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A FILM BY WERNER SCHWEIZER

"From now on, everything will be different.

"I'm starting a new life.

"I've set my heart on achieving many things:

"freedom, crazy adventures in far-off countries,

"professional success, leading a truly exciting life.

"In America, I'll finally belong to no one but myself."

"If I hadn't met Iris, I'd be the happiest of men.

"But I am like he who has breathed in the scent of the Fairy Kingdom.

"And for whom ordinary women have no more attraction.

"And now she has left me.

"What am I going to do?"

ENEMIES IN LOVE

BASED ON THE NOVEL OF THE SAME NAME BY WILFRIED MEICHTRY

UNIVERSITY OF BERN 1940

That was so boring!

-What a waste of time! -It really was.

Prof. Lüthi is as effective as a sleeping pill.

Well, I found it rather interesting.

What a little go-getter you are!

Gentlemen, here is the future lawyer of the petty bourgeoisie.

The lecture had some interesting aspects.

We don't care.

Let him talk about results. It's the means that count.

It's just hot air.

It was at the University of Bern.

LAWYER CLASSMATE

We passed each other in the corridors.

And I noticed her.

She walked quickly and with a swagger.

She was a beautiful woman

with her blond hair and mischievous eyes.

But I was never a rival to Peter.

I could never have given her what Peter had to offer.

Oh!

Mr. von Roten?

I'm really sorry, I don't know what I was thinking.

No, wait.

Come in.

Oh...

I'm sorry, I don't know...

Just like a novel.

Please excuse me.

Make yourself at home.

Let me slip something on and I'll be right back.

What can I get you?

-Coffee? Tea? -Coffee, please.

"Criminal law and the rule of law."

"Modern Woman, The Lost Sex."

Look me in the eyes, Mr. von Roten.

Do you take milk and sugar?

Milk and sugar, Mr. von Roten?

Just sugar, please.

Are legal texts so interesting?

As a lawyer, I have no choice.

Apart from that?

I'm interested in knowing what I'll be able to do in the future.

Yes, Miss Meyer.

You find that amusing!

Do you believe in freedom?

Do you?

We are all just...

cogs in the machine.

Cogs in the machine?

You're young,

handsome, intelligent, cultured.

You have the whole world at your disposal.

You're too romantic.

Is that why you let men climb into your apartment at night?

What?

I'm a realist, Miss Meyer.

You can go now, Mr. von Roten.

But this time, use the door.

"Life disgusts me.

"I feel only one thing: that everything is absurd, absurd.

"I've made huge efforts in all areas.

"And I feel my destiny is like that of all martyrs.

"I think I'll buy a gun

"and put a bullet in my head."

That's not what I'd say if I look at this photo.

WRITER

I think she's both...

But I can tell you that when I saw her...

Obviously, maybe there...

There, she looks a little sad.

There.

She looks quite sad.

When I saw her, she wasn't sad.

She was really quite...

energetic and determined.

But with a feminine sensibility.

THREE YEARS LATER 1943

"Dear Miss Meyer,

"I was delighted to receive your letter after all this time.

"You were the most beautiful of all the students back then.

"But that night,

"when you invited me into your room,

"it was for me the ultimate proof of your depravity.

"I had to call on all my virtue to resist you.

"Today, I think our meeting back then

"was just a big misunderstanding."

One of her qualities was that she made good choices.

I would have trusted her.

If she said to me,

"I agree with you, I'm doing that"

even if it was dangerous, I trusted her.

"It's hard to express, Mr. von Roten, how much I admire you.

"Your character, your intelligence

"and your supreme cheerfulness.

"You strike me like a Greek god,

"fascinating and wonderful.

"It's marvelous how your character

"clearly embraces such contrasts.

"You are smart, witty, astute,

"and extraordinarily open-minded.

"You have sparks of pure intuition."

That's when she confided in me about the handsome man from Valois

she had met.

COUSIN OF IRIS

And about the time she'd spent in Valais

and whether to become a Catholic.

The first thing he told us

was that he wanted to become King of Valais.

That is obviously difficult.

COUSIN OF IRIS

"When I read your letters. I could feel my blood pulsating.

"You offer me such indescribable happiness

"that I have to wonder

"if your letters do not contain opium,

"hashish or something even worse,

"but it is not so.

"Because the happiness remains.

"And I can make it appear anywhere,

"as if by magic, as soon as I think of you."

My parents' biography is based

on the extensive exchange of letters

that took place between the 1930s and the 1950s.

DAUGHTER OF IRIS AND PETER

My mother always kept those letters.

And apparently, she also asked my father

to give her those she had written to him.

She kept them in a trunk along with other letters

she had received and that were close to her heart.

They were love letters.

I knew all that.

My mother originally intended

to keep these letters in a small mattress,

and for the mattress to be put in her coffin,

so that her body rested on these letters

and everything would be burned when she was cremated.

"Our relationship is our life's work.

"Our love is the heart of our lives.

"It is the light by which we can make out the shapes

"and colors of this world with absolute clarity."

-Should we have a swim? -Of course we should.

"I have no fear.

"The essential thing is to maintain our love

"and to nurture it.

"It will bring us both

"a strong sense of self-fulfillment

"and an even greater sense of achievement.

"Peter, be prepared to discover

"and apprehend a totally unknown continent.

"And to forge ties you could never have imagined."

Peter came from a very conservative and Catholic background

and was clearly fascinated by a world so different from his own.

He was a free-thinking, open man.

And for him, it must have been unbelievable such a woman existed.

A beautiful woman who was also intelligent.

I think the Frauenblatt is the ideal opportunity for me.

