Silberman Article

I found the most interesting part of Silberman’s article was the analysis of the scene where Michael and Madeleine decide to part ways. Originally during my viewing of the film I saw her reaction as typical when compared to her initial encounters with Michael. However Silberman describes the scene saying the rhetorical question “formulates bluntly the consequence of passivity and points to the self pity it engenders for those who experience the world as a place that other alternative but subordination.” The dialogue also suggests that the situation has reached a different moral level where their happiness is undeserved. I am confused by the whole idea of a getaway to the countryside with an almost abrupt emotion-filled departure. Silberman mentions the last scene showing a farmer with a scythe on his shoulder crossing the foreground of the image as the two at the train stop. The final scene foreshadows the guilt and sadness that will follow as the two decide to part ways. Also, the scene ends without any recognition of what just occurred between Madeleine and Victor when he questions any relationship with Michael due to his life as an artist. This ending leaves an opening for potential drama to unfold involving Victor.