Persona Notes

Film Notes
 Opening montage—speeded up, crazed, nail in hand, bloody dog, terror, anxious feel
 Then stillness, old people—death? Sleeping? Corpses waking up, don’t want to get
up?
 Boy draws? Woman’s face.
 Doctor explaining Elizabeth’s condition to Alma is out of sight for the longest time,
seems almost like a voice over. Doctor often speaks from off-screen, like the voice of
God
 Elizabeth won’t talk, only laugh
 Alma cant sleep, talks to camera about her future
 Elizabeth out of bed, horrified by a monk on the TV who is burning himself alive, she
retreats to corner of the room
 Alma reads a letter to Elizabeth from her husband, she crumples it up, tears up the
picture of her son.
 Elizabeth and Sister Alma move to the doctor’s countryside house
 Alma had long affair in past, tells Elizabeth like a patient telling a therapist, Elizabeth
listens and gives Alma a back rub—Elizabeth is becoming like the nurse and Alma
the patient.
 Alma continues to talk about her one true love
 Alma slept with a young man, boy, w boys, her and a friend. But she was already
engaged, went home and had the best sex with fiancé. Alma got pregnant, aborted.
She and fiancé didn’t want a child then.
 Alma asks if its possible to be two people at the same time.
 Elisabeth comes to stand over Alma like a ghost while she’s sleeping, Elisabeth in
white dress with curtains fluttering, walking off into bright light—not ghost, angel.
 Intimate embrace
 Elisabeth wrote a letter to the Doctor, told her, shat Alma said about the affair and
abortion
 Breaking p of film, back to opening sequence cuts while Alma is looking at silent
Elisabeth
 Alma asks Elisabeth to talk, say anything, one word. When Elisabeth doesn’t say
anything, Alma says that Elisabeth used her, hurt her.
 Alma confronts Elisabeth about the letter, they get into a fight, Elisabeth hits Alma,
Alma threatens her with a pot of boiling water, and Elisabeth cries “no, don’t!”
 Alma thinks Elisabeth isn’t sick, but rotten. Some nurse
 Alma apologizes
 Elisabet flashes back to the pictures of jewish children and Nazis
 Alma goes to Elisabeth’s bed and watches/talks to her while she speaks
 Elisabet’s husband arrives and mistakes Alma for her,
 Elisabet didn’t want baby, but failed to abort, hated son
 Elisabet kept the picture of her son she tore up
 Conversation in which Alma describes Elisabet’s hatred for son takes place twice,
once from Alma’s POV, then Elisabet’s (but not really, b/c over shoulders)
 Alma—is she Alma or Elisabet? She become’s Elisabet’s voice, not clear who,
confused, confusing
 Back in hospital w/Alma in uniform
 Alma spiteful again
 Alma is Elisabe’s voice to audience
 Elisabet scratches blood from arm while stressed talking to Alma==self injury
 Alma starts hitting Elisabet—over nd over==abusive
 Back to Elisabet in bed in roo, unmobing, Alma props her up, hugs her
 Elisabet repeats “nothing” after Alma
 Alma wakes up in beach house, Elisabet packing
 Alma packs up house wearing nurse’s uniform
 Looks in mirror, pushes back hair, super imposed with Elisabet pushing back Alma’s
hair
 Boy again, with hand over picture of woman
 Film comes off reel. Light goes out. End

In Class Notes:
 Title:
o Persona—Conflict between how we present ourselves and how we see
ourselves
 Self
 Mask
 Social Role
 Elizabeth:
o First presented as actress—social role
o Also role of mother, woman, wife, professional
o Why does Elisabeth choose to be silent?
 Alma—name means “soul”:
o First presented with age, name, profession, relationship
 Alma talking to Elisabet about first affair—merging shot w/Alma’s head and
Elisabet’s arm
o She lost her virginity, but the man just cast her aside
 Elisabet rubbing Alma’s shoulders while Alma confides in her—switch of roles,
Elisabet is more the caregiver. Alma tells Elisabet about the orgy—like
psychiatrist’s office, light on Elisabet—enlightened
o Is the orgy abuse of children?
o 2 women making love with each other using the boys, in some sense.
 Elisabet sympathetic when listening to the orgy story. Examining, will write
letter.
 Being pregnant was a burden on Elisabet, was unable to abort
 Bergman thinks film is closest to music
 What is art? Is theater a revealing or a hiding of the truth?
 Eyes opening in morgue—death in life
 Boy in morgue could be Bergman himself