Scene 4
(Gunther and Brünnhilde get out of the boat, with the men crowding around them)

Vassals: Hello, Gunther! You and your bride are welcome here!

Gunther: (with Brünnhilde following him, her eyes down, obviously distressed) I've brought home one of the most wonderful of women! Her name's Brünnhilde, and I tell you, no one ever had as good a wife! We Gibichungs have always had great luck, but nothing's ever surpassed this!

Vassals: Hail! Hail! Gunther, we're all happy for you!

(Gunther leads Brünnhilde into the hall. She never lifts her eyes from the ground. Siegfried and Gutrune come out of the hall.)

Gunther: Hello, Siegfried! And Gutrune, how are you? I'm so happy to finally see you with such a wonderful husband. Now there are two happy couples in the house - Brünnhilde and Gunther, Siegfried and Gutrune!

(Brünnhilde is startled at this, and is astonished to see Siegfried. Everyone is flabbergasted as to how she reacts.)

Vassals: What's wrong with her? Is she sick? (Brünnhilde is trembling violently)

Siegfried: (slowly walking toward Brünnhilde) Are you all right?

Brünnhilde: (not quite in control) Siegfried?…Here?…Gutrune?

Siegfried: (slightly patronizing) Yes, Gunther's sister is my wife, just like you're Gunther's wife.

Brünnhilde: (hatefully) I…to Gunther?! You're lying! (She comes close to fainting. Siegfried catches her.) My eyes…it's hard to see. (Looking up at Siegfried) Don't you know who I am?

Siegfried: Gunther, I don't think your wife's feeling very good. (Gunther comes to her) Get up, ma'am - your husband's here.

Brünnhilde: (sees the Ring on Siegfried's finger) Yes! The Ring…on his hand! Him…? Siegfried…?

Hagen: (coming to the foreground from the crowd) Listen to what she has to say!

Brünnhilde: (trying to stay coherent) You have a ring on your finger, but it's not yours. (points to Gunther) This man took it away from me! Why do you have it now?

Siegfried: (staring at the Ring) I didn't get it from him.

Brünnhilde: (to Gunther) You took it from me when we were "married", so it must be yours, right? Well, take it back from him!

Gunther: (very confused) The Ring? I didn't give it to him - But, how do you know so much about it?

Brünnhilde: Where's the ring you took from me last night? (Gunther doesn't say anything.)

Brünnhilde: (furious) Then it was Siegfried who stole it from me!!

(Everyone looks at Siegfried, who is completely bewildered.)

Siegfried: I didn't get it from any woman, and I don't have it because of a woman. I just know that I got it when I killed a dragon at Neidhöhle.

Hagen: Brünnhilde, is that really your ring? If it's the one you gave Gunther, then it's Gunther's, and Siegfried'll have some explaining to do!

Brünnhilde: (screaming in rage) I've been tricked! They've played some kind of terrible, disgusting joke on me, and I swear, I'll get them back for it!!

Gutrune: Who did?

Vassals: A trick?

Women: A trick? Who could've done it?

Brünnhilde: Gods in Heaven! Was this all planned for me? Was this part of my punishment, to suffer like no one else ever has? Is this what you had in mind for me? Then give me the strength to pay it back the way it needs to be! Help me get my revenge! I don't care what happens to me, but I want death and destruction for whoever's responsible for this!

Gunther: Brünnhilde, please!

Brünnhilde: Get away from me, you scum! You're only fooling yourself now! Listen, every one of you! I'm not married to Gunther, because I was already married…to him!! (points to Siegfried)

Women: Siegfried? Gutrune's husband?

Vassals: Gutrune's husband?

Brünnhilde: He's the one who had me for his wife!

Siegfried: Are you crazy? Do I even have to answer to that? I swore an oath of brotherhood to Gunther, and my sword made sure I kept that promise. I've never come near this…this crazy woman!

Brünnhilde: You're a liar! And you used your sword to swear to your lies? I know better! I know your sword, and I remember how you hung it on the wall the night we were married!

Vassals: What? Did he break his promise? Did he betray Gunther?

Women: Was he unfaithful to her?

Gunther: (to Siegfried) What do you have to say for yourself?

Gutrune: Siegfried, were you disloyal to me? Are you trying to lie about it now? Tell me she's wrong!

Vassals: If you're right, prove it to us! Swear on your honor, and shut her up!

Siegfried: I'll prove I'm right! I'll swear it on my honor, and I defy any of you to challenge me!

Hagen: I'll stand by you, Siegfried. I'll put my honor on the line with yours. (Hagen holds out his spear, and Siegfried lays his hands on it.)

Siegfried: May your sacred spear be the judge of my promise to you all. Hear me out! If I can be stabbed with this spear, then you can stab me. If I can be killed by it, you can kill me, if I've lied about keeping my promise to my brother.

Brünnhilde: (grabs Siegfried's hand off the spear and puts her own on it) May his sacred spear be the judge of my promise! You will be killed by this spear, Siegfried! It has my blessing to do it, too! You've lied all along, you're lying now, and you'll pay for it with your life!

Vassals: (confused) Help us, Donner! Bring your storm clouds in! Kill whichever one of them is lying!

Siegfried: Gunther, tell your wife to shut up! She's only making you look bad! Give her some time to think about what she's saying; maybe she'll calm down eventually, and whatever's bothering her will get better. Come on, men, forget about it! Ladies, there's nothing here for you to gossip about! It's easy for anybody to be a soldier when all they have to fight with is their tongue! (to Gunther) Believe me, I'm just as upset about all this as you are, because I couldn't fool her any better than I did. Maybe that Tarnhelm doesn't work as well as we thought it did. But anyway, women usually get over their problems pretty quick. I think eventually, she'll be glad to have you for a husband, and she'll forget all about…whatever it is. (to the men) Come on, everybody - let's go eat! (to the women) Come on, ladies, help us get the wedding ready! It's time to have fun! I'm ready to have a good time, and celebrate all the good stuff that's happened today! I hope all of you feel as happy as I am!

(Siegfried exits with Gutrune, while Hagen, Gunther, and Brünnhilde stay back. Gunther is obviously ashamed, and Brünnhile is obviously upset.)