They're giving me the editorial

and I really want to create a fashion supplement.

"When I think of all the possibilities ahead of us,

"I feel giddy.

"Together our life has meaning and we find our reason for being.

"You're the small hand counting the hours.

"I'm the big hand counting the minutes

"and our love is the clock face."

You don't want to have sexual relations with me?

Iris...

The Catholic church forbids it before marriage.

That's ridiculous, a priest's idea.

I'm craving it.

I crave to touch you.

One day, you'll regret your chastity, believe me.

Maybe we should order.

Do you want to marry me? Or do you need to ask your priest?

Yes... No...

-Yes, I want to. -What do you want?

I want you to be my wife.

But my mother wouldn't consent.

You're not taking her to the altar.

"What a world!

"Men are the masters.

"And women are servants.

"Women must not have opinions,

"or demands or power.

"They must stay at home and take care of daily life:

"slicing ham for the casserole, sewing on a button...

"And an ink stain on the tablecloth is a catastrophe."

This situation is simply intolerable.

They were the landed gentry.

They were aristocratic landowners.

The idea of succeeding in life

meant having property on which one could live.

It isn't...

One could have servants.

They were considered

as members of the family, but on a different level.

It was something bourgeois, but in a landowning sense.

She wants it to be Mother's Day every day of the year.

You needn't worry, though, she's not Catholic.

What if she converts?

Take the other glasses.

They are at the gate.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day

Our daily bread Forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those Who trespass against us

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil. Amen.

-Thank you. -You're welcome.

Allow me.

-Your plate. -Yes.

I remember Peter said one day

that this Miss Meyer was an intelligent woman.

PETER'S SISTER

Not a woman one should marry but ideal to converse with.

What do you think,

Miss Meyer, do you like it?

It's excellent, Mrs. von Roten.

-Your health. -Your health.

Miss Meyer,

do you seriously think

that men and women are equal?

They are. Obviously.

History teaches us quite differently.

In that case, it's time to turn the wheel of history.

You know you are in opposition to divine providence?

Women are subject to men, is that it?

I know, Mr. von Roten.

-You see. -But what is this argument?

Using this archaic dictum as argument is not defending faith but power.

In the name of religion, you deliver patriarchal speeches

that have nothing to do with faith.

This is scandalous!

How dare you!

"What is the reason for your family

"to display such hostility towards me?

"Is it Catholicism?

"No, they simply don't know how to classify me.

"In their world view,

"there is no place for a woman with her own ideas and goals.

"I represent a way of life and determination that troubles them."

And this is Johann Christian, the ancestor so to speak.

Up there is his son, Christian Georg.

This is Hildebrand von Roten, Prince Bishop of the diocese of Sion,

from 1750 to 1761.

And that's...

Heinrich von Roten.

Iris?

-That's my father! -I know,

Catholic, conservative, National Councilor...

I was six months old when he died.

Is that any reason to play the model son?

You want me to give it all up?

You have understood nothing.

I'm supposed to throw it all away?

Look at you.

You're on really bad terms with your family.

RAPPERSWIL NEAR LAKE ZURICH

Iris's mother was like a statue.

A beautiful woman, very reserved.

But Iris was not very complimentary about her parents.

LAWYER CLASSMATE

She didn't complain about them,

but she found it sad her mother wasn't more fulfilled.

She attributed the cause to the society of men.

It became her hobbyhorse, this society of men.

According to her, men work together to oppress women.

She liked Manfred. There were high expectations of him

and I think he liked Iris but didn't understand her.

For him, she was an enigma.

"I was first beset

"by the demon of melancholia at a children's party.

"I felt as if nobody liked me.

"That I was completely excluded from society.

"I felt as if everyone else was of the same species

"and that I was the only one different.

"As a young girl, I read Famous Swiss People.

"It was said of Benjamin Constant

"that he lived his life in a permanent need to be loved.

"With me, that need is even stronger.

"I have a constant, unquenchable thirst for love."

You can't do such a thing.

Read it first.

"Article one:

"Regarding my professional life,

"I am totally free.

"If I decide to take up a professional activity,

"no other activity shall take priority over it,

"not the running of the household nor the children's education

"nor their learning."

I will only accept living with you if we are totally equal.

"We must agree on the way to educate our children."

You haven't read everything about running the household.

"Apart from domestic chores as I see fit,

"I don't want to concern myself with or know about

"cooking, sewing, cleaning, etc.

"So, we'll need a full-time housekeeper

"or at least several hours a day."

I fully accept this contract.

On condition you become a Catholic.

Back to that again?

Peter, please.

I thought she was inconsistent.

It was all about women for her.

She wanted the right to vote for women,

yet she didn't call herself Iris Meyer

but took her husband's name.

It was obviously better to be called von Roten than Meyer.

IRIS MEYER AND PETER VON ROTEN

HAVE THE PLEASURE OF ANNOUNCING THEIR WEDDING

I had imagined it quite differently.

What do you mean?

I don't know.

More tenderness.

Sensuality.

Something less selfish.

During the sexual act, both partners should come.

Not just the man, but also the woman.

No lessons now, please.

I'm not your pleasure machine.

A woman is more than just her sex.

I...

Yes.

I'm just not very...

At ease...

With things.

"With things..."

What did those priests of unhappiness do to you?

I am the result of 2,000 years of anti-sexuality

and Catholic prohibitions.

You married me, you did it...

Against the wishes of your family.

Thank you for having given up on making me convert.

Yes...

Now, in the eyes of everyone, I'm the black sheep.

Better than following the herd, don't you think?

