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Questions and Answers
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How did your father cope with the massive change in circumstances from the humble existence on the Australian Farm to the glamour of Viennese Society? Like many men of his era (i.e. born in 1880) my father came from a well-established family who subscribed to strong values over generations who had lived in both wealth and poverty. Courtesy and integrity were fundamental. Hardship had honed an understanding of human foibles and a great sense of humour. Typical of a certain class of men, who we seem to have forgotten, Joe was a confident, charming and compassionate human who accepted all life's experiences with grace. What was it like to suddenly be a debutante? In Vienna? With all the glitz and social formalities? I used very similar strategies as I had when playing 'Coronation' with Dawn. The debutant game was easier because I didn't have to invent all the rituals, speeches, procedures. The adults told me exactly what was expected and I was simply the actress playing the debutant role. The instructions were precise down to how many steps to take when entering a room (5). Also, as debutant, I always had someone to ask about any protocol I was not sure of. My deb partner was carefully chosen, a social veteran and utterly supportive and unflappable. How did you cope with all the language changes. English, German, French? Oral English was native and written English is still a challenge. There are so many rules and exceptions that I did not learn. I believe I have a genetic affinity with German. I love the sentence constructions and the phonetic spelling. I believe I was lured into German because I wanted to communicate with two particular men. One was my 23 year old cousin Hans, who fascinated me. He spoke English well but determined to teach me German. I owe a lot to his determination. The other was the son of my mother's friend Ellen. He was 2 years older, quite good at climbing trees, doing deadly tricks on bikes and telling horror stories about bombs falling during the war. To bully him into my games I had to speak German. French was difficult although I loved the sounds. I feel I never got enough of it into my ears. I understand much more than I speak, although Dawn became a natural French speaker with less affinity for German. What happened to the Picasso drawings? On the advice of the experts I still have them; in a safe place. I expect that the publication of the book will draw out further details of their history. To some extent this has already begun with reams of new information about Bettina's life coming from readers who knew her of who know of circumstances around her. Perhaps the mystery will be solved when a few small missing pieces are fitted into the jigsaw. How does your sister Dawn feel about the book? Initially Dawn had some misgivings. Dawn had lovingly assisted Bettina in her attempts to write her memoir in her mid eighties. This version was published for the family and was a key resource for my own writing. The most important thing for me was that my book not cause any division between Dawn and me. I would have rather not published. When we discussed what elements concerned Dawn it amounted to a few sentences and was rather an issue of tone than fact. This was easy to adapt and I believe Dawn's comments helped me and improved the book. Compared with the considerable adjustments made by later editors, Dawn's were tiny variations with the benefit that she is now as delighted as I am with the interest in Bettina's story. |
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A Story Dreamt |
