The Queen of Spades

A mysterious tale about how even the most ordinary person can be driven to ruin by fate and the unpredictable tangle of circumstances. Young engineer Hermann, having heard the story of his grandmother—the countess—who knows the secret of three cherished cards, stops at nothing to seize that secret as well. Each of his wrongdoings leads to the next one, more serious. First, Hermann seduces the countess’s ward. Then, thanks to that, he gets into the old woman’s bedroom with an unloaded pistol. The countess is frightened, but a heart attack takes her to the grave—along with her knowledge. It turns out that not all means lead to the goal.

But some forces decided to cruelly mock Hermann when the countess’s ghost appeared to him and—apparently—revealed the treasured secret. Or was it deserved punishment?

The dramatic ending makes you think that white can turn black at any moment, that fortune is fickle, and desires are deceptive. A chance encounter with a secret draws one in, makes one obsessed, and finally drives one mad if greed has hidden in the heart and has turned into a passion.