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Yesterday I sat outside in the sun with the dogs, and of course I'm busy throwing balls, but actually I also wanted to work on my laptop. Unfortunately for me, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it. But Lana clearly had other plans. She thought it had gone on long enough, and thought I should spend more time with her and our other two dogs. To make that clear, she just threw her soaking wet tennis ball on top of my laptop. Now such a laptop can tolerate that once, but it is not a good idea to repeat that. So little choice for me but to play with her. Laptop closed and full attention to the dogs.

Time for a book

Now, however, I will not continue to do that for 8 hours a day, although Lana thinks that is precisely what is necessary. So even though I want to take it a bit easier for her after an hour and a half of intensive play, she keeps throwing those balls down. So the laptop to do some work was still not a good idea. I didn't want to sit inside either, I'm too happy that the sun is finally shining and we can enjoy very pleasant temperatures. So I decided to pop in and pick up a book.

Once inside in front of the bookcase, I didn't feel like looking for a long time, and so I actually picked up the first best book that came to my mind by chance. A book about painting, I thought! That turned out to be something else, I had taken the book "Sisi, Fairy Tale & Reality" from the bookcase. When I saw that I thought ... "Ow, okay, that's fine too!", and I quickly walked out again. After all, it doesn't really matter, I know I'm disturbed every minute by Lana putting her ball back on my legs, and if I don't respond, she just throws her ball on my book... it's for for me it's a bit of a game to pretend I don't feel or see her ball on my legs, and for her the game is to get my attention so I throw again. Even if it were out of irritation... Lol.

Once reading the book, I was actually amazed again at how much has actually been preserved of her history, but also at how differently we have come to think about Sisi because of Ernst Marischka's Film Trilogy with the lovely Romy Schneider as Sisi. So let's talk briefly about the movies first.

Sissi

The first part of the trilogy, "Sissi" is about Sissi's meeting with Franz Joseph 1. The film begins with 15-year-old Elisabeth "Sissi" growing up in Bavaria, Germany. She is a lively and free-spirited girl with a love for horses and nature. Her older sister Helene "Nene", is being prepared for marriage while Sissi, young and brash, is not thinking about it at all.

When Sissi travels to Austria with her mother and older sister, Duchess Helene, for the official engagement between Helene and Franz Joseph, the story takes an unexpected turn. Instead of becoming engaged to Nene, Franz Joseph chooses Sissi and so Sissi enters the imperial court in Vienna. The strict rules and formal etiquette are difficult for her and she regularly makes mistakes. This causes conflicts with Archduchess Sophie. But the love between Franz and Sissi manages to overcome all this.

Sissi, The Young Empress

The second film "Sissi, The Young Empress" focuses on the marriage of Sissi and Emperor Franz Joseph. After their romantic marriage in the first part, they face new challenges and responsibilities as rulers of the Austrian Empire.

Sissi continues to struggle with the strict protocol and strict etiquette at the imperial court. She is surrounded by intrigue and power struggles, especially on the part of her domineering mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie. Sissi struggles with her role as empress and feels restricted in her freedom and independence.

In addition, tensions also arise between Sissi and Franz Joseph, as he is often distracted by his political commitments and seems less aware of Sissi's needs. This leads to misunderstandings and estrangement between the royal couple. Their first child threatens to be taken away from Sissi by Archduchess Sophie, which leads Sissi to run away from her court to go back to her beloved Posenhofen. Only when Franz himself travels here does the couple reconcile.

Meanwhile, political tensions with Hungary have risen sharply and it turns out that Franz needs Sissi's charms to unite the Hungarians and the Habsburgs. The second film ends with the coronation of Franz and Sissi as King and Queen of Hungary.

Sissi's Turbulent Years

Then the last part of this trilogy, "Sissi's Woelige Jaren", shows that Sissi spends a lot of time in Hungary with her travel group. Franz Joseph misses her deeply and decides to travel to Hungary. Sissi almost at the same time decides to go back to Vienna because she notices that Count Andrassy, the leader of the Hungarian rebels, is in love with her.

Sissi and Franz meet by chance on the road and decide to spend a few days together incognito. During a trip they make together, Sissi collapses, and they immediately go back to Vienna where the doctor diagnoses Tuberculosis in Sissi.

After this, on doctor's advice, travel to warm places starts, starting in Madeira. From there she travels on to Corfu and then finally she travels on to Italy to be by her husband's side when the next political crisis has to be faced in Italy.

And that crisis only finally breaks when Sissi runs down a red carpet to her daughter while a papal company is on the same red carpet. Sissi apologizes and the Italians joyfully shout "Viva la mama"

The films are from the 1950s, and I suspect almost everyone has watched them at some point. I can say that I often dreamed away during these films. And for years I thought I would wear a "Sissi dress" at my own wedding. That day never came, lol. I have long given up on the dream of a "Sissi dress" and having my own wedding is no longer on my wish list. But I can still enjoy the romance of these films.

The book took out the romance

Reading the book "Sisi, Fairy Tale & Reality" was actually a downer. The movies are so romantic, and the reality was so different. Franz and Sisi's marriage was not a fairy tale. Many of the scenes in the film are fairly based on reality. Franz was indeed instantly in love with Sisi. But Archduchess Sophie wasn't the bitch she was in the movies. On the contrary, she also adored Sisi and wrote this several times in her diaries.

The Sissi we see in the movies is actually quite far from the real Sisi. Maybe that's why an extra S in the movie titles? The Empress signed her letters with Sisi, with a single S in the middle. Ernst Marischka, who wanted to stay fairly close to reality, chose to add a second S.

A lot of her life is not shown in the films

The events in the films such as the meeting, the coronation as king and queen of Hungary and the political situation in Italy have indeed all taken place. But what has not been shown is that Sisi had 4 children, that her first child died at the age of 2. That Sisi did not interfere in the education of her children, because she was always travelling. It was also not shown that she simply had no real connection with her children until her fourth child was born 10 months after her coronation as Queen of Hungary. That her last daughter only became the child with whom she built a bond. And that even then she was still much more time away from court than she was present. She neglected her husband, her imperial duties and exhibited suicidal behavior. Especially after her only son Rudolf at the age of 30 shot his 17-year-old mistress and then committed suicide, Sisi fell into a depression, after which she started traveling EVEN more. She wore only black clothes and hid her face behind a fan. According to her own writing "So that death may do its work undisturbed". She had a real longing for death. And he finally came to get her at the age of 60. Stabbed by an Italian anarchist with a file in Switzerland.

The film versus reality

The film shows a heavily romanticized image of a young girl who falls in love with an emperor. becomes empress and remains loyal to him despite the loss of her freedom".

The reality is that Sisi probably married Franz Joseph out of love, but even without committing adultery, she certainly did not remain faithful to her marriage and her life. She has always chosen her own interests, neglecting everything that should be dear to her. In fact, you could even call her selfish.

Although I have now read this book, which has really changed my image. It's taken away a lot of the romance. Which is perhaps a great pity ... I've always enjoyed these movies so much, and now, will I continue to enjoy them now that I know that the story was just a bit different in reality?

The sets, and dresses, the whole setting and grandeur of the films, of course, remain beautiful, and a film is a film, a film does not have to be reality ... Hmm, yes ... I think I'm just as can enjoy a lot.

Maybe I just have to watch them again later!

Posted using CineTV