Analysis Of Through A Glass Darkly

thematically and ideates the “music as an emotional bridge where words fail.” (2013, p. 27-28) As with Bergman’s other aural elements in Through a Glass Darkly, the music is used sparingly (following Bergman’s signature style of reducing his soundscapes) and serves a thematic purpose (following Bergman’s thematic signature of human communication). However, Pua’s analysis does not integrate the sarabande’s meaning as part of an entire other body of work — that is, Bach’s — into the film’s constructed meaning. The Silence also follows a similar pattern of sound usage, which is highly important in the consideration of Bergman as an auteur. As Sarris said, “…the auteur theory is a pattern theory…” (2004, p. 563) With Bergman’s pattern of minimalism
In The Silence, Bach’s music features in a diegetic manner. Anna, Ester, and Johan are all in the hotel, listening to Goldberg Variations, Variation 25 on Ester’s radio. The hotel’s porter comes in with room service, which he sets down on the small table between him and Ester, where the radio is also situated. Because the family is in a foreign land, they cannot understand the language. However, the music is a source of connection between Ester and the porter, despite the massive communication barrier. The two exchange words to feel out each other’s language, finding commonalities in their respective words for “music,” as well as their mutual understanding that it is Bach’s music being played on the radio. In a figurative sense, Bach’s music serves as a source of communion between Ester and the porter. Onscreen, Bergman stages the scene to place the radio between Ester and the porter such that the radio is a literal connection between the two. As Livingston says, “Ester, in her loneliness and sickness, suddenly finds relief in sharing this music with the old waiter … nodding happily in recognition of the music.” (1982, p.