The crisis
The author blows the myth about retirement as the time of quiet leisure activities. The case of Joanna and Gunnar shows how different obsessions – like analysing a painting or dreaming about a new pair of Italian high heels - become catalysts for life-lasting frustrations. In this intriguing, psychological play we witness Joanna and Gunnar trying to make their dreams come true. Wróblewski gives us a captivating, comic and tragic portrayal of a couple of elderly siblings.
Gunnar is obsessed with the story from the painting “Arnolfinis’ Wedding” by Van Eyck. Although he himself has never been married, he identifies himself with the couple from the picture. Day by day, he sits in front of the painting and watches the scene, trying to go beyond the frames, to uncover the motives of the characters. What kind of deal did merchant Arnolfini make? Was Jeanne, his wife, really pregnant? By whom? Gunnar’s widowed sister wants to squeeze some money out of her greedy brother. Since her shoe business proved to be unsuccessful, she hopes to benefit from another source. Joanna is entirely convinced that she deserves from life more than she has received. In return for a decent amount of money, she agrees to disguise herself as Jeanne Arnolfini. She puts some pillows under the stylish, green dress to look pregnant. Gunnar wants her to be the wife from the painting. However, a huge portion of a roasted goose gives her so much pain that she has to get rid of her improvised pregnancy. The performance of “Arnolfinis Dinner” has to be cancelled because of the stomachache. Before falling into oblivion, the brother takes away the cheque from his naughty actress.
