"You said "I love you!" and I said "Stay!"" "I nearly said "Take me!" but you said "Go away!"" "Circa 1912, Jules, a foreigner in Paris, asked..." "Jim, a new pal, to get him a ticket to the Fine Arts Bal" "Jim did and took him to get a costume." "As Jules chose his slave outfit," "Jim's friendship for Jules was born..." "And flowered at the ball where Jules sat with tender laughing eyes." "Next day, they had a real talk and began to meet daily." "Each taught the other his language and literature... sharing and translating their poems together." "Both were indifferent to money and... neither had ever found such an attentive listener." "Jules had no girlfriend but wanted one." "Jim had several." "He introduced him to a musician and... their mutual crush lasted a week." "Then came a pretty thing... who outlasted them in the cafes till 6:00 AM." "Then they made a threesome with a blonde widow." "She thought Jules was nice but dumb... and found him a quiet girl whom he found to be too quiet." "In spite of Jim's advice, Jules visited some pros... but found no satisfaction there." "Get to work!" "DOWN WITH EVERYTHING" "No more paint!" "They'll say anarchists can't spell!" "Merlin's after me!" "He's big!" "Run!" "Can I sleep at your place?" "I'm Teresa." "Indeed!" "But I have a date elsewhere tonight." "Gilberta?" "So Jules'?" " Who's Jules?" " Me." " And you?" " Jim." " Jim and Jules!" " No!" "Jules and Jim!" "What's that?" "Better than a clock!" "Once the sand's run out..." "I'll be asleep." " You'll sleep there..." "Me, here." " Sure!" " Got a cigaret?" " Of course!" " You're Jim?" " Jules." "You're nice, Jules." "I'll be a steam locomotive!" "It's almost day." "For once, stay and sleep next to me." "No, Gilberta." "If I did, I'd feel I must stay tomorrow too." "That would be as if we'd set up house." "Was that our agreement?" "You're so logical!" "And Judex hates being left home alone." "The night's over." "It's daybreak." "Pretend I'm a laborer leaving for work." "You'll go home and sleep till noon, I'm sure!" "It was Shakespeare!" "Jules, give me a dime for the music." "It was Shakespeare." "Believe me!" " Got a cigaret?" " Of course!" "Can I sleep at your place?" "I'm Teresa." "Never mind, Jules." "Lose 1 and find 10 new ones!" "With Teresa it wasn't love." "She was my young mother and loving daughter at the same time." "I've no luck with Parisians." "Thank heavens for the girls back home." "I love Lucie." "She refused to marry me." "I'll go back to see her in 6 months." "And this is Birgitta." "And there's also Helga... whom I might love if I didn't love Lucie." "She looks like this." "Jules sketched a woman's face on the table." "Jim tried to buy the table but... the owner would sell only all 12 tables or none." "Albert!" "Jim... my French friend." "I think we've already met." "Do sit down!" "Jim had asked..." "Who's Albert?" "The friend of some artists." "He knows all those who'll be famous in 1O years." "This one's more exotic... rather like an Inca statue." "This is more in the Roman style." "It's pockmarked by the rain." "I found it in a garden." "It's had a generation of rain on it." "This one's very pathetic." "The face seems to be decaying." "It's odd to see stone given such a flabby treatment." "I love this one." "The lips are beautiful... rather disdainful." "The eyes are beautiful." "We'd like to see it again." "I have a close-up of it." "It was the roughly sculpted face of a woman whose calm smile startled them." "It was on display in an open-air museum... on an Adriatic island." "They decided to see it at once." "They had identical outfits made." "They spent an hour by the statue." "They admired it silently and said nothing till the next day." "Had they ever seen such a smile?" "Never!" "And if they did?" "They'd follow it." "They came home filled with this new revelation." "Paris welcomed them." "You're a gentleman, Jim!" " How's your book coming?" " Pretty well." "It's rather autobiographical." "Our friendship plays a major role." "I'll read you some pages." "Jack and Julian were close." "Julian's last novel had been a success." "He wrote about women... he'd known before meeting Jack and before Lucienne." "Jack was proud of Julian... like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza." "People even thought they were a bit queer." "They always ate together... and chose the best cigars for each other." "Beautiful!" "I'd like to translate it into German." "To the showers!" "My cousin in Munich wrote... to say he's sending me 3 girls who're studying with him... a Berliner, a Dutch girl and a French girl." "They're coming to dinner tomorrow." "I'm counting on you!" "Catherine had the statue's smile." "Her nose, mouth, chin and forehead... had a certain provincial pride." "It was like a dream." "As the party organiser I suggest... we abolish once and for all any use of titles such as Sir, Madame or Miss... and a toast to friendship with my favorite Nussberger wine." "Let us avoid the traditional linking of arms... by touching toes beneath the table." "Carried away, Jules removed his at once." "Jim kept his next to Catherine's... but she gently pulled hers away." "Jules' shy, happy smile told everyone that they were in his heart." "For a month Jules disappeared and saw Catherine alone... but the 2 friends continued to meet at the gym." "Very good, Jules." "Will you spend the evening with me and Catherine?" "I told her all about you." "Catherine's anxious to know you better but..." "Not with her, Jim, OK?" "Hello, Mr. Jim!" "Say Jim the way the English do." "Not Jeem!" "What do you think of our pal Thomas?" "Can he go out with us?" "Not bad!" "Maybe a mustache..." "Now let's face the streets." "Got a light, sir?" "Thank you, sir." "Catherine's trick pleased her." "Jules and Jim... felt confused." "Is it a dream or rain?" "Maybe both!" "So let's go to the sea!" "Tomorrow!" "Let's have a race... to the end of the bridge" "Get set!" "1... 