Elsa and Maria in the bedroom (sorry)

I don’t think she’s being sincere. She’s just handed Maria the, “I know you’re in love with my man” bomb, and she’s sealing it with the, “Remember your place: it’s in the nunnery.”

I agree, I think she thought she was in for a long run with Maria as a constant rival in the background, so she was trying her best to warn her off. When Maria suddenly said she had to leave, this came as a surprise and a perfect solution, hence the triumphal talk with Max when she gets back to the ballroom.

It makes me wonder how long it was after the waltz with Georg that he found the note?

I just found this screencap online. Obviously most of you have probably already seen it as we all seem to have a shared hobby in micro-analysing every single scene but many people probably haven't spotted this as it is brief (I only noticed it when watching for probably the 1000th time). I know Elsa has been seeing red flags about M and G's mutual interest in each other since the Edelweiss scene and that any doubts she may have had were definitely put to bed after the Laendler which would have already been upsetting enough. However, I think this is the moment in which she realises she needs to do some thing about the situation. It's almost as if M and G believe that everyone would be too distracted by the children at this moment and won't notice that they can't keep their eyes off each other. G may have sensed that Elsa saw them and has tried to take back control by flippantly saying "you can if you want to" when Max tries to coax Maria into going to the party.  By the time Elsa goes up to Maria's room, M is already in a state of confusion over her feelings and G's feelings (one minute they are dancing together, staring intensely at each other, and the next he's as cool as a cucumber towards her).

http://instagr.am/p/CAGS-GmnCh7

The image I was hoping to show is of Elsa being fitted out in her ballgown; you may have to click on the arrow halfway up the photo on the right to see it.
There's also a lovely photo  of Eleanor with Robert Wise: what a star!

She looks so different to me in that pic with Robert Wise. Maybe it's her make up? The ballgown pic is fab!

Elsa's tactics are brilliant here! Yes, she absolutely plays to Maria's vulnerability. 

What other ways do you think she could have scared Maria off? "I saw you dancing with my man and I won't stand for it!"? "I have given Georg the OK to have a fling with you before we get married."? I think these both would have worked. Really, any scenario I come up with, Maria is scared enough to leave, only because every scenario involves some sort of acknowledgement of her feelings for Georg and/or his feelings for her, which she isn't ready to deal with.

Maybe the question is, how do you think this conversation could have gone with the result being Maria staying? And how would her relationship with Georg change as a result?

I agree - I think any intervention from Elsa at this point would have scared Maria into leaving.

If she had not, possibly the circumstances would have ended the exact same way, with Georg and Elsa becoming engaged and Georg realizing after the fact it wasn't a good idea and calling it off. Though I suppose it was the intensity of Maria leaving and coming back which drove him to that realization... which might have happened if they'd just let things go on and then Maria returned to the convent and realized she was desperately unhappy and then the Reverend Mother sends her back...

(Basically in my mind delaying Maria's realization would have led to a protracted version of the same because I just can't fathom an ending in which they do not find their way to each other...)

I really love the way it happens in the film, he’s such a rigid sort of person that only the intensity, as you say, of her coming back and turning everything upside down could dislodge him from his stuck place. Or something like that.

I feel Georg would have found himself driven to propose to Elsa after the Landler, regardless of whether Maria was about because he was so shaken up by it/her he's just grasping at the chance for it all to go back to normal/expected, without understanding that he has changed so profoundly. Stubborn man.

Oh, oh, oh! SWOON!! This is a fabulous idea, that Georg is the one that forces her to leave, not Elsa. Oh my heart, I can just feel it. Although he would never tell her she’s a distraction (but if he DID I can imagine the most romantic reconciliation)...

I need this story! indigoblue?

Haha! What complexities life at the villa could bring...

OK I'll have a think about it - no promises - and it usually takes me at least 6 months to finish a story, so don't hold your breath!

PS  This story is now finished and appears on ff.net as The Unexpected Return for your enjoyment!  Indigoblue

I was thinking today about the look Elsa gives right after Maria says "Then I should go. I mustn't stay here." It's surprise for sure, but it almost looks to me like she feels bad about what just happened. She seems to be at a loss for words and absentmindedly touching Maria's dress while she's trying to figure out what to do next. She doesn't look victorious. (That doesn't happen until "Champagne, darling.") 

Jumping backward, we see Elsa walking toward Georg in the hall after Max invites Maria to dinner, presumably to talk to him about how inappropriate this is. Then Georg gets distracted and she slinks away while looking up toward the bedrooms, clearly having made up her mind to handle this with Maria instead of Georg. Which, from her perspective, is probably a good move. Thinking back to the Laendler, Maria at least had the good sense to stop dancing and show embarrassment when a dance between employer and employee became far too inappropriate. Georg, on the other hand, just brushed it off.  Long story short, Elsa knows Maria is going to be easily rattled if she brings it up that Georg likes her, and that's exactly what happens.

Though, I wonder if, despite their many differences, there is some small part of her that feels camaraderie with Maria (because they are both women and both being toyed with by a man who should be being respectful to them in their respective positions). I think she wanted Maria to not come to dinner and to not be so friendly with Georg, but I don't think she meant to hurt her as much as she did or to uproot her life. Just to make her aware (because Maria is so naive and unsophisticated compared to her) that she is actually flirting with Georg, not just being a good governess. But Maria is a more honorable person than she anticipated.

Then, "Champagne, darling" is kind of - well, what's done is done, and things are as they should be anyway, so I might as well take advantage of the situation as it stands. 

Thoughts on Elsa's conscience in the bedroom scene?

Kind of a strange question, but..in a time when it was scandalous to see a man without a jacket and tie on, wouldn't it be scandalous to be in a room with someone that you don't know who is changing their clothes? Yes, they are both women, and yes her slip is covering everything. But still, it seems like Maria is keeping her back to Elsa (that is until Elsa really starts freaking her out with the being in love conversation). Is this out of modesty or out of discomfort about the conversation? 

I think Maria's state of undress gives us a clue as to Elsa's motives, because I think Elsa timed her arrival in Maria's room to coincide with her changing her clothes. To have someone as 'power-dressed' as Elsa in your room when you are semi-naked is a demeaning thing, and normally surely someone like Elsa would remain outside her room until Maria had dressed, then take up her viewpoint after that.

So the fact that Elsa remains in Maria's room whilst she is in her slip (and clearly embarrassed) is, to my mind, an example of Elsa exerting her power over Maria, and using it to deliver her message about what small change she is in the big picture of things in the Captain's life (that Maria is merely a temporary dalliance for the Captain, thereby making her feel cheap).