The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued

Page 733

Through a Glass

The story takes place during a 24 hour period while four family members take their vacation on a remote island, shortly after one of them, Karin, is released from an asylum where she has been treated for schizophrenia. Karin's husband Martin, a respected doctor, tells her father David that Karin's disease is almost incurable. Meanwhile, Minus, Karin's 17 year old brother, tells Karin that he wishes he could have a real conversation with his father and feels deprived of his father's affection. David is a novelist suffering from "writer's block" who has just returned from a long trip abroad. He announces he will leave again in a month, though he promised he would stay. The others perform a play for him that Minus has written. David, while feigning approval of the play, takes offence since the play can be interpreted as an attack on his character.

That night, after rejecting Martin's erotic overtures, Karin wakes up and follows the sound of a foghorn to the attic. She faints after an episode in which she hears voices behind the peeling wallpaper. She then enters David's room and looks through his desk and finds his diary, seeing his description of her disease as incurable. She discovers his callous desire to record the details of her deterioration. The following morning, David and Martin, while fishing, confront each other over Karin.