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(2014) The return of theory in early modern English studies II, Dordrecht, Springer.
Lars von Trier's Melancholia (2011) is divided into two parts, both set in the grounds of a magnificent country house. The first half, "Justine/' narrates a disastrous wedding party hosted by a wealthy couple for the wife Claire's depressive younger sister, Justine, played by Kirsten Dunst. The second half, "Claire," takes place in the same country house a few weeks later, as its denizens come to terms with the fact that a myste- rious hidden planet, dubbed Melancholia, is heading towards Earth. In the final scene of the film, the two women and Claire's young son huddle together in an open teepee built out of branches harvested from the nearby forest (see Figure 7.1). Justine has erected this hut in response to her nephew's repeated plea to build him "a magic tunnel." Until now, this Prozac Ophelia, too exhausted by her own depression to even climb into a bathtub unassisted, has put him off. Now, how- ever, as the end of the world approaches, they work together to build this open structure, a pure fenestration of space and sky devoid of even skins or blankets to cover its openings. Behind them the planet Melancholia waxes like a giant daytime moon, expanding to fill the horizon in what indeed will be a most total eclipse.
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Full citation:
Reinhard Lupton, J. (2014)., Shakespearean softscapes, in P. Cefalu, G. Kuchar & B. Reynolds (eds.), The return of theory in early modern English studies II, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 143-164.
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