Ilsa the insensitive, inconsiderate coward

First, she breaks up with Rick by sending him a letter that raises more questions than answers, instead of showing up at the train station and telling him the truth in person. In the letter, she never apologizes for abruptly dumping him.

Second, when she shows up at Rick’s Cafe years later and encounters him as he is immersed in alcohol-soaked emotional pain and lingering bitterness from the break-up, she never apologizes for hurting him. Instead, she falsely claims that “I can understand how you feel” and launches into her fairy tale about meeting Lazlo. When Rick angrily interrupts, she again invalidates his feelings by leaving in a huff.

Third, when Rick and Ilsa encounter each other the next day in the outdoor marketplace, it is Rick who apologizes for his behavior the night before. Ilsa fails to accept the apology, fails to apologize for her own bad treatment of Rick, and then invalidates his feelings once more by lecturing him about his bitterness.

Fourth, Ilsa stays on the low road by playing nice to Rick only because he has something she wants. When she confronts him in his living quarters, she still doesn’t care about Rick and how she’s hurt him, instead bullying him to turn over the letters of transit. When Rick refuses to cave in, she pulls out a gun and turns on the tears.

Bergman’s physical beauty helped offset her character’s insensitivity and cowardice, but Ilsa still comes across as lacking class.