The Misunderstanding

At daybreak, the Old Servant tidies Jan’s room. In reception, Martha ties back her hair and the Mother moves to leave. Martha remarks dawn has come despite her mother’s insistence that it wouldn’t.

For the first time in years, Martha feels alive and like the young girl she once was. Tentatively, Martha asks her mother whether she is still beautiful. Her mother replies she is: The crime has revitalized her. While the Mother doesn’t share her daughter’s happiness, she hopes things will improve in the future and is glad Martha can now begin her life.

The Old Servant descends the stairs to give Martha Jan’s passport. Martha reads it and, unfazed by the revelation that’s she’s killed her brother, hands it to her Mother. After a long moment, the Mother understands what she sees. Calmly, she states she always knew this fate was unavoidable—just as her suicide will be. Shocked, Martha admonishes her mother for wanting to abandon her. The Mother responds that while Martha has always been a good, respectful daughter, that isn’t enough to absolve the grief she feels. Martha is indignant: Her mother—who has always taught her that nothing matters—now professes the opposite.