The Only Woman in the Room

Weeks have passed since the proposal and Hedy is dazed by the plans, though Fritz has taken over planning their entire wedding. He flies her and her mother to Paris for a dress fitting and watches Hedy as she models each dress for him. She finds one she loves, but he denies her and chooses a simple black and white geometric dress. Hedy must bury her anger to keep her fiancé happy.

As they walk around Paris together, Hedy eyes an extravagant set of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds in the window of Cartier. Fritz reminds her that it is nothing compared to her beauty while Hedy contemplates Fritz’s relationship to power and money. They begin discussing the wedding when Fritz suggests getting married at the Karlskirche, the most famous Christian church in Vienna. Gently, Hedy reminds Fritz that her family is Jewish and wouldn’t be allowed to marry there. Fritz reveals that his own father converted to Catholicism from Judaism and that she could do the same. It “won’t do for [him] to have a Jewish wife” (55), so he insists that she convert, and Hedy is compelled to agree. When Hedy returns to her hotel room, she finds