you.

Ernst, come here.

What do you think of my beard?

I'm growing it just for you.

Is it soft enough?

Well?

Privy Councillor Goethe asks if your

mother-in-law has arrived in good health.

- What should I tell him?

- The truth. We're waiting anxiously.

- I'll write to him. Where's my pen?

- I'll get it.

No, wait. I'll write it over there.

How can I carry on reading like this?

Karl, this is a story about you two.

Your father wrote a story

about a Karl and an Ernst,

two boys who were full of mischief.

The two ruffians tore up...

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