Her hatred of him is only a vehicle for her love. In extreme close-up, we see his face approaching. His mouth, avidly gaping wide, nearly fills the screen. This shot alone is far more violent and obscene than any whipping could be. These unearthly encounters can only take place at night.
Night is the time when shapes shift, when forms and boundaries dissolve.
There's no clear division between fact and hallucination, between life and death, between dread and desire. Navenka has killed Kurt, but still she finds him everywhere. He appears in the window, in the mirror, and silhouetted against the curtains. His sarcastic laughter echoes through the burial vault. He leaves behind filthy, mud-stained footprints to mark his passage.