interrogatio - Die Entflohene

This is the tragic story of the young nun Agnes. Again and again exposed to the harsh punishments of the imperious sister superior, Agnes breaks her oath and flees from the convent. But her freedom becomes her misery, and only by begging does the young thing make a living. The town guards seize the woman and hand her over to the scrutinizing judges of the Inquisition, where she is to be taken to the dungeon without trial. It is coincidence and at the same time fate for Agnes that exactly at the right hour the strict Sister Superior arrives for a visit. She recognizes the fugitive, but the judges demand certainty about her identity. Since the beggar woman denies that she has ever been to the convent, they use embarrassing instruments of punishment to make her talk. Thus Agnes tells of her escape, and of how, wherever she asked for help, she was only punished and humiliated....