2..." " You cheated." " But I won!" "Thomas always wins, speaks languages and swims like a fish." "And stands on his head?" "You'll teach him!" "Mr. Jim, tomorrow will you help me... take my bags to the station?" "What a mixture!" "Her father's a noble, her mother's a commoner." "He's from an old Burgundy family." "Mama was English." "So she's not average... and she teaches." " What?" " Shakespeare!" "Jim felt she was Jules' and didn't think about her." "The calm smile returned to Catherine's lips... naturally, expressing everything." "I need only to iron my dress!" " Taking your bike?" " Yes." "And this bag?" "What're you doing?" "I'm burning some lies." "Give me a match." "Are you hurt?" "No." "Hand me my dress." " Got a broom?" " In front of you!" "Will you help me?" "That goes too." "What is it?" "Sulfuric acid for the eyes of men who lie." "The bottle'll break in your bag." "You can buy more acid anywhere." "Not in that bottle!" "I swore to use only that bottle." " Your hat!" " Thanks!" "They rented a house on the coast, too big but isolated... a bit solemn, white outside and unfurnished." " Sleep well?" " Very!" " Is Jim awake?" " I don't know." " How's everyone?" " Everyone's fine!" "A beautiful day!" "Let's go to the beach!" "Let's look for traces of civilisation!" "A bottle!" "A shoe!" "A can!" "Watch out!" "Catherine, look!" "Wonderful!" "Be careful!" "A postcard!" "A piece of china!" "A cup... a cigaret butt!" "A cigaret pack!" "I think we're lost!" "Would you mind if I marry Catherine?" "Answer me frankly." "Is she made for a husband and children?" "I'm afraid she'll never be happy here on earth." "She's an apparition, not a woman... for one man." "We must continue." "Not this time!" "I quit!" "Come on, boys!" "Help me!" "Let's go, boys!" "I've read a book I like." "A German dares to say aloud what I think inside" "The sky we see... is a bubble no bigger than this." "We walk with our heads pointed at the center." "The attraction pulls towards the outside under our feet towards that solid crust in which the bubble is enclosed." "What's beyond the crust?" "Who knows?" "That's not a question for gentlemen to answer." "Give me your answer tomorrow." "If it's no, I'll ask you again... each year on your birthday." "You've known few women, I've known lots of men." "With our averages, maybe we'd make a good couple." "Catherine's almost said yes." "At 15 I was in love with Napoleon." "I dreamt of meeting him in an elevator." "He'd make me pregnant and I'd never see him again." "Poor Napoleon!" "As a baby I learned Our Father who art in Heaven... but I said Our Father's go-cart in Heaven." "So I imagined my daddy with a beard, riding in a go-cart in Paradise." "I thought I'd told a funny story... at least amusing enough to make you smile." "Would someone mind scratching my back?" "Scratch and Heaven'll scratch you." "Scratch and..." "Before I met you I never laughed." "I looked like this..." "But that's over!" "Never again!" "It's raining!" "Look!" "I miss Paris." "Let's go back!" "Tomorrow we'll be in Paris." "I've signed with my publisher!" "For Catherine!" "For you both!" "Wonderful!" "What is it?" "A little hand for scratching your back!" "I have 3 seats for the theater tonight." "What'll we see?" "A new Swedish play." "Curtain's at 9:00." "Once the sand runs out, time to get dressed!" "Jim enjoyed seeing his friends often." "Jules' great bed was officially inaugurated... with 2 pillows side by side and the bed smelled good." "Catherine began to find her roots in life." "Nevertheless, I like that girl!" "She wants to be free and live each moment of her life." "Jim doesn't seem to agree." "The play's vague and complacent, showing vice to illustrate virtue." "We don't know when or where it takes place." "He doesn't say if the heroine's a virgin or not." "That's unimportant!" "Yes, if the story was only sentimental, but he says the hero's impotent... plus a homo brother and a nympho!" "We need more details on the heroine." "That's all you think about!" "Right, Madam, and because of you!" "No psychology tonight!" "No, it's metaphysics!" "A wife's fidelity is important... a husband's is secondary." "Who wrote Woman is natural, therefore abominable?" "Baudelaire, on certain women of a certain world." "Not at all!" "He meant women in general!" "He described a young girl..." "Monstrous scarecrow, assassin of Art... little fool, little bitch... the greatest idiocy linked to the greatest depravation!" "Wait!" "He said more." "It's amazing that they allow women in churches." "What have they to discuss with God?" " You're idiots!" " I said nothing!" "I don't have to agree with Jules at 2:00 AM." "Then protest!" "I protest!" "Jim fixed Catherine's leap in his mind... and made a sketch of it although he'd never drawn before." "He felt a burst of admiration... and in his thoughts sent her an invisible kiss." "He mentally swam with her and held his breath... to scare Jules." "Catherine!" "Why?" "You're crazy!" "Catherine's hat floated away." "Jules was pale, uncertain, quiet and more handsome." "Catherine smiled like a modest general after a victory in Italy." "No one mentioned her jump." "I'm home." " Please, Mr. Jim..." " Just Jim!" "Just Jim..." "I'd like to ask you for some advice." "Will you meet me at our cafe tomorrow at 7:00?" "Catherine wants to talk to you." "I'll be there at 7:00." "You're joking!" "I never joke." "I have no sense of humor." "I know people who do... my wife's friends, people at work but personally I don't." "I'm not funny." "Jim arrived late, as usual optimistically." "He was afraid of not being the first to arrive." "He thought a girl like her could arrive at 7:00... and not seeing me, leave at 7:01." "She might walk through the room... and not seeing me with my paper, leave immediately." "A