Dirnentragödie

Summary

Auguste is an aging prostitute who has grown tired and indifferent over the years. Although she reluctantly obeys the orders of her pimp, Anton, deep down she is resigned to her fate. One day, when she comes across a young man who has collapsed from exhaustion on the street, she takes him to her apartment, where she lives with Anton and her young colleague Clarissa. The man's gratitude awakens feelings of love in Auguste, and she decides to start a new life with him. She plans to buy a bakery and build a respectable, bourgeois existence. Meanwhile, Anton plans to separate Auguste from the young man. He sets him up with the seductive Clarissa. When Auguste sees her plans for the future fall apart, she instigates Anton to murder Clarissa. Only after the deed is done does the pimp realize the senselessness of the crime and willingly surrenders to the police. Deprived of all hope and perspective, Auguste commits suicide. Remorseful, the young man returns to his mother's house.