The Cloisters

Ann prepares to move from her hometown of Walla Walla, Washington, to a new job in New York City. All her other applications were rejected, but she managed to secure a summer internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She believes the placement was a favor to her mentor, professor Richard Lingraf. Ann studied with Lingraf at her college, a place where both her parents worked. Her father was recently killed in a hit-and-run accident; he was passionate about languages and passed his passion on to Ann.

Ann prepares to leave the restaurant in Walla Walla where she works. Her colleagues tell her she’s welcome to return, but Ann hopes never to come back. Soon after, Ann graduates from college with a degree in art history. She was the only student to specialize in early renaissance art. Others have told her this isn’t a profitable or popular career path.

Lingraf, in particular, is a mysterious figure who rarely takes on students.

Ann speaks with other students about their summer plans. A classmate sympathizes that Ann’s area of expertise leaves room for “no new discoveries” (9).

At home, Ann packs her things in preparation for New York. Her mother is afraid of traveling, and encourages Ann to come back and visit. However, Ann is afraid of living a stagnant and unfulfilled life.

When Ann arrives at the museum, the director explains that her role is unexpectedly no longer available. The man she had been hired to work with has been called away. As Ann considers what to do next, a man named Patrick Roland enters the office and sits down; he is the curator of the Metropolitan Cloisters museum. He asks Ann about her work, then tells the director he’s in need of an assistant. Patrick convinces the director to allow Ann to come work for him.

While Ann waits for Patrick, she meets some of the other summer associates. She joins their conversations and overhears career gossip about Rachel Mondray, the other assistant Ann will be working with at the Cloisters. Rachel enters the room and approaches Ann, hugging her before inviting her away from the group.

Ann arrives at the Cloisters and takes in its impressive gothic atmosphere. The building is made from imported remnants of European buildings from the 12th century. Patrick and Rachel lead her through the historic gardens and into the museum. On the way they introduce Ann to the receptionist, Moira, who complains about smoking in the gardens. Rachel explains the layout of the building. They talk about Ann’s home and her thoughts on New York.

As they continue through the various galleries, Ann takes in the artwork and Rachel shows her a display with a set of illustrated tarot cards. Rachel explains her passion for the art of the tarot, and that Patrick is preparing an exhibition on them. They discuss historical perspectives on fortune telling.

Ann adjusts to her new role, and Patrick assigns her research into divination methods throughout history. He asks her what her goals are, and Ann tells him she wants to be a scholar; she thinks, but does not say, that she’s trying to honor her father. Patrick asks about her qualifications and her background in languages, which she learned from her father. While they talk, Ann notices Patrick fidgeting with a red ribbon. Later, Ann speaks with her mother on the phone; she’s clearing out Ann’s father’s things, and offers to send some to New York.

At the Cloisters, Ann tries to match up to Rachel’s elegance and grace. Ann is always bedraggled after her commute, and Moira, the Cloister’s administrator, suggests a more convenient shuttle service. Rachel tells Ann more about Patrick’s background; his family owned the quarry that supplied stones to the Cloisters, which left Patrick quite wealthy. The two women go into the café, where Rachel steals a biscuit. Ann looks around and sees a carved figure of a woman holding a wheel with Latin inscriptions. Ann and Rachel grow closer, and Rachel asks about Ann’s past. However, she is reluctant to share details about her own.

One day Ann encounters the gardener, Leo. He asks about Rachel, and Ann becomes defensive. He begins telling her about the poisons they grow in the Cloisters’ gardens. Ann finds herself growing more attracted to him, but sees Rachel watching nearby. As Ann leaves to join Rachel, she sees Leo trimming a belladonna plant.

Because the night is stiflingly hot, Ann leaves very early for work. When she arrives, she discovers candle wax left on the library table and throws the wax pieces in the garbage. She works until Patrick arrives. He compliments her work, and she glows under his praise.

Patrick then asks her about her work with Lingraf; she remembers learning about astrology, and the way it became entrenched in Renaissance culture. She and Patrick discuss the use and reverence of divination. When Patrick leaves, Ann realizes the wax is gone. Later, Rachel finds Ann in the garden searching for Leo; Ann tells her about the candle wax, but Rachel claims not to know anything about it. At the end of the day, Ann comes across Rachel and Leo standing together in the garden, looking intimate.

Soon after, Ann overhears a conversation between Rachel and Patrick about the misplaced candle wax, and about introducing Ann to their true objective. Rachel thinks the risk is too high, but Patrick persuades her. On her way out, Ann runs into Leo. They walk to a nearby park, and Leo asks about her reasons for coming to New York. His probing makes Ann feel more like an outsider. The next day, Patrick invites Ann to dinner at his house along with Rachel and some other scholarly friends.

Rachel picks up Ann in her private car to go to Patrick’s, offering her a bag of used clothes she no longer needs. Ann changes into one of Rachel’s dresses, and they arrive at Patrick’s manor home together. Rachel introduces her to another scholar, Aruna, who is a close friend of Patrick’s. The four of them chat about an upcoming panel on the Renaissance occult that Patrick will be moderating. Ann learns that Rachel was rejected for the role. Aruna asks Ann about her own opinions on tarot; she and Rachel tell Ann a little about the tarot’s history in 18th-century France, and its astrological imagery. Patrick reveals he’s searching for a 15th-century tarot deck that will prove its early use as a tool of divination, rather than simply a card game.

Patrick invites them all to participate in a tarot reading. Ann takes part, uncertain if it’s meant to be taken seriously. Patrick lays out a reading for Ann and tells her there is opportunity, self-consumption, and desire in her future. After dinner, Patrick and Rachel disappear together; Aruna warns Ann off following. Ann realizes Patrick and Rachel are in a relationship. She waits for their return, and then Rachel’s driver takes them both home.