Engeleins Hochzeit

In a rural tableau steeped in the oppressive conventions of its era, young Jesta, a figure of burgeoning womanhood, finds herself betrothed to her considerably older uncle, Peter—a union less of affection and more of a patriarchal decree. The impending nuptials cast a pall over her youthful spirit, a silent resignation to a predetermined fate. This already disquieting arrangement takes a truly grotesque turn with the unexpected arrival of a cavalry squadron, seeking lodging for the night at the isolated farmstead. Driven by a possessive, almost pathological, desire to safeguard his 'property' from the virile attention of the visiting hussars, Peter issues a chilling mandate: Jesta must masquerade as a child, shedding her blossoming femininity for the guise of a pre-adolescent. This theatrical forced infantilization, meant to repel, paradoxically draws the gaze of four discerning hussars, their instincts piercing through the flimsy veneer of childhood. They perceive not a girl, but the vibrant young woman Peter desperately tries to conceal, igniting a dangerous, unspoken admiration that threatens to unravel the carefully constructed facade of innocence and the very fabric of Peter's controlling dominion, all before the inescapable bonds of marriage can be forged.