girl like her..." "But what was she like?" "Jim truly thought of Catherine for the first time." "Waiter!" "Another coffee!" "Another drink!" "Jim, did I wake you?" "We're going home to my country to get married!" "My apologies to Catherine." "I arrived late." "I waited till 7:50." "Catherine's more optimistic about time." "She was at the hairdresser's and arrived at 8:00 to have dinner with you." "If I'd known, I'd have waited till midnight." "Catherine wants to talk to you." "Jim, I'm very happy" "Jules is going to teach me French boxing." "With an Austrian accent?" "I don't have an accent anymore!" "My pronunciation is excellent." "Listen!" "Children of the nation, our victory day has come!" "Against tyranny we've raised the bloody flag of freedom!" "Can you hear in the land the enemy's fierce guns?" "They've come to take the blood of our sons!" "War broke out shortly." "The 2 men were mobilised in their respective armies... and didn't hear from each other" "The war dragged on and became a daily routine... patterned after the seasons... a normal life with its pauses... and even its distractions" "Jim received packages from Gilberta." "Each time he expected a furlough... it was canceled." "But in Spring, 1916, he had a week in Paris." "Don't marry me to thank me for a package!" "We're fine this way!" "OK but I'm sure we'll grow old together." "How's Jules?" "No news since he married Catherine." "I'm afraid of killing him in the trenche." "My darling..." "I never stop thinking of you." "Not of your soul." "I don't believe in it anymore." "But of your body..." "and our son who is inside you." "I've no more envelopes." "I don't know how to mail this letter." "I am going to the Russian front." "It will be tough... but I prefer it because I was afraid to kill Jim here." "My darling... let me kiss you." "Jules' country had lost," "Jim's had won." "But the real victory was they were alive." "They made contact via a neutral country and began writing." "Catherine and Jules lived near the Rhine." "Sabine had been born." "Jim wrote to Jules:" ""Should I too get married and have children?"" "Jules replied:" ""Come judge for yourself"." "Catherine asked him also." "Jim left but delayed the event of his arrival." "He visited several towns on the Rhine." "A Paris paper published his articles on postwar Germany." "He wanted to see his own major battlefields." "In some spots the fields... contained so much iron from the shelling that they were untillable." "Jim looked for the names of his lost comrades in the cemeteries that already the schoolchildren were visiting." "Catherine was at the station with her daughter and a look of restrained audacity and whim." "Hello, Jim." "This is Sabine." "Hello, Mr. Jim!" "Jules is anxious to see you." "Jim felt like she'd come to the cafe very late, dressed especially for him." "She took him to their chalet amid some pines by a sloping meadow." " How are the others?" " Oh, the others..." "You haven't changed." "You haven't changed" "So no one's changed!" "No, thanks..." " Want some?" " A little." "I've quit smoking now that I'm in love with plants." "An angel is passing over." "Naturally!" "It's 1:20." "They always pass over at 20 minutes past." " Oh?" " So it seems." "I didn't know that." "Neither did I." "At 20 past and at 20 to." "So you won the war, you devil!" "I'd rather have won this." "You must be hungry." "Let's eat." "After lunch I'll show you the house." "Jim here..." "Jules there... and Sabine next to me." "And your new novel?" "Unfinished due to my damn articles." "I have to think about them all week... then write them Friday night and send them by air mail." "And you?" "I have a commission for a book on dragonflies." "I'm doing the text and photos." "Catherine's doing the drawings and graphs." "Even Sabine helps by going with me to the marshes." "I'm going to build an artificial pond in the garden." "Maybe one day..." "I'll write a love story... where the characters will be insects." "I have a bad tendency to overspecialise." "I envy you your broad scope, Jim." "Me?" "I'm a failure." "Prof Albert Sorel taught me the little I know." "He said, "You want to be what?" A diplomat." "Are you rich? "No"." "Can you legitimately add a famous name ...to your own surname?" "No." "Then forget diplomacy." "But what'll I become? "Curious"." "That's not a profession, not yet." "Travel, write, translate..." "Learn to live everywhere." "Begin at once." "The future belongs to the curious." "The French have stayed behind their borders too long." "Newspapers'll pay for your escapades." "Jules says a great career lies before you." "I agree but not necessarily a spectacular one." "Here's where Jules works and sleeps." "Our life is organised like life in a convent." "Jules writes his books... hunts for his insects and little things." "Mathilda, the nearby farmer's girl... helps me with the house and Sabine." "My room..." "It's Jules!" "His father adored Mozart so much that one day he dressed Jules like him." "The balcony..." "Your inn is over there." "Jules'll take you there later." "Jules and Jim continued talking as before." "They discussed the war." "Jules avoided mentioning his family." "Catherine was severe and kind to him, but Jim felt all was not going very well." "Time for bed!" "The fleas need to be fed!" "Once upon a time there was a flea... a very nice flea..." "See you tomorrow!" "I need to talk to you." "How do you find Catherine?" "Marriage and motherhood agree with her." "She's not so grasshopper, more like an ant." "Beware!" "True, she maintains order and harmony in our home." "But when all goes too well, she becomes discontented." "Her attitude changes and she whips out her words." "I always thought she was like Napoleon." "She claims the world is rich and... one can sometimes cheat a bit... but she first asks God for forgiveness, sure that she'll get