“Father, who is this stranger?” she breathes.
And Daland whispers that he is a rich mariner who has come to woo her, and whom she must favor.
Daland then leaves them alone. For long moments they stare at each other, while the passion of love for the first time fills the Dutchman’s heart, and Senta sees her fancies take form in reality.
When Daland returns, Senta has plighted her faith in the arms of her long-desired lover.
The third act presents the sea again. Two ships lie at anchor. That of Daland, which is gay with lights and movement, and the fantom ship of the Dutchman, dark and silent. Suddenly the sea, calm elsewhere, begins to rise about the ship of the Flying Dutchman.
Tongues of light shriek about its masts, a storm howls, the crew appears, and in satanic strains taunt the captain because he has not even yet found a faithful woman. Then suddenly the sea subsides, and darkness and silence again cover the ship.
Senta comes out of the door of her house, accompanied by a suitor, Erik. Erik pleads with her not to marry the Dutchman, but to renew that affection for himself which she must, he says, formerly have felt. He reminds her of an occasion when she stood, her arm about his neck, her hand in his.
The Dutchman has drawn near, quite unperceived by either one of them, and has heard this tale. Ignorant of Senta’s passion for himself, and now believing her to be but a mere flirt, he rushes forward, crying, “Farewell, Senta!” Then, pointing to the anchored ship, whose blood-red sails are being hoisted, he cries:
“I am the Flying Dutchman!”
As he leaps on board, the vessel moves out of the harbor. Senta runs to a rock, from which she plunges after her lover into the sea.