Effi Briest Page #2

the treasures of the Valhalla,

without alighting, of course.

lnnstetten is...

an excellent person...

but a bit of an art fiend.

Whereas Effi...

our poor Effi is a child of nature.

l'm afraid he'll torment her...

with his enthusiasm for art.

All men torment their wives.

There are worse things

than a passion for art.

You're right.

We don't want to quarrel over that.

lt's much too vast a subject.

And every person's different.

You would have been in your element.

You'd have suited lnnstetten

far better than Effi.

A pity! Now it's too late.

The other things will be sent on.

Thank you.

Off we go, Kruse!

They are dependent

on the regions they trade with...

and since they have

connections throughout the world...

you'll find people among them

from all over the world...

even in our good old Kessin,

although it's out in the sticks.

But it's delightful, Geert.

You always speak of ''the sticks''...

but l find a whole new world to discover.

All sorts of exotic things.

That's what you really meant?

A whole new world...

with a black man or a Turk perhaps...

or even a Chinese.

Even a Chinese.

How well you guess!

Possibly we do still have one.

We certainly used to have one.

He's dead now and buried

in a little fenced-off plot of earth...

right next to the churchyard.

lf you're not afraid, l'll show you...

his grave sometime.

lt lies among the dunes...

surrounded by marram grass

and a few immortelles.

And always the sound of the sea.

lt's very beautiful...

but also rather eerie.

Yes, eerie...

and l'd like to know more about it.

Then again, maybe not.

lf l hope to sleep well tonight,

l won't want to see a Chinese by my bed.

How you spoil your poor little Effi!

A grand piano, and this rug...

l do believe it's Turkish.

And the bowl with fish, and the jardinire!

l'm being spoiled on all sides!

The master was quite right.

''Up with the lark''

was my parents' motto, too.

lf you sleep away the morning...

the whole day is in disarray.

But the master won't be too strict with me.

l lay awake a long time last night.

l was even somewhat afraid.

What do l hear, ma'am? What happened?

l heard a strange sound above me...

not loud, but insistent...

like dresses with long trains

brushing over the floorboards.

ln my agitation, l thought

l saw small, white satin shoes...

as if someone were dancing up there,

very quietly.

That's in the hall upstairs.

We used to hear it in the kitchen, too.

But not anymore.

We've grown accustomed to it.

Effi...

you're a delightful creature.

You have no idea how much l think so...

and how l wish to show you every moment...

that l think so.

There's plenty of time for that.

l'm only 17...

and don't intend to die yet.

Not before me, at least.

Admittedly...

if l were to die,

l would like to take you with me.

No one else should have you.

What do you say to that?

l'll have to think it over.

But let's forget it.

l don't like talking about death.

l'm in favour of living.

What sort of life shall we lead here?

ln ''good old Kessin,'' as you call it...

there must be some society we can keep.

Are there good families in the town?

No, Effi...

in that respect

you'll be greatly disappointed.

You'll meet a few members...

of the local aristocracy.

But here in the town there's nobody.

Nobody at all?

That's hard to believe.

Nearly 3,000 people live in the town.

And among a population of 3,000,

apart from people like Beza, the barber...

there must be some kind of elite or so....

AS WELL AS THE COMMON PEOPLE

THERE MUST BE AN ELlTE.

...and the room upstairs,

where the curtains brush the floor....

But...

what do you know about that room?

Only what l just said.

For a good hour...

when l woke up last night...

it was as if l heard shoes

shuffling over the ground...

as if someone were dancing...

and something like music, but very faint.

When l told Johanna about it this morning...

in excuse for having

slept so long afterwards...

she said it was the long curtains

in the room upstairs.

To put an end to the matter...

l think we should simply cut them shorter...

or close the windows.

The stormy season

will soon be here anyway...

by the middle of November.

Show him in!

My husband already told me.

He's in his office...

but he should be back any minute.

l'd like to tell you how much pleasure...

your beautiful flowers

and card gave me yesterday.

l ceased to feel like a stranger here.

And when l told lnnstetten,

he said we would become firm friends.

The district councillor said that?

The councillor and your dear self...

are, if l may say so, ma'am...

the perfect match of two kind persons.

For l know what your husband is like...

and l can see how you are, ma'am.

l hope your eyes don't deceive you.

l'm so very young...

-and youth--

-Ah, my dear lady...

don't say anything against youth.

Youth...

with all its faults...

is something beautiful and engaging.

Whereas age...

for all its virtues...

is not worth much.

Personally, l can't say much on the matter.

About age, l can, but not about youth...

because l was never really young.

People like me...

are never young.

That is the saddest thing of all.

One has no pluck.

One lacks self-confidence.

The years go by...

one grows old...

and life was meagre...

and empty.

Oh, you shouldn't say such things!

We women are not that bad.

No, of course not.

GieshuebIer wouId have Iiked

to decIare his Iove...

and, Iike EI Cid or some other hero...

sought her permission

to fight and die for her.

Since this was not possibIe

and his heart couId bear no more...

he stood up, Iooked for his hat,

which he found at once...

and, after repeatedIy kissing Effi's hand,

quickIy withdrew...

without a further word.

Everywhere Effi went...

she had the same impression.

Mediocre peopIe,

usuaIIy of dubious charm...

who, whiIe taIking about Bismarck

and the Crown Princess...

were reaIIy eyeing Effi's attire.

Some thought it too pretentious

for such a young Iady.

Others found it unseemIy

for a Iady of her sociaI standing.

They recognized the infIuence of BerIin.

A regard for appearances,

a strange awkwardness...

and uncertainty

in her approach to major issues.

For the Borckes in Rothenmoor...

and the famiIies in Morgnitz

and Dabergotz...

she was ''affIicted with rationaIism''...

whiIe the Grasenabbs in Kroschentin

decIared her to be an ''atheist.''

AdmittedIy, oId Frau von Grasenabb...

ne StiefeI von StiefeIstein

from south Germany...

had made a vague attempt

to cIaim Effi for the ideas of deism.

But Sidonie von Grasenabb,

a 43-year-oId spinster...

wouId have none of it.

''She's an atheist, Mother...

''and that's the truth of the matter!''

Whereupon, the oId Iady,

who feared her own daughter...

wretchedIy heId her tongue.

Yes...

we should celebrate this day...

but l'm not sure how.

Shall l play you...

a victory march?

Or should l...

bear you in triumph across the hall?

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