He makes a handsome apology to her. Though neither Shandurai nor Kinsky speaks of this apology, we understand what his sacrifice is. The siege of the title isn't a siege by an army but a siege by feelings neither Shandurai nor Kinsky wants. The camera is watching Newton as she studies, cooks for herself or wraps a skirt around her hips. The movie is in her pocket, and though she's wordless for much of it, she's never unexpressive.
Newton can really act.
It was a brave, risky, strange role for an untried actress to attempt. As a clinging ghost, she had the least to work with and the most to create. And Newton, as we can see here, has a gift for silent scenes. Her best moments in Beloved are the scenes in which she emerges from the creek, with moths and beetles attending her. Newton's Shandurai is completely different from Beloved.