The Image of the Gasp in Ingmar Bergman’s The Silence

Lack of understanding and empathy prevails in every relationship in Ingmar Bergman’s The Silence, but is most pronounced in the relationship between the two women, Anna and Esther. In every scene between them, each woman fails to communicate herself to the other. For both Anna and Esther, the company of the other simply brings out the brutality of each woman’s aloneness. The image of Esther gasping for air as she approaches death at the close of the film is the culmination of this feeling of separation.
Esther suffers from an illness called ‘euphoria,’ whose severity is revealed only gradually. Despite the gravity of this illness, Anna does not stay at Esther’s side. When Anna does ask Esther “Should we call for a doctor?” Esther declines. Both women seem to begin from the premise that neither one can help the other. Esther seems to doubt the sincerity of this offer, and is not receptive to her offer of help, and Anna, rebuffed, does not show any interest in staying with Esther herself. Gradually Esther reveals her love for Anna, but Anna doubts this love, insisting that what Esther calls love for Anna is actually hate. Anna is unable to believe that the Esther cares for her, and Esther is similarly unable to convince Anna of the validity and sincerity of her emotions. Both are utterly trapped within themselves, unable to reach out to or be touched by the other.
Near the close of the film, Anna has left Esther in the hotel room, and Esther, near death, is gasping for breath. Esther turns to the man who runs the hotel and says, “I didn’t want to accept my wretched role. But now it’s too damn lonely. We try out attitudes and find them all worthless. The forces are too strong. I mean the forces… the horrible forces. You need to watch your step among all the ghosts and memories. All this talk… There’s no need to discuss loneliness. It’s a waste of time.” In despair, Esther laments the futility of speech. In her own life, speech has failed to breach the loneliness that surrounds her. Esther’s gasps epitomize the failure of speech. Alone in her suffering, Esther cannot even form sounds to communicate her feelings to the man sitting next to her. In fact, this has been Esther’s position throughout the movie. Every time the two women have tried to communicate, their speech has been just as futile as Esther’s wordless gasping. Her lips, moving as though trying to form words, echo both women’s vain attempts at trying to breach their separation throughout the film.