Eyes Wide Shut: A Screenplay

Please be advised: This excerpted material is for an audience over age 17 andcontains words that may be objectionable to some readers.

Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler

An Excerpt from the Classic Novel That Inspired the Film

Twenty-four brown slaves rowed the splendid galley that would bring PrinceAmgiad to the Calif's palace. But the Prince, wrapped in his purple cloak,lay alone on the deck beneath the deep blue, star-spangled night sky, and hisgaze?"

Up to this point the little girl had been reading aloud; now, quite suddenly,her eyes closed. Her parents looked at each other with a smile, and Fridolinbent over her, kissed her flaxen hair, and snapped shut the book that wasresting on the table which had not as yet been cleared. The child looked up asif caught out.

"Nine o'clock," said her father, "time for bed." And as Albertine too had nowbent over the child, the parents' hands touched as they fondly stroked her brow,and with a tender smile that was no longer in-tended solely for the child, theireyes met. The maid came in, and bade the little one say goodnight to herparents; obediently she got up, proffered her lips to her father and mother tobe kissed, and let the maid escort her quietly from the room. Left alone underthe reddish glow of the hanging lamp, Fridolin and Albertine suddenly feltimpelled to resume the discussion of their experiences at yesterday's maskedball which they had begun before the evening meal.

It had been their first ball of the year, which they had decided to attend justbefore the close of the carnival season. Immediately upon entering theball-room,Fridolin had been greeted like an impatiently awaited friend by twodominoes dressed in red, whom he had not managed to identify, even though theywere remarkably well informed about various episodes from his hospital andstudent days. They had left the box to which they had invited him with suchauspicious friendliness, promising shortly to return unmasked, but then hadstayed away so long that he became impatient and decided to return to the groundfloor, hoping to meet the two enigmatic creatures there again. He looked aroundintently, without how-ever catching sight of them; instead, quite unexpectedly,another female reveller took him by the arm: it was his wife who had justwithdrawn rather abruptly from a stranger, whose blasémelancholy air andforeign-sounding?evidently Polish?accent had at first intrigued her, but whohad then suddenly let slip a surprisingly crude and insolent remark that hadhurt and even frightened her. And so man and wife, glad at heart to have escapeda disappointingly banal charade, were soon sitting at the bar, like two loversamong other amorous couples, and chatting amiably over oysters and champagne, asthough they had just become acquainted in some gallant comedy of seduction,resistance and fulfillment; and then, after a swift coach-ride through the whitewinter's night, they sank into one another's arms with an ardour they had notexperienced for quite some time. A grey morning awoke them all too soon. Thehusband's profession summoned him to his patients' bedside at an early hour, andthe duties of housekeeper and mother did not allow Albertine to rest muchlonger. And so the hours had passed predictably and soberly enough in work androutine chores, and the events of the previous night from first to last hadfaded; and only now that both their days' work was over, the child asleep, andno further disturbance anticipated, did the shadowy figures from the maskedball, the melancholy stranger and the dominoes in red revive; and those trivialencounters became magically and painfully interfused with the treacherousillusion of missed opportunities. Innocent yet ominous questions and vagueambiguous answers passed to and fro between them; and as neither of them doubtedthe other's absolute candour, both felt the need for mild revenge. Theyexaggerated the extent to which their masked partners had attracted them, madefun of the jealous stirrings the other revealed, and lied dismissively abouttheir own. Yet this light banter about the trivial adventures of the previousnight led to more serious discussion of those hidden, scarcely admitted desireswhich are apt to raise dark and perilous storms even in the purest, mosttransparent soul; and they talked about those secret regions for which they feltscarcely any longing, yet towards which the irrational winds of fate might oneday drive them, if only in their dreams. For however much they might belong toone another heart and soul, they knew last night was not the first time they hadbeen stirred by a whiff of freedom, danger and adventure; and withself-tormenting anxiety and sordid curiosity each sought to coax admissions fromthe other, and while drawing closer in their fear, each groped for any fact,however slight, any experience, however trivial, which might articulate theinexpressible, and frank confession of which might perhaps release them from atension and mistrust that were slowly starting to become intolerable. Whether itwas because she was the more impetuous, the more honest or the morewarm-hearted, Albertine was the first to find the courage to make a frankconfession; and with a trembling voice she asked Fridolin whether he remembereda young man the previous summer on the Danish coast, who had been sitting withtwo officers at the table next to them one evening, and on receiving a telegramduring the meal had promptly taken a hasty leave of his two friends. Fridolinnodded. "What about him"' he asked.

"That same morning I had seen him once before," replied Albertine, "as he washurrying up the hotel stairs with his yellow suitcase. He had glanced at me aswe passed, but a few steps further up he stopped, turned round towards me andour eyes could not help meeting. He did not smile, indeed his face seemed tocloud over, and I must have reacted likewise, because I felt moved as neverbefore. The whole day I lay on the beach lost in dreams. Were he to summonme?or so I believed?I would not have been able to resist. I believed myselfcapable of doing anything; I felt I had as good as resolved to relinquish you,the child, my future, yet at the same time?will you believe this" you were moredear to me than ever. It was that same afternoon, you remember, that we talkedso confidingly about a thousand things, discussing our future together,discussing the child as we had not done for ages. Then at sunset when we weresitting on the balcony, he walked past us on the beach below without looking up,and I was overjoyed to see him. But it was you whose brow I stroked and hair Ikissed, and in my love for you there was also a good deal of distressing pity.That evening I wore a white rose in my belt, and you yourself said that I lookedvery beautiful. Perhaps it was no coincidence that the stranger was sitting nearus with his friends. He did not look across at me, but I toyed with the idea ofstepping over to his table and saying to him: Here I am, my long awaited one, mybeloved?take me away. At that moment they brought him the telegram; he read it,went pale, whispered a few words to the younger of the two officers, and with anenigmatic look in my direction left the room."

"And then"' asked Fridolin dryly as she fell silent.

"Nothing more. All I know is that next morning I awoke in some trepidation.What I was anxious about'whether it was that he had left, or that he might stillbe there?I do not know, and even then I did not know. Yet when at noon hestill had not appeared, I heaved a sigh of relief. Don't question mefurther, Fridolin, I have told you the whole truth." You too had some sort ofexperience on that beach?of that I'm certain."

Fridolin got up, paced up and down the room a few times, then said: "You'reright." He stood at the window, his face in darkness. "In the morning," he beganin a restrained, somewhat resentful...