P. AND I. VON ROTEN LAW OFFICE

"I did it all wrong.

"I should never have got married.

"A woman should have sexual relations

"with all the men she loves or desires.

"Just one man for life is pitiful."

-Hello. Do you mind? -No, go ahead.

"The husband is in charge of the family and the conjugal union.

CAMPAIGN FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS

"The wife must keep house."

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is still the situation in Switzerland.

And if that weren't enough,

article 167 of the civil code states that,

"A woman may not undertake a career

"without having obtained her husband's permission."

Swiss women must wage war in their fight against this law.

The patriarchal rooster must continue to be plucked

until women have obtained the right to vote.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am convinced that women must fight for this right

and not wait for men to join them in this fight.

"When you became a suffragette, it disgusted me more

"than if you were a morphine addict or a brothel madam.

"I imagined you having meetings surrounded by old spinsters.

"I was so distressed!

"But recently, when I came to your talk,

"I understood what loyalty meant.

"It means: Supporting you unconditionally.

"Even if many people find it ridiculous.

"Being loyal means joining the fight for women's right to vote.

"Saying that you are a woman of exceptional intelligence.

"And that there is no shame in following you."

It was a really beautiful spring day.

Perhaps May or June,

since I was always in Geesch at that time.

We went out for a walk.

She was young and beautiful.

Very alive, very determined, with even a certain...

She could be quite dictatorial.

She stopped for a moment.

She turned around and looked at me.

And she said, "You know...

"It's very beautiful.

"When you're 60, you should end your life.

"I will kill myself then.

"You should be able to end your life."

Moved by the beauty of life and the beauty of the countryside,

young and beautiful, she said, "Life should end when you're 60."

-Mrs. von Roten. -Yes.

The photos of the reception in honor of your husband.

Thank you.

Your husband will be a great National Councilor.

It was a lovely reception.

For you, maybe.

Have a nice day.

Members of the National Council and Council of States, dear friends.

The municipality of Raron

is proud of its son, Peter von Roten,

who is the youngest member of the Swiss National Council.

Thank you.

Thirty years!

Yes, thirty years after his father Heinrich...

Whom no one has forgotten.

A member of the noble von Roten family

is once again entering Parliament.

Thank you.

Councilor von Roten,

may I take a photo of the two of you?

-Yes, please. -Over here?

Yes.

Yes, over here.

-Here? -Yes.

Very good.

Thank you very much.

They're lovely.

And one final one.

Allow me to introduce you.

Mr. Eicher,

-my wife Iris. -Delighted.

A female lawyer from Zurich here in the flesh in Valais!

Yes, and one with horns like the devil.

She has a sense of humor.

Women's right to vote, is that a serious thing?

-Yes. -Mr. Anthamatten, I can speak.

And yes, it's serious!

It's not natural.

What will happen to the children,

running the household?

True, women are ignorant of politics.

Do you not have other arguments?

Yes, a woman...

The cow should stay in the stable. It has an udder and has to be milked.

Be careful the cow doesn't gore you

and toss you into the manure pit.

-That's who you married? -Yes, that's her.

Iris.

Iris...

You just stood there and said nothing!

But...

Iris?

Iris?

What is it?

Huh?

Did you have a good day?

Iris.

This damned canton of Valais is getting on my nerves.

No... But... Iris?

You're handling your first case.

I've just got two dirtbags acquitted.

Call that a case?

Iris, look, I know this isn't easy for you.

It's a den of evil, this place.

I'm losing my dignity here.

Your dignity?

You have your life, you're Peter von Roten, you're a man.

You'll become a Federal Councilor while I suffocate.

You say you're suffocating, losing your dignity.

I don't want to hear this.

Stop it.

What do you want me to do?

You have such high ideas.

You invent a world sitting at your machine

and you want people to be just as you imagined them

outside your office.

But these are normal people living according to their ways.

You're lying to yourself.

You provoke people and I'm the one who pays.

You don't see what happens to me every day in Raron!

And what was that outburst at the reception?

You dare to say I am not loyal?

You have made a fool of me.

I am loyal!

I won't have people making fun of me, making jokes at my expense.

My family thinks I am ridiculous.

Yes, that's it, just walk away!

Iris...

Please forgive me.

I'm tired of everything, Peter, including you.

What has this to do with me?

After dinner, you go to bed and sleep.

We barely speak to each other.

I want more, from sex too.

I do too.

I need to leave here.

So, you're back to this America thing again.

"Dear Peter,

"Your behavior drove me half crazy

"and extinguished all my desires.

"In America, I'll believe once again

"that I don't belong to anyone but myself

"and I will explore all erotic possibilities

"that life offers.

"I want to breathe the air of a place where equal rights are visible.

"I don't yet know if and when I will return.

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA SEPTEMBER 1948

"I'm going to write a book.

"A feminist book that will set out to women in clear terms

"the reality of their situation and the misery of their condition.

"The issue for me is that women must be deeply fulfilled.

"Women must be physically, spiritually

"and economically free throughout their lives.

"It's not just about the right to vote."

"October 29, 1948."

"Peter, do you want to know how it all started with Louis?"

Iris.

Iris.

Hello.

You may not know me,

but we take the same journalism class at 10 a.m.

Would you like to get a coffee?

"He surprised me.

"The men who manage to surprise me always have a lot of sex appeal.

"Louis told me there aren't many people

"whom he can speak with for more than two hours

"without ending up being annoyed by them.

"Might I be an exception?

"Not just because he likes me, but because he loves me.

Louis, kiss me.

"Dear Iris, I fear I will never see you again.

"I am obsessed with the idea

"that you like being with Louis more than me.

