Nymphomaniac: Vol. I Page #7

Mm-mm.

I'll get it.

Mm-mm.

- No, no, please, please.

- Hello.

- Hello.

- Yes?

- Uh...

How nice. Lovely.

- Boys, come here.

- Is Joe here?

This might be interesting.

- This is my son.

- Yes.

- Yes.

- Hello, hello.

- Look him in the eyes.

- I'm Andy. Hello.

- Friend of Joe's then?

- Yeah.

- You known each other long?

- Uh... Not that long, no.

- Not very long?

- No.

Oh.

A menage-a-trois.

It's all so exotic.

So broad-minded.

On that point... I failed.

No doubt about it.

Boys, now is the time to be alert,

and ask all the questions

your heart's desire.

Because...

I hope that you shall

never have to encounter

such people or be in such

a situation ever again.

Well, hmm?

You don't have any questions?

No?

Well, I'll start, shall I?

Approximately, how many lives...

do you think she has time

to destroy in one day?

Five? 50?

Or several hundreds?

I admit the latter sounds improbable,

but where there's a will

there's a way.

Look, this is just

a big misunderstanding.

Boys?

I don't... I don't love your father.

She's just saying that

to make us feel better.

I'm sure you understand that.

Because if it were a joke,

I mean...

If... this were really a joke,

then it would be a joke so cruel.

No one can be that cruel.

They say that even the Huns

on their rampage

were rather unreserved,

but to split up a family...

To destroy a mesh of feelings

woven over 20 years

is no joke, I can assure you.

Well...

If three's a crowd,

then seven must be

a bit of a challenge

for the pretty miss.

I must say I have a hard time

picturing her enjoying loneliness.

I think we better grab

the chance to get away

before things become grotesque.

No, no, no!

You wouldn't want to give your father

a guilty conscience now, would you?

So how did this episode

affect your life?

Not at all.

- Not at all?

- No.

You can't make an omelet

without breaking a few eggs.

Well, that's true.

Some people... blame the addict.

Other people feel sorry

for the addict.

But I was an addict out of lust,

not out of need.

You would say that, wouldn't you?

And lust that led to

destruction around me,

everywhere I went.

Well, addiction

sometimes leads to an...

absence of empathy.

You can't fight a lion

and blow the noses

of your children at the same time.

For me, nymphomania

was callousness.

You're very stubborn.

But what about yourself?

How did you feel during all this?

Did you feel good,

or did you feel bad?

It's funny because

when I think about my life

as a whole, I can only say

that I felt good.

But when I try and remember

a specific episode,

I'd say that just then

I felt rather bad.

In what way?

Mrs. H was right

about the loneliness.

I'd be lying if I said it hadn't

been my constant companion.

So you were with all

these men, and you still felt alone?

I didn't want to tell you about it.

But you've led me into a trap.

It was a certain feeling.

Oh, how awful that everything

has to be so trivial.

When I was seven

I had to have an operation.

Nothing serious, but it did

require anesthesia.

I had already been pre-medicated,

and was feeling all right.

But when I looked into the room

where the doctors and nurses

were preparing for the operation,

it was as if had to pass through

an impenetrable gate

all by myself.

It wasn't just that

I missed my mom.

I don't think I missed my dad,

even though he was

the nice one.

It was as if I was completely alone

in the universe.

As if my whole body was filled

with loneliness and tears.

And I'm still not allowed

to feel sorry for you?

Shall we go on?

What are you reading?

I'm not

reading it really, I'm just...

reacquainting myself

with Edgar Allan Poe.

I don't know him.

Well, he was a...

very anxiety-ridden man.

He died in the most fearful way

you can imagine,

in something called delirium tremens.

It occurs when the long-time

abuse of alcohol is followed by...

by a sudden abstinence.

Your body goes into some kind

of hyper-sensitive shock.

You can see the most

horrifying hallucinations

or rats and snakes, and cockroaches

coming out of the floor,

and worms slithering the walls.

One's entire nervous system

is on high alert,

and you have a constant

panic and paranoia.

And then the

circulatory system fails.

But the panic and horror...

remains until

the moment of death.

I know what delirium is.

"During the whole

of a dull, dark and soundless day

in the autumn of the year,

when the clouds hung

oppressively low in the heavens,

I had been passing alone

on horseback

through a singularly

dreary tract of country;

and at length found myself

as the shades of

the evening drew on,

within view of the melancholy

House of Usher."

Hey, Dad.

Hi, love.

How are you?

I fought with Mom.

She's... She's not coming.

You ought not to fight with her.

You know Kay's fear of hospitals.

I know

she's not coming.

We already said everything

we needed to say.

Kay and I said goodbye at home.

I don't want her here at all.

- I can't accept that.

- You'll have to.

She's a cowardly, stupid b*tch.

No, she's not.

- Yeah.

- No, she's not.

- Yes.

- No, she's not.

Yes, she is.

You've never understood that.

Doesn't it scare you?

No.

How can you not be afraid?

I've seen so many die.

And there's that Epicurus quote

about not fearing death.

"When we are, death has not come.

When death has come... we are not."

You know it's going to happen.

I also know all the drugs

the doctors have to offer.

So, no.

I am not...

I am not afraid.

Hmm. My beautiful girl.

Beautiful dad.

Hello, Doctor.

Hello, Doctor.

This is my daughter Joe.

- Hey, Joe.

- Hi.

Do you need anything?

As I've said, I've decided to be

an exemplary patient,

completely subjecting myself

- to doctor's orders.

- Are you in pain?

I don't think so, no.

We're going to give you

a splash all the same.

Your hair is longer.

No, it's not.

They're giving you

too much medication.

No.

Dad.

It's okay, Dad.

You're just dreaming.

You're having a nightmare.

It's okay.

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.

Okay. Don't worry, I'm going

to get the doctor. Don't worry.

You must be exhausted.

I'm fine.

I think you should go home,

get some rest.

No. Someone needs to be here.

Perhaps you could share

with some other family members.

There aren't any others.

Kay!

Daddy, it's okay.

Kay?

Kay.

Kay. Kay.

Kay.

Kay! Kay.

- Kay!

- I'm going to get the doctor.

Kay!

I'm going to get the doctor, Daddy.

Excuse me. My dad is really unwell.

Sit. I'll go have a look.

Maybe you could give him

some more morphine.

There's something

I'd like to explain.

I can certainly give him

more morphine,

but most likely it won't

make much difference.

Most deaths, fortunately,

are uneventful,

as long as you medicate the patients

to keep them free of fear and pain.

In a few cases,

the process of dying

causes brain damage,

which triggers

what we call delirium.

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