“Observe the cut of her costumes, the smooth and fine fabrics, the simple patterns. All this corresponds with the evenness of her acting. Nothing was to interrupt its rhythm. Therefore the décolleté in dramatic scenes. These parts below the neck seem to be there just so that inner feeling can come to the surface. Or the cut of the sleeves, emphasising her slim arms and repeatedly directing the gaze to her hands, which correspond with the expression on her face, vacillating between rest and movement.

The flat space of her costumes is directly related to the extended space of her expression. For Asta Nielsen, clothes were an element in which her mode of acting found its filmic form. The actress kept the distance between inside and outside very small, her acting took place directly beneath the surface of her outward appearance. Sweeping sumptuous clothes in a sophisticated mode would only have concealed expression. As a result, the viewer’s gaze does not cling to the clothing; it sees the character’s psyche.

Asta Nielsen selected her costumes many weeks before shooting began. At first glance, they indicate the woman’s social position. And the woman’s social standing forms the point of departure for Nielsen’s development of the character. But her expressiveness went further; it permitted us to see: the essence of the character is not submerged in the outward appearance; the actress refers to something individual”. (Renate Helker, Kostüme, Körperbilder und Studioästhetik,in Wolfgang Jacobsen (Hg.), Babelsberg. Ein Filmstudio 1912-1992, 1992)