"If, erotically and sexually, he satisfies you in ways

"that I do not,

"then, what can I do?

"This anxiety plagues me more than jealousy."

You refused to listen to me.

Come to the chapel with me.

It's not just about you, but your family.

Aren't you ashamed?

"How easy and convenient it was

"when I was a devout Catholic!

"I received from the pulpit

"instructions on how to live my daily life.

"Now, I'm like a leaf,

"blown this way and that by the wind.

"I have nothing to support me."

Forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil...

Do you need something?

Just a signature.

Very well.

Will Mrs. von Roten stay long in America?

Yes.

It may be quite a while.

She's looking for men.

I mean...

She's doing some research.

Oh, I see...

It's for her book.

You work too hard.

I have to, I'm trying to hold back the tide with a broom.

I think it will be a success.

No, they'll think it's pornography.

Well, you should give it up then,

all this feminism stuff.

-Oh... -Listen.

I have a picnic.

Ham, cheese and wine.

You're a lifesaver, you know?

I have my car here.

"I wonder if it's normal that I'm not at all jealous.

"Quite the opposite.

"I find that I remain indifferent to your physical infidelity.

" It even pleases me.

"Pleases me...

"Really pleases me.

"It really pleases me.

"If you've got what you're looking for.

"I am happy for your erotic successes.

"Yet the idea that you could fall in love with someone else...

"and forget me...

"is excruciating."

Today, we're at the University of Bloomington in Indiana

where the Institute for Sex Research is located.

Dr. Kinsey has degrees in biology and psychology.

For 25 years, he studied the behavior of insects.

Dr. Kinsey,

can you tell us how you went from studying insects

to human sexual behavior?

I looked at data in psychology,

biology and medicine.

While working on that data,

I discovered that we knew

practically nothing about human sexual behavior,

whereas the field of animal sexuality...

I really have to write my book.

Five pages every day.

This book is a real obsession.

Obviously!

Why should we let these old insect gazers

reduce us to common beasts?

In America, 50% to 60% of marriages end in separation or divorce.

This can be for several reasons,

but 75% of divorce petitions

are motivated primarily by sexual problems.

Thank you.

"One thing struck me about Louis.

"Unlike Peter, he is very familiar with female sexuality

"and techniques for bringing women to climax.

"The following point is important.

"An experienced man knows how to use foreplay to arouse a woman

"before painlessly introducing his penis into her vagina.

"Am I in love with Louis?

"Moments when I am sure I am not in love alternate

"with those with such a magnetic power

"that it seems like the same blood runs in both our bodies."

The National Council

is planning financial reforms.

The President of the Confederation, Nobs,

discusses with a National Councilor.

The committee members review their report.

Olbrecht, Reichling and Dietschi all agree.

Mr. Cellio argues with Mr. Maspoli.

The journalist, Œri, pores over the text of a new editorial.

Mr. von Roten confers with Colonel Bircher.

The President of the Radical Democratic Party, Pini from Biasca,

and Bühler from Zurich, will align themselves

in this debate with the federalists.

"Peter, I'm going to be completely frank.

"Louis's wonderful caresses do me the world of good.

"How I would suffer to be deprived of them!

"I wouldn't mind if you did something to compensate, dear Peter."

"Something to compensate?

"Sexual relations with another woman?"

Von Roten!

In my office.

Councilor.

What's this I hear?

What are you talking about?

What's this bill on women's right to vote?

It's high time.

You will drop it.

I already filed it this morning.

Stop, von Roten, can't you see what's happening?

You're being manipulated by your wife.

That has nothing to do with it. She's right.

As a politician, you're finished.

"Iris, there's nothing more pitiful

"than these sweaty old men in the Federal Palace.

"What's the point of the life I lead here?

"Am I, Peter von Roten, Catholic National Councilor,

and editor of the Catholic newspaper, Walliser Bote,

"considering having erotic adventures?

"I should accept the idea

"that you sleep with other men

"and I can even go so far as to justify it.

"Sometimes, I think you and I

"are amoral monsters."

Miss Genoud, Mr. von Roten.

Come in.

Miss Genoud.

Pleased to meet you.

Likewise. Please, sit down.

Right...

So...

What can I do for you?

It's about my will.

Really, your will?

No, I meant my father's will.

All right, that's better.

I want to contest it.

"Dear Iris, as soon as she entered,

"I noticed the friendly and persistent way she looked at me.

"And how she squeezed my hand.

"I almost feel guilty telling you

"that she is very pretty.

"And during our conversation,

"I toyed with the idea of an erotic adventure with her."

We will now hear from the defense, Mr. von Roten.

Elisa Zumstein and Victor Juon

lived together for two years without a marriage license.

It's a violation of the law that prohibits cohabitation.

It should be punished, as prosecution counsel has said.

Mr. Loretan, he loves her. Do you understand?

And she loves him.

That's why they moved in together.

And that's what the prosecution wants to punish.

It is outrageous that two people

cannot go to bed together without informing the State.

Permission to speak.

You may speak, Mr. Loretan.

Your Honor,

I think Mr. von Roten is confused

about his duties here.

He is here in the Court of the Canton of Valais

and not at the Walliser Bote.

We're dealing with the law and respect for the law, not love.

Mr. von Roten, you may continue.

Mr. Loretan, I'll go one step further.

You condemn people for adultery

and you insist on the idea of conjugal duty.

Do you think it makes any sense

to impose fidelity through the law?

In other words,

can one demand that a partner one loves

be absolutely faithful?

This is a scandal.

Mr. von Roten is spreading debauchery and the most heinous decadence.

