Carl Theodor dreyer’s Gertrud james schamus a mclellan book university of washinGton press seaTTle and london carl Theodor dreyer’s Gertrud The moving word This book is published with the assistance of a grant from the McLellan Endowed Series Fund, established through the generosity of Martha McCleary McLellan and Mary McLellan Williams. Copyright © 2008 by University of Washington Press Printed in the United States of America 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Design by Ashley Saleeba All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. University of Washington Press P.O. Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145, U.S.A. www.washington.edu/uwpress Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schamus, James, 1959– Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Gertrud : the moving word / James Schamus. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-295-98854-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Gertrud (Motion picture) I. Title. PN1997.G433S36 2008 791.43′75—dc22 2008012317 The paper used in this publication is acid-free and 90 percent recycled from at least 50 percent post-consumer waste. It meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, aNSI z39.48-1984. in MeMoriaM Casey finCh (1957–1994) and williaM nestriCk (1940–1996) ​“Song​made​in​lieu​of​many​ornaments” —spenser Contents List of illustrations viii Acknowledgments ix Why a book about Gertrud? 3 If Gertrud is such a great failure, how is it so great? 8 What does the “Real” have to do with Gertrud’s “talkiness”? 12 Why was Dreyer so fascinated with the “real” Gertrud? 18 Why can’t images and words (and men and women) stay married in Gertrud? 22 Why are Dreyer’s images, when they “quote,” so obscene? 28 So what, after all, is the tapestry quoting? 33 Is Gertrud an ekphrastic film? 38 At last, here’s Dreyer’s probable source—but does it matter that we found it? 45 Is Dreyer quoting Botticelli? 48 What is Dreyer teaching us about the history of perspective, and how is Gertrud so interesting a contributor to this topic? 55 What does perspective have to do with free will? 61 How is Gertrud a kind of remake of The Passion of Joan of Arc? 64 How did the Virgin Mary really get pregnant (and is that why Gertrud is childless)? 69 Why are Joan and Gertrud so “hysterical”? 82 How does the struggle between Dreyer’s words and images open us up to the Real? 91 Credits 101 Cast 103 Bibliography 105 Index 111 illustrations 1 “I had that dream”: Gertrud and Nygren before the tapestry 6 2 Frames and doorways: The final image of Gertrud 11 3 “Man’s Work and Woman’s Love”: Gertrud renders Lidman’s image 24 4 “Gertrud! Gertrud!”: Kanning rips a photograph of Gertrud in half 25 5 The source: Nastagio’s Forest 49 6 One space, many moments 50 7 Staging the story: Nastagio’s banquet 51 8 Perspective and marriage 52 9 Empty pavement 56 10 Loyseleur breaches the frame 66 11 Failure to communicate: Loyseleur’s missed conceptio per aurem 67 12 The Word as barrier and medium 73 13 Hybrid space 74 14 “Do not fall into these errors” 75 15 Hysteric as annunciate 84 viii aCknowledGMents The thanks I give for help with this little book are all out of proportion to its mod- esty and length, but not out of proportion to the enormous debts of gratitude I owe. On a separate page I dedicate this work to the memories of William Nestrick and Casey Finch, but their names bear repeating here. Many of these pages got their start in the dissertation on Dreyer I wrote at the Uni- versity of California, Berkeley. Charles Tesson and Michel Sandras provided early inspiration and guidance. The English department at U.C. Berkeley and the American Scandinavian Foundation provided research grants for study in Copenhagen. There I was made welcome by the kind staff of the Danish Film Institute, under Ib Monty’s direction, under the guidance of library staff Karen Jones, Lars Ølgaard, and Tim Voldsted. Peter Schepelern and Martin Drouzy shared their homes and their encyclopedic knowledge of Dreyer and Danish film with me. My colleagues and students at Columbia University have pro- vided a wonderful home since for my ongoing work in film history and film theory. At Focus Features and, earlier, at Good Machine, my coworkers have put up with many irregular hours and preoccupied “phasings out” when I have disappeared into my research and writing. Particular thanks go to Ang Lee, David Linde, Andrew Karpen, and Ted Hope. Peter Kujawski shepherded the dissertation through my hectic schedule with unfailing good humor and skill. First Janelle Troxell and then Elise MacAdam provided expert research support; Vina Tran and Felipe Tewes helped in the preparation of the manuscript, and Amanda Doxtater assisted with crucial research and translations from Swedish sources; her work was greatly facilitated by Mats Cronwik, Magnus Blomquist, and Ida Poulson. Craig Knobles shared his translation of Söderberg’s play with me. Jytte Jensen and Mary Lea Bandy at the Museum of Modern Art invited me to help with their catalogue on Dreyer and first put into print my early thoughts on him, some of which are reprinted here by permission from Carl ix