spite the fact that the conversation only goes one way.
             At the same time, there is something quite bizarre about the two women's attachment to one another. Alma's incessant chatter appears, at first, to be her effort to "cure" Elisabeth by engaging her in conversation. When it becomes obvious that Elisabeth will not respond, she continues to speak anyway, presumably to fill the silence that has been left by Elisabeth. Finally, it becomes apparent that the two women are engaging in a sort of psychoanalysis, with Alma having become the patient and Elisabeth the silent doctor. Just as in the psychoanalytic framework, Elisabeth is no longer a mere passive listener; she is actually leading the session, willing Alma to talk, to dig deep into the most private recesses of her past. All along, it is to Elisabeth's face she seems to be addressing her spiel – as Alma has no real way of truly knowing the actress, she can only respond to the nuances she sees on the surface.
             ...