Mr. von Roten, stick to the facts.

We're adjourned until tomorrow.

OK?

Mr. von Roten.

Ah...

Miss Genoud.

Hello.

You distracted me, I almost lost track.

I thought I was encouraging you.

Would you like a coffee?

"Today, she invited me for a coffee.

"Suddenly, she took my arm

"and put her head on my shoulder.

"She told me her name was Isabelle.

"And with that, we were on first name terms.

"Then, in the blink of an eye, we were in the barn.

"We kissed in the hay, nothing more.

"Iris, I have to admit, it seemed crazy and reckless.

"Anyone could have come in on us."

"Afterwards, we had to look for her earrings in the hay,

"and then her purse and keys."

It's entirely her fault that her husband moved to the left.

PETER'S SISTER

Because she was away for months in America.

Iris!

Iris, wait.

I'm sorry.

I've only just got out of a study group.

That's why you kept me waiting?

I have five exams next week.

And it's too much for you?

My job, my studies, you...

I...

I'm in love with you.

Don't fall apart now, young man.

My career, my future, everything...

I will predict your future.

In future, remember

that every day spent without me will haunt you

even when you're old.

Come on, darling, let's go.

-Just one hour, OK? -OK.

"It's amazing, Peter,

"how things that would normally leave me cold

"are made alive and interesting when I'm in love.

"Desire is as important to me as eating or sleeping.

"Especially since I shut myself away in order to write."

-You came? -As you can see.

I have a meeting close by.

-You have a meeting. -Yes, and...

I thought that...

OK.

But I can't stay long.

Henriette, bring some glasses.

Peter, sit down a moment.

You're really naughty.

"Dear Iris, I feel guilty

"telling you about my sexual relations.

"They also take up almost all my time.

"I find these erotic adventures

"more exciting than political adventures.

"I'm writing to you about this to help with your research.

"And I hope it will be useful for your book."

Hello, Iris.

Can you tell me what this means?

This is not the time.

"Iris, I can't do this anymore, it's too much."

Please leave.

Coward...

Women...

Always looking for problems.

You're as spineless as the rest.

You're pathetic.

As soon as you feel something, you run away.

I don't need to listen to this nonsense.

"It ended catastrophically yesterday with the wretched Louis.

"I'd hoped for so much from this relationship.

"It really stimulated my thoughts.

"Then in one night, it was reduced to dust.

"I have to get this wretch out of my mind.

"Peter,

"you never let yourself be humiliated

"and you never lose your dignity.

"Whereas I am like a bad swimmer

"who keeps swallowing water.

"There's no dignity to be had with your head underwater.

"In such moments I despise myself.

"I'm the perfect example of dependency, misery and weakness.

"Until I get my head above water

"and I'm myself again.

"I need some success so much.

"Up until now, my efforts have led to nothing.

"I am in a miserable room

"with a greasy cord to switch on the light.

"To be heartbroken is the last reason

"I came to America."

Women, who are like a coup de théâtre in Nature,

as Schopenhauer said,

are anatomically closer to their children

than their husbands.

By instinct, men have an ability to learn

and are very aware.

Women, on the other hand,

and this is quite obvious when you see those who support

Councilor von Roten, are very vulnerable.

They blush and shout.

The main argument against the vote for women

is that motherhood is the will of God.

So, that must remain their main task.

Councilor Bircher has an outdated argument.

A hundred years ago, we invoked God's will

to keep farmers and workers

under the yoke of servitude.

Councilor Bircher wants to convince us

that sewing, cooking, having babies,

is the only role that God assigned to women.

As if God had created men to enjoy cigars and a glass of wine.

And women to serve food, clean and tidy up.

Look, there he is.

This little wuss certainly won't give the same speech twice.

Commissioner, Gentlemen.

The great genius Roten...

-Have you lost your mind? -What do you mean?

Why this relentless attack against military planes?

Do you want to abolish the army,

-you feminist lackey? -The Russians

know where our bunkers are.

As for the vote for women, the time has come.

Oh yes, sure, the time has come.

You're fouling your own nest.

You're absolutely right.

"Nest"?

That's exactly the right word.

You're going too far.

"Dear Iris,

"although in the newspapers I am now

"the youngest and most promising Councilor in Switzerland,

"for the Catholic Conservative Party

"I am a constant source of irritation.

"I have been told that with my bill

"on women's right to vote, I won't be re-elected."

"When I see how intelligently and generously

"you describe the National Council,

"you seem like a son of the Gods

"observing the nocturnal activities of unleashed goblins.

"As for me, everything is now about my chapter on eroticism.

"My experience with Louis

"has helped me, despite everything, to explore female psychology."

That was a nightingale not a lark.

No.

It's the Catholic Conservatives.

Calling me to the headquarters of the Federal Council.

Why don't you leave Iris?

Impossible.

You know that?

Are you so sure she will come back one day?

That's not the issue.

Peter, I want to know what ties you to her.

"My dear Peter, my latest conquest is called Ed.

"He's a businessman, young, successful

"who wears crocodile skin shoes and is learning to fly.

"I've kissed him a few times but I'm not in love.

"Why did I love that miserable Louis

"but I don't love Ed?

"Actually, Peter, you should stop seeing Miss G.

"She's in love with you."

"I will stop seeing Miss G.

"I'm currently seeing a Finnish woman I met at a reception.

"I couldn't stop myself from kissing her.

"What can I do if women throw themselves at me?

"Iris, you have led me astray with your theories."

"Male psychology remains an enigma to me.

"I don't understand the impersonal desires of men.

"You shouldn't devour everything and anything the way you do."