it." "Jim, I'm afraid she'll leave us." "Impossible!" "No." "She's already gone off." "For 6 months I thought she wouldn't come back." "I can feel she's ready to leave again." "She's no longer completely my wife." "She's had lovers." "I know of 3." "One on the eve of our wedding... as a farewell to bachelorhood... one as revenge for something I did..." "But I don't know what." "I'm not the man for her... and she can't bear that." "I'm used to her infidelities but..." "I couldn't bear for her to leave." "Now there's Albert..." "The singer who found the statue..." "He's the one who showed it to us." "He was hurt in the war." "He's convalescing in a nearby town." "Catherine's encouraged him and given him hope." "He's a good man." "He was frank with me." "He wants to marry her and raise the child." "I'm not mad at him." "I'm not mad at her nor Albert." "I'm slowly giving her up... and all I'd hoped for on earth." "She won't leave." "She loves your Buddhist monk aspect." "She's usually sweet and generous... but when she feels unappreciated... she becomes terrible... and violently goes from one extreme to the other." "Listen to the mole-cricket singing." "It's a kind of mole." "From his room Jim could see the chalet." "Queen of the hearth, Catherine was ready to fly away." "Jim wasn't surprised." "He recalled Jules' errors with other women." "He knew Catherine was terribly precise." "He felt sad for Jules but couldn't judge Catherine." "She leapt into men... as she'd leapt into the Seine." "A threat hung over the house." "The 2nd week began." "Sabine..." "You'd best say goodnight now." "Yes, Mama." "Jim, I'd like to talk to you later." "Are you free?" "Please note that words can't have the same value when they don't have the same gender." "In German war, death and moon are masculine... whereas sun and love are feminine." "Life is neuter." "That's very pretty and above all very logical." "As the war dragged on, skirts got shorter." "It caused quarrels on each furlough." "Soldiers felt they were being laughed at... but actually cloth had become rarer and rarer." "And women had to cut their hair... to work in factories because of the machines." "Jim, it's time you learned to enjoy German beer." "Jim's French like me." "He doesn't give a damn." " Not true!" " What?" "France has the widest variety of wines in Europe." "In the world!" "Bordeaux like Chateau Laffitte..." "Chateau Margaux, Chateau Yquem, 1" "Chateau Frontenac, St-Emilion, St-Julien," "Entre-2-Mers, Clos Vougeot, the Burgundies," "Roman, Chambertin, Beaune, Pommard," "Chablis, Montrachet, Volnay, Beaujolais," "Pouilly-Fuisse?" "Pouilly-Loche?" "Moulin?" "Vent..." "Fleurie, Morgon, Brouilly, St-Amour..." "We stared at the shell rolling slowly down the stairs" "Only 3 more steps, 2 more... all of us flat on our bellies." "Catch me!" "You want to know what?" "Nothing." "Just listen to you." "To judge me?" "Good God, no!" "I won't say a thing but I have a question." "And it's tell me about Jim." "Sure." "What?" "Anything." "Just plow ahead." "Without naming Jules or himself 2 young men, their friendship in Paris... before a certain girl came and what happened afterwards... and even "Not with her, Jim!"" "Unable to avoid using his own name." "Their threesomes, the stay by the sea." "Catherine watched Jim relive it as if he were still there." "She corrected a few details and added others." "He described missing her at the cafe and how he saw the 3 of them..." "Jules' hidden qualities and how he'd felt from the start that..." "Jules couldn't hold onto Catherine." "You'd have said it at the cafe?" "Yes." "Go on." "There's no more to say." "The war came." "I was glad to find Jules again, see you." "I've enjoyed the time I've spent with you... and what I've seen, learned and figured out." "The approaching cloud..." "I mean Albert." "Are you with Jules against me?" "No more so than he is." "I'll retell the story as I lived it." "Jules' generosity, innocence... and vulnerability amazed and won me over." "He was such a contrast to other men." "I hoped to heal him of his crises with cheerfulness... but I realised his crises are a part of him." "We were happy a while but happiness didn't become a part of us." "We ended up face to face, not together." "His family was really a torture." "At a party on the eve of our marriage... his mother did something that hurt me deeply." "I punished Jules for being passive about it... by spending a few hours with an ex-lover, Harold." "Yes, a lover." "Sol married Jules and we were quits... and got off on an even start." "Luckily his family moved away up north somewhere." "Then came the war." "Jules was sent east." "He wrote me wonderful, fiery... love letters." "From afar I loved him more and reburnished his halo." "Our last argument and true break-up was on his first leave." "I felt like I was in a stranger's arms." "He left. 9 months later Sabine was born." "She doesn't resemble him." "Believe what you will, she's his." "I told him I've given you a daughter, that's enough." "That ends it." "Now it's separate rooms." "I want my freedom." "Remember your young friend Fortunio?" "He was there, free as a bird." "So was I." "He was a nice partner." "What a vacation!" "But he was too young and it wasn't serious." "One day, to my surprise..." "I missed Jules' leniency and leisureliness." "My daughter attracted me like a magnet." "So I left." "I've only been back here 3 months." "As a husband to me, Jules is finished." "Don't feel sorry for him." "I still allow him enough distractions." "Now there's Albert who told me of the statue... the 3 of you liked and which I resemble." "I flirted With him." "He may be odd but he has a natural authority Jules lack." "He wants me to marry him." "He wants both mother and daughter." "I like him a lot but not enough till now." "He's coming to lunch tomorrow." "You've listened well." "I