7.3A terrible accident robs the successful artist Imhoff of his sight—a jet of flame shoots out of the kiln where he hardens his sculptures, and his career seems over. An attempt to surgically restore his sight fails. While he lies in his sickbed, the sensitive nurse Agnes tenderly cares for her patient. She gives him courage when he is on the verge of despair. Thus, a tender love slowly develops between patient and nurse. Eventually, Imhoff and Agnes marry, and his first attempt at sculpture, even in his blindness, is to be a sculpture of his wife's face. However, since Imhoff has never seen Agnes, she fears he will create an idealized image of her that she cannot live up to. Therefore, after a second operation, he initially conceals the fact that he can see again. He wants to "get used to" his wife first... But how long can he maintain the charade?