"It's ridiculous being devoured by sexuality the way I am.

"Compared to you, I feel I am in love like an insatiable ogre."

"The chapter on motherhood is ready.

"I'll send it to you with the others.

"I'm sure

"I won't find a publisher for this book.

"And even if it were printed, it would be banned.

"It's difficult writing a book

"that will only create mortal enemies for us."

"Your book is a masterpiece.

"The subject alone makes it completely new.

"Not just in Switzerland, but the whole of Europe.

"You really sense the hunger and thirst for justice.

"You will be the Copernicus and the Galileo of feminism.

"I still love you, now more than ever. Your loving Peter."

"My dear Peter,

"I have to admit I'm feeling a little homesick.

"If only we'd had more romantic experiences

"before we were married,

"things would have been better for us."

"Iris...

"Could we have spent the time

"more stupidly than we did by torturing each other?"

ONE YEAR LATER AUGUST 1949

"The only thing that consoles me in all this

"is that we have become reasonable enough

"to accept each other."

"When I think of you,

"you seem from afar the most attractive

"and most interesting man of all.

"The only man with whom I would like children."

MRS. PETER VON ROTEN HAS THE PLEASURE OF INVITING YOU

TO A RECEPTION ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1955 HEUBERG 12, BASEL

MORNING DRESS/BLACK TIE

Sarah!

How are you?

I'm pleased you remember me.

Ernest!

-It's different. -Don't you think...

Darius, just a moment.

-Pleased to meet you. -Darius.

Ladies, Gentlemen.

Oh!

Hortensia, honey...

If you want, you can stay up like an adult.

When you get tired, just tell Rosetta you want to sleep.

-OK? -Yes.

You're so grown up.

What a delightful child!

She's really grown!

Little Hortensia wandered among the guests

in the Basel apartment.

Nine o'clock came, then ten, then ten-thirty.

I thought that was interesting.

I wondered how she managed in the morning.

We never see her.

She lives with a family in the east of Switzerland.

You put your daughter in a family?

Yes.

How could you do that?

I have no skill for dealing with small children.

And my career keeps me busy.

Working is more important than raising her?

That isn't normal.

You think so?

Leading a life of washing diapers,

preparing muesli and beating carpets has no interest for me.

You must admit it's quite extreme.

Indeed it is.

When I ask for day care to be set up, who is against?

Women.

That's going a bit far.

-Make room for me? -With pleasure.

We'll shove over.

Very kind.

-Do you like the champagne? -Yes.

Little Hortensia dragged a pillow behind her

and then she could just find a place to sleep wherever.

Once, in the doorway between two rooms.

She lay down, put her head on the pillow and fell asleep.

I was struck by that.

I thought, "That's great.

"The child can sleep when she needs to, it's all OK."

Rosetta.

Come here.

Come.

There we go.

You'll soon be asleep in your bed.

I loved being in different places,

although at the beginning I was a little homesick.

But I don't remember being unhappy

in any place I stayed

for a long time.

I was in the old town

and there were no children there.

When my parents put me with a family in Flawil,

for a year and a half with a friend of my mother's who was a teacher,

the aim was to let me be

with other children.

My father and I sometimes had some strange little adventures.

He would take me somewhere, to church, for example,

and suddenly he'd disappear.

Or he'd take me somewhere in the city center

where I could ride my scooter, but he didn't have the patience.

He told me he'd be back in an hour.

He was like a dancer

leaping about from one place to another.

I know I mattered more in my mother's life

than my father's. There's no doubt.

"Men are really opposed to this idea

"because they are afraid

"that with full equality for women, not just in the law,

"but also politically,

"we'll see a fly land on a child's pacifier."

Keeping up?

A child's pacifier...

What does that sentence mean?

Like on the posters everywhere.

"But men are not thinking of the pacifier of their dear child,

"they are in fact thinking of their own."

She was really very intelligent.

She wanted to achieve something with her book.

I was already thinking back then,

after I'd been writing for her for some time,

"No one will read this book."

"His wife is only there to pick up the role...

"The role of his dear mother,

"who sacrificed everything for family."

I can't keep up.

Try to go faster.

You're dictating too fast.

One day, for example,

she told me we women are too credulous.

That if a married man suddenly wants to go to bed with a young woman,

she should say to him,

"OK, but first put 20,000 francs in my bank account

"in case I have a child and you skedaddle."

It was quite strange.

But she thought that was necessary.

Once a month

I met up with former classmates.

When I told them that, they died with laughter.

Who prepares meals in your home?

-Me. -Why you?

My grandmother cooked, my mother cooked.

So, I cook.

She was beside herself at the idea of such stupid people as me existing.

That I didn't say,

"Yes, you're right, I agree with you."

I simply didn't know what she wanted.

We all hoped we would one day have the right to vote.

But getting everything she was asking for in one fell swoop

was unimaginable.

"Iris, my darling.

"I can't wait any longer.

"Everything's ready.

"On the legal side,

"I also got advice from a federal judge.

"Now, it's up to women to be brave."

I fear you're getting your hopes up.

You could be disappointed.

I'm sure it will work.

From the Rhône valley, a cable car goes to a mountain village

that's making quite a name for itself.

For the first time,

women enter this place of male superiority.

Are they afraid?

An army of reporters is here to capture

this historic moment.

Do the women of Unterbäch think of themselves as pioneers?

No, they're fulfilling the duty they feel is theirs

with more apprehension than necessary

due to the presence of the photographers.

I've got you the vote, you have your book.

DER SPIEGEL: PROGRESS IN UNTERBACH

WOMEN'S VOTE BY THE BACK DOOR?

