John, however, is skeptical and tells her that real scientists know that the planet will pass by Earth, and that those saying otherwise are scaremongering and looking to make a name for themselves on television.įor a time, it seems that the real scientists John mentioned might be right. She is concerned that she cannot see the constellation of stars that is usually visible and later the women discover that this is because a rogue planet, Melancholia, has sneaked into the solar system from behind the sun, and is hurtling towards earth.Ĭlaire is frightened, and researches more about Melancholia on the internet when she discovers articles that state the planet is headed straight for Earth and that the collision will bring about the destruction of Earth and the end of time. The following morning, Michael leaves early, whilst Justine goes on a horseback ride with Claire.

The strange thing about the reception is that Justine and Michael haven't spoken a few hours into proceedings and they come together to talk, and learning that Justine has already had sex with another man, Michael suggests that they dissolve the marriage, a suggestion to which Justine readily agrees. Justine quits too, but not before she tells her boss what a nasty, ruthless, and vindictive little man he really is. He is diligent when it comes to trailing her, and the two end up in a sand trap on the estate's private golf course, where they have sex, but Justine still doesn't produce the tagline for him and for this transgression Tim is immediately fired by his uncle. He also deploys his nephew Tim to trail Justine all evening in the hopes that he will be able to get a tagline out of her as his uncle demands. Justine works as a copywriter and has made the error of asking her boss to give a speech at the reception an error, because he is not a particularly nice man, and an error because he uses the speech as an opportunity to put more professional pressure on Justine he reminds her that she has a copywriting deadline to meet, and later in the celebration hounds her about writing a tagline for a project before she leaves for her honeymoon. The 'happy' couple are two hours late for the reception because they are traveling in a stretch limousine that has difficulty negotiating the tight turns and the winding, narrow rural roads. Justine and Claire have a dysfunctional family and a large part of its dysfunction is Justine, who suffers from melancholia and feels numb inside. Claire's husband, John, is in a bad mood because he never wanted to host the celebration of their marriage at his home and he certainly never wanted to pay for it. Justine has just married Michael and they are traveling to the country for their reception which is taking place at the sprawling estate owned by Justine's sister, Claire. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Notes on a case of melancholia