talked more than you." "But I didn't tell all, no more than you did." "I had other lovers?" "Never mind." "I only talked about what you talked about." "I understand you." "I don't want to be understood." "It's almost daybreak." "Jim wanted Catherine but stifled his desire more than ever." "She mustn't leave." "Was he reacting on Jules behalf... or on his own?" "He'd never know" "Jim was far from sure whether or not Catherine was trying to seduce him." "She never revealed her goal until she'd scored." "Hello, Sabine." "How're you and your mama?" "Fine." "Hello, Albert." "You shaved your mustache?" "Like everyone else!" "But I feel naked." "I'm going to let it grow back." "Albert was wounded in the trenches" "I'm OK now but when I woke up... and found a surgeon digging in my skull..." "I thought of Oscar Wilde:" "God, spare me physical pain!" "I can cope with moral suffering!" "The disgusting part of war is... it deprives a man of his own individual battle." "Yes but I think he can still wage it at the same time." "I remember a gunner I met in the hospital." "While on leave he met a girl in a train... and they talked between Nice and Marseilles." "As she left she gave him her address." "For 2 years he frantically wrote her daily from the trenches... on wrapping paper by candlelight." "As the shells fell, his tone became more intimate." "At first he wrote Dear Miss and ended with My sincerest respects." "In the 3rd one he called her My little fairy and... then it was My adorable fairy... and then I kiss your hands... then I kiss your forehead." "Then he spoke of the photo she'd sent... and of the breasts he imagined under her housecoat." "Soon he said I love you terribly." "One day he wrote her mother, asking for the girl's hand." "He became officially engaged without ever seeing her again." "The war went on and the letters became more and more intimate." "I clutch you to me, my love." "I hold your adorable breasts." "I clasp you to me naked." "When she replied a bit coldly he begged her not to be coy... because he might die any moment." "It was true." "To understand this extraordinary deflowering by mail... you need to know the violence of trench warfare... the collective madness and the presence of death each second." "Here's a man who fought in the war... and yet he also waged his own personal battle... and completely conquered a woman from afar." "He was hospitalised with a head wound like you, but wasn't as lucky as you." "He died after a trepanation on the eve of the armistice." "In his last letter to his unknown fiancee he wrote..." "Your breasts are the only grenades I love." "I'll show you some photos I have of him." "He almost seems alive." "It's a beautiful story." "Jules wrote me lovely letters during the war." "Hello, Albert!" "Have you finished my song?" "Let's work on it." "The movement of a rocking-chair." "Makes fleshly joys seem so fair." "And the song?" "It's coming along!" "Yes, shall we do it?" "It's much too good for them but we can't choose our audience!" ""She had rings on every finger"" ""Bracelets on her wrists"" ""And she sang with a voice"" ""Which bewitched me"" ""She had eyes, eyes of opal"" ""She fascinates me"" ""Her pale face was an oval"" ""What a fatal femme fatale"" ""We met with a kiss"" ""A hit - then a miss"" ""it wasn't all bliss, but we started"" "Then we went our own ways" ""We each went back into the hustle and bustle of life"" ""I saw her again one night"" ""It's been such a long time..."" ""I recognised her after a while"" ""By her mysterious smile"" ""Her face was an oval, her eyes of opal"" ""Affected me more than ever"" ""drank as I heard her sing"" ""Alcohol lets time lose its sting"" ""I drank far too much"" ""I awoke to her touch"" ""We met with a kiss"" ""A hit - then a miss"" ""it wasn't all bliss, but we started"" ""Then we went our own ways"" ""We each went back "into the hustle and bustle of life"" ""I saw her again one night"" ""It's been such a long time..."" ""When you kiss, why miss?"" ""When you return, why be stern?"" ""Together we make our ways"" ""In life's whirlpool of days We go round and round"" ""Together abound, together abound"" "Catherine was different to each one." "And with all 3 at the same time..." "Jim felt like a 5th wheel." "He could admire her only in private... and was distant with her in public." "Our affection needs to be left in peace like a new-born baby." "I can tell you were truly in love once." "Why didn't you marry her?" "It didn't work out." "What's she like?" "Reasonable and patient" "She says she'll wait forever." "Her name's Gilberta." "You both still love each other?" "Don't cause any suffering, Jim." "I like adventure and taking risks." "And there's something new." "I admire you." "I enjoy seeing you." "I'm afraid I'll forget Jules." "Don't." "He must be told." "Translation!" "Hearts that love in vain..." "My God, how they cause pain." "Not bad... but the My God isn't necessary." "Good night!" "If you see the others, give them... my regards." "I want to read Affinities." "May I borrow it tonight?" "I loaned it to Jim." "Never mind!" "You'll have it tomorrow." "You must return Affinities to me." "Catherine wants to read it tonight." "Jim, Catherine wants nothing to do with me." "I'm terrified she'll walk out of my life completely." "The last time I saw you two together... you were like a married couple." "Jim, love her!" "Marry her and let me see her." "I mean, if you love her, stop thinking of me as an obstacle." "Jim awaited Catherine all day." "She was in his arms with her low voice." "Their first kiss lasted all night." "They said nothing and became closer." "At dawn the light went out." "She had a look of incredible curiosity and joy." "Enchained, Jim arose." "For him, other women no longer existed." "Your turn!" "I've asked Jim to live with us." "He can have the small room." "Beware, Jim!" "Beware