ESCAPADE IN UNTERBACH

"This is the book I would have liked to read

"when I was 20 but couldn't find.

"It was written for young women who want the impossible

"and for the few men with enough intellectual curiosity

"to take an interest in the issue of male domination

"as seen from the other side."

It has always been clear

that it was a life's work, her life's work.

She was very proud of it.

But from the start, it was doubtful it would ever see the light of day.

"Peter, just imagine.

"The typographers at Éditions Hallwag

"wanted to go on strike.

"They thought my book

"was a monstrous insult against men.

"The publisher had to step in.

"Now, my book will finally come out.

"How many years of my life has this book cost me?

"I feel like my footprints

"are now etched in the floor under my desk."

WOMEN IN THE PLAYPEN A STUDY OF THE FEMALE CONDITION

"That's the plight of mothers today.

"Mothers are tired from all the efforts

"and sacrifices they make so they can give,

"even the most insignificant child,

"even the most mediocre son, a happy life.

"And so that he may mistake his mediocrity for stature."

"A louse grows fat sucking on the vital sap of a rose."

WOMEN IN THE PLAYPEN

An extremely daring book.

I read it in one go and then re-read it.

All the male relatives also read it.

We quickly realized it was a unique work

and that it was going to generate a lot of discussion.

The publication of Frauen im Laufgitter,

Women in the Playpen coincided with the start of the school year.

I was just six years old yet I was well aware

something wasn't right.

I could see it in the reactions of my mother.

On the wall of our house, someone had written,

"Whore."

I didn't know what "whore" meant.

But I knew that writing on walls was not something you did.

Listen, this concerns you:

"Madam, your husband must be a monster

"for you to publish this horrible book."

Hear that? You're a monster.

You're only realizing that now?

I have grounds to sue for libel

till the end of my days.

Throw it all in the trash.

This woman wants

all men to be reincarnated as women after death.

That's a nice idea.

And women as men...

How horrible!

What? Wouldn't you like to be a boy?

-Absolutely not. -Why not?

Because I'd have to marry a girl.

He loved his wife very much.

You could see that straight away.

He admired her.

She was so lucky to marry that man.

Because he understood her.

He approved of all her ideas

and everything she said, wrote or did.

He was totally on her side.

You'll see, they'll all be behind you tomorrow.

The League of Women is with you.

I don't know what to expect.

-Excuse me, Mrs. von Roten. -Yes.

They're talking about your book on the radio.

Thank you.

In her lifetime,

she washes 24 tons of dishes and cutlery,

and she sweeps and cleans a surface as big as Sicily.

How do you know that?

Read this book and you'll be ready for divorce.

Turn that nonsense off.

Isn't she an admirer of Elvis Presley?

In America, anyone who wears a skirt is running after her.

This woman should do the hula hoop,

that would change her ideas.

After several hours shaking her belly,

she would see men in a different way.

"You know what's most hurtful, Peter?

"Instead of criticizing the content of my book,

"they mock me in public and ruin my reputation.

"The trash that the press and radio heaps on me

"reaches the most remote villages.

"The whole country is invited to wallow in this filth."

So, let's discuss today's issue: Women in the Playpen.

Your book, Mrs. von Roten.

Its tone is so... aggressive and violent.

It harms all women.

Us as well as everyone else.

Do you think that men will willingly allow you to vote?

Because you're nice and pretty?

You've spent 50 years struggling for it.

Sorry I'm late.

Mrs. von Roten, Your book is incredible!

It has completely convinced me.

May I ask the opinion of the other women here present?

Mrs. von Roten...

What you write about men, that's your business.

But making fun of us, of women,

I find that scandalous.

And as for sexuality,

free love, a single child, that's just not possible.

It's disgusting.

What are you trying to say?

We have just one objective: women's right to vote.

We have fought for this objective.

This is not the time to upset men.

You can't say such a thing.

This amazing book should be our bible!

We're sorry, but in the interest of women's right to vote,

we must distance ourselves from your book and its content.

You dare to renounce a book that defends the feminist cause

and all of its ideals?

ALLIANCE OF WOMEN'S ASSOCIATIONS AGAINST "WOMEN IN THE PLAYPEN"

If I open that book today,

I think the case against that woman,

brought by people of her own generation,

was deeply unjust.

If you ask me how I came to change my opinion,

it's due primarily

to the refusal to grant women the right to vote

on February 1, 1959.

Men rejected it by a two-thirds majority.

I was so angry I wanted to emigrate.

"The stale petty-bourgeois attitude of the women's associations

"is an indisputable obstacle

"on the road to equality between men and women.

"These so-called feminist leaders have betrayed the movement.

"I watch with dread

"as their pseudo-feminist play acting

"degenerates more and more into a kind of embarrassing charity."

And then carnival came.

It was the main theme.

It was the main theme for the Basel Carnival.

Iris found it very hard to handle.

Because the attacks were very harsh.

They insulted her personally.

TRASH IN THE PLAYPEN

That carnival was horrible for my mother.

So much so that she kept away,

repelled by those attacks and those people.

"My dear Iris,

"I was horrified by the way they treated you.

"But just think: many enemies, many honors.

"You'll recover, my dear, dear Iris."

The big battle in Iris's life was in fact now behind her.

She used to fight using every conceivable means.

And then it was over.

The result was not at all what she had imagined.

Women didn't support her,

the women's right to vote failed.

Almost overnight it seemed she wanted nothing more to do with feminists.

It was like she was done with all that.

"As a young woman, during the course of my life,

"I always wanted to explore as much as possible,

"every square centimeter of the Earth.

