Summary
Following her confrontation with Lermontov, Vicky seems much happier. She excitedly announces to Julian that she is coming with him, and he throws a shirt from his window in excitement. A telegram announces that the two are married. Next to the telegram is a full ashtray, which we soon learn is in Lermontov's office in Paris. Lermontov, it turns out, is not taking Vicky's departure nearly as well. He lurks in the darkness of his suite, twiddling his thumbs and angrily wallowing. As he moves through the shadows, slapping his hands, he is angry and devoid of creative energy. He moves towards a mirror, gazes at his reflection, and then punches it, shattering the glass.
Lermontov remains completely fixated on Vicky. He wallows for days, pictured in the darkness of his office, loafing about and apparently devoid of creative energy. He files an injunction that would prohibit Vicky from dancing in The Red Shoes for any other company, demanding that he have sole creative control over the ballet's production. He asks after Vicky and Julian's marriage, dissatisfied to learn that it is "a success."
Lermontov then arranges to meet with Irina, desperate to replace Vicky. She meets him in a garden, and he casts her in Swan Lake, inviting her to return to the company. A series of travel stickers appear onscreen, indicating that the company has resumed their tour. We learn that the company has had a good season, but Lermontov is clearly still dissatisfied. In his office, his conductor reads a letter from Julian, noting that he has written a new opera, for which Vicky was the inspiration. He laments that the two "deserted" him, but claims he is not sorry that they left the company.
Lermontov's obsession with Vicky never dies out. One day, he learns that Vicky will be in town for a vacation with her aunt—the woman who introduced them in the first place. While Vicky is on holiday, Julian is in London, where the two have been living together, preparing for the opening of his first opera. Lermotnov finds Vicky and pulls her away from her vacation, begging her to return and dance The Red Shoes one final time. It is implied that his company hasn't been nearly as successful without her, and Vicky is eventually persuaded, as she has hinted at the fact that, despite being happy with Julian, she misses dance. Finally, she accepts the invitation, lamenting how badly she has missed performing since her departure from the company.
Vicky prepares to dance The Red Shoes again, and for a moment, it seems like she might be able to have it all: Lermontov came to her in desperation, and she never indicated any desire to leave Julian when she agreed to dance again. Could it be that Lermotov has capitulated, and Vicky's irreplaceable talent has won her the upper hand? Unfortunately, it is revealed that this is not the case: when Julian learns that Lermontov has coaxed Vicky into performing again, he feels she has been poached, and grows angry as he interprets her agreement as a sign that she is planning on leaving him.
Analysis
This section of the film shows Vicky caught in the liminal space between full commitment to dancing and full commitment to Julian. This is the central tension of the film, driving the eventual tragedy of Vicky's demise. However, this moment is responsible for filling out both Julian and Lermontov's characters, making it more obvious than ever before that both are multidimensional, neither fundamentally good nor unequivocally bad. Lermontov, once a caricature of the evil creative genius, is shown to be vulnerable as he desperately attempts to bring Vicky back to his company, bolstering his appeal to audience sympathy.
Likewise, Julian, who once represented pure goodness in Vicky's life, takes a turn towards jealousy, leading him to jump to conclusions and exercise the same need for control that was once uniquely Lermontov's. The additional character nuance revealed in this scene makes Vicky's upcoming downfall all the more tragic: as the binary between "good" and "evil" is destabilized, it becomes increasingly evident that she is just unlucky, caught in an intersecting web of intense passions.
The staging of Lermontov's office reveals several important details about his character. The high ceilings and ornate mantles that surround him convey an air of luxury, but they simultaneously dwarf him with their physical size, representing his lack of power relative to his outsized reputation. Although his creative work has earned him a name for himself alongside a home full of riches, he remains small, jealous, and controlling. The dim candles and drawn blinds give Lermontov an almost vampiric quality. In a sense, he feeds off of Vicky's artistic production: while the other characters in the film are sustained by love, Lermontov has rejected romance, and instead relies on the creative energy of Vicky's young talent.
Lermontov's fixation on Vicky in these scenes implies that his obsession with her may extend beyond the exigencies of creative direction. Even though the Ballet Lermontov continues to be successful in her absence, Lermontov cannot seem to get her off his mind. His desire to control her thus could not solely be in the name of artistic success: he remains invested in her, annoyed by any news of her marriage to Julian yet frequently asking for gossip and updates about their relationship. This behavior indicates a sense of personal jealousy, suggesting that he is jealous of her affection towards Julian.
This section of the film is comprised of alternating scenes of lightness and darkness. When Vicky announces to Julian that she has left the company, her excitement is paralleled by the brightness of the outdoors. The next scene, located in Lermotov's office, is visually one of the darkest scenes in the film. The bright day in the garden where he meets Irina signals a moment of hope, but next, unable to stop thinking about Vicky, he is pictured in the darkness of his office once again. Lermontov is mostly seen at night during this portion of the film, signaling his growing derangement as the ominous aspects of his character are emphasized.