of her and of you!" "Here's your make-shift bedroom." "Some German books, but you'll find more in my room." "A cupboard..." "I'll unpack your bag." "I guess that's about it." "That part is a mess but it can't be helped." "What's beyond the wall?" "Sabine and Mathilda's room." "The bed's not too bad." "Sit next to me." "I love the nape of your neck." "I can look at it without being seen." "And Jules?" "He loves us both." "He won't be surprised and so he'll suffer less." "We'll love and respect him." "In the village they were well liked but were called the Mad Trio." "Hearing this, Catherine invented the Village Idiot game." "At table they took turns, playing the Idiot." "Sabine made them giggle the most." "Catherine has said "You only truly love once"... but for her that moment kept returning." "Life was really a holiday." "Jules and Jim had never worn such big masks." "Time passed." "Even happiness can wear away imperceptibly." "One Sunday Catherine decided to seduce Jules." "While Jim read downstairs, she took Jules up to her room." ""No, no!" said Jules." ""Yes!" said Catherine." "Jim tried not to feel jealous but nevertheless he was." "Catherine noticed it and never renewed the experience." "They all went for a walk... around a misty lake hidden in a valley." "They were in perfect harmony." "Catherine had a brief headache." "After major fatigue, Jim had worse ones and thought..." ""if we have kids, they'll be tall and thin with headaches"." "They went down to the lake to throw stones." "Catherine and Jules learned how to make them skip." "The sky was low." "Jim's newspaper called him back to Paris." "Their goodbyes weren't painful- they were sure they'd soon be together again, as before." "Their month had been filled with tiny perfect moments together." "When the train left, they waved for a long time." "Jules sort of blessed them and kissed Jim... who told Catherine he wanted to marry her and have children." "Jules is willing to get a divorce." "I'm going to marry Catherine." "I want to have children with her." "Jules will find me a job in his country." "I'm translating a Viennese play that's to be staged here." " Where are you going?" " Home" " I'll go with you." " I'd rather you didn't" "Hello, Jim!" "Teresa!" "The locomotive!" "Teresa!" "How are you?" "How's...?" "2 weeks of love!" "But I cheated on him to buy him... a sculpted pipe!" "He found out, got jealous and locked me away for 3 weeks!" "I went wild!" "I escaped on the ladder of a painter and moved in with him." "Then a man promised me a fortune in Cairo as a virgin in a house..." " Hi, Jim!" " How're you?" " And your pal?" " He's fine." "Then an Englishman saved me and... we lived in a villa by the Red Sea with a tennis court." "Then I heard from home..." "Gaby, how're you?" " Is Jules in Paris?" " No." "I went home to stop the wedding and married him!" "Jim, how's your pal?" "Still with the same girl?" "I'd like to see her again." "A fine man!" "I went after him but he ignored me." "I divorced my husband." "My undertaker finally married me!" "We're a perfect couple!" "No kids!" "I can't cheat!" "He doesn't leave me the time nor the energy!" "I'm writing my memoirs for the Sunday Times!" "My husband!" " And you?" " I'm getting married." " Bye, Teresa!" " Bye, Jim!" " Hi, Jim, how's Jules?" " Fine." "Interesting, huh?" "Her name's Denise." "Don't talk to her." "She won't answer." "She never talks." "She's not dumb, just empty." "It's empty in there." "She's a thing." "A pretty thing!" "A lovely object." "Sex..." "Pure sex!" " Say goodbye to the man." " Sir..." "Catherine spent the winter at the chalet... as Jim's fiancee left in Jules' care." "Each day she asked him, "Do you think Jim loves me?"" "Listen, Gilberta..." "When Catherine wants to do something and... to the extent it won't hurt anyone, and she's not always right... she does it for pleasure and to learn something from it." "She hopes to attain wisdom that way." "That could go on quite a while!" "You're being petty, Gilberta." "I'm not!" "I'm jealous." "I've always known it would end this way." "Jim, don't leave tomorrow!" "She'll have you for a lifetime." "Give me another week!" "Jim could no more leave Gilberta than Catherine leave Jules." "Jules mustn't suffer, nor should Gilberta." "They were fruits of the past, counterbalancing each other." "Tell Jim I saw Teresa, now married and an authoress." "I've had to delay my return, but soon I'll be free and ready for you." "I must say a few little farewells." "A few little farewells?" "Do you think Jim loves me?" "What's wrong?" "Why didn't Catherine come to meet me?" "In your letters you wrote too much about your work and farewells." "Catherine hates absences." "Yours was too long." "She imagines you've done more than you possibly could" "She's waiting at the chalet?" "I think so." "Sure!" "Catherine!" "I didn't want to tell you." "She left yesterday morning without a word." "I hoped she'd be back before you arrived." "Aren't you worried?" "That something's happened to her?" "No." "I think she's making an irreparable error." "Your letter didn't make a good impression." "I saw Teresa, now married and an authoress." "I must say a few little farewells." "Catherine does things, one by one and goes all the way." "She's a force of nature and expresses herself by cataclysms." "She lives each moment with lucidity and harmony... guided by her feeling of innocence." "You make her sound like a queen." "She is a queen!" "To be frank with you... she's not especially beautiful, intelligent nor sincere... but she's a real woman." "And she... is the woman we love..." "and all men desire." "Why did Catherine, so sought after, offer us both... the gift of her presence?" "Because we gave her our full attention, as if to a queen." "I must admit I almost didn't come back from Paris." "I knew it could never be so good