"Traveling around the world

"seemed to me the greatest promise for the future.

"Today, I feel yet again a nostalgia,

"a desire to see new countries and have new encounters."

In 1960, she went to Turkey in a Fiat 600.

With the aim of writing a book about Turkey

and it was wonderful.

"Antalya, June 28, 1960.

"Darling,

"A woman driving alone in a country

"causes a commotion in a village.

"Everyone came out.

"The men and young boys at least.

"Two questions concerned them.

"The first was about my nationality.

"The second was about my husband.

"I have been in this Turkish town for a week.

"I met an interesting man.

"His name is Kani. He's an engineer and he has opened doors for me.

"The people here are very hospitable.

"Tourists are considered as guests not as cash cows."

I never wondered what this companion's role was.

It was only after her death in connection to her biography

that I thought about it.

Or when I read her letters.

But it didn't surprise or shock me.

I think it was in keeping with what she always said.

There's no contradiction.

That's what I've always found really astonishing about Iris.

When you read Women in the Playpen,

you can't fail to notice that she is living exactly

according to the principles she defended.

THE NOMAD'S HAREM BY IRIS VON ROTEN

ANCIENT BATHS BY IRIS VON ROTEN

"July 4, 1965.

"Dear Peter,

"I arrived back in Tehran yesterday.

"I traveled the whole way

"from Isfahan under a full moon.

"It's much more beautiful than the light of day.

"I wonder if I should come back through Iraq.

"Today, I found four letters from you at the consulate.

"Goodbye, darling."

What annoyed me about my father

was that he had a kind of camp of admirers.

And among the throng, there was a certain number of women...

at least, this was the impression I had...

who had no restraint.

And as in the case with celebrities, they crossed the line.

That's how it felt to me

That said, I don't think he had a relationship with A, B, C or D.

Nor did he have affairs with each of these women

who were part of the fan club.

Mr. von Roten.

Looking at your long hair,

one could easily now believe

that the aristocrat from Valais has become a hippy.

No, I am and remain a traditionalist.

Who is critical towards the State,

who has committed to fight for homosexual rights

and wants to legalize drugs.

Marijuana would grow as well in our climate as our Fendant

that makes a renowned wine.

We should launch an initiative.

The liberalization of absinthe, hashish, cocaine and opium.

Are you up for that?

I'm going to write what you say.

I know.

Mr. von Roten, for dozens of years now,

you have fought for Mass to be celebrated in Latin.

Is that just a whim?

No, it's serious.

Please explain.

Do you know the old church hymns in Latin?

The "Libera me"?

Or the "Requiem Aeternam"?

No.

And how could you?

Those melodies...

are by far the most splendid thing Catholicism has created.

Anyone who cannot feel deep within himself

the power of the requiem...

must have a heart of stone.

"My dear Peter,

"I would like to paint a hundred big pictures.

"In the same way I need air to breathe,

"I feel an immense need every day for beauty.

"If I don't have the chance to take it in often enough,

"something feels missing from the harmony of my day."

That bouquet is extraordinary, Iris.

It's a work of art.

Thank you.

In two days, they'll have wilted.

Of course, but today they are splendid.

It all goes so fast, Peter, much too fast.

You haven't slept at all?

The old sleeping pills don't work, I need different ones.

I'm sorry, my dear.

I have an article to write.

Or do you want me to stay with you?

No, go and work.

Certain things became harder then.

Some things became too much for her.

But it was always the same worries:

allergies, insomnia,

sometimes other health worries I knew nothing about.

We could see she was not well, but we made the best of it.

Medical issues were never a subject

we discussed as a family.

We found it awkward.

We never really had a reason to prevent her from deciding

when life simply no longer had any more attraction for her.

"Just as a guest should know when to leave,

"we should also know when to depart this life.

"The right age always seemed to me to be between 65 and 75.

"On the other hand,

"suicide has always been considered wrongly as a sign of unbalance.

"That makes the decision even harder to take

"and to carry out.

"Today, however, I have to make that decision."

STATEMENT REGARDING THE SUICIDE

JUST AS A GUEST SHOULD KNOW WHEN TO LEAVE

WE SHOULD ALSO KNOW WHEN TO DEPART THIS LIFE

"Iris is no longer here.

"She endured so much.

"But she never threw in the towel.

"And, as with everything, she embraced her death

"and carried it out in style.

"Between a hibiscus in bloom

"and a scented jasmine she floated,

"her legs just above the floor covered with a rug.

"So that, visually, she looked like the Angel of Annunciation.

"Or in a more heathen way, Iris as the Messenger of Olympus

"who has something to announce to us mere mortals."

OR PUT MORE SIMPLY

A LARGE EXCLAMATION POINT AT THE END OF A BRAVE SENTENCE

An incredible sadness, yes.

A few days later, he talked to me for hours.

It was a sort of monologue in which he told me

how they met and what he thought of her then.

We had a conversation

like I'd never been able to have with him before.

"Iris appeared to me in a dream.

"Elegant, as always, but still young.

"It was very clear to me

"that something wasn't right, that one of us was dead.

"But I didn't know which one of us.

"She came to meet me, she was so alive.

"I approached her and she snuggled up to me.

"I wanted to hug her and keep her

"but she vanished in my arms.

"And I woke up.

"The most significant moment in my life

"was certainly not getting my Ph.D. or being on the National Council.

"It was climbing up to her room

"and all the innumerable letters she wrote to me."

PETER VON ROTEN DIED AUGUST 20, 1991

A YEAR AFTER IRIS COMMITTED SUICIDE

Subtitling: Hiventy