At the costume party, Anni snubs Giulio when he offers her edelweiss, a symbol of devoted love found only in remote, dangerous mountain heights. “He must have risked his life for those flowers,” the Contessa says. Rudi finally proposes, after she refuses to be his mistress. She confesses to Giulio that she loves him—but she will marry Rudi the next day because she can live without love but will never again live with hunger.
