Grumblingly, without expressing a word of thanks, the man sits down at the table. He has had a bad night's sleep and uses every opportunity to nag his wife and children. Disappointed and distressed, she tries to make good the damage, but to no avail. It is just one of many days when the husband tyrannises the little home. (see clip) How much must she put up with?
Respect and tolerance
Finally, the housewife has had enough and escapes. The doctor says she has had a nervous breakdown and prescribes peace and quiet. The husband and the children are left alone with the old nanny called "Mads". And gradually the deserted tyrant realises that he misses his wife terribly. He understands that he has taken her for granted and never appreciated her hard work with house and children.
Even though Thou Shalt Honour Thy Wife is 80 years old it is still a very modern, topical film. It is all about respect and tolerance between the sexes - a much larger and thornier problem at the time of Dreyer than today. The poor living conditions of women in a male-dominated society is an important theme in many of Dreyer's films.
Relieving humour
Dreyer skilfully uses both stern drama and humorous relief in the film, as in the scene when the wizened little nanny Mads puts the grown-up man in his place with authority. Mathilde Nielsen plays this character with fine touches of humour. The film is based on a play by Svend Rindom and was shot at Dreyer's request in a small, cramped set to emphasise the closeness of domestic family life.
Even though Dreyer already had made films in Sweden and Germany, Thou Shalt Honour Thy Wife was his international breakthrough. Later on he went abroad, notably to France, where he was to create his absolute masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arcs lidelse og død).
Christian Monggaard is a film reviewer and critic for the daily newspaper Information.
Johannes Meyer og Astrid Holm in Thou Shalt Honour Thy Wife. Photo: George Schnéevoigt.