between us." "It's hurt our friendship." "At times I'm jealous of you and your years with her." "I even hate you for not being jealous of me." "Do you believe that?" "I'd do anything not to lose Catherine completely... and you'll be like me when she returns, and she always does!" "Jules, help me." "I'm leaving." "Tell her you didn't find me at the station." "My mind's made up." "It's the only answer." "Yes..." "I went to the station, you weren't there." "What's wrong with you?" "Did you just arrive?" "You're my Jim, I'm your Catherine." "That's fine!" "You wrote me a lot about your affairs." "I have my own." "You said goodbye to your loves." "I went to say goodbye to mine." "You can hold me in your arms all night but nothing more." "We want a child together, right?" "If we do it now..." "I won't be sure if it's yours." "Understand?" "I had to." " You love Albert?" " No." " He loves you?" " Yes." "It's the only way to create something good between us." "Albert equals Gilberta." "You've nothing to say?" "We must start from scratch." "Catherine's creed was to start from scratch and to pay cash." "They lay there, trembling and chaste." "She fell asleep and Jim lay awake, knowing she loved him as he loved her." "A unique force attracted them to each other." "Once again they soared high like great birds of prey." "They remained chaste until she was sure... she wasn't pregnant." "This restraint exalted them." "They didn't cheat on each other." "AND THE PROMISE LAND FADED" "When it came time to have a baby, they realized she wasn't pregnant." "They saw a specialist... who said many couples waited for months to become productive." "What's wrong?" "I want to sleep alone tonight." " Why?" " Because!" " Explain it!" " There's nothing to explain!" "I'll be good and sleep next to you." "It's not true!" "I don't care about your goodness." "I'm disgusted." "This child we'll never have is a nightmare!" "It's like taking a test." "I can't stand it!" "But our love is what counts." "No, I count too." "And I love you less." "Let's try not to need each other." "If we break up and I later realize I love you, that's my risk." "Gilberta still writes to you, so go back to her." "You're being unfair." "No doubt." "But I'm heartless." "That's why I don't love you and will never love anyone." "I'm 32 you're 29." "At 40 you'll want a woman and I'll be 43." "You'll find a 25-year-old and I'll be left alone like a fool." "Maybe." "I'll leave tomorrow." "A 3-month separation!" "Are you in pain?" "Not me, not anymore." "Because we mustn't suffer..." "not at the same time." "Once you stop suffering, I'll suffer." "Am I interrupting?" "I can't bear it." "Did you hear us arguing?" "No, I was working." "I can't stand him." "I'm going crazy." "But he's leaving." "Good riddance!" "Don't be unfair." "You know he loves you." "I really don't know anymore." "He lied to me." "He didn't break up with Gilberta." "He doesn't know what he feels." "You love, you don't love and you end up falling in love." "It's not my fault we don't have a child." "Got a cigaret?" " Want me to talk to him?" " Absolutely not." "I'm half for him, half against him... but I want him to go." "We've decided to separate for 3 months." "What do you think?" "I don't know." "Maybe it's a good idea." "Won't you tell me what you think?" "You despise me." "No, Catherine." "I never will!" "I'll always love you... no matter what you do or may happen." "Really?" "I love you too!" "We were truly happy" "We still are." "At least, I am." "Really?" "We'll always stay together... like an old couple... with Sabine and Sabine's children." "Hold me close to you!" "I don't want to go back to him before he goes." "Then stay here." "I'll sleep downstairs." "My little Catherine... you often remind me... of a Chinese play I saw before the war." "As the curtain rose, the emperor... leaned toward the audience and said..." "You see before you the unhappiest of men... because I have 2 wives... a 1st wife and a 2nd wife." "To Jules their love was relative... but his was absolute." "The next day Jim left." "Catherine walked him to the station." "A fog had invaded the fields during the night." "The others in the hive felt" "Jim was at odds with the queen... so his departure was normal." "Already we can't see the house." "The train schedule had changed for the fall." "No train was due till the next day." "Hotel rooms always make me feel guilty." "I'm not very moral but I dislike secret trysts." "You love them, don't deny it." "I won't believe you." "Jim thought of the children he could've had with Catherine... a whole houseful." "He also thought that without children, she'd start having affairs again." "In the grim hotel, without a word... they had each other, perhaps as if ending things once and for all." "It was like a burial, as if they were already dead." "She took him to the train but they didn't wave goodbye." "They parted without being forced to." "Again Jim thought it was all over." "Here's your inhaler and a letter too." "I think I'm pregnant." "Come at once!" "Catherine." "Gilberta, please hand me some paper." "Catherine, I'm too sick in bed to get up." "I don't want to see you pregnant probably by someone else." "Surely our pathetic farewell didn't do what our love couldn't." "...what our love couldn't." "Yes, I don't believe he's sick." "I'll write to him that you want to see him." "Dear Imaginary Invalid, come as soon as possible." "Catherine awaits your letter." "Write big because her eyes are tired... and she can only read big letters." "Catherine thinks I'm not ill." "I wonder if she's pregnant." "I doubt that I could be the father because of our past, Albert and all the rest." "Could you mail this?" "Of course." "A letter for you!" "I'm going now." "I'll be late." "I love you, Jim." "There's a lot we don't understand and many truths are incredible." "I'm pregnant at last." "We must thank God." "Bow to Him!" "I'm positive you're the father." "Please believe me!" "Your love is alive in me!" "Believe me, Jim!" "This paper is your skin, the ink's my blood." "Answer me at once!" "Gilberta!" "My love, I believe you!" "I'm coming to you!" "Whatever is good in me comes from you." "They'd sworn never to talk by phone and be unable to touch each other." "Their letters took 3 days and crossed each other." "I doubt it because of our past, Albert and all the rest." "I'll never think of you again." "Don't think of me." "You disgust me and I'm wrong because nothing should be disgusting." "Jim, your letter changes everything." "In 2 days you'll arrive instead of a plain letter." "We try to recall our harsh words but they're forgotten." "Come as soon as you can, even late at night." "Then Jim heard from Jules." "Your baby died after a third of its prenatal life." "Catherine wants total silence between you." "So they'd created nothing." "Jim said rediscovering the laws of life is great... but it's best to stick to the existent laws." "We played with the seed of life and lost." "This is incredible!" "You gave up the chalet?" "We prefer to live in France now." "We've rented a mill on the banks of the Seine." "We must get together." "Come to my place tomorrow." "Tell me about Catherine." "For a long time I feared she'd commit suicide." "She bought a revolver." "She'd say so-and-so committed suicide... the way we say so and-so died of cholera." "She was hunched up like a widow." "She was like a convalescent and moved slowly with the smile of a corpse." "Gilberta, this is my friend Jules." "Jim's talked so much about you." "I feel I know you very well." "Catherine knows you came?" "Yes, she'd like you to come for a drive." "I wish you and your wife would come." "She won't but I Will." "I must go now." "You can't wear a hat like that!" "Not in France!" "Take mine." "Come this way!" "She's in a good mood today." "Don't upset her." "It's magnificent!" "Look at Catherine's car!" "It's Jim." "Catherine smiled but seemed to be plotting something." "She wrapped her white pyjamas in a package and tied it with a ribbon." "Jim wondered about it and then forgot." "They went for their ride." "I'm hungry." "Let's eat here!" "Albert!" "What're you doing here?" "Getting some air." "Besides, I live here." " Care to eat with us?" " Gladly!" "Maybe you have a date?" "Maybe." "Give me my package." "Good night!" "Well done!" "2nd time for the pyjama routine!" "I didn't expect it." "I'm amazed she didn't re-cast the man's part." "She's used Albert often." "Why?" "He was perfect for tonight." "Leave her the car." "Catherine's motto is that for a couple... at least one of them has to be faithful." "You saw I don't live alone." "I'm going to marry Gilberta." "You're smarter than I am, Jim." "You know when it's over with Catherine, it's over." "Gilberta will be a good wife." "She's lovely." "Jim recognized Catherine's horn and at first he saw nothing." "Then he spotted the car driving around the square... skirting the benches and trees, like a riderless horse... like a ghost ship." "What a night I had!" "I wasn't in my place there." "That life's dead for me." "It was a desert!" "I talked about you and looked for you." "Come at once!" "Come lie next to me." "Kiss me!" "I've something to tell you." "Tell me." "In a novel you loaned me" "I found a passage you'd marked." "A woman on a ship... gives herself mentally to an unknown passenger." "It struck me as a confession... of how you explore the world." "I have flashes of curiosity too." "Maybe everyone does." "I control mine for you, but I'm not sure you control yours for me." "I agree with you." "For love a couple isn't the ideal." "Just look around us!" "You tried to make it better by refusing hypocrisy and resignation." "You wanted to invent love." "But pioneers must be humble and not egocentric." "No, we must look at things frankly." "We've failed." "We've missed everything." "You tried to adapt me to you." "I've caused distress around me by trying to give you joy." "My promise to Gilberta for growing old together... means nothing." "I can put it off forever." "It's counterfeit." "I've no hope of marriage with you." "I want you to know I'm going to marry Gilberta." "We can still have children." "A fine story, Jim!" "And me, Jim!" "And me?" "And the children I wanted?" "You didn't want them!" "I did!" "They'd have been beautiful!" "You're going to die!" "You make me sick!" "I'll kill you!" "Coward!" "You're scared!" "A few months later..." "Jim was glad to see Jules but his heart didn't pound for Catherine." "She wouldn't leave them together... and suggested a drive." "Jim agreed." "Catherine drove rapidly and took some risks." "The air was electric as during their forest outing... before meeting Albert." "They stopped at a dancehall near the river." "Now they've begun to burn books!" "It's incredible." "For Catherine you were easy to catch but hard to keep." "Your love went from zero... up to 100 with Catherine's." "I've never known your zeros nor your hundreds." "I have something to tell you." "Will you come with me?" "Jules, watch us!" "Jules would never again fear that she would cheat on him... or die... because it was over." "The bodies were found in the reeds." "Jim's coffin was bigger than life." "Catherine's was a jewel-box." "They left nothing." "Jules had his daughter." "Had Catherine enjoyed the battle?" "No." "She'd dazed Jules to the point of nause." "He felt a surge of relief." "The men's friendship had no equal in love." "They'd totally enjoyed little details and tenderly noted their differences." "From the start they'd been called" "Don Quixote and Sancho Panza." "The ashes were put in urns and sealed away." "Jules would have mixed them together." "Catherine had wanted to be strewn from a hilltop... but that wasn't permitted."