'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria

R.R.: Also, to go further into that, Lene is a prisoner at the beginning and at the end of
the film, but in the middle she experiences freedom, whereas the old woman disappears
from the story.
H.S.-B.: Yes, but it the freedom of destruction. Destruction has a part of itself that is
creative. I mean, just think of the Indian god Shiva. He destroys the world under his feet
and is creating a baby at the same time. That‟s how the world functions. We all know
that. Someone dies and a child is born at the same time. That‟s how life works. But we
try to ignore it because it belongs to that part that happens and that we cannot influence.
R.R.: And you have the idea of the child talking about how she wanted to be a witch with
Lene and fly over the rooftops. So is that an idea of freedom through the destruction?
H.S.-B.: Yeah, but it also means that in this destruction, the house of men is destroyed.
The walls and doors and windows are open. You can fly. And of course witchcraft is
something that is related to strong women, that has always been related to strong women
since the beginning of mankind. Men have always been afraid of witchcraft. Because
witchcraft comes from here (points to her stomach). It‟s not a thing of the head; it‟s a
thing of the Bauch, the belly, the womb. Ourselves, we are constructing children and
destroying food at the same time.
R.R.: So, the last woman of the fairy tale is the murdered bride, the woman that the
miller‟s daughter sees murdered. So, both the murdered bride and Lene at the end of the
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