The Only Woman in the Room

Hedy’s comparison of herself to Empress Elizabeth in Chapter 14 is a significant symbol that alludes to Hedy’s fate if she stays in her marriage. Both women, powerful in their own right, slowly lose their agency to their more powerful husbands. Hedy’s life with Fritz becomes little more than a gilded cage. Yet, when she overhears the conversation between the two men on the balcony, Hedy sees the opportunity to be useful to her husband in more than just her beauty. In her excitement to have something to offer, she is utterly blind to the ramifications of her actions. This emphasizes Hedy’s naivete—she is still just a 19-year-old young woman, who desperately wants to have meaning in her life. When Fritz brings her into his world of politics and war, he gives her purpose and the experience she will need to fight against the Nazis years from now. The irony in Fritz’s excitement at having a beautiful secret weapon is that Hedy’s intellect is a weapon that will be used against him and his allies.

Chapter 15 works with the theme of guilt and social responsibility by demonstrating to Hedy the reality of her position; having never been included in her husband’s business, she is only just learning the far-reaching consequences of their decisions on human lives. Hedy’s guilt in this chapter is attributed to this particular decision but is representative of much more; instead, Hedy is being shown that the protection she bought for herself and her family through her marriage means that she plays a role in the war she is ideologically against. Furthermore, Hedy’s realization that she has married into the “wrong” side exacerbates the tension between her and her husband. This chapter emphasizes the dichotomy between good and evil, presenting Hedy with the moral conundrum of whether to choose good at great risk, or stay hidden amidst evil.

In Chapters 16 and 17, the political state of Austria becomes increasingly unstable, and the narrative works its way towards the imminent Nazi takeover. In Chapter 16, the presence of the war literally infiltrates Austrian society during the Prince’s party. The bubble the elite live in, including Hedy, is burst as troops surround the ballroom, reminding them that as they feast and dance, their country is war torn. Fittingly, Fritz’s only response is for him and his wife to smile and dance to calm their guests, implying that as long as they maintain the pretense of perfection, their world will follow suit.

By Chapter 17, though, it is clear the pleasant veneer Fritz relied on is too deeply cracked. Another lasting consequence of Hedy’s information is the instability her country falls into; the Nazis use the civil war as an excuse to attempt the coup, resulting in further destabilization of Austria through consolidation of power and the economic crash. As the outside world crumbles, so does Hedy’s domestic life; the small semblance of freedom she bought with her eavesdropping vanishes after Fritz learns of the true extent of Hedy’s risqué portrayal in Ecstasy. This relates that reputations, specifically of this nature for women, are difficult to leave behind. It represents the past’s interference with the present and alteration of the future, an important lesson Hedy learns again and again. For as Hedy continues her path, most of the mistakes she makes are in her desperation to escape a past. In the case of the film, Fritz uses it as one more excuse to exercise complete control over his wife, now officially making her a prisoner in their home. For the narrative, it is the rising action towards Hedy making the brave leap of leaving her abusive husband.