The Wedding Night

New York novelist Tony Barrett and his wife Dora are overwhelmed by debt due to their fast, affluent lifestyle. When a publisher rejects his latest work as unpublishable, hope fades and their options shrink. They relocate to Tony's rundown family farm in Connecticut, hoping a simpler life will restart their fortunes.

Jan Novak, a Polish farmer, offers Tony $5,000 for a field that borders Novak's land, a proposal Tony accepts eagerly as a way to replenish their finances. The windfall lets Dora return to New York while Tony stays behind to write. The sale ties Tony’s fate to the Novak family and the coming drama.

Dora leaves for New York, hopeful that separation will help them adjust. Tony remains on the farm to draw inspiration from the Novaks for a new novel. The distance deepens Tony’s fixation on rural life and his writing.

Sometime later, Tony and Manya meet at the farm and their friendship grows into love. Tony sees in Manya a living counterpart to the novel’s lovers Stephen and Sonya. Their bond deepens as they try to keep their feelings discreet.

Manya is betrothed to Fredrik, a match chosen by her father to secure the Novak family’s position. The engagement creates tension as Tony and Manya’s affection challenges the plan. Fredrik and Novak both strive to keep the couple apart.

Despite orders, Manya continues to spend time at Tony’s house, and their relationship becomes more intimate. The lovers sense a parallel with Tony’s new manuscript, heightening the danger of discovery. The family’s attempts to separate them only deepen their resolve.

A snowstorm strands Manya from returning home. Novak confronts Tony at the farm and later demands that Manya marry Fredrik on the following Monday. The clash foreshadows tragedy born of duty and possessiveness.

Dora returns and hears stories about Manya’s visits, triggering doubt about Tony’s fidelity. She reads Tony’s manuscript and sees the lovers mirrored in their own lives. A growing sense of heartbreak and fear settles over her.

On the night before the wedding, Manya goes to see Tony but finds Dora instead. They discuss the novel’s ending and how it reflects their real lives. Dora suggests that Stephen’s wife would not give up her husband.

Tony asks Dora for a divorce, but she refuses and insists that Sonya marry Fredrik in the novel’s ending. The moment highlights the conflict between art and life that Tony cannot escape. He begins to accept that his writing may shape his fate as much as his actions.

On the wedding day, Tony goes to the wedding party and dances with Manya. The public celebration contrasts with their private heartbreak and unfulfilled love. The moment lingers as a bittersweet testament to what cannot be.

During the wedding night, Fredrik, drunk and angered by his fiancée's lack of passion, goes to Tony’s house to confront the rival. Manya follows to stop the fight, but she falls down the stairs and is gravely injured. Tony carries her to the parlor and confesses his love as she dies.

Dora tells Tony that he can now see Manya privately. He gazes out the window and recalls her vitality, imagining that she is waving goodbye. The film closes on a quiet, elegiac note of memory.