Der Ring der Giuditta Foscari (1918)

Judith Arens is kept on a tight leash by her husband, an artist, and is treated very badly in general. One day, while visiting an art exhibition, she collapses from hunger. The wealthy patron Count Waldenau takes the young, pretty woman under his wing and into his home, where she earns her keep as his housekeeper. She soon feels quite at home there—if only it weren’t for the old count’s constant professions of love. By contrast, she is very taken with young Waldenau. During a quiet moment, Judith comes across a book whose contents fascinate her, because the story bears a strong resemblance to her own life. The book is titled *The Ring of Giuditta Foscari*. Judith, too, owns a ring that closely resembles the ring of Giuditta, an Italian woman from long ago. As she reads, Judith increasingly sees her own life intertwined with Giuditta’s. Giuditta, too, was courted by a much older man, Messer Lodovica, to whom she swore fidelity, but then gave her heart to his son when she met him. When Lodovica came upon his beloved with the young man, he rushed at the supposed rival to stab him. His son died, and the last thing Messer noticed was the ring Giuditta had given his son on his finger. Despite her innocence, Giuditta was found guilty and condemned to die by fire. That is where the book ends. Judith, too, chooses the young man over the old one and gives in to his insistence that she marry him. As the two are spending an intimate moment together, the old Count Waldenau receives word from his servant that Judith has secretly met with her former husband, the artist. Wild with jealousy, the old count plans to kill his supposed rival, Arens. He storms into the private room and fires through the curtain behind which he believes the illicit lovers are hiding. But he does not hit Arens; as in Giuditta’s story, he hits his own son. The young man collapses, covered in blood. Waldenau sees Judith’s ring on his son’s finger in horror, but here the story takes a different turn. Young Count Waldenau recovers from his serious gunshot wound and leaves his father’